The Poets’ Corner
This is an excellent and ingenious pastime for young men and women who have outgrown the old-world games of “Hunt the Slipper” and “Hide and Seek.”
The “poets” are each given a slip of paper and pencil, at the head of which they write any question they like. When this is written, the papers are folded, so that the sentence is concealed, and passed on to the left-hand neighbor, who, without looking at the question, writes any word she likes beneath so long as it is a noun. This is again concealed, and passed to a third party, who must compose a rhythm or stanza, which includes both question and noun. As these have no relation to each other, some ingenuity is needed to link the two in a verse.
For example, suppose the question given is as follows:—
Question—What is the time?
Noun—Chair.
Verse.
“What is the time?” Grandfather asks,
This is one of the pleasant tasks
He sets the children from his chair.
And round eyes at the timepiece stare.
Little Alice reads the time—
The old clock helps her, and chimes out nine.
Or—
Question—What is your age?
Noun—Cigar.
Verse.
Cigar, cigar,
What is your age?
Wrinkled and brown,
Reserved as a sage.
Till you rest on my lip,
And the light is set
To your tip.
What is your age?
Your eye glows bright
With the spark of youth.
Come, answer with truth!
The cigar replies,
Time flies,
An hour perchance
I may live,
The ashes show
The span of my age.
I am calm philosopher,
Thoughtful sage.