Friday, January 8, 2010

The Ladybug's Lament

Big Bed Land tends to be a busy place in January, the month of frozen fog and snow, and most of the Animals who are not working on the Wedding Scrapbook have been drawn back into the summer eddies of Goat's Island Adventure. Did the ladybugs really cause the young Monsters to dress up as ladybugs and recite a poem? Polar Knight asks Willabear, who was there. Oh yes, said Willabear, that is exactly what happened. Lefty (who was also there) added: You never what ladybugs can make someone do. ESPECIALLY when the ladybugs are the invisible kind.

Polar Knight was quite interested in reading the poem, being unfamiliar with ladybug literature, especially invisible ladybug literature and thought you might be interested too. Bink points out that when reading this poem, it is traditional to pronounce "Ladybug" with the drawl of the Ancient West, that is to say: "Lay-ee-dee-boog." And you must imagine the sounds of distant yodeling by the ladybug girls: "Yo-de-lay-dee-bug!"

The Ladybug’s Lament
The ladybugs of Sugarbush
Will set you down and tell their tale
As the dragon flies and Jewel Weeds
And the lone loon lorns its wail

The woman they call Pioneer
Can wrassle even slimy slugs
She sweeps the floors and beats the rugs
And herds the fearsome Ladybugs

She rides between the mighty oaks
Her lasso in her hand
But she never ventures out without
Her brave mouse fairy band

Valiant Violet and Goldenrod
They also hunt the ladybug
They dry the meat for winter feed
And shred it fer terbaccer plug

Pioneer Woman leads the band
She battles the Bumble-Bugs hand to hand
She’s also called beloved Queen
Her two-lips is sweet, but her rifle’s mean


She beats the rugs and sweeps the floors
And tames the fiery bright S’mores
And when she’s hunting in the wood
The ladybugs say: “Not Good.”

She feeds those bugs on banana smush
That’s why they stay at Sugarbush
And leave their wings for fairy clothes
And NEVER fly into your nose

Her fairies feed on Ladybug willows
And when they’re tucked in bed so snug
Pioneer Woman comes to their pillows
To tell them of the ladybug

Of ladybug wiles, their changing spots
More dangerous than polka dots
She teaches those mousefairy mugs
To track the tricksy ladybugs

With their permanent smiles they raid the land
Over seas and over sand
With Pirate Goat to lead their band
They like to eat their spiders canned

The mouse fairies love to go skinny-dipping
As the waves go slipping slipping
Into sea and into sky
Only the Ladybugs know why

Grandmother Ladybug flies to the moon
And on the way she meets a loon
Bow and arrow in her hand
Soon the loon will dive for land

Grandmother Ladybug gets to the moon
And there she finds the spirit of the loon
Together they live in Cave Zak
And then they decide they will never go back

4 comments:

  1. When I saw the mention of polka-dots, we had (what we consider)a brilliant idea!
    If the Platypuss Gang would consider joining in with the Theme Thursday crowd (which coincidentally did a polka-dot theme just last week), I am sure they would gain an instant audience of delighted (and delightful) new fans.
    Of course The Gang would have to visit some of the TT members and make suitable murmurings in response to the entries, but I'm sure that would be great fun as well!

    This was such a wonderful poem. (We did try to keep up the western drawl, but fell about laughing because Shingles coudln't pull it off without spitting.) We loved the "AND NEVER fly up your nose" line and are very keen to try banana smush. Poetikat is once more inspired to have a crack at something that truly rhymes (she's gotten away from that for some reason).

    Best (as ever),

    P and the H-Gang

    P.S. P once wrote a lament about fiddleheads (back in the day).

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  2. Dear Poetikat,
    that is indeed a brilliant idea! I have been wanting to find a way to make reading blogs more a part of my life - I know John enjoys this! - I am so slow to change - but I am committed. This does sound like a great way to get involved. So thanks for writing with this idea and I have asked John to help me understand how Theme Thursday works.

    I'm also happy that you're back visiting P-in-B, and even happier that you are considering sailing back out into the seas of rhymed poetry. I really liked imagining Shingles reading the Lament out loud (by the way, John's favorite line in the poem was the same as yours!)

    I would very much enjoy reading your lament about fiddleheads - any chance?

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  3. Oh, I do look forward to your participation in Theme Thursday! That's wonderful!

    Here's a link to the Lament of the Fiddleheads:

    http://hyggedigter.blogspot.com/search?q=feeding+my+imagination

    I wrote it when I was just getting into poetry again after many years' neglect.

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  4. Okay,this is a fabulous poem that easily takes its place among the very best adventure poems about ladybugs and mousefairies. It deserves a bigger audience and I am ashamed not to have done more to introduce to the world the brilliance of this blog. On the other hand, mousefairies are fiercely private and would take the greatest offence if worshippers and mere sightseerers began crowding their shore. To say nothing of the danger to the foolish humans from the ladybugs. The mousefairies would feel forced to save ignorant admirers from the many crafty traps of the ladybugs. But really, they have more important things to do. Swimming and climbing trees, for example.

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