Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Zoodikers for Zaftig Zelda





Zaftig Zelda longed for romance,
Zhlubs just got in her way.
Zoster held her in tight,
Zephyr Bar was having Ladies Day.

Zoologist came to greet her,
Zebras zig-zagged on her skirt.
Zibibs flowing at the bar,
Zelda quickly began to flirt.

Zach admired all her tails,
Zingers flying through the air.
Zayde told him he would find her,
Zealously searching in his prayers.

Zip Car drove them to his grandparents,
Zelda couldn't see a thing.
Zach guided her with his flashlight,
Zoodikers could that be a ring?!

Zadie and Bubee started cheering,
Zaftig one was getting dressed for the feast.
Zounds abounds at the graveyard,
Zombies drooled at the zesty beast.







Just as one chapter ends, another begins. Instead of waiting until the official IWSG meeting tomorrow, I thought I'd address my insecurity today. This is my third "Z" poem for  the  A to Z Challenge  and I'm a little anxious about it.

The problem is that I wanted to include words that I hadn't used or even heard of before. This raises the issue of clarity, so I'd like to use this opportunity to provide some definitions in order of appearance.

zaftig - plump, buxom, well-rounded (of a female)

zhlub - an ill-mannered, insensitive person

zoster - a girdle

zibis - an alcoholic drink made from raisins

zayde - grandfather

zoodikers - an exclamation

bubee - grandmother

My grandpa once told me to keep a dictionary at my bedside. That way if I came across a word I didn't know, I could look it up without losing my train of thought. This was sage advice, and the Internet makes it even easier to do so. Consequently, problems may arise as some words have different spellings. For example, zhlub is the Yiddish spelling of schlub. Schlubs are just as annoying as zhlubs, but the "Z" version worked best for the poem.
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Perhaps  The Insecure Writer's Support Group  could shed some light on this matter. In the meantime,  I want to thank  Arlee Bird,   Alex J. Cavanaugh,  and the rest of the  A to Z Challenge  co-hosts, and minions for another amazing April. I could go on and on, but I'm oysgematert (exhausted).


41 comments:

  1. Excellent poem and may I say some good Z words cleverly woven in.

    Yvonne.

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  2. That was one zippy and zesty poem.

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  3. Congratulations on making it to the finish line! Clever Z words : )

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  4. geeZZZZZZZZZ julie, could you be anymore creative---congrats on a great job!!!!

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  5. The z words at first seemed to be a distraction. Since you explained that they are Yiddish it made more sense. Still for someone who does not know, it was a bit of work to understand. Just getting them spelled in real German would make them a bit easier to understand. Ach, meine gute, what fun.

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  6. Congratulations on finishing another Challenge! And for using zoodikers - never heard that word before.

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  7. Zounds! Your poem is zizzer-zazzer-zuzz fantastic!( As were all your A-Z posts.) Congrats on making it to yet another finish line... and in style, too.

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  8. Yvonne - Thanks for all of your support. It was nice going through another A to Z with you!

    Delores - Thanks for making A to Z fun!

    Joyce - Thanks and congrats to you as well!

    Lynn - You've been very creative too! It was fun doing the challenge with you! Thanks Lynn!

    Yvonne - Not all of the words are Yiddish. Zoodikers, zoster, and zibibs are unusual "Z" words that I found on another site. Thanks Yvonne!

    Alex - Thanks for everything! I appreciate all of your visits, and still can't believe you only have two hands! You also were an amazing A to Z host!

    Susan - Speaking of "style" your cover for Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade is a real beauty! I can't believe it's coming out next month. I'm so excited for you! Thanks Susan!

    Julie

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  9. Zat right? Congrats on completing the A-Z Challenge. What fun it's been!

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  10. Congrats on finishing the A-Z! ANd what a way to end the challenge. bravo!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  11. Bob - It was great meeting you through the challenge! Thanks for following me, and I hope to see more of you!

    Thanks for the kind words Nutschell!

    Julie

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  12. I love learning what a zhlub is. What a great word. :)

    I loved all of your poems and stories as always, Julie. It was fun going through another Challenge with you. I think this was our third one, right? Yay! :)

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  13. Zat was zensational! Really, loved all the new words you used. Must go use zaftig in a sentence!

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  14. All i have to say beside congratulations and it was a pleasure to do another A-Z year with you is....
    Zowie that was some poem!

