Weeklings
Monday's child consumes her face,
Tuesday's child is lost in space.
Wednesday's child's not what he seems,
Thursday's child's a drug that dreams.
Friday's child works hard for her money
so Saturday's child can steal it on Sunday.
And the child that's born on Black Sabbath day
buys the blind bride a ring, then walks away.
Banker, oilman, Blackwater sniper
dance before the unpaid piper.
~June 2016
posted for real toads
Optional Musical Accompaniment
Image by Edward Gorey, via the internet
No copyright infringement intended
Dark and angry! I like it!
ReplyDeleteThere is something about the word "child", in this poem, that drills into the bones and does strange things there. I almost expect a mildly amused, cruel face to be starting at me, singing the words, her voice a sharp stick in the ribs. The last four lines in particular... rick with sharp edges, dark, and vivid.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for coming out to play, Hedge! ♥
But...this isn't how I remember that rhyme! LOL. This is creepy and absolutely delightful. What about presumptive nominee inspiring terror; there must be some kind of f**king error! ?
ReplyDeleteI think I like that one best of all. Thanks, Shay.
DeleteWhat a great way to present a nursery rhyme... actually I heard that many of the most popular nursery rhymes originally had a political meaning...
ReplyDeleteI much more apt version for the society of today! This rings true in a most sinister way.
ReplyDeleteIt's the simplest rhymes that can be the hit the hardest isn't it? This one is deceptive -- you think it may be sweet but it's very, very creepy! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHey Joy--I really enjoyed comparing this rhyme to the rather smug Mother Goose version, which I always rather disliked because I was born on a Saturday--and it seemed rather an indictment of what seemed to be unwinding even in childhood. Your version here is an Alice in the Looking Glass sort of take with, of course, the modern edge. The title feels especially apt and for me is kind of a key, maybe even more than the last couplet, though that's of course powerful. The Gorey is fantastic. Thanks, k.
ReplyDeleteBut of course
ReplyDeleteI agree with Magaly about the use of "child" the entirety is eerily enjoyable! :)
ReplyDeleteyou've taken creepy to a new level ;-)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant!
ReplyDeleteIf character is fate, then these chilling chillen have a lot to thank the oily tribe at the end, our floundered fathers ... The black face of this would explode if it wasn't so immaculate, so ... delightfully geared. Cheers Hedge, you nailed it to the doublewide trailer where hides the 21st century schizoid dude.
ReplyDeleteDamn, I wish that I had written this!
ReplyDeleteThis updated nursery rhyme feels perfectly suited for modern day while still inspiring old fashioned shudders.
ReplyDeleteYes, damn... I sure wish I had written this.
ReplyDeletereminds me of Solomon Grundy - who would still be preferable to the shitstorm we now face. ~
ReplyDelete