Some schoolboy verse

[pecunium]

My Marine Bio prof gave an extra credit assignment; write a poem about gills. The requirement: it has to have all the major structures.

The fish drinks its air
Moving water past the pair

Of rakers, arches, and lamellae
Filaments, slits or opercula

Getting everything it needs
By, “breathing” as it feeds

When standing still
And at ramming speeds

Comments

High Standards?

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

Lucky the Prof doesn't read Making Light or you'd have to aim for a sonnet.

Re: High Standards?

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

I thought about it, or a sestina.

But I am lazy, and those are hard.

Re: High Standards?

[foms.livejournal.com]

Maybe a rondeau or a double dactyl?

Re: High Standards?

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Such a thing would be a gaff.

Re: High Standards?

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

A sonnet, written well, is something hard,
But the rhythm falls, it does not strain,
So easy to the tongue of English bard,
It brings out life, as does the gentle rain.
The fish, in water held, has other thrills,
And cannot speak: it has no use for air.
Yet it must breathe, and so it uses gills;
One on each side, the customary pair.
Rakers, arches, slits, we students of the parts;
Filament, opercula, lamellae;
By names control, as if by magic arts.
But, just in case I've nam'd these parts in vain
The gill I want is labelled Allt-a-Bhainne

Re: High Standards?

[sylphslider.livejournal.com]

*applause*

Re: High Standards?

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

I missed a line.

Oops.

Re: High Standards?

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Brava, but the sonnet is, sadly, not my form.

On the other hand... I think I may have a gill of Caol Ila, and I may share this with my prof.

[wetdryvac.livejournal.com]

*grins*

OK, that made my day. Thanks.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

If you haven't already turned this in, may I offer one minor punctuation correction?

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

It was to be read out, I don't know how she is grading the extra credit.

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

That's adorable.

[georgiamagnolia.livejournal.com]

I hope you get full credit for that bit of wonderfulness!

[cavyherd.livejournal.com]

Your marine bio prof is very silly. You ought to point her to ML. She seems like Just Our Sort.

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Perhaps, and perhaps not. She is about my age, and I like her, but I suspect she has not the time (several classes, and a couple of kids, and lord knows what all else.

This is the class taking the most of my effort, and in some ways the most of my time, because it involves a hundred miles of driving every couple of weeks (and a 200 miles drive once).

Which is all on twisty roads and is good for my motorcycling.