This post provides a continuation of previous wordplay collections displayed on December 5, 2020, January 5, 2021, and February 5, 2021. In those earlier posts, classic palindromes (phrases or sentences whose letters are ordered identically when they are read either forwards or backwards) were described and extolled in verse; the topics of discussion were as follows:
1. Dennis sinned
2. Drawn onward
3. Gnu dung
4. Yreka bakery
5. Lonely Tylenol
6. UFO tofu
7. Too hot to hoot
8. Never odd or even
9. Sex at noon taxes
10. No 'X' in Nixon.
11. A Santa at NASA
12. T. Eliot's toilet
13. Madam, I'm Adam
14. Sex of foxes
15. Able ere Elba
16. A Toyota's a Toyota
17. Mr. Owl ate my metal worm
18. Emil's lime
19. To idiot: (The palindromic grouch)
20. A dim or fond 'No!' from Ida
21. No lemon, no melon (fruitless)
22. See bees
23. Ma is as selfless as I am
CURRENT CONTENTS
Please note that, continuing the convention adopted in the previous posts, there will be an exclusive correlation between green italicized font and palindromes. But not all of the palindromes displayed within the verses' lines are in the 'classic repertoire'. Some are recent concoctions by the author.
24. O stone, be not so (Roger Stone)
25. Do geese see God? wip
26. Step on no pets wip
27. Zeus sees Suez (canals)
28. A man, a plan, a canal -- Panama
29. Panama variant: A girl, a plan, a canal, pal -- Riga
30. Panama variant: A man, a potato -- Panama
31. Panama variant: A man, a plan, a cat, a hat, a canal -- Panama wip
DO GEESE SEE GOD?
Plato, puzzled by 'Do geese see God?',
Felt the phrase dialectically odd:
"Heard as wordplay, it's deft
(Can be read right to left),
Yet, I fear, philosophically flawed."
As with many classic palindromes, the origin of the iconic query, 'Do geese see God?' is, in fact, unknown. The verse, however, suggests that it dates back to at least the fifth century B.C.E. The philosophic query is felt by some to be tarnished, and it remains unanswered into modern times.
STEP ON NO PETS
Final tearful address: Dr. Getz
Told the plenary Congress of Vets,
"Taco-cats — my career ..."
"Senile felines!" crowds cheer;
And her last advice, "Step on no pets,"
Adding, "Dog doo — Good God! No regrets!"
vets: jargony abbreviated nickname for 'veterinarians', (also with apologies, to 'veterans')
A number of the classic palindromes deal with household pets. Four of them are indicated in the verse by italics.
You can enjoy reading about a historic workshop at which the iconic 'Panama Palindrome' was almost discovered by clicking this link.
A MAN, A PLAN, A CAT, A HAT, A CANAL -- PANAMA
Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat —
Clever primer that never fell flat.
His creation's incursion
Inspired a spoof-version
Of "A man... a canal...", and all that.
The classic palindrome
A man, a plan, a canal — Panama has been the target of many a
spoof, some of which have been eulogized on this site. Although not intended by Dr. Seuss, the creator of the "Cat in the Hat", his eponymic character presumably inspired one of my favorite palindromic spoofs ...
A man, a plan, a cat, a hat, a canal — Panama.
The reader might note the rather strange fact that one can leave off the iconic 'hat', and still have a palindrome ...
A man, a plan, a cat, a canal -- Panama.
