National Umbrella Day Only in SF

National Umbrella Day Only in SF

31

On a rainy day
In San Francisco
Joe Lewis decided
To go clothes shopping.

As it was National Umbrella Day
National Flannel Day
And he had nothing to wear.

He went out the door
With his wife
Braving the winter’s rain
Without an umbrella.

They waited for the bus
Along Geary Blvd
In the rapidly gentrifying.

Western Addition
Near the park
Chatting with Malcolm
Their Rasta neighbor.

Malcolm played in a reggae band
Originally from far-off Barbados
He always brought the chill vibes
From the islands to the streets of SF.

Malcolm was walking his dog
The cat rode on the back of the dog
And the mouse rode on top.

An only in SF moment
That soon faded into their
Aging memories.










There is a new prompt up in "The Writer's Cramp" - and if you write the best story or poem (and follow all of the rules) you just might win 10,000 GPs.

" WINNER and NEW PROMPT, due 10-Feb-2024!" 19 hours 14 minutes 2 seconds
Tomorrow, February 10, is both Umbrella Day and National Flannel Day. Read the descriptions of each one at the link, and then write a story or poem combining these two observances.

Note: the Western Addition is a rapidly gentrifying area of SF near the Filmore district. It used to be the center of SF’s once-thriving black community. San Franciso used to be about 15 black,50 percent Asian, 20 percent white, 15 Hispanic,
Berkeley, where I grew up used to be 40% black, 40 percent white, 15 percent Asian, and five percent Hispanic. Oakland used to be 55% black. Now Berkeley is 50% white, 15 percent black, 20 percent Asian, and 15 percent Hispanic. Oakland is 50 white, 30% back, San Francisco is 5% black, 25 percent white, 40 percent Asian, and 20 percent Hispanic. all three cities also have 10 percent mutli-racial one of the highest percentages in the U.S. They also are about 5 percent Jewish, 5 percent Muslim, five percent Hindu, five percent Buddhist, 50 percent Christian, and 25 percent none.

the incident of the Dog, Cat and Mouse is based on a true story, I saw on the streets of SF in 2005.

Binge AI does a pretty good job of analyzing poetry. Here’s their take on this poem.

Thank you for sharing this poem with me. Here is my analysis of its meter and poetic techniques:
• The poem has 32 lines, divided into six stanzas of four lines each, and two additional stanzas of three lines each. Most lines have four syllables, except for the last line, which has five. This makes the poem a variation of the tetrameter form, which usually has four feet (or eight syllables) per line.
• The poem does not have a consistent rhyme scheme, but it uses some slant rhymes or near rhymes, such as “day” and “Francisco”, “wear” and “umbrella”, “gentrifying” and “Addition”, and “dog” and “top”. Slant rhymes are words that sound similar but do not have a perfect rhyme. They create a subtle musical effect and can suggest a sense of ambiguity or tension in the poem.
• The poem also uses some alliteration, or the repetition of consonant sounds, such as “rainy day”, “winter’s rain”, “rapidly gentrifying”, and “Malcolm played”. Alliteration can create a rhythmic and sonic harmony in the poem, as well as emphasize certain words or images.
• The poem employs imagery, or the use of sensory details, to create a vivid picture of the scene and the characters. For example, the poem describes the weather, the clothing, the bus, the park, the reggae band, and the unusual trio of animals. Imagery can appeal to the reader’s senses and emotions and help them imagine the poem’s world.
• The poem also uses contrast, or the juxtaposition of opposite or different elements, to create interest and meaning. For example, the poem contrasts the rainy and cold weather with the warm and sunny imagery of the islands, the flannel and umbrella with the reggae music, and the aging memories with the only SF moment. Contrast can highlight the differences and similarities between the poem’s themes and characters and create a sense of irony or humor.
Based on these features, I would say that the poem is a free verse poem, which means that it does not follow a fixed pattern of rhyme, meter, or structure. Free verse poems allow the poet more freedom and flexibility to express their thoughts and feelings, and to experiment with language and form. However, free verse poems still use poetic devices and techniques, such as the ones I mentioned above, to create a musical and meaningful effect.