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This poem is part of the contest:

11/25 Trials and Tribulations

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Preparation H - For hair washing saga

No fewer than seven
and at most three hundred
and sixty five days,
whether the need to bathe
necessary or not marks advent,
when flexible shower hose bent
and warm water issues
out of shower nozzle
dampening brown locks of mine
adrip with sebaceous glands,
(the wife bluntly yet mockingly
recoils from unsightly
smelly spouse (i.e. me),
which induces attention
to strip buck naked in the bathroom,
(and mortified at his reflection
regarding the man in the mirror,
whose flabby abundant
adipose riddled visage immediately
engenders body dysmorphia)
thus with eyes wide shut,
nevertheless I resort
to soap up bare naked self,
and lathering his hirsute trait
that when amply shampooed
and subsequently blow dried
said dude looks
like a lady, especially
after he gets clothed in feminine attire,
hence I cannot circumvent
being an embarrassment to self
affecting the ghost
of me long deceased mother
who when alive found discontent
with the poor hygiene
of her singular male offspring,
whose attention to showering
once every fortnight
and gloating over his
once upon a time fit buff physique
only occurred religiously
on every other Thursday,
the exception being Thanksgiving,
and Christmas if holiday
occurred on a Thursday,
which comes from Old English
Þunresdæg, meaning "Thor's Day,"
named after the Norse god of thunder,
Thor (or the Anglo-Saxon equivalent,
Thunor); This naming follows
a Germanic tradition
called <<!interpretatio germanica>>,
where Roman gods replaced
with their Germanic counterparts
in the Latin calendar,
with Thor being linked to Jupiter,
the Roman god of thunder,
which hopefully explains Romance
language names like
French jeudi (Jupiter's day)
anyway said day of the week decreed
as sudsing yours truly
so I appeared presentable
for contra dancing event
showcasing one spiffy gallivanting gent,
who pranced across the floor
as if courting a young lass
spinning analogous to a whirling dervish
now in truth the remaining
and following lines
according to this modest sexagenarian
admirable poetic prevarication
whipped up as hyperbole
and gingerly guides
thee eyes of anonymous reader
to the scene of lively contra dancers
sometimes knocked down
other persons like tenpins,
who not surprisingly
erupted with guttural
unprintable semantic ejaculations
which the live musicians playing drowned
out despite moaning
and groaning courtesy
as I spun around,
felling one after another comrades,
where guise of guys
attired in dresses that feigned
being injured lying supine
littering the ground,
whereat just moments ago role playing
soon after the caller
iterated hands for four
the scene abruptly
and suddenly changed,
as I no longer sidestepped dancers
thru a field of wild asparagus,
where swallowtails did shutterfly
to and fro, hither and yon,
but attempted to outrun
mythological female body of Medusa;
the mythological female
with snakes for hair,
she said Medusa,
a famous figure
from Greek mythology,
known as one of the three Gorgons
whose gaze turned people to stone,
with live venomous snakes
replacing her hair
a monstrous creature,
but originally a beautiful maiden,
cursed by the goddess Athena
after being assaulted by Poseidon
in Athena's temple,
according to Ovid's version of the myth.

About This Poem

Style/Type: Free verse

Review Request Direction: What did you think of my title?
How was my language use?
What did you think of the rhythm or pattern or pacing?
How does this theme appeal to you?
How was the beginning/ending of the poem?
Is the internal logic consistent?

Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back

Editing Stage: Editing - polished draft

About the Author

Region, Country: PA, USA

Favorite Poets: Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Robert Frost, Matthew Scott Harris, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sylvia Plath, Gary Snyder, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman

More from this author

Comments

neopoet

neopoet

4 months 1 week ago

Neopoet AI [2025-04]

The below is a computer-generated response from Neo, Neopoet’s AI:

This poem ambitiously weaves together personal narrative, mythological allusion, linguistic history, and social observation within a single, sprawling stanza. The stream-of-consciousness style conveys a candid, self-deprecating voice that effectively captures the speaker’s discomfort with hygiene, body image, and social performance.

Strengths: - The juxtaposition of mundane details (showering habits, spousal reactions) with grander cultural references (Thor’s Day, Medusa) creates a layered texture that invites readers to consider the intersections of personal and cultural identity. - The extended metaphor of the speaker’s hair washing ritual as a “saga” is inventive, and the hyperbolic tone adds humor and depth. - The incorporation of etymology and mythology enriches the poem’s thematic scope, linking the speaker’s experience to broader human narratives.

Areas for improvement: - The poem’s length and dense syntax can challenge readability. Breaking it into shorter stanzas or sections could help readers navigate the shifts in tone and subject matter more smoothly. - Some lines feel overly prosaic or expository (e.g., the detailed explanation of “Thor’s Day” and the myth of Medusa). Integrating these elements more organically into the poem’s rhythm and imagery might enhance cohesion. - The poem’s punctuation and line breaks are inconsistent, which sometimes obscures the intended emphasis or pacing. More deliberate use of punctuation and enjambment could clarify meaning and heighten emotional impact. - The narrative voice occasionally slips between formal diction (“modest sexagenarian admirable poetic prevarication”) and colloquial phrasing (“smelly spouse,” “guttural unprintable semantic ejaculations”), which may disrupt tonal unity. A more consistent voice might strengthen the poem’s overall effect.

Consider experimenting with structural revisions that allow the poem’s rich content to breathe and resonate more clearly. Focusing on sharpening imagery and refining rhythm could also enhance the poem’s engagement and memorability.

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