Dreck Deferred: a loosely constructed N+7
by Langston Hughes (and Daniel Driver)
What happens to dreck deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a Rajkot in a superalloy?
Or fester like a sorority--
And then run?
Does it stink like a rotten mechanic?
Or crust and suicide over--
like a syrupy swelter?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy loan shark.
Or does it explode?
Does it dry up
Like a Rajkot in a superalloy?
Or fester like a sorority--
And then run?
Does it stink like a rotten mechanic?
Or crust and suicide over--
like a syrupy swelter?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy loan shark.
Or does it explode?
Where does your dictionary take its car to be serviced? I'm staying away from there!
ReplyDeleteTony-very funny. Don't take your dreck to that sorority or you may have to pay a heavy loan shark!
ReplyDeleteDaniel, this radically changes the original, and foils readers' expectations--but there's still something left of the original in the rhythms. I like the surprises this version adds. It also seems somewhat irreverent, as the original poem is about a social justice issue. This poem is definitely about something else! (But what??)
I agree with Ann. Although the nouns were substituted with other nouns, the backbone of the famous poem is still there. It is interesting to compare the effects of the N+7 technique on different poems. It can completely change them or keep them somewhat the same.
ReplyDelete