My fellow Brooklynite, Russell Bittner, tells me that he is working "on a series of poems for snarky children that I intend to market to the children of lawyers -- and, by extension, to those children's parents, many of whom I assume to be equally as snarky."
"Snarky," according to the OED, means "irritable, short tempered," from "snark," meaning either to snort or to nag.
And so here, for all you kids out there, are the opening stanzas of one of Russell's creations -- Nolens Volens (willing or not). The entire poem is available on the 'blog (follow the link below).
Nolens Volens
My friend Nolens – just like me –
goes to bed unwillingly.
Nolens thinks that sleep is rot;
Mom, however, thinks it’s not.
“What the heck,” – I hear Nol say –
“sleeping leads to tooth decay!”
Nolens has a point, I think;
Mom, however, doesn’t blink.
“Sleep’s not right for guys like us –
guys who spit and curse and cuss!”
Nol – it’s clear – loves sacred texts;
Mom politely genuflects.
