Lapsus Linguae (I.P.)

By luigi_pagano

Sat, 29 Mar 2014
  • 5097 reads
18 comments
 

It was a Greek taverna
next to a nightclub
where, my daughter said,
she had a lamb hubbub.
She was only a little tot
and it is understandable
that she misunderstood
the waiter at the table.
He hailed from Mykonos
and his accent was thick;
he enunciated badly,
his delivery was  quick.
Then she wrongly used
the past tense of feed,
which she knew to be fed,
and we have to concede
it did indeed make sense:
when offered more food
she answered in a way
I thought rather good:
“I really am fed up,
I ate more than enough.”
This answer was met
by a resonant  laugh.

© Luigi Pagano 2014

Certificate U
Poem
Are you being versed?
Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)
Autobiography

Comments

Submitted by Bee on

Such memories - how precious!

I enjoyed your poem, Luigi.

Bee

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

For the parents they are precious memories, Bee. For the now grown up kids they are ambarassing moments they'd rather forget.Thanks for the comment.

Best, Luigi.

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Children's comments make you think about language in a new way. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

It is so, Rhiannon. They seem to have the ability to think laterally.

Luigi

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

If your daughter had gone with your family to an Italian restaurant she might have had a Lapsus Linguine. Lovely poem, Luigi, warm friendly slice of life.                     Elsie

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Very witty, Elsie, I like it.

Luigi smiley

 

Submitted by Denzella on

Hello Luigi,

Loved this poem for its simplicity of form and for its humour.  On top of that a really nice anecdote.which conjures up an enchnting image of innocent childhood. Just lovely!

Luigi, I think you might have hit on something with your remark about sour grapes.  How's this for an idea those posted pieces of ourselves that don't get cherried could have a couple of grapes sour or otherwise.  Whaddya think? Has it got legs?

Moya

 

 

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Sour grapes would only show our dissatisfaction but I think that a 'raspberry' would represent the opposite of 'cherries', to tell us what the editors really think of some of our work. 

Luigi devil

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

One possible suggestion is that we have an opt-out button whereby we can opt to have none of our work considered for cherries.               Elsie

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

An interesting suggestion, Elsie, but would people really refuse to be cherrypicked?,Isn't that a mark of distinction?  

Best,Luigi

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Luigi, i would be the first to refuse. When I rate my own work I think the amount of cherries I have been given is fair but I would disagree with where several of them have been allocated. The same with other people's poetry. I am attracted by titles not fruit. Often I like a poem that does not have cherries and another poem by the same author that has been given cherries works less well for me.       Elsie

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

 

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Elsie, you have probably guessed that I was playing the devil's advocat, here. devil I am with you regarding rating our own work and others. I usually sense when a piece is worthwhile and am not swayed by the cherries but I have noticed that the work given that accolade tends to have the most hits and comments. Feedback, I believe, is very useful.

Luigi

 

Submitted by Luke Neima on

I'll be the first to say the cherry-picking system isn't perfect! All our editors are volunteers, but they do their best to pick out things that strike them as excellent or real improvements on past work. There's no way that kind of system isn't going to end up being subjective, but my feeling is, flawed and arbitrary as it might be, on the whole it's a motivator and a very rough guide to some (though far from all) of the great work on ABC.

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Luke, I think you are a fair-minded individual and you did well organising the recent event at the Wheatsheaf. You did not anticipate Tony's ill-health and having to go it solo as an organiser. With a bit of mutual luck you may get to meet a young relative of mine next year. She will be an English Studies first year student at Queen Mary College provided she is not too hampered by her dyslexia and gets  good enough A-level grades to get in.heart All the best       Elsie

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

I have no problem with it Luke, my observation were not meant to create controversy but as an exchange of views with other contributors. I always knew that the picks were subjective and you have just confirmed it. As I said I will still use my own perception regardless of whether a piece has been cherried or not. I rely more on hits and number of comments; if  find any of my pieces that are unpopular I delete them.

 

Submitted by Luke Neima on

Thanks for the vote of confidence, both smiley. I know any awards system can be a cause of stress or worry or disappointment, and I hope that's not too much the case here!

Elsie - great to hear your relative is coming up to London. You should let her know about ABC! With any luck we'll all see one another at one of our get-togethers next year.

And Luigi - all your poetry has something to it, and I hope a lack of popularity doesn't cause you to shelve them indefinitely. Even if the ideas are spot on in one iteration, they may well be the source of inspiration years down the line!

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Many thanks for your kind words, Luke. I seem to have stirred a hornet's nest with my observations on cherry picks  but I am not complaining about the award system, how can I, with 98 cherries to my credit?

The reason I tend to delete unpopular pieces from the site is that it is unlikely they'll be revisited and they just clog the system. I have all my work saved anyway, if needed for future references. Your encouragemnt is a great motivator.

Cheers. yes