show folk

In the midst of reading ALL HIS JAZZ: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BOB FOSSE by Martin Gottfried, and learning of the friendship between Fosse and Paddy Chayefsky, the acrostic “Show Folk” occurred. Flashy Fosse is Show; and who is more Folksy than the hero of Chayefsky’s MARTY? Off we went.

Here are the words of the double-acrostic sonnet:

Show Folk

SUCCESS: best taken with that grain of snuff
Seize moments, lest the dark steal like a thief
Some mama cats won’t tote us by the scruff
Some ships are built to f o u n d e r on a reef

Huge OPPORTUNITIES have trapdoors too
How quickly handshook YES becomes a No
How quickly sours the Love Nest bill & coo
Howbeit, STRIVE–you may Behold & Lo

Ovations never last. PERSISTENCE will
Obliterate frustration and will quell
Oy-Vehish dark despair. We must distill
Our spirits from beyond ephemeral

We’ll Break A Leg, yet rise above the murk
With Old School secret sauce: workworkWorkWORK