Tuesday, March 9, 2021 Ogden Nash Recollections

I bought a huge tome of the selected poetry of Ogden Nash, so you can expect to see his poetry with some regularity here. To kick it off today, here’s a poem that our children would all recognize, since we bought it in the form of a board book with funny illustrations and read it to them many times they were young.

The Hippopotamus
Behold the hippopotamus!
We laugh at how he looks to us,
And yet in moments dank and grim
I wonder how we look to him.
Peace, peace, thou hippopotamus!
We really look all right to us,
As you no doubt delight the eye
Of other hippopotami.

And speaking of Ogden Nash, I got permission from my friend Teresa to share her experience in high school reciting one of his poems:

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THE SCENE:  The year is 1973/1974; I am a Freshman standing in front of my High School English class, shaking in my required-footwear uniform saddle shoes; it’s my turn to recite – from memory – a poem that I have found “meaningful”; The class is bored beyond words and half asleep; but Sister Estelle (about 100 years old and wearing full Nun-hood regalia) has given me her full attention.

I had memorized several poems, but in my traumatized state of mind I quickly chose the shortest poem from my inventory:

                                           The Turtle by Ogden Nash

                                        The turtle lives ‘twixt plated decks

                                        Which practically conceal its sex

                                         I think it clever of the turtle

                                          In such a fix to be so fertile.  

Ten or 12 seconds of perfectly paced recitation, and my trial by public speaking was over – or so I thought.   The mention of the word “sex” seemed to bring the class out of its stupor as they came alive with giggles.  Sister Estelle motioned for me to stay put as I attempted to return to my seat.  She seemed a bit unsteady, but recovered quickly and restored order in the classroom.  I still remember the feeling of dread as I realized I was directly in Sister Estelle’s line of fire.  She asked me “What did you find meaningful about that poem?”   I couldn’t tell her that I chose it because it was short poem, and that I simply wanted to get my presentation over quickly. So I said, honestly enough, that I found the poem to be funny.  Sister Estelle didn’t seem to accept that  response.

Then from somewhere in my brain the words tumbled out ( at least this is a close approximation):  “The late Ogden Nash (passed away in 1971) was a well-known and popular American comic poet.  He wrote a number of short poems (and longer poems as well), often with unconventional rhymes, that elicited laughter from his readers”.

Sister Estelle blinked,  and I was released from her steely gaze to live another day..!

Postscript:  When heading down the student-packed hall to my next class, I endured more than a few teasing remarks…  Is it any wonder that “The Turtle” poem has been forever seared into my brain cells….?!?

From Teresa, Who is Actually Quite Fond of Turtles

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Thanks, Teresa!

I imagine many of us can relate to having a memory which has been seared into our brains like that, but it’s wonderful to redeem it by making it into a well-told story. Bravo!

I’ll probably delete this in the morning unless I turn turtle.