A collaborative work by Lezlie Branum's class, Spring 2016. Each person's contribution is labeled with their name.
Waldo's Epic Poem
Proposed Titles
Lezlie Branum
Of those locales to which he traveled far,
from the Pyramids of yore to the Alps,
soles worn thin by our hero’s tireless pains
to duck, to tuck, to dart among the crowd
of similarly clad foes, stocking capped,
red-brimmed--then alabaster--and crowned with
fuzzy ball of sanguine rose: Praise the Man!
Sing of Him, the legend, that most cunning
of Brits! Forsooth, Sing, O Muse! Of the wiley
chameleon genius, Full well thou know'st
that our woesome ears have long since desired
to hear of the tragic quest he pursues
each day; Sing of this man, we implore thee.
Jessica Hill
O Waldo! Your world is in chaos, you cannot deny.
Page after page, you are pursued. Countless outcries
of “Oh, there he is!” Yet still you endure. Your well of
courage is without limits, and humbly praise your Hero’s
Plight. O Spectacled Specter of Red and White.
Brady Martin
Behind handcarts and villagers, he is
resistant to capture. He persists—he
scurries—he eludes. But whatever for?
He begs and pleads—he knows not why. “Why dost
thou chase me? Let me be, please, I implore."
Holly Hudson
Who is this man? No one knows the epic
Struggles he hath faced as he navigates
The dirty taverns and caves of the world.
What dangers hath he faced alone, without
Anywhere to call a home and no one
To care about his feelings? Doth he even
Have the impulses of common folk or
Is his only purpose in life hiding in
Impossible places to divine?
McCoy Allen
Does he truly wish to be found? Who knows.
O Waldo! It is his oath-bound duty
to provide countless hours of tormentous
internal Searching, Screