POETIC PRECEDENT: The current poem seems to be a sequel to John Keats' "La Belle Dame sans Merci", 1819.
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La Belle Dame sans Merci fantasy rendering, Kirikam: after Sir John Dicksee |
SONGLINK: The original Keats' poem has been set to music in a pastiche found on our sister blog "Giorgio's Ukable Parodies"
LA BELLE PLAGE SANS JETSKI
(A Saga of Escape to Sarasota Bay from the Lake Erie Shoreline)
O what can ail thee, pale Canuck,
Gulf-coast and condo visiting,
Where the seagrass thrives along the Bay,
And Snowbirds sing ?
O what can ail thee, pale Canuck,
Jet-charter'd and still shov'ling sore ?
The pompano is on the grill, fresh-
-Squozen juice U-pour.
I watched an ibis in the reeds,
And anguish'd "Need I ne'er go North?'
When rang a lady-elf with her
Clipboard and Porsche.
She drove me in her pager'd steed,
Past time-shar'd mangroves, egrets soar;
And there I fill'd her travel-mug
With Starbucks' pour.
We tour'd beachfront, boat-access too,
Benz'd realtors, well-bronz'd were they all,
They chirp'd, 'La Belle Plage sans Jetski -
Close to the Mall.'
She drove me to Siesta Key.
En route I daydream'd, drawbridge high'd,
November's permanent escape
From the froze Lake-side.
And that is why few winter there,
Valve-closed or Erie-watering,
Though the sludge is filtered from the Lake
And no bugs sting.
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