CANDY IS DANDY: OGDEN NASH #BLOGCHATTER #WRITEAPAGEADAY

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Ogden Nash’s poetry brings a smile to the faces of all those who delve into his poetry. His comic verses have been relished over the decades, known for their irreverence and their eccentricity. They are meant not only for lovers of poetry but for all those who want to savour moment of sheer fun and frolic.

Starting with one of his most famous poems ‘Reflection on Ice-Breaking’

Candy

Is dandy

But liquor

Is quicker.

When COVID-19 wreaked havoc bringing the world to a standstill, it took vaccines, sanitizers and masks to bring down its effects. Ogden Nask spoke not about a virus, but about a germ.

THE GERM

A mighty creature is the germ.

Though smaller than the pachyderm.

His customary dwelling place

Is deep within the human race.

His childish pride he often pleases

By giving people strange diseases.

Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?

You probably contain a germ.

Nash was often impudent and downright hilarious. His spellings often disarranged themselves just so they could ensconce themselves comfortably in their niches within the poems. One such poem brings a twinkle in the readers’ eyes.

THE FIREFLY

The firefly’s flame

Is something for which science has no name.

I can think of nothing eerier

Than flying around with an unidentified glow on a person’s posteerier.

                                                                 Poem Hunter

The last word is an example of Nash’s unique spelling.

Two poems that are fun to read are also about living creatures that populate the world. The first one has the rules of grammar all wrong, but that is purposefully done by the clever poet.

THE OCTOPUS

Tell me, O Octopus, I begs,

Is those things arms or is they legs?

I marvel at thee, Octopus:

Is I were though, I’d call me Us.

The second poem again boasts of a word never heard before, much akin to Roald Dahl’s vocabulary that has been added in the Oxford dictionary. The poem goes as follows:

THE WASP

The wasp and all his numerous family

I look upon as a major calamity.

He throws open his nest with prodigality.

But I distrust his waspitality.

The last word is Nash’s invention and yet, it explains the nature of the wasp as no other word possibly could. There are so many more poems which contain little gems like these, and it is therefore no wonder that Ogden Nash continues to have his fan following. Since it is next to impossible to put down all his poetry, here is one last example to bring a smile all over again.

THE FLY

God in his wisdom made the fly

And then forgot to tell us why.

                                                                       Pinterest

Thus, for all those who enjoy a bit of sparkle in their verses, here is the ideal book for them.

                                                                Amazon.in

And to end with another beauty:

                                                                      Pinterest
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