Tonight, Frank is serving behind the bar at dVerse Poets Pub, asking us to provide an acrostic poem (you’ll just have to follow the link and read his descriptions). I wrote this at work today, and think it’s just fine in its original state. Contact me if you need a translation!
Life in Portofino 
Well said, my friend. And that cartoon is a great match. A return to civility is a beautiful dream.
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Yes, well… perhaps only civil people will see that and acknowledge the need. Still, a potential of failure to persuade is not a reason not to attempt… (or something like that…).
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Absolutely. Reasonable people need to speak up even in a time when manners are seen as a sign of weakness.
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Manners?!? Do people still have manners? Haha!
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You got that right Charley! An ounce of civility’s better than all the righteous indignation that will ever be trumpeted, lol
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Very nice and a nice cartoon to go with that. After incivility sugary words don’t taste sweet anymore.
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Thank you, Frank! And you are quite right about sugary words.
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Great acrostic poem, so creatively presented. Bravo!
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Thank you, kind lady!
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Firstly, I LOVE that cartoon!!! Secondly, your poem echoes what I have been feeling so much lately. (Bristled people, hopped up on stress, bullying co-workers comes to mind right now.) The ‘later’ line is so true – I know I am guilty of that one.
I also love that you posted a picture of your writing, although, I have to wonder about the ‘fish’ in the top, right corner of your paper… (gill?) Good job, Charley!
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There’s a story behind Gill, to be sure! But, thank you, Jill! I’m glad you enjoy my sense and sensibilities… and my Mansfield Parks!
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HA! Invoking the spirit of Jane – extra credit for you! (Not sure what it all means, but…)
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A poet doesn’t have to mean… a poet just is. 🙂
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That’s ‘poem,’ not poet. 🙂
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I like your presentation of your acrostic. It makes it more raw and real. Incivility…once done is not long forgotten. Excellent work.
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Thank you!
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That there sugared sludge? Long as it’s sweet, I eat!
Haha, who’s Gill?
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A long story, that! Glad you enjoyed the poem.
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Sugared words melt. This is wonderful Charley, and well presented with the writing and cartoon. Love it!
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Thank you!
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Unique acrostic! This is common sense, taking the higher road, a much needed attitude!
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I’m glad people are starting to think so. Mean people suck. (I used to see that on bumper stickers…)
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Great poem. Love the cartoon and the presentation of your acrostic.
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Thank you! It was much easier to post this way….
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Love think that we have a long way back to civility again.
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Yeah, back from our most recent stone age. Glad you enjoyed it!
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I like this poem and the fact that you let us see the original, handwritten version. That’s kind of cool.
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Thank you! I was responding to some really hurtful events (not towards me). I’m glad you appreciate it.
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Reminds me of the Prologue in Romeo and Juliet: ‘Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean’. I love the cartoon, Charley, the layout of the acrostic, and that it is handwritten makes it more personal 😉
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Yes! Well, of course I had Shakespeare in mind…. 🙂
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😊
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Well said Charley, I especially love that you have written your acrostic poem by hand – such a powerful gesture 🤗
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Thank you!
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Couldn’t agree more, some manners and civility and compassion and kindness- after all they cost nothing.
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Thank you!
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Stepping on people is never good, especially for personal gain. The cartoon is priceless and I found your handwritten note refreshing.
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This is true. Thank you!
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Cleverly well written and the cartoons match exactly your acrostic poetic feel. 🙂
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Thank you, Charlie! I will be by to peruse your latest in a little bit. In a writing mood; you understand!
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Understand completely. See you on my blog soon. 🙂
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I’m with all of what they said ( not sure if they are above or below but you know who I mean)
What really made me smile was the use of yea.verily. Genius.
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I stole it from a good source; either King James or Shakespeare.
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Cannot but agree.
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I know. It’s like telling someone to breathe. You shouldn’t have to….
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“… Our / Incivility / Tells more about us than sugared words ever will.” How very true. Even “in the right”, incivility renders us wrong; on the other hand, beyond sugaring words and deeds, civility is to spare others, who’re as imperfect as us, the margin of errors. (The wrongs to be right, the rights to be wrong?) Always a challenge, when the mote seems larger than the beam…
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Colin, I learn more about you with every interaction. You have more than a smattering of biblical knowledge – at least enough to quote it wisely and in context. You studied in NY. Which college, if you don’t mind my curiosity?
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It was a tiny SUNY liberal arts college in the Rochester area — with enough snow to keep our heads chill all year round. The admission lady was so kind I couldn’t hesitate to fly right over. There were fewer people than squirrels, and fewer Chinese than my fingers — couldn’t be more antithetical to HK. The handicapped system of HK told me I was no good in physics (#2 from the pit’s bottom), so I entered college with business in mind. A physics professor from my gen ed class convinced me to minor, and eventually major, in physics. One of the best decisions in my life, which also made me believe that American education, where the bureaucracy hasn’t tarnished, still has a lot to offer comparing to most. Thank you for the compliment; but I owe my biblical memory to Google (or Bing, in China). lol
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I never listened to any of my guidance counselors… in high school or college. That’s why I ended up with a bachelor’s degree in… nearly everything. Among the many things the tests they gave told me I should be was a teacher. Also a writer, a minister. The only thing I became that wasn’t listed in the results was meteorologist. (I have no math background, and doubtful aptitude, but that didn’t keep the Air Force from making me a meteorologist.)
I wasn’t aware that Bing knew the bible. But I guess if Satan reads it and shivers….
I know the school you’re talking about in Rochester. I spent time in a place further north in New York, that makes Rochester’s winters seem snow-less.
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Me: O, poor Bing, let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of search engines–
Bing: Take no thought, Colin. Jesus I know, Paul I know … and Charles I know also, verily.
All things to all men, Charley. What a heck of a renaissance man you are. And you should see how mutual this curiosity is with my fair share of disclosure. Apart from physics, I minored in business, spent two years with a theatre (theater) production, taught an introductory lab on acoustic science, played the piano for the Chinese club’s annual events (maybe there were more Chinese than my piano fingers, after all, hm…), audited half a semester of french (never mind that!), and worked as the only math tutor on campus who was neither a math major nor minor. What I should have done also but didn’t have time for was literature / writing. And, somewhat like yourself, I was at one point suggested to sign up for seminary (but, unlike you, I didn’t attend any). Then, to the surprise of everyone (that I didn’t go to grad school), I went into manufacturing.
If you were only guessing, it wasn’t Brockport. 😉
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