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  15. Amazing...I don't think I could have done that. How many Z words is that? Congrats on finishing the A-Z!!

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  16. Congrats on crossing the finishing line, Julie!
    Combining the Z-post with the IWSG... that's very smart.
    Thanks for this vocabulary lesson.

    Writer In Transit

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  17. You did a super fantastic job this month! Imprezzive!

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  18. These are more Z words than I ever knew existed. Which is why I suck at scrabble...

    Hugs!

    Valerie

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  19. Julie - It was our third A to Z together, and you really made it fun! I really enjoyed learning more about Alaska. Now that things are settling down, I hope to start reading Polar Express this summer. Thanks for always cheering me on no matter how busy you were!

    Luanne - There are lots of zaftig, badass women out there!

    Jen - It's been so much fun spending our second A to Z together! I've enjoyed your stories, as well as, your beautiful photos! Thanks for everything!

    Sharon - Congrats to you as well! Now you are an official A to Z survivor! Thanks Sharon!

    Carol - Thanks and congrats to you and your entertaining cast of characters!

    Michelle - It's amazing how much you've accomplished this month! You've created this imaginative theme, as well as being a ninja minion! I thought this would be a good opportunity to combine both posts, while saving everyone's sore eyes and fingers in the process! Thanks Michelle!

    Thanks so much Jeff! I really enjoyed your fun theme!

    Valerie - I would only do well on an open book Scrabble tournament! Hugs to you Valerie!

    Julie

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  20. girl! that poem was zealously good? yes, i made up a word! it must have been freakin' hard though! kudos to you! :D

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  21. Another great poem. I struggle with spelling as well, everyday. There is the American way and British version, and these days my friends and readers are pretty well split. So when I ask, was it spelt correctly, the answer depends less on my spelling and more on who I asked.

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  23. Tammy - Nope, someone else beat you to it, but I appreciate your zest for Z! Sometimes writing poetry is easier than a story. Thanks Tammy!

    Rhonda - Didn't you write about that during our first A to Z? Your travel tips were the best, and I had so much fun going through another challenge with you!

    Julie

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  24. Julie, you have some great 'Z' words here, learn and new thing every day. Well done for making it to the end of the challenge!

    Amanda - Realityarts-Creativity
    Art Blog

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  25. Thank you! Congratulations on finishing another Challenge.

    I'm glad you provided a glossary at the end of the poem. I honestly thought you'd made up some of those words. Who uses words like those anyway? I mean in real life. Great Z entry.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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  26. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Those words made it an unusual and fun read. Your poems were great this year! Congrats on finishing! :)

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  27. None of the Z words you have mentioned are in my Dictionary. Thanks for sharing.

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  28. Amanda - Thanks and congrats to you as well!

    Lee - I think that Woody Allen and Mel Brooks may have slipped "zaftig" and "zhlub" into some of their movies. Thanks for hosting another amazing A to Z! I also enjoyed your entertaining posts!

    Nick - Your audience participation theme always had everyone coming back for more! It's impressive how you made it all work brilliantly! Thanks and congrats to you Nick!

    Munir - A friend gave me a book about Yiddish words that I used as a reference. Many of the other words I found on Google. Congrats on finishing A to Z Munir!

    Julie

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  29. These are really great Z words!

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  30. I'm not sure why, but even as an experienced writer, I only knew zaftig.

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  31. Ha! I love this post. So much fun :) cheers for the A-Z challenge.

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  32. I can tell you had a lot of fun with that! I've always liked "zaftig." It's such a romantic word for chubby. Fun poem! :-)

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  33. Thank you Gina!

    JJ - I also knew zaftig, zayde and zhlub from my childhood. The other Z - words were new to me as well.

    Thanks so much Michelle!

    Lexa - It does have a nice ring to it. Thanks Lexa, and it was fun!

    Julie

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  34. A couple years ago, I bought a Yiddish-English dictionary (er, silly book) for the fun of it. I love to use Yiddish words. It's a language with so much chutzpah. I'm impressed with all the Z words you used. And it all works - with a fun pace and playful sequence of zevents. ExZellent work. Zaida would be proud. Congratulations on a wonderfully entertaining A-Z series, Julie.

    xoRobyn

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    1. Robyn - It's funny because my friend gave me the Yiddish book a while ago, and it really came in handy. This is quite a compliment coming from a published poet! Thanks so much Robyn!

      Julie

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  35. I would have liked this poem even if I hadn't learned a bunch of new words!

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