dVerse Poets – Poetics – Kafka For Kids
Art: Altered books by Susan Hoerth (raidersofthelostart)
dVerse Poetics – a challenge by Amaya to take a line from Kafka as inspiration for a nursery rhyme or other. The line that inspired my poem is from Kafka’s Letter to Oskar Pollak:
“Think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us.”
Little Toby Melancholy
Little Toby Melancholy
didn’t want to play
so, instead he took a book
of new worlds to a tree,
but soon the caramel words
which swirled like serpents free,
did stick to his hands and clothes,
poor little Toby did writhe and grive
as the book turned dark and grim,
and from its pages of murk
appeared a bony finger thin
stabbing at his chest so tight
with raucous moonlight laugh,
then Toby shrieked a desperation
and flung it hard away,
its landing thudded waking him
startled and ever wide,
he glanced the cover slight
which winked at him mad
and little Toby sprang in flight
and ran,
and ran,
and ran.
©Paul Vincent Cannon
Paul, pvcann.com
parallax 
Oh my gosh, scary! When your mind goes dark, it goes really dark!
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My always has, since I was a child, there’s stuff in here that is deliciously dark 🙂
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🙂
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made me giggle but the kids would have nightmares after this story!
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Yes, I remember those intense dreams from my childhood, some quite scary.
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I remember only three, they were super scary and very clear warnings …
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Yes, so important to attend to those.
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hope yours have resolved!
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O indeed, I had some amazing dreams as a child, mostly provoked by the real living terror in our home.
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and have they stopped or do they have a residual effect?
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They stopped many years ago, I have much richer dreams these days, but I like some of the kafkaesque elements.
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lol the familiar is comfortable!
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Lol, given that the familiar bits are Poe and Kafka, I sometimes wonder 🙂
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lol 😎
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🙂
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This went really dark from a child’s perspective.
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One day I must share some of my childhood dreams, fuelled mostly by Grimm’s fairy tales and Roald Dahl 🙂 It sure did Punam.
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But dreams are like that, one cannot control them!
You must, Paul. I am sure it will be very fascinating to learn more about your dreams. 🙂
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You sound brave 🙂 seriously though, I am planning to turn some to poetry. Thank you Punam.
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I don’t know…but I have been told I am brave. 🙂
Always a pleasure, Paul.
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Well, just know that i felt very encouraged in the conversation.
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Wonderful! That means we will soon have poetic interpretation of Dahl and Grimm inspired dreams. Look forward to that. 🙂
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Lol, no pressure then?! 🙂
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None, whatsoever! 😉
Though if my memory serves me correct you wrote a series of wonderful poems some time ago, under pressure! 😀
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I did, funny you should remember that 🙂
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Lol, I am also notorious for my elephantine memory! 🙄
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O dear, no escape then.
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Seems so! 😂
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🙂
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❤️ this! More please!
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I love it Paul! A wonderful visualisation with words. Reading free’s not only the mind. 😉 Michael
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Lol, yes, poetry in motion, run, run.
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Excellent! Run, Toby, run!
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Yes, better run, run, run. Lol. Thank you Robert 🙂
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I liked that bony finger coming from his book. I’d run as well.
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Yes, me too Frank, lol.
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Halloween preview? Can’t wait to see what’s next….🤭
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Lol
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Books. Just when you think you can trust them, the page turns.
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Exactly, you’ll never know what might happen… thank you Ken.
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Truly frightening story, especially that bony finger!
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Leave the light on 🙂 thank you Linda.
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Oh, poor little Toby!! I love what you did with the prompt. (Is it okay that I smiled my way through it, delighting in the wordplay instead of feeling for poor Toby?)
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I’m so thrilled that someone smiled through it, it was intended to be lighthearted like Roald Dahl – so more than okay – required.
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😀
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The dark side of dreams and life are meant to be the reason to turn on the light if you get my gist. Brilliant poem.
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Absolutely Eugenia, I get your gist 🙂
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😉
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O, and thank you so much.
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My pleasure!
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To be devoured by a book… literally terrifying
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Terrifying for sure, and it is ironic, as we normally refer to devouring a book. Beware.
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I just recently introduced The Neverending Story to my daughters and your story reminds me of that when the little boy reading it threw down the book in disbelief that the characters actually knew about his existence. You did a great job with the quote and were able to really capture the uncanny experiences we sometimes have when getting involved with a story: the line between reality and fiction is blurred to nonexistence.
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Many thanks Amaya, I must confess the influences of Poe, Dahl, Carrol, and the like, I loved the Neverending Story. Thank you for the feedback.
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Very Kafkaesh!
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Many thanks Cherry, and great to hear from you 🙂
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Well done
>
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🙂
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I’m intrigued by Little Toby Melancholy – I’d like to see more of him, an iconic figure. In the same way I want to see more of Charles Causley’s Timothy Winters.
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Ah, thank you so much for that Robin, well – perhaps I will …
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