Friday, September 16, 2005

Song For The Quinquennium

I reproduce here my submission to My Favorite Word.

Quinquennium. Not too many words start with a 'q', and this one has two 'q's! Really like the way it sounds too.

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SONG FOR THE QUINQUENNIUM
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English's list of Q-words:
Not many in queue.
I searched "five years"!
At last found a good one
not just starting with Q
but which in fact had two!
I just love it, won't you too?
Please do take my cue.

-Thomas Jay Cubb
http://incubbator.blogspot.com

I wonder why this word is not more in vogue; a quinquennium is a more practical measure to track your life with than a decade is, come to think of it...

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This became, very soon, the first version of "About A Word" (final version at CubbSpace)

This is a poem about the word quiniquennium which means "five years", it is in fact my favourite word. somebody had asked me yesterday, so that's where the inspiration comes from all of a sudden..

it's very very experimental.has its rough edges, so let me know what you think... so that i can finalize... .

luv
thomas


ABOUT A WORD
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English words starting with 'Q'
Are, queerly, a quite quiescent few.
Query anyone, "Not many in queue".
A quixotic five-year lexical quest (quite untrue)
And I found the word most q-true-blue!

Half a decade, it's my favourite
(The word's quinquennium)
Say it aloud, savour it
Ain't it cute, sounds so.. yum-yum?
No question, better than all the rest of'em.

For not only does it start with a 'Q',
It has one to spare too: two!

-Thomas Jay Cubb
(September 15, 2005)

4 comments:

  1. Rajan Medhekar

    Quinone, quinine, quinquefoliate - I knew Quinquagesima, quinsy, quintessence - and then a few.
    Even quintillion and quodlibet, but quiniquennium -quotha* ! is in another class !
    Quite the word that a quizzer (like you) might ask!

    Thanks for the word! A once in a few quiniquenniums kind of word !

    Rajan Uncle.
    PS: I'd replied to you in another email with a stanza or two - do you have a copy? If so please send it. Also, what's your cell number?
    *quotha = (archaic) indeed; forsooth

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  2. Lisa Thomas

    Surprisingly I was quite impressed. (Sorry, I'm not your greatest fan) until I came to these two lines and was so put off I didn't read the rest.

    Ain't it cute, sounds so.. yum-yum?
    No question, better than all the rest of'em.

    It jars and the tone changes. Either change the rest to match that tackiness or fix these to match the cleverness of the rest.

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  3. Reply To Lisa

    >Surprisingly I was quite impressed
    I am surprised too, that anybody liked it! It's so experimental and bordering on the ridiculous!

    And thanks for not being my greatest fan...really... "Fanship cloudeth the critic mind"

    Remember Jim Carrey in Dumb & Dumber?
    JC: "What are the chances of your loving me?"
    W: "About one in a million."
    JC: "So there is a chance!!!!
    :-)

    I didn't like those two lines either. Will change it. Jazzed up/down version by today evening.
    My favourite rhyme in the poem was (...favourite/....savour it)

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  4. Rivas K Hameed

    Cute....

    Here's some things that one could maybe use

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    A goverment makes 5 year plans of rubbish.
    Why is that? A reformists quinnenium fetish?

    What might be the word "quinnenium" be, I wonder
    But a dab of royalty, a bit of uncertainty and a final word of ponder
    -----------------------------------

    Sorry..... I couldnt come up with more....
    I do like the spirit of your poems.
    ________________________________

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