Monday, May 24, 2010

Oodles of Odes

Deb: ODE TO A SPARKLER

In Canada, hooray, it’s Victoria Day,
And we celebrate this in a most special way.
We come to pay homage to our long dead queen
And celebrate her life, for it’s in our genes.
We emerge from our winter homes primed for the sun
And run to buy fireworks, the fun has begun.
We stand on our streets; we stand neighbour to neighbour
And shout oooh and ahhh at the fruits of our labour.

But there is one little gem on this traditional night
That stays in my heart with its light burning bright,
The simple wee sparkler with its festive display
Like a tiny bright fairy lighting my way.
It can take me way back to my days as a child
When the summer was starting, and the weather turned mild.
In its light I see my parents wrapped in their youth
In its buzzing I hear laughter, memories, truth,
Truth in traditions that make the world sweet
All over the planet and on our tiny street.

Barbara: ODE TO AN ODE

Dear Deb, how I love your beautiful ode
To sparklers and neigbours and a traditional mode.
I cherish these things very much as you do,
Memories of warm nights, cold beer, and fireworks too.
But homage to queens of British descent
Don’t do much except maybe make me resent
That I’ve never had blood of this Anglophile line.
So I may well be a disrespectful bovine
When I say, “Queen Victoria, well, fiddle-dee-dee,
I don’t give a fig that they named a holiday for thee,
But I’ll party, relax, and savour the break
And light sparklers and hug neighbours for your glorious sake.”

Thanks for humouring us, everyone! We have posted NEW FUN STUFF to Side of Slaw and WTF?!  Click over to read.

Happy Victoria Day … or Monday, whichever you prefer!

5 comments:

  1. Enjoy the day off, ladies. I heard the east has had pleasant weather over the long weekend. Today we've got (here in Sask) sun and a slight wind with ice in it, and that's fine with me after two or three days of an everlovin' wind that practically took me off my feet more than once and snapped the delicate stems of a number of my bedding plants.

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  2. Relishing it, we are! Weather is gorgeous. Best in years. Thanks, MK, and stay warm!

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  3. Hope you had a great holiday, with lots of good sunshine, good food, good cheer and good company :)

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  4. Thanks, Joanne! In fact, we did. It was just truly the nicest day. xo

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  5. Thanks all for the well wishes, it was a great Victoria Day all round. Long live her majesty Queen Elizabeth no matter what my partner Barb says! (cause I'm almost sure Victoria's dead)

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