So I was just sitting there, feeling blah and working up a case of feeling sorry for myself, when I remembered something I had heard in A.A. about sitting on the pity pot…and the rhyme and meter hit me despite myself:
Pit pot, pity pot, sitting on the pity pot,
moaning all about my lot,
all the things that I have not,
sitting on my pity pot.
All of a sudden, my foot was tapping and despite my desperate attempt to cling to my depressing writer’s block thing, a question forced itself into my resisting brain – “What other cute sayings might…?” And a second one slipped by my torpor:
Frying pan, frying pan, jumping from the frying pan
Getting away, however I can,
but into the fire instead I ran,
jumping from the frying pan.
Oh my God! I saw myself caught in an avalanche of unwanted possibilities…
Can of worms, can of worms, prying open the can of worms
hard to find some ground that’s firm
when all my memories make me squirm,
opening up my can of worms.
and
Old dead horse, old dead horse, why do I beat the old dead horse?
Screaming ‘til my voice gets hoarse
I should get off and walk, of course,
but still I beat the old dead horse.
and then the first lines started coming faster than I could write the following rhymes…
House of glass, house of glass, throwing rocks at a house of glass…
Golden rule, golden rule, trying to break the golden rule…
Sticks and stones, sticks and stones, breaking my bones with sticks and stones…
Bird in hand, bird in hand, one in the bush but a bird in the hand…
Iron’s hot, iron’s hot, I need to strike while the iron’s hot…
Penny saved, penny saved, same as earned the penny saved…
Someone’s shoes, someone’s shoes, walking a mile in someone’s shoes….
Stitch in time, stitch in time, saving nine with a stitch in time…
It could go on forever! So I’ll just throw the game out there and let y’all have some fun too.
Shines the sun, shines the sun, making hay while shines the sun
Start it now and git ‘er done
when it gets dark, it’s not so fun
so make your hay while shines the sun…
In the words of Michelle, “GAAAAA!”
