General Poetry posted September 24, 2018 Chapters:  ...266 267 -268- 269... 


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A chapter in the book A Potpourri of Poetic Curiosities

My return to theism

by CD Richards


Like many children of my time, and in my neighbourhood,
my Godmother would share with me the things she knew were good.
"I'll steer you right," she'd say, "if there is any way I can."
She hoped I'd be a theist proper, when I was a man.

At first I could not get enough, I always wanted more;
but as the years went by, I found I had a diff'rent core.
I was no more a theic, for my loves began to change—
my Godmother and parents thought my transformation strange.

An odd thing about theism, it's very hard to shake,
and leaving it behind is quite a scary road to take.
At times, with growing emptiness, I missed my early ways;
and endless mugs of coffee barely got me through the days.

To those who know me well, this news will come as quite a shock;
I swear it is the truth, for I have quite turned back the clock.
The me you once knew is no more, now there is no more pain;
for I have seen the light, now I'm a theist once again!

Oh yes, it's true, my life has come full-circle to the start;
my former love's returned, and, sadly, old ways must depart.
I have a China teapot, and so many blends of tea,
I'm wall-to-wall in canisters, as far as eye can see.

There's Stockholm blend and peppermint, Earl Grey and green tea too;
I've orange tea, hibiscus and there's chamomile, for you.
I'll drown in antioxidants 'til I'm so fit and well,
I'll quite forget how missing coffee makes me feel like hell!
 




Today's word: theic (n.) an excessive drinker of tea.

Oh, this was so much fun. Imagine my surprise (and perverse delight) to discover that theism is not only belief in a supernatural power, but also excessive consumption of tea. The Latin word for tea is thea, from which theist, theism and theic all derive. The ecclesiastical meaning, of course, comes from a totally different source --theos -- the Greek word for god.

I actually have, in recent times, taken to drinking much more tea, a habit which I did indeed pick up when my Godmother used to sit me on her lap as a child, and pour her black tea into her saucer, to let it cool down before letting me sip it. The only slight exaggeration is that I haven't totally given up coffee, which has been my preferred drink for decades.

My book reproduces the following extract from Scientific American, 1886. I find it almost impossible to believe it's genuine, it's just so delightful...

America and England are the two countries that are afflicted most with the maladies arising from the excessive consumption of tea... The predominance of nervous symptoms is a characteristic of theism... Perversion of the sense of hearing is not at all an uncommon symptom -- patients report hearing voices that have no real or objective existence."

My much-treasured Christmas present for 2017 is a book by Paul Anthony Jones: "The cabinet of linguistic curiosities". Each page contains a descriptive story about some obscure or archaic word. It occurred to me it would be a fun exercise to try and write, each day, a poem featuring the "word of the day" from the book.

Thanks for reading.

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