A spy has written a secret message in this ' wanted ad '
To make the discovery easy I will give you some clues.
The poem (not including the title) has 11 lines
The message consists of 11 words
There is one word per line
There is a sequence to the choice of words
The number 5 is a key to choosing the word
The message begins
'Whiskered......
Looking For Mr. Right
Am searching for a whiskered handsome husband
He should be a poet or an amateur historian
very well liked living in a little village
nestled in cold lovely Scotland
Writing terza rima sonnets has given him confidence
Robert Louis Stevenson's novel 'Kidnapped'
is important literature for me and my love to be
His keeness for justice, dangerous in its intensity
a potent force to come and be reckoned with
is fanned by flames quickly if provocation is unwarranted
He is there to help when the need arises
I think the clue to the code is in line three - that's how I came up with:
ReplyDelete"Handsome poet - well cold - writing novel for justice with... flames... the..."
Ok... maybe not.
Ransom...?
Nah....not ransom note.
ReplyDeleteClue:
It is a message asking for help.
I got it really - didn't want to give the game away - although I meant line 4.
ReplyDeleteIf you give me the right message I wont publish it until everyone has a go.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he's dangerous - this inhabitant of the border country is a real pussycat! A clever idea, very well executed. The only problem: after I'd found the message, I had to go back and read it again to see just how clever you had been!
ReplyDeletePussy cat?...nah. A tiger ready to pounce ,more like it. These flattering remarks are definitely getting you into the good books
ReplyDeleteagain Vivienne!
Well, Rall, you've got me flummoxed! Can't be many of 'em around anyway!
ReplyDeleteFlummoxed?...I don't think so Derrick!
ReplyDeleteI think Viv got it as well...
ReplyDelete'Handsome poet in Scotland has kidnapped me - dangerous - come quickly - help!'
Oh, oh - just spotted him at 1:45 am...
Line 4 - shortest - only 5 words, so I tried the 5th word of each line.
Stanski, you got it...word perfect!
ReplyDeleteI'm just reading the poems for now, and enjoying them on their own merit. I really like the last line of this one.
ReplyDeleteI can't figure it out (although at first I thought you were writing about Derrick!) but the writing is lovely anyway!
ReplyDeleteI know! I know! Impulsive blurter that I am, I shouted it out in my home office. Oo la la! Well done, I love it, Rall!
ReplyDeleteRall love 'a whiskered handsome husband'!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea who this is except that it is a poet from Scotland
Well done!
Pamela
Cynthia and Pamela ,you should not upset Miss Pommeroy in this manner. Of course you both know who it is! I am having a hard time dissuading her from tying you both up to a giant termite mound in the Arizona desert.
ReplyDeleteI liked this as a poem without looking for the message, but then when I went back to find the message, I liked it even more. A well-concealed message indeed.
ReplyDeleteStan, Viv and Brenda have worked out the message so far.
ReplyDeleteMy gut tells me a bearded fellow figured it out by now as well. ;)
ReplyDeleteI wrote a piece in a form called the Spenserian stanza. Mine is only one stanza, but it was a fun form. You can check it out here, if you're interested.
http://bozone-bw.blogspot.com/2010/07/currents-of-myth.html
Okay. It took your spelling it out, but I've got it now.
ReplyDeleteNever was any good at puzzles. That's why I just scribbled on a poem for my contribution.
I think it's an interesting poem without the secret message. With the secret message, and not being patient enough to figure it out just made me feel foolish.
ReplyDeleteGot here late, but I honestly found your message right away. Then I wondered, why has Derrick kidnapped Rall? How unexpected ...
ReplyDeleteVery clever and fun piece!
Why? Because he wants to steal her akubra and her painted red van.
ReplyDeleteSorry Evelyn..I am the only person who is allowed to feel foolish on this site...so you get tied up with Cynthia and Pamela to the giant termite mound in the Arizona desert.
ReplyDeleteI was sure I had left a comment yesterday, but it seems to have been swallowed by the puter grumblies. That said, I did, per your instructions, find the coded message. But like the poem just the way it stands. Like what it suggests and hides all at the same time, thus making it an excellent response to the prompt.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
I think we should pressure Derrick to right a hidden ransom note in response :).
ReplyDeleteGood idea Francis.Not quite sure how to go about it. You know, those Mel Gibson Braveheart
ReplyDeletetypes are tough nuts to crack!
Dear Madam
ReplyDeleteRe: Your recent rhymster's riddle
I write in my capacity as General Secretary of the Whiskered Association of Scottish Poets (WASPs), numbering some 4500 members scattered from the Mull of Kintyre to Unst, from Melrose to Auchenshuggle. The Association notes that one of our Members (who, be assured, is not in the least bit dangerous) has captured your heart, and in response to your plea for help, we have passed round the hat (always painful to a Scot) and it is our earnest hope . . . etc.etc.
We are too far removed to place a supportive hand under your elbow, in any other than a poetic/metaphoric sense. Nevertheless we wish you well.
FTSE.
PS The verification word for this post is "FLAGISM" A bitty near the knuckle for Scottish Poets . . .