Exercises in the A of B
by Bill Yarrow
to rescind the statute of imagination, cancel
the subscription of allegiance, walk the streets
of restraint, pilot the airplane of honesty, reenter
the data into the computer of turpitude, replace
the bulb of affection, cut the nails of beauty, cut out
the heart of ambition, sew on the button of dignity,
develop the film of fearlessness, climb over the gate
of vanity, reorganize the files of contempt, paint a portrait
of collusion, peel the skin of chaos, caress the flesh of
luxury, blow the horn of defiance, forget the name
of appetite, lean back in the arms of sensation, grasp the hand
of frenzy, take the temperature of diffidence, depress the gas
pedal of mercy, buy a case of probity, close the sugar door of
thralldom, and retreat into the craven cave of invention
the subscription of allegiance, walk the streets
of restraint, pilot the airplane of honesty, reenter
the data into the computer of turpitude, replace
the bulb of affection, cut the nails of beauty, cut out
the heart of ambition, sew on the button of dignity,
develop the film of fearlessness, climb over the gate
of vanity, reorganize the files of contempt, paint a portrait
of collusion, peel the skin of chaos, caress the flesh of
luxury, blow the horn of defiance, forget the name
of appetite, lean back in the arms of sensation, grasp the hand
of frenzy, take the temperature of diffidence, depress the gas
pedal of mercy, buy a case of probity, close the sugar door of
thralldom, and retreat into the craven cave of invention
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Author's Note
I call metaphors like "the thorns of life" as in Shelley's " I fall upon the thorns of life / I bleed," A of B metaphors. In these metaphors, the A term is concrete and the B term is abstract.
You find a lot of these in Bunyan ("the Slough of Despond," "the Dungeon of Despair"), in the Bible ("the valley of the shadow of death") and in orators like Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr. And in popular songs.
They are fun to play around with. Thus this "poem."
A version of this was published in Stephen Wakeling's Very Bad Poetry (fun site) in 2010.
Other stories by Bill Yarrow
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Bill--
I have several sources for names of figures of speech--this one has stumped me so far but I'm going to keep looking.
I was a philosophy major who concentrated in aesthetics and did my senior project on figures of speech.
"develop the film of fearlessness, climb over the gate
of vanity, reorganize the files of contempt, paint a portrait
of collusion, peel the skin of chaos"
I like this, Bill. Great closing.
"close the sugar door of thralldom" pretty much makes the whole thing for me...love it, Bill*
Your store of metaphor opens a floodgate of possibilities to my undeveloped diamond mine of figurative imagination.
And don't mess with Mr. In Between. Ride 'em cowboy! *
Bill this is just wonderful, and just the right tone to adopt for the (gulp) new year ahead...
*
Invention, indeed! With wit and verve! Excellent!