h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Tale of the Kenyan Runner - A87729196
Author: minorvogonpoet - U3099090

I find cactuscafes ideas inspirational. On this occasion, she suggested that, instead of 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', we should write a 'Rime of the Modern Olympian'.

I went away, looked at the original and produced this. It's 56 lines of rhyming verse, which is asking for trouble, as rhyming verse can easily descend into doggerel.

If you think it's doggerel, say so, and I'll go away and turn it into free verse.

I was prepared for doggerel. This is not doggerel. It's very good. You've done a good job of avoiding sing-song - much better than Mr Coleridge, I might add.

A tip: Someday this will get republished somewhere on the site, and somebody, probably me, will edit it. Until that time, readers are going to find this version.

If they aren't using IE, their browsers may have a problem with those curly quotation marks.

If you go in and replace the curly quotes and apostrophes with straight ones, readers with all browsers will be able to enjoy your poem as it was meant to be enjoyed.

Thank you, Dmitri.

I should have remembered the Curse of the Curly Apostrophe from the Stretcher.

I'll and sort it out.

Browsers will thank you.

Great poem there. Clear message to all of us.

Wonderful poem, MVP. Is dearth spelled dirth in UK English? I think it is dearth -on google anyway.

Thank you Bel, Elektra.

You're right, Elektra - the spelling should be dearth.

Don't tell D, he'll that I actually spelled something right. It usually is NOT my forte -by a long shot.

English is such a funny language to spell -
where 'eight' rhymes with 'gate' and 'laugh' rhymes with 'half'.