Curmudgeons

I like long walks, especially when they're taken by people who annoy me.
~Fred Allen

Everyone feels like shaking their fist at a cloud sometimes, right? (Dealing with pharmacies has made me feel like that more than once.) My friend Margaret Simon posted about National Curmudgeons Day, which was January 29th, and is graciously allowing me to share the poem she wrote for it.

Before we take a look, here are a couple more curmudgeon quotes that amused me:

Curmudgeons and cats usually get along famously because we have a mutual disdain for foolishness.
~Richard E. Turner

O, could I clamber to the frozen moon,
And cut away my ladder!
~George H. Boker

Sample curmudgeons:
Oscar the Grouch
Grumpy Cat
The two cantankerous elderly Muppets (Statler and Waldorf)
Squidward
Ron Swanson? (Parks & Rec)

when I looked up "curmudgeons,"
this fellow showed up
photo by Oskari Kettunen

Margaret used the definito poem form, invented by Heidi Mordhorst. A definito is a poem of 8-12 lines that defines a word and ends with the defined word.

National Curmudgeons Day Definito
by Margaret Simon

When your day starts out in slush and mud,
When nothing seems quite right,
When your cat scratches drawing blood,
When you’ve already lost the fight,
When all you want to do is rest
or hide, just slam the door,
You can’t suppress your grumpiness;
Your mom says you’re a boar.
Your face turns green and grouchy,
shoulders glum and slouchy.
It may be better to stay in
as you are a curmudgeon.

Margaret's notebook page
for National Curmudgeons Day

* If you're always cranky (or problematically cranky), you might want to check out this list of medical reasons for irritability
* What to do if you're cranky and blue (a book for kids)
* Foods for bad moods
* Suggestions for when you're feeling grumpy at work