Friday, June 27, 2014

Portrait of a Pig by Jamie Wyeth
 Well, it's not quite Poetry Friday, but I'm going to write this up early (Wednesday) and schedule it to post on Friday. I'm headed down to Eugene, Oregon, for a few days - who knows whether I'll have time to post it later.  My daughter and her husband are going to run there in the Dirty Dash (mud at the home stretch) and my seven-year-old grandson is running in the Piglet Plunge. A muddy time is guaranteed for all, photos are sure to follow. In honor of all things piggy - and hoggish -  I offer up this original poem for your reading pleasure.



SONG OF THE HOG

It’s true, I grunt. I’m low. I lurk.
I roll in mud. I muck about. 
When dinner comes, no matter what,
I scarf it up and soil my snout
and gulp with such abandon that
my cousin pigsters get left out.
Ferocious Me!  That’s who I am –
I nip the runts and make them shout,
“O, Rotund One! O, Royal Swine!
You are the barnyard’s Master Lout.
We’re curly-tailed and pink and squealy,
but you are the Porcine King, no doubt! “
Quite right! Quite right!  I understand
what being a Hog is all about! 

I think Jamie Wyeth, whose "Portrait of a Pig" heads up this post, painted the swiney guy I was thinking of. Here's a bit of trivia: The real-life subject of this painting ate seventeen tubes of the artist's paint while no one was looking. O, Rotund One!






 
 



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12 comments:

  1. Buffy SilvermanJune 27, 2014 at 12:14 PM

    A piglet plunge! Sounds like seven-year old heaven. As is your Song of the Hog--love the soiled snout, the runt nipping, and the piglet admiration of the porcine king!

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  2. jamaJune 27, 2014 at 4:09 PM

    Your poem is the oinkiest!

    17 tubes of paint, oh my . . .

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  3. AnonymousJune 27, 2014 at 5:19 PM

    If hogs could talk, they'd definitely talk like this one...great job. And the paint story made it all the more fun.

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  4. catherinemjohnson.comJune 27, 2014 at 6:51 PM

    What a great poem and story. That pig ought to have made an abstract painting with its tongue. I'm surprised it wasn't ill.

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  5. Violet N.June 27, 2014 at 7:51 PM

    Channeling swine now, are we? What a great read-aloud. I especially love these lines:

    “O, Rotund One! O, Royal Swine! You are the barnyard’s Master Lout. We’re curly-tailed and pink and squealy, but you are the Porcine King, no doubt!"

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  6. Mary LeeJune 28, 2014 at 3:48 AM

    Five oinks for your poem!

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  7. Heidi MordhorstJune 28, 2014 at 4:36 AM

    Hi, Julie--

    I hadn't realize that you've gone back to full-time writing--how wonderful for you! That's a very hoggy voice you rooted up. For answer, I direct you to
    http://myjuicylittleuniverse.blogspot.com/2011/11/oink-tuesday-dad-is.html
    :))

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  8. Diane MayrJune 28, 2014 at 10:33 AM

    I love it, Julie! And I like the story behind the painting.

    Speaking of livestock...the cow tanka I sent you a while back, has been made into a haiga. I'm posting it tomorrow, 6/29. I'll put up a link on the Facebook, too.

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  9. Author AmokJune 30, 2014 at 6:35 PM

    What a voice this pig has! I did a mud run with my son and my brother a few years ago. How did yours go?

    Your poem also reminded me of one of our favorite rhyming picture books: The Piggy in the Puddle by Charlotte Pomerantz. You guessed it -- the piggy gets pretty muddy.

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  10. Julie June 30, 2014 at 7:39 PM

    There was a glitch with the Piglet Plunge timing and our grandson didn't get to run! But his mom and dad got muddy - we're waiting for photos. I'm going to go look up that Piggy in the Puddle - thanks for the heads up. And thanks for all the comments, friends - I'm glad you enjoyed my HOG.

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  11. Michelle Heidenrich BarnesJuly 1, 2014 at 6:51 PM

    A noble pig poem if ever I heard one! Most excellent.

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  12. GatheringBooksJuly 2, 2014 at 4:32 PM

    Now this sounds like a way to live - really getting down in the dirt and just having so much fun! A few of my husband's cousins in California do their annual mud run and they post a lot of fun pictures of that experience. I hope you enjoy yourselves! :)

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