Reverse Engineering

Passing Through the Lot on a Hot Day

Whose parking lot? I have no clue.
She probably lives in Timbuktu;
Security cams all turned on me,
She’ll see each car I’m prowling through.

Your big ‘ol mutt is onto me,
entering your car without a key.
Apart from dog drool, crushing heat; 
the brightest day you've ever seen.

Mutt jerks her leash, the collar breaks.
I know I’ve made a big mistake.
Her bark so loud, now sirens wail.
She pins me hard, there’s no escape.

The lot is filled; lights blue and red.
I alibi, cops shake their heads.
They haul me off, the jail’s close by.
I’ve made my bed, so here I’ll lie.

Day Three of National Poetry Writing Month! Today’s prompt from NaPoWriMo.net:

Find a shortish poem that you like, and rewrite each line, replacing each word (or as many words as you can) with words that mean the opposite. For example, you might turn “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” to “I won’t contrast you with a winter’s night.” Your first draft of this kind of “opposite” poem will likely need a little polishing, but this is a fun way to respond to a poem you like, while also learning how that poem’s rhetorical strategies really work. (It’s sort of like taking a radio apart and putting it back together, but for poetry).

Okay, so maybe I didn’t quiiiiiiite follow the prompt, but I kinda did, in spirit at least.

The poem I chose to use is Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Here is Frost’s poem:

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Robert Frost - 1874-1963

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

To see how others have responded to the challenge, go to NaPoWriMo.net and check out the comments section for links to other participating poets.

About Maggie C

Stained glass artist, writer, respecter of life.
This entry was posted in daily prompt, humor, poetry and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

10 Responses to Reverse Engineering

  1. SelmaMartin says:

    Funny, funny, funny! I will not say I like it more than the original because I like Mr. Frost. But, golly, you got his gait to a T. I believe he’d love it too. Wow. Excellent. Totally! xoxo Keep at it– soooo good!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I would not have guessed Robert Frost, and I love what you’ve done with his work. As soon as I scrolled to see the original poem, I saw the genius. Kindred spirits, I chose Robert Frost as well. I was a bit more rigid with the prompt😬 and it was definitely interesting.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Romana Iorga says:

    Hilarious take on Frost’s poem! Well done.💜

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Vidya Tiru says:

    Thanks for the smiles and the giggles…
    My NaPoWriMo post for today is here

    Liked by 1 person

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