Actually, now that you mention it knowing the meaning of "concupiscent" (latent sexual desire?) kind of brings a disturbing body fluid implication to this poem for me.

edit: but great consonant line, and for you, the sound of the line was the point. Now I kind of dig how "concupiscent" is close to "conspicuous," like the line is guilty of something... maybe, as you put it, not making sense?

Wallace Stevens made me very, very happy.

I love the internal insights into personal writing roads that came out of this discussion. Thanks, all.

Deb, I totally hear you (no pun intended) on children being infatuated with the rhythms (and sometimes the appearance of language) if working at Kindergarten pilot literacy program has taught me anything over the past few years, is that if a book rhymes, it's immediately more memorable.

Must be something in the air--on the radio show I was just on--which was a HOOT, let me tell ya--we were talking about the music of language, and I was saying how no amount of advance in CGI or movies or what have you has ever produced anything as moving as music.

Mind you, mostly I was just cracking jokes...

Dang...sorry I missed that. Seriously. After what we talked about yesterday in here, I couldn't resist drabbling something a little nutty. Anne, Deb, this is for you.

Wilbur wondered if a man could go crazy by degrees, or all at once.He thought he heard his new horse sigh a few times. The beast perked up for Emily. She loved him to bits, but Wilbur had his eye on him. Sure enough, it happened again.

“Wilbur, do you ever wonder what it all means?”

“What what all means, Ed?” It had to be him. Nobody else was out here. “I’m kind of a simple guy.”

“Why you’re in there and I’m out here. Why I’ve attempted to engage you in conversation several times and you’re too rude to respond...that’s what. Common courtesy...please, thank you...that kind of thing.”

“But you’re a horse.”

“A horse has feelings, too, Wilbur.”Ed said. “And I think this is a pretty sad thing for this country that I am ‘just’ a horse to you. At my last place, they called me Timmy. But did you even ask?!”

”Well, no, I just thought you had a long face like my uncle Ed.”

Love it!

And I think this is a pretty sad thing for this country that I am ‘just’ a horse to you. At my last place, they called me Timmy. But did you even ask

dying of laughter

Thanks...and I haven't smoked any of the stuff from the evidence room yet.

BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!

Honey, I woke up feeling cranky as hell - forget to take a flexoril last night and the result is aching all over and less than three hours sleep.

I have cheered up considerably.

A long face like my cousin Ed....

Ok, then, my mental collapse is worth it, then.

I've now got two agents committed to our conference. I rule.

I hope they'll be this friendly when I have a book to pitch to them!

Go Susan! Good work.

erika, I'm still laughing. That was priceless.