Blueberry Elf
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Poetry
This is a whimsical post in response to the Poetry Thursday May 17th prompt.
Editor’s note: Oh dear! Write funny? Don’t know how.
In person I’m reasonably witty, sometimes amusingly absurd. On occasions, I’ve had entire parties in serial laughter.
My funniness is sort of like “jazz” funniness. I need to be in person, playing off the banter and the energy of the moment — spontaneous. I do that kind of humor pretty well. But to ‘dry” write funny — no. I come off stiff and contrived.
However, I used to write these nonsensical little ditties, and make up accompanying songs, many years ago for my children — the youngest of which is now 29.
I’d teach the songs to my kids, and we’d ride around in my sky-blue Karmann Ghia singing them and laughing.
Once they got the lyrics down to memory, the kids would start ad libbing their own lyrics, each one trying to make the others laugh harder — those were great, “warm’n fuzzy” times.
This prompt from Poetry Thursday just put me in the mood to write one again, because as I said, I can’t write funny “HaHa” pieces.
Blueberry Elf
•
An angel-eyed, velvet-clad, blueberry elf,
while sitting alone on the very top shelf,
said it’s strange, even if I say so myself,
to be a blueberry elf, high on a shelf.
I like being part of a fam’ly of elves,
6 sisters, 5 brothers, in all I’m the twelfth.
But it really isn’t much fun on this shelf.
This is not a place for an angel-eyed elf!
Sometimes it’s hard being a velvet-clad elf,
I forgot to remember, up on this shelf,
I’m not big enough to get down by myself,
won’t somebody please help this blueberry elf?
So if you’re no bigger than a wee small elf,
don’t climb up for things, high on shelves, by yourself.
Find somebody big to get stuff off the shelf,
or you might get stuck like this blueberry elf.
It’s scary, stranded on a lonely old shelf!
…
Rob Kistner © 2007
May 13th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Hi Rob, you absolutely made my day!! I am in love with that angel-eyed, velvet clad blueberry elf! I keep re-reading it and love the sound of it, too. And it’s a cute touch how you wrote that the elf is the twelfth with 6 sisters and 5 brothers. Thank you!
May 13th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Clare -
So glad you liked it.
Just a bit of whimsy that dances on the tongue, and I hope in the heart.
May 14th, 2007 at 3:25 am
love the lightheartedness of this poem. makes one smile and pull little heart strings.
May 14th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Rax -
Happy you liked this bit of whimsy!
May 14th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Very whimsical and cute, indeed!
May 14th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Jennifer -
Thank you!
May 15th, 2007 at 7:24 am
Okay, Rob, now I’ll be seeing little blue elves on my shelves all day. Not that this is a bad thing. Thanks for the chance to lighten up my day.
Shine On,
Lill
May 15th, 2007 at 7:26 am
Funny! Sounds like you overdosed on blueberry muffins.
May 15th, 2007 at 8:14 am
Lill -
You’re welcome! As long as you don’t start talking to them — you’re OK. Besides, you should see what I see everyday — on second thought, probably you shouldn’t.
May 15th, 2007 at 8:21 am
Pat -
I probably overdosed on something long ago — not sure it was blueberry muffins. I remember some brownies…
May 16th, 2007 at 5:54 am
Rob!!! *applause*
What a wonderful and funny, yes funny poem you have penned, err typed? I can so relate to being lonely on the shelf, although I’m no elf.
Rose
xo
May 16th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Rose -
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed.
I think we’ve all found ourselves stuck on a proverbial “shelf”, of some kind or another, in our lives. And getting down can be tricky.
May 16th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Rob, this is wonderful! I love fairy tales so much. Just finished reading The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. Philosphy and fairy tales follow life’s path in parallel ways. If you know what I mean.
I couldn’t write a humorous poem. It just did not come. But I have posted something entirely different..:D
You can chk that and the previous pantoum too whenever you have time…
May 17th, 2007 at 12:11 am
Gautami -
Thank you! :) I am pleased you enjoyed this. It was fun to write.
Writing humor is difficult for me.
I will go to your site.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:57 am
I enjoyed this so much. I can hear little children’s voices singing it. Lovely!
May 17th, 2007 at 3:23 am
This is great fun. I enjoyed reading it. I am tempted to try my own now. Well written!
May 17th, 2007 at 3:33 am
Rob
I loved this too. Lovely rhythm and repetition which would really appeal to kids - the isolated last line is a great touch reminding us of the isolated elf.
Am fairly new to writing but not sure I could do whimsy like this.
May 17th, 2007 at 4:11 am
This was really a lot of fun. I have to agree that it just was such a pleasure to read. You were obviously a fantastic father to have sung songs like this to your children. Like most funny stories it is nice that you threw in a theme in the end.
May 17th, 2007 at 5:35 am
Hee hee… made me smile from ear to ear! And that’s a big thing these days! My husband’s father used to do things like that as well with his children- make up funny songs and stories for them, put on plays… it’s a great thing for children!
Kudos to you, Rob!
May 17th, 2007 at 7:13 am
GreenishLady -
It is a great feeling as a Dad to hear your kids sing and laugh with the enthusiasm of youth — genuinely having fun.
It was a gift to myself.
May 17th, 2007 at 7:15 am
Beaman -
Thank you for your kind words!
Please let me know if you do write one. I’d love to read it.
May 17th, 2007 at 7:19 am
Hope -
I appreciate your generous compliment.
To write whimsy one simply needs to find and again touch the sense of wonder that lifted us up as children.
It still abides in our soul — we’ve just been programmed by society to repress it.
May 17th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Chris -
Thank you!
I had great kids, so being a caring father came naturally. Most good whimsy has a simple moral or message in it — a theme, light teaching. I endeavored to remain faithful to that.
May 17th, 2007 at 7:26 am
Regina -
I’m glad I made you smile. We can all use a few more smiles in this world today. Here’s an extra one for the next time you might need it >>
Kudos to your father-in-law.
May 17th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Very sweet poem. I think I wrote a few ditties for my boys when they were small. Though I’m not sure I have any idea where they went.
Happy Poetry Thursday!
lisa
May 17th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Lisa -
Thank you!
My son Justin and I, after he read this ditty of mine, started trying to remember some of the ones made up when he, his brother, and his sister were young. We laughed again. It was great!
May 17th, 2007 at 10:44 am
What a delightful poem. It cheered up my morning. Thanks! Lisa
May 17th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Funny and sad, Rob. Poor Elf. I like it.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Lisa -
Thank you! I’m glad I brought a little happiness your way.
I read your piece about the Studebaker plant fire. Well written!
May 17th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Alex -
Thank you!
Yeah, poor little guy. Too much curiosity can get you in trouble sometimes, but it also what makes life worth living!
May 17th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Thank you Rob for checking out my site and for your kind words regarding my poem about the Studebaker plant. L
May 17th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Lisa -
You are most welcome! It was enjoyable read.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Adorable poem - reminds me of a certain velvet-clad “Grimalkin” I had as a child. Hmmm, come to think of it Grimalkin lived high on a shelf.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Tara -
Thank you!
Maybe your Grimalkin is friends with my Blueberry?
May 17th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
ROB… I LOVE THIS… My ADORABLE MIL.. has a set of little ceramic elves in her dining room hutch…I thought of these little ones as I was reading your very charming poetry.
This made me smile!
May 17th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Tracie -
Thank you! Maybe those little elves in the dining room hutch come to life at night and scamper about the shelves?
May 18th, 2007 at 12:42 am
This is a rollicking good one! Reminds me of James Whitcomb Riley. You must have been a fun parent. My creativity stopped in the car when I shout Crocodile, when an Austrian when yodeling. Although really, my kids were much more creative because they constantly insisted that it was actually an Ostrich yodeling on a mountain so high.
Anyway, cool, the world needs more children’s poems. Never enough.
May 18th, 2007 at 1:05 am
This brought a smile to my face, you had very lucky children. (It also reminded me of a song my children were taught to sing at school “I’m Edith the elf, I’m Edith the elf, I sit in a tree and I play with myself” which had the whole school sniggering for obvious reasons!)
May 18th, 2007 at 8:03 am
Ren -
Very glad you enjoyed this! It was great fun to write and edit. Made me smile hunkered over my keyboard.
As to whether I was a fun parent — my surviving kids still speak to me, so I was at least benign, if not amusing.
I certainly loved when my children were young an innocent. Seeing their eyes light up, and jumping into my arms with big (((hugs))) — it was wonderful for me. It is the period in the life of an adult when you actually are treated like, and can feel like — someone’s hero.
I wouldn’t have missed that for my life — and made certain as I could, to not betray that amazing trust. Puts a lump in my throat writing about it here.
May 18th, 2007 at 8:08 am
Catherine -
I am definitely LOL (laughing out loud) over Edith — what an “adventurous” elf.
Glad you enjoyed this one. You’ll have to take up the lucky issue with my surviving children. I tried to do as little damage as possible, and be a good influence in their lives.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Great fun and a good use of rhyme.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:51 am
I’m already visualizing this as a children’s book with colorful pictures of a very forlorn, blue-clad figure sitting, chin in hand as he tells his sad tale. What a delightful little story!
May 18th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Juliet -
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this piece.
May 18th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Chicklegirl -
Very glad you enjoyed it!
Maybe a series of short illustrated BlueBerry Elf children’s books, with little “BB” (that’s his elf nickname), and his brothers and sisters, getting themselves in all kind of predicaments — with a simple message of advice and learning tagged to each.
What do you think?
May 18th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
I like it, Rob! Let me know when they go to press and I’ll preorder so that my own little elf can read them.
May 18th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Chicklegirl -
You got a deal — autographed to your little one!
May 24th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Very very nice, I thoroughly enjoyed this
Thanks for sharing!
Muse
May 24th, 2007 at 10:06 am
Ladymuse -
Thank you — I am glad.