Comment from Dawn Munro

Excellent

What a great way to use your (rather odd) word of the day - it's a wonderful (albeit short) acrostic poem, and a lovely presentation. Is G. H. supposed to be short for a word or two and you just didn't want to use them? (*grin* If not, you must have been surprised...

 Comment Written 26-Apr-2018

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reply by the author on 26-Apr-2018

No, the word is listed in the book as "G.H." lol I know - weird. Many thanks :) Craig

Comment from Dorinda Palmisano

Exceptional

This is great! Simple words with a strong statement. Thank you so very much for this writing and for your literary lessons. Dorinda

 Comment Written 24-Apr-2018

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reply by the author on 24-Apr-2018

Thanks again for the lovely review. I'm very grateful for the kind words. Craig

Comment from --Turtle.

Excellent

Hi, Craig...

Nice job with this short old-news themed rhyming acrostic. The back history of the word is fun, and the use of it in this poem takes a fresh spin on combining old news, with a word that means old news... to articulate something that should be old news... yet we stare at it as its never been said before.

Chicken and the egg sort of philosophy... Is it written because it's right or right because it's written. If we do it because it's written, are we doing it because it's right. Is it right because of some universal, or is it right because it allows the human hyper-herd survive? Thus whatever maximizes survival must be right? Yet...
Eh. Humans are all messed up.

How quickly we go from the concept of... come on... don't kill to ...
don't kill people (animals okay...)
don't kill people like you (slaves okay)
don't kill people like you unless they are trying to harm you (or in your way, or you can make it out like they are trying to harm you because one that looked like them was)

 Comment Written 24-Apr-2018

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reply by the author on 24-Apr-2018

Very true, Turtle. I'm not exactly sure why we needed to have "Thou shalt not kill" written on a stone tablet to think it might be worth adopting as a life philosophy. And it never once occurred to me to covet my neighbour's ass or ox, so that is a bit of a waste as well. Much appreciated :) Craig

reply by --Turtle. on 24-Apr-2018

Hmmm, if my neighbor had an ox and ass... I'd probably be a little jelly. : p But I'm more likely to covet my neighbor's french fries or onion rings, if my neighbor is the guy sitting next to me at the dinner table.

Comment from BeasPeas

Excellent

Hi Craig. Well, my goodness, that is a short acrostic. "G.H." I never heard that term before but after reading your note, I get it. Clay tablets are inanimate objects with a message and are a guideline, but it's the heart of the person that determines compassion. I think there is value to both. It does not have to be an "either/or" situation. Good job with this interesting write. Marilyn

 Comment Written 24-Apr-2018

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reply by the author on 24-Apr-2018

Thanks for the kind and thoughtful comments, Marilyn. Cheers, Craig

Comment from ~Dovey

Excellent

Hi Craig -

If those tablets of clay hadn't been instilling morals for generations, centuries even, would heartfelt compassion have managed to stay around that long, too?

Just a thought. Your entry is a short one, but well spoken and your point is well taken.

Thanks for the fascinating author's notes.

Kim

 Comment Written 24-Apr-2018

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reply by the author on 24-Apr-2018

I don't really think we needed stone tablets to tell us it's a bad thing to kill each other. As for not coveting your neighbour's wife, ox, or any of his other "possessions", maybe we could have worked that out too. And for those who can't, I doubt the tablets make the slightest bit of difference.

Thanks for the fine review, Kim :)

Craig

Comment from LIJ Red

Excellent

I was stunned by the profound words of an old version of Frankie and Johnny(or Albert)
De story ain' got no moral
de story ain' got no en'
de story on'y goes ter show
dey ain' no good in men....
G.H. is a useful code I had not met before. Excellent.

 Comment Written 23-Apr-2018

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reply by the author on 23-Apr-2018

Thanks very much for reviewing, and sharing the song. Much appreciated - Craig

Comment from Gloria ....

Excellent

Wow, this is another one of those tricky, by most effective words, like XYRC. Is it two syllables or one?

I totally agree with the sentiment by the way. You can write anything you want on a tablet, but if no one follows the ABDs, it doesn't make a darn bit of difference, other than it makes for a great story.

Very nice.

Gloria

 Comment Written 23-Apr-2018

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reply by the author on 23-Apr-2018

Thanks so much, Gloria. I suspect each letter gets their own syllable, otherwise it would sound like the person reading it has been punched in the gut. Cheers, Craig

Comment from Sandra du Plessis

Excellent

A very well-written acrostic and interesting notes about the initials G H that stands for hearing again old news that we already heard a habit of Mr George Horne.

 Comment Written 23-Apr-2018

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reply by the author on 23-Apr-2018

Thanks very much, Sandra. Much appreciated - Craig

Comment from Henry King

Excellent

At my first glance of course, my first thought was - What? I almost pushed the Skip icon. But, with nothing much better to do, I read the note below the poem. Of course, the light turned on. This is an excellent use of poetic form - education/history/new vocabulary. Well done.

I do question the use of the word "retailing", is it a misspelling of "retelling" or "relating?" I can see "retailing," if G.H. sold old news.

 Comment Written 23-Apr-2018

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reply by the author on 23-Apr-2018

I'm glad you stopped to read and comment - thanks for the kind words. I typed "retailing" into Google search, and the online dictionary came back with two meanings, as I suspected it would:

1. sell (goods) to the public by retail.
2. relate the details of (a story or incident) to others.

so the second meaning is obviously the same as both of your suggestions. I think it's an older meaning which has somewhat gone out of fashion. Much appreciated - Craig

reply by Henry King on 23-Apr-2018

You are very welcome. Thank you for the explanation.

Comment from Jannypan (Jan)

Excellent

I enjoyed your acrostic, Craig. It has a great message in such few words. The picture is a perfect pairing of words to image. It is a great picture, too. Thanks for sharing. Jan

 Comment Written 23-Apr-2018

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reply by the author on 23-Apr-2018

Thanks very much for the kind words, Jan. I'm grateful for your comments, as always.