Photo of J.R.R. Tolkien‘Three Literary Smiles’: Poems by James A. Tweedie The Society July 21, 2022 Culture, Humor, Poetry 12 Comments . Three Literary Smiles . Hemingway’s Oopsy “Up in my room the rain was coming down Heavily outside on the balcony.” I didn’t know if I should smile or frown At such a dissonant cacophony. It’s in Farewell to Arms by Hemingway Right at the start of Chapter Twenty-Two. It never should have seen the light of day. As grammar goes, it needed a review. But Papa’s mangled prepositions all Escaped what should have been a red-flagged doom. Which left the novel’s heavy rain to fall Both on the balcony and in the room. Such unintended literary gaffes Turn dross to gold each time a reader laughs. . War & Peace The greatest novel ever written was Count Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Because The plot’s as thick and heavy as the book It clearly would reward a second look. But one time through was all that I could manage Because its weight caused neck and shoulder damage. . J.R.R. At birth, J.R.R. Tolkien’s parents named him John Ronald Reuel—names that fit him well. He shortened them, but not because they shamed him, Most likely, ‘cause they took too long to spell. Few people know what J-R-R betoken, Except for being aware they go with “Tolkien.” . . James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and three collections of poetry including Mostly Sonnets, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in The Lyric, Poetry Salzburg (Austria) Review, California Quarterly, Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online, Better than Starbucks, WestWard Quarterly, Society of Classical Poets, and The Chained Muse. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. CODEC Stories:Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 12 Responses jd July 21, 2022 Very clever, all three, and enjoyed. Thank you, James. Reply Cheryl Corey July 21, 2022 All three are fabulous, James, Reply Phil S. Rogers July 21, 2022 I agree with JD; very clever, and I had a good laugh with War And Peace. Thank you Reply Jeremiah Johnson July 21, 2022 On the Hemmingway poem – of course, as Cervantes put it, “Even Homer nodded” sometimes 🙂 Reply Jeff Eardley July 21, 2022 James, a most enjoyable chuckle today. I agree with you particularly on, “War and Peace.” I recall a Woody Allen spoof movie that I think was called “Love and Death” and a line that read something like, “Here I am, due to be executed at 9.30. It should have been 6.30 but I have a good lawyer who got me leniency.” Thanks for these superb literary observations. Reply Roy E. Peterson July 21, 2022 All three made me laugh. More than that, the first gave me hope my own grammar gaffes may become legend and well regarded. Three fun reads. Reply Paul Freeman July 22, 2022 I’m chuckling away here. Thanks for the reads, James. Reply James A. Tweedie July 22, 2022 Thanks all for the thumbs up comments. It was all about the smiles, and a laugh or chuckle is a bonus . Reply Paul Freeman July 23, 2022 Apparently it was no fun going on a country walk with Tolkien. He would stop at any interesting tree and ponder its shape and feel for an inordinate amount of time, no matter the weather. Reply David Watt July 23, 2022 Thanks James for three highly entertaining poems. I especially enjoyed the perils of heavy reading, and your choice of rhyme with Tolkien. Reply Talbot July 24, 2022 I greatly enjoyed the Hemingway one, especially! Reply C.B. Anderson August 3, 2022 Fun stuff, James, and we can never get enough of that. Reply Leave a Reply to jd Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Captcha loading...In order to pass the CAPTCHA please enable JavaScript. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Phil S. Rogers July 21, 2022 I agree with JD; very clever, and I had a good laugh with War And Peace. Thank you Reply
Jeremiah Johnson July 21, 2022 On the Hemmingway poem – of course, as Cervantes put it, “Even Homer nodded” sometimes 🙂 Reply
Jeff Eardley July 21, 2022 James, a most enjoyable chuckle today. I agree with you particularly on, “War and Peace.” I recall a Woody Allen spoof movie that I think was called “Love and Death” and a line that read something like, “Here I am, due to be executed at 9.30. It should have been 6.30 but I have a good lawyer who got me leniency.” Thanks for these superb literary observations. Reply
Roy E. Peterson July 21, 2022 All three made me laugh. More than that, the first gave me hope my own grammar gaffes may become legend and well regarded. Three fun reads. Reply
James A. Tweedie July 22, 2022 Thanks all for the thumbs up comments. It was all about the smiles, and a laugh or chuckle is a bonus . Reply
Paul Freeman July 23, 2022 Apparently it was no fun going on a country walk with Tolkien. He would stop at any interesting tree and ponder its shape and feel for an inordinate amount of time, no matter the weather. Reply
David Watt July 23, 2022 Thanks James for three highly entertaining poems. I especially enjoyed the perils of heavy reading, and your choice of rhyme with Tolkien. Reply
