An attempt at being smarter

Lately I've been trying to improve myself, to enrich my brain, to learn new things.
So I've been reading more, writing more, and trying to participate in activities
that use brain cells rather than kill them.

I have also been trying to notice the little things that make my life good.
For me, this is sometimes a laborious exercise, because I tend to get bogged down by the big picture and to see that big picture dimly.

But I am trying -- on both fronts.

This morning's routine reminded me
how much I appreciate
medicine.
So I had the thought to write an ode, and then I wondered,
"What is an ode, exactly?"
So I looked it up.

According to this little eHow.com article,
"The ode is generally defined as a rhymed poem of irregular meter
that praises its subject.
The English ode consists of an undefined number of 10-line stanzas."

Interesting. I also learned that each stanza follows an "ababcdecde" format.

I decided to try.
What follows is my five-minute attempt:
a single stanza in ababcdecde iambic pentameter.
I threw in pictures just for kicks.

An ode to modern medicine

I'm glad that in two thousand nine
A pharmacy's just down the street
For ailments young and old (and mine)
A cure or treatment there I'll meet

For coughs and third trimester puke
For earaches all the winter long

For eczema skin rashes red
A cream or salve or band rebukes

When illness flares and seems too strong,
A modern freezer soothes 'fore bed.

...

So, did you learn something today?

[This silly exercise was brought you
by the rambling, wacky thoughts of a mom who often feels dumb.]