Thursday, March 12, 2009

CXXXVI - The Genie Mystery

.


The Genie Mystery

You rub the lamp
And, in a puff of smoke,
A genie appears;
Sometimes girl, sometimes bloke.

And then, in exchange
For some liberating task
They promise to grant
Any three things you ask.

Invariable, the winner
Of this oil-lamp sport
Chooses badly
And is left with nought.

I don’t understand why,
After two sad misses,
The lucky lamp-rubber
Didn’t ask for more wishes.

---
© J Cosmo Newbery
---
Print this post

20 comments:

  1. I'm not sure that the Genie Control Board would let you have your wishes anyway. They do have a code of ethics, you know.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Or ice cream, pizza, and a high metabolism.

    ReplyDelete
  3. it's not so that we would burn
    in our bad choices, don't you see?
    But rather so that we learn,
    None are enough, be it one, two or three.

    Be careful what you ask for,it may not be what is heard
    by the well meaning wish giver, eh?
    If you ask to fly, he may change you into a bird.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Everyone knows genies won't grant a wish for more wishes, silly. It's in the Genie Code.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've often wondered that myself.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Not allowed. Diane has it right.

    Rub a dub dub
    J Cosmo's hit the nub

    of the matter, as usual...

    ReplyDelete
  7. oh .. these mysteries of the mythical universe!
    perplexing ..
    now i won't be able to sleep all night.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Always, always ask for more wishes. Not everyone adheres to a code and you might be the lucky one that gets the rogue genie! As my mom always says: the worst they'll do is say no!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'd ask for a redo or tell the genie my first three wishes were just for practice - and then I'd smile pretty.

    What are my chances for this to work?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think everyone's right about not being able to wish for more wishes, but what if you wished that you never made your first two wishes? Then you'd get to redo those, right? I think that's the acceptable loophole.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I don't understand why not either, J. Cosmo!! We should write our own tales. Thanks for linking to Poetry Jam.

    ReplyDelete
  12. ha ha
    this is brilliant
    thanx for a hearty laugh at the end of a dumb day

    ReplyDelete
  13. That wouldn't leave a mystery then, would it?
    Nice tale, sad but, such is life :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. LOL I have always thought my first wish would be more wishes! And really most of those lamp rubbers really have never had much imagination in my book. The big picture is what they always seem to miss! Thanks for visiting Poetry Jam

    ReplyDelete
  15. A fairy tale take on the prompt this week! Stellar!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am with Peggy on this my first wish would have to be more wishes....Love this poem!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. A magic lamp... Three would be enough for me. It would have to do with dishes, laundry and dusting... :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. This flows so well. I especially like the last two lines.

    ReplyDelete
  19. ha that would def seem logical but...there are those clauses in the contract you know...smiles....really nice flow to this...

    ReplyDelete

You've come this far - thank you.
Take your time, look around,
There is lots to see.