As a poet I freely admit, I love an opportunity to indulge in a bit of wordplay...
Wordplay is an essential life-source for poetry. For me, it adds instant appeal.
This poem uses a list structure and relies on a host of names to add a dash of intentional humour. Hope you hear it as the roll is called.
Roll call
In
primary school
when
my teacher called the roll each morning
to
mark our attendance
our
names were called
and
we had to reply
PRESENT!
Once
someone said,
PRESIDENT
-and
everyone laughed
I
can still recall many of those names
those
faces
I
remember them well,
our
teacher calling on each of them to reply
as
the roll was marked.
They
return once more…
Ben
Downe –a flexible fellow
Phillip
Yagob – always hungry
Al
Batross- a bird lover
Robin
Banks- collected coins
Rick
O’Shea – always bouncing off walls
Peter
Houtt- lacked energy
Ken
Tuckey- loved fried chicken
Con
Ickle– had a pointy head
Cara
Larm- often wailed for no reason
Eileen
Over- had balance issues
Rose
Thorn- rather prickly individual
Amy
Abull- Sweet and friendly
Marge
Areen- always wore yellow
Paige
Turner- loved reading books
Molly
Coddle – spoilt and needy
Teresa
Green- nature lover
Terry
Bull- a wicked boy.
© Alan j Wright
Alan, there are some very funny names here. Most I've never heard before, and I did need the hints, like Amy Abull, Cara Larm, and Marge Areen. So cute! Yes, wordplay is sweet. My husband is the punny one in our household, so I am going to share these names with him!
ReplyDeleteSo pleased to hear you found humour in these words Denise. Also pleased to hear that you're sharing them further afield.
DeleteWhat an extraordinary class yet I believe you forgot one creative student, that one named Al Anrite! What fun this must have been to do!
ReplyDeleteYou are most perceptive Linda- as I have come to expect. Maybe I was absent that day...
DeleteIt was indeed an enjoyable undertaking to write this poem. Wordplay is quite a driver for me, particularly when an element of humour creeps in.
HA! At first I was impressed that you remembered all these former classmates, but then...HAHA! Well played!
ReplyDeleteClearly a trick of the light Mary Lee... So glad you saw through my tricks.
DeleteSuch fun, Alan! Thanks for bring a smile this morning.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Rose. Glad a smile was the outcome.
DeleteAlan, I remember the hand held hi and the word here. Your cast of characters in your poem are a hoot. I had to read each out loud to get the full dose of humor. Thanks for the fun.
ReplyDeleteAh those school days memories Carol. I too recall the word, here! By reading the poem out loud you get the full affect of the play on words within each name. I'm pleased you had some fun in this space.
DeleteBwa ha ha ha! I have to admit....these made me giggle. What fun writing poems is. The secret is out!
ReplyDeleteGiggling is good Linda. Writing poems is indeed fun!
DeleteWhat a fun list of names! I do love a good wordplay poem. Was this fun to write?
ReplyDeleteThanks Margaret. It was a most enjoyable poem to create. When wordplay is involved it's guaranteed to be fun.
DeleteWhat a wonderful class! I bet kids would love this one!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ruth. I hope they enjoy reading and listening to the intentional word play implicit in the poem.
DeleteWhat a punny roll call! Thanks for sharing this fun take on a list poem.
ReplyDeleteThanks Elisabeth. My pleasure.
Delete