The original invitation to write:
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Hello, Virtual Poets,
My friend's business, Leepfrog Technologies, is having its ten year anniversary this week. His philosophy has always been, "as soon as it's no longer fun to run or work in this company, It's time to get out." He's having a celebration later this week, and is sending out invitation cards to his employees tomorrow. A company he hired to make the cards came up with a good Shakespear quote for the inside, but got too artsy and irrelevant when they tried to write the haiku for the outside. Why does my friend want haiku? I dunno. He came to me looking for a haiku or three for this invite cover -- something with a more casual feel to it, and less of the artsy-poseur style. With the words "no style" in mind, I immediately figured I'd write to a few of the virtual poets, in case you hadn't fully exorcised the haiku bug you shared recently. His company's site is at www.leepfrog.com, and his original slogan for the company was, "We do internet stuff." If you're inspired today, great, though I realize some might think it's heretical to apply a VPS challenge towards practical ends. I'm sure it won't become a habit. Thanks, -Ken |
The replies came in, and I wrote back again:
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Virtual Poets,
Thank you very much for writing, well, anything on such short notice. I passed everything along to Leepfrog's owner as I received it, possibly dooming our friendship. I did warn him that VPS poets often write by mottos such as "Quantity over quality" and sometimes "Haste in all things poetry". To that end, punching 'send' with barely the courtesy of waiting to receive the challenge, wrote Virtual Poet Stacia Roesler: |
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give cause for celebration: all fun, all the time ________________________________________ Ten fun years later Internet stuff still being done So let's celebrate ________________________________
We survive, not they;
other dot coms gone away.
Hail our excellence!
____________________________________
Still fun to work here
No such thing as too much fun
More fun is needed
_________________________________________
Other dot coms gone
but here we're all still employed
So let's celebrate
________________________________________
Morose folks, leave us:
Within this place we have fun
And have for ten years.
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Well and quickly writ, Stacia. Thank you.
Moments later Virtual Poet Martha Cowley chimed in with a bit of Irish haiku: |
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who requests of our brains: an iota of wit and virtuosity on Monday - quite a curiosity 3 verses, he claims is his quota...
time spent watching paint peeling My how time flies. |
| ...and moments later, an addendum: |
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(great wine, great website: http://www.frogsleap.com) Mabe something like....
"Time's fun when you're having flies"; We've had lotsa flies. |
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Leepfrog's owner is familiar with Frogsleap wine -- he received a bottle of it, once, because of the theme. He's not really wild about the stuff. But you can bet if there's one thing he has in common with Frogsleap's owner, it's that, together, they've probably gotten more frog-related crap on birthdays and holidays than pretty much anyone except maybe Jim Henson.
Virtual Poet Pat Welsch took the meta-haiku approach. But he got points in my mind for invoking Shakespear, which is to appear on the inside of the invite. Actually, I can't say for sure, but I think the 'party' the employees are going to includes a group attendance of an outdoor play at the local Shakespear theatre -- Taming of The Shrew this year. |
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Iambic pentameter; I can't count that high.
While painful in it's three lines, Will be over soon. |
| Virtual Poet Wynn Klosky kept it short and sweet: |
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A frog offers solutions. This isn't child's play!
Peace, VP Wynn |
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How true! Ironically, Virtual Poet Wynn excels at keeping it real.
VP Martha then wrote in one last time: |
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inside the invitation open it you will
celebration for summer no sunblock needed
celebration for summer bring your own beer mug
I'm hanging up my pen. - Martha |
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I think the wine and beer references made this her best effort yet.
Virtual Poet Founder Dave Welsch I think possibly nailed the spirit of what Lee was looking for with a bit of haiku that was markedly self-depricating (for Leepfrog, not for him): |
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We do internet stuff. And We support the arts.
In all that time, no one has Questioned our spelling?
List of our famous clients: Oops, haiku is done.
Great service, and just a touch Of whimsey. Ribbet.
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By the way, Lee Page Brintle is the name of the owner. He named the company, sort of after himself. I'd bet a lot of his new hires don't make that connection, though.
VP Martha, put in this last minute effort: |
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Electronic Artistry one night to party |
| My own submission in the name of the Virtual Poets Society was: |
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Number one resource. But how Extremely cliche.
Fault our lack of decorum Envy our workplace
May only be challenged by Wikipedia
Fittingly commemorate With William Shakespear ... |
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To shamelessly adapt an old Henny Youngman line: If a good poem is rare these days, then that was well done indeed.
Thanks again, everyone, for writing back so quickly. I'll let you know whether Lee used any or, unlikely, all of your efforts. Virtual Poet Ken Welsch |
But wait! The next day, there was more in my inbox:
| Again, from Virtual Poet Stacia Roesler: |
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Frog's Leap wine is LOVELY. Since I must now question the owner's taste in wines, I have another entry with a suitably ambiguous last line:
Join us for Swill and Shakespeare; one will be tasteful. |
| From Virtual Poet DaveWelsch: |
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> > By the way, Lee Page Brintle is the name of the owner. He named the
In the (clearly already demonstrated) Virtual Poet spirit of not knowing when to quit, even in the face of explicit statements like "We're done now. Submissions no longer accepted. Stop. Go away!", here's one more in light of the above-mentioned fact ("Why didn't you list that among our assets!?"):
"Leepfrog" was a right good choice: "Leepbrintle" don't work.
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| And again: |
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"Haste in all things poetry" Sounds great in Latin. |