{"id":2691,"date":"2016-04-21T16:13:11","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T16:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=2691"},"modified":"2016-06-22T20:45:02","modified_gmt":"2016-06-22T20:45:02","slug":"the-great-mcgonagall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/the-great-mcgonagall\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Mcgonagall"},"content":{"rendered":"

William “Topaz” Mc Gonnagle was poet from Dundee, who discovered he could
\nmake a rhyme at the grand old age of 52 or so. *<\/p>\n

He considered himself second to Shakespeare in Britian, and it will be of no
\nsurprise that he was of Irish stock to have a neck to make a claim such as
\nthat considering the quality of the verse he wrote.<\/p>\n

Today he is lauded as probably the worst poet in history, and some say he
\nwas a fool, more say he was a satirist. His style is like the peasant songs,
\nexcept not set to music, and presented as pure poetry.<\/p>\n

His style of delivery left a lot to be desired, and he was mocked frequently
\nwhen doing readings in his native city and beyond.<\/p>\n

Whether satirist, fool or genuine and misguided, this poetic
\nanti-hero can be found in all writers, and this poem is written
\nin his style to recount his tale!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Bard of Dundee!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

*Of awful verse he was the master, **
\nWriting of the Tay Bridge disaster,
\nStating Shakespeare the best wordsmith be,
\nIn Britain to date, and second he,
\nNo disrespect to Burns the Bard
\nNo desire for a great name to be tarred,
\nHe was second best Scottish son,
\nNorth of the border, Mc Gonagall was number one!
\nOn receiving inspiration divine
\nPen he seized to write a line
\nContinued to write, such verse he penned:
\nWas to cause mirth until his end!
\nHis first verse was to the Rev. Gilfillan, an address
\nWhich was judged by same to be a poetic mess
\nWryly the poets efforts the minister did dismiss
\nStating “Shakespeare wrote nothing like this!”
\nHis verse on theatre and street he read,
\nWith laughter and derision he was met instead,
\nOf the respect he expected, while reading pompous
\nClad in Kilt he caused quite a rumpus!
\nHe tried once to America to go
\nBut on its shores no-one did know
\nFound himself cut loose, culturally cast away
\nHis homeward fare a kind stranger did pay
\nOnce fifty miles or more he walked
\nTo read verse to the queen: but when he talked
\nTo the guardsmen at the gate
\nHe was turned away in indignant state
\nTo be poet laureate he said he wished to seek,
\nTo be told that to try he had a cheek,
\nAnd he’d better move while still was free,
\nTo go as he pleased all the way home to Dundee.
\nAnd them his finest hour came,
\nOr maybe his greatest composition of shame!
\nWhen the Tay Bridge collapsed in a gale
\nWhile upon it crossed a train by rail\u2026
\nAnd to write upon it he was possessed
\nTo read his words few were impressed
\nAnd his ode to the tragedy of the bridge of the Tay
\nCauses smiles to all to this very day.
\nWas he a fool\u2026 or just a bad poet
\nIf he was a fool he seemed not to know it
\nSome say he was clever acted if on a stage,
\nCommanded an audience as he read each page.
\nThough they laughed at him things threw,
\nThat he brightened their day that much he knew
\nAnd how many writers who so serious could be
\nWill be long forgotten when remembered is he?
\nHow many poets refuse to use rhyme
\nMc Gonagall insisted to use it all the time
\nUnfortunately the pattern often fell out of place,
\nFor the Romantics cast him from grace,
\nHe was but a common man, at least he did try,
\nTo be like him, none want to be including I,
\nBut still to convention he was never a slave,
\nAnd to his emotions was never the knave
\nAs I this verse write in his appalling style
\nI admire his bravery, smiling all the while,
\nThough great are his foes and his friends are few,
\nTo his art in his heart he tried to be true,
\nThose who read his words may mock and may grin
\nBut to be a weaver and a poets no sin
\nAnd as I sit here more poetry to write,
\nMay I be pure as heart as he as I scribble tonight!*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

William “Topaz” Mc Gonnagle was poet from Dundee, who discovered he could make a rhyme at the grand old age of 52 or so. * He considered himself second to Shakespeare in Britian, and it will be of no surprise that he was of Irish stock to have a neck …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,1,233,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-funny-poems","category-uncategorized","category-writers","category-writing","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-Hp","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1555,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/never-mind-the-heartache-always-get-the-verse\/","url_meta":{"origin":2691,"position":0},"title":"Never Mind the Heartache, Always Get the Verse","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"22nd March 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A friend of mine and fellow Tullamore Rhymer Anthony Sullivan has a quotation that goes something along the lines of \"Never mind the heartache, always get the song\". 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The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Morten Sondergaard's book \"Vinci, Later\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Vinci-Later.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1542,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/to-one-side-i-must-cast-my-pen\/","url_meta":{"origin":2691,"position":3},"title":"To One Side I Must Cast My Pen","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"18th March 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Verses written win all hearts bar hers She is a slave to life, passion and chance: I am a walker of safe paths, writer of verses of adventure Shall have to cast aside the pen to live this romance Should I in a time to come of her love have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Love Poems"","block_context":{"text":"Love Poems","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/love-poems\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2107,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/a-poets-lament\/","url_meta":{"origin":2691,"position":4},"title":"A Poets Lament","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"28th July 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This is an old verse of mine, found on a previous draft of the website. 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