Original DDE™ art: “Soarin’ Stanley McGee” by: rob kistner © 2/21/26
—-<§>—-
there once was a ski jumper — Stanley McGee
who leapt with a holler of… “hey — look at me!”
he shot from the ramp like a sneeze from a cold—
then into the heavens untethered and bold
he skimmed over treetops — clean outta sight
like a rocket achieving suborbital flight
he sailed on the thermals — both arms outspread
and tickled the clouds with the top of his head
the judges kept watching as upward he rose
is he ever comin’ down again — nobody knows
parents grew nervous — young children cried
“helluva jump” they said — “can’t be denied”
so if you pass through when the north winds begin
we’ll point to the sky with a frost-bitten grin
“he hasn’t come down yet — and he left long ago—
we think he’s in orbit — not really sure though”
this probably happened — ain’t spreadin’ no jive
though my mem’ry is spotty — its mostly alive
as Kurt Vonnegut said it in Slaughterhouse-Five
“…all this happened — more… or less”. 😉
<~>
Beautiful set of limericks, Rob! I love it.
Thank you Dwight — this was fun… 😉
A fun ballad, Rob, with an insane rhythm that almost had me soaring too! This image made me smile:
‘he sailed on the thermals — both arms outspread
and tickled the clouds with the top of his head’.
Thank you Kim. This was me channeling Shel Silverstein > channeling Dr. Seuss > channeling Lewis Carroll… 🙂
I’m a big fan of the limerick style and you treat us with a few here Rob ?
Glad you enjoyed this Ange. I was in a Shel Silverstein frame of mind when I penned this… 🙂
Rob, Rob, Rob! This is insanely good! Wow! Love it!! And your song choices…just perfect!
Thank you Punam! It was a blast to write! 😉
This was fun to read. Felt like a storybook. I especially love “… and tickled the clouds with the top of his head” 🙂
Thank you Sam… 🙂
Rob, I love the mythical being, Soarin’ Stanley McGee. I chose the same ending line but took it in another direction. Thanks for making me smile, thinking of Stanley, soaring up there beyond the clouds.
Thank you Lisa. Shows that great minds can think alike — but from a different perspective… 😉
bravo! love, love, love. such fun, indeed! xx, Lynne
Thank you Lynne… 🙂
Very creative Rob ?
🙂 Shaun…