Thursday, January 5, 2012

Buy Any Other Name

“Were you my girlfriend,” I said to Maureen, “I wouldn’t bore you with roses on Valentine’s Day, I’d give you . . . Peonies!” in yet another bout of barroom bravado from the boy who knew nothing of peonies beyond the funny name; who, come February, would search in vain for their blooms among more traditional fare; who’d eventually have to settle for a perfectly respectable crocus— supplemented with a poem, mind you—that ended:

     Still there is a better reason . . .
     The peony is out of season,
     And, though it may be really nice,
     It can’t be bought at any price.

No dice.

9 comments:

  1. a crocus for valentine sounds like the perfect flower to me..smiles..this is lovely

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  2. smiles....ha, no dice...you know, any flower will do...until you open your mouth and brag that you will setting the expectation...smiles...

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  3. lol love the no dice ending. A flower is a flower to me though, although the cat will eat any at my hall.

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  4. The joke would have backfired twice - learn this of peonies: When they're picked within hours they shatter. It is a sad commentary on a relationship. Stick to the durables...with flowers and girls. Most prefer daisies!

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  5. I don't think the words "No dice" will go over all that well, but being out of the market these days, who knows? However any gesture is better than none.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the feedback, Robin. I did not intend "no dice" to be read as part of the poem, but I can see how you thought that it was. "No dice" was the response to the poem, and so I've changed the format of the piece to make that a little more obvious.

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