The Skillet and The Tick

Last night I attended a birthday dinner for the lovely and gracious Twana at Don Pablos.
Jason (one of the many MonkeyManiacs who lurks in the shadows of this site but doesn't post) ordered a Fajita of some kind. As he was eating from the hot skillet, he came across a forkful of something that looked like a part of the skillet-bottom -- perhaps a piece that had chipped off. We all examined it, and decided (well, Amanda decided) that it was a clump of spices. No doubt this was true, but the rest of us were delighted to think of it as "Skillet," a tasty new dish.
Need to fix dinner, but short on time? Try Skillet. Short on ingredients, but want something the whole family can munch on for hours? Skillet is your dish. And it's very nutritious -- plenty of iron, anyway.

Now, on to other matters. I will now give you people great poetry. One of my own compositions. Following the poem, you will find some essay questions. Best essay wins a can of beets. (You may choose any question to base your essay) Here is the poem:

THE TICK by bobby gilles (B-Dog)

King of the wild, Lord of the tame, mighty
Is his name, the beast we call the tick;
How gracefully he moves, how wonderful
Indeed! To see his blood-swollen body
Is to behold beauty in the making;
To burn that body with a lighter is
The heighth of joy! For, though you may kill him,
Yet will he live on as a memory,
A reminder of happy times to all
Who recall the calm he brought when they pulled
Him from their head and watched him try to flee;
Man, this poem is sick. I'm very sorry.


Discussion Questions for "The Tick"

1. What point is Mr. Gilles making by choosing the tick as his subject? What does this say about the universal longing for peace? Can you apply the principles of the poem to the current peace process in the Middle East?

2. In the first stanza, what does the author mean by the phrase "blood-swollen body"? If he were writing for a modern audience, would he use the same imagery, or would he give up and order a pizza?

3. Describe how pulling a tick from your own head might have the calming effect the poet describes.

4. Divide yourselves up in groups and write an essay that begins "Reading 'The Tick' by Bobby Gilles has changed my life in many ways ...." (Girls and boys may work together, but may NOT hold hands.)