Olympic Dreams: A Poetry Challenge
Ten Words That Do Not Perfectly Rhyme With Any Other Word
In his hub 'The Boar and the Wolf' Chris Mills issued a challenge for fellow hubbers to attempt to write a poem with the following ten words that do not perfectly rhyme with any other word.
- silver
- purple
- month
- ninth
- pint
- wolf
- opus
- dangerous
- marathon
- discombobulate
This poem is my attempt to respond to the challenge.
Olympic Dreams
Olivier trained hard to make the Games’ team.
To compete in the Olympics was his childhood dream.
Four years of devotion was about to pay off
With selection trials at the end of the month.
His favourite movie was Mr Holland’s Opus.
It always inspired him that nothing was hopeless.
The selection of Rio, please let’s elaborate,
Was never meant to discombobulate.
A nickname had stuck; he was called the Black Wolf,
Ever since he once plated his first game of golf.
Of 18 holes played they’d stop after the ninth
To compare best shots and have a quick pint.
Olivier’s form struck a good patch of purple,
His toughest event the 200m hurdles.
Although Rio De Janeiro is known to be dangerous,
As an Olympic venue it really was fabulous.
His specialty event would be the decathlon
But his desire was to win an Olympic marathon.
He hoped to win gold or even silver,
To stand on the podium was the dream of Olivier.
Now it’s all been and gone, the Olympics is done,
And history records how the Black Wolf had won,
Not just the decathlon, and the marathon too,
But the hearts of the spectators like me and you.
Questions & Answers
Comments
- Author
Hi Rinita. Thank you for reading and your generous comment. Glad you enjoyed the story.
Such a beautiful story so vividly expressed. My favorite rhyme pick was 'wolf' and 'golf'. Thank you, John for sharing.
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Thank you Verlie. I appreciate your comment. Yes, when I heard the word "marathon" I immediately thought Olympics.
John you rhyme sublime. I really like your response to Chris' challenge. Bringing it full circle with the Olympics theme, well played...
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Li-Jen, thank you for reading and your insightful comment. It was an interesting challenge.
Ralph is an interesting person with tremendous will. He can easily move from the political to the sublime. I like him a lot! But you also can. So stay alert! Lol.
Hey Jodah, I admire how you planned Olivier's name to rhyme with sliver! Haha. Although the selected words aren't meant to rhyme perfectly, you did a good job of rhyming. Discombobulate sounds hard but you managed to use a sort of opposite meaning, elaborate, with it. Nice pair. Thanks for sharing.
- Author
Thank you bro manatita. Donald and Kim's negotiations certainly sound like Ralph's cup of tea, but it would be very good material for a poem. Let me think on that.
Noble effort and current theme of the Olympics. Best I have seen so far. Maybe someone would do one on Donald and Kim's negotiations for Peace.. If you or Ralph do one like that with beauty, hope ... vision in mind, you'll have my eternal Gratitude. Excellent piece!
- Author
Shauna, it's always a pleasure to receive a comment from you, and a very generous one at that. These challenges are such fun.
What fun, John! You answered Chris' challenge with the poetic mastery for which you are known.
- Author
Welcome back, Eric. My light is always on and door open. Feel free to drop in any time and thanks for the like offer.
- Author
Thank you, RedElf. I am a fan of Ogden Nash too. Yes, I hated the word discombobulate but did the best I could.
May be rude I figure. But I really like your stuff so I came back uninvited. Thanks for leaving the light on and door open. My door will always be open fer' you.
Well woven, John. Discombobulate is the least poetical word I can think of, though it does bring Ogden Nash to mind. But you pulled it off.
- Author
Thank you, MsDora, gotta have a knack at something I guess.
Amazed at what you poets can do with random words. Good story. Excellent poetry.
- Author
Thank you Venkat, for the generous comment. It is always good when our work can make the reader smile.
Very beautifully done. John, you are amazing at poetry. I enjoyed the reading with smiles.
- Author
Thanks Chris. I sat down and made a list of words that went close to rhyming with each one. These were the ones I could fit best into the story I wanted to portray. Glad you approved.
- Author
Thank you, Linda. Glad you enjoyed the poem.
I read this earlier today but didn't comment. So I'm back to take a closer look at your rhymes. Thumbs up for opus/hopeless and elaborate/discombobulate. The overall theme was excellent. Thanks for taking part, John.
This is a great response to the challenge, John. I enjoyed reading it.
- Author
Thank you Flourish. It was a little tricky with a couple I admit.
That’s quite a challenge. Those I rhyming words would drive me batty. You did an admirable job trying to connect them and make them tell a story.
- Author
Thank you, brother Sean. What at first looks too difficult doesn't always prove to be that way. You just need to try.
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Haha, Linda. Thanks for that.
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Thank you, Dana. I did my best.
- Author
Hey Ann. Thank you. Yes, I always look forward to challenges. It takes the quandary of what to write next out of my hands. I eagerly look forward to your response.
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Thank you, Mary. The words looked daunting, but it was kind of fun. Yes, I just needed an excuse to revisit Chariots of Fire.
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Hey Chitrangada. The word 'marathon' actually was the spark for this poem. It was challenging, but not as hard as I first imagined it would be. Thank you for reading.
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Haha, Eric....damn Half a century. You make me feel old. I think we are actually about the same age My Friend :) Thank you for the generous comment as always.
Oooh!!! You've made it seem a lot easier than really is! That is TALENT brother! Awesome and funny and meaningful too. Respect!
Sean
John, I think you get the Gold medal for this one.
It seemed as if the challenge would be difficult but you rose to the occasion.
Great poem, John, and a good response to Chris' challenge. I'm in the process of cooking something up for this one.
I too was thinking it was time for a challenge and have got an idea for one of my own. It's a 'get round to it' for the moment though!
Ann
You did a great job in putting these words together. I would not even attempt to do it. It worked so well. By the way, Chariots of Fire is also one of my favourite novels.
The words in the challenge, seem so difficult to bring together meaningfully, in a poem. But as usual, you did it in style and perfection.
Excellent effort and thanks for sharing!
John a true master you are. I was reading your bio and it hit me that you have been doing this for like a half a century. Well it shows in your excellence.
Thank you
- Author
Thank you for being the first to read this Bill. It was quite challenging but fun. I was just thinking how few writing challenges had been issued recently.
A fun read, John, and a tough challenge. I'm sure glad nobody expects poetry from me. lol
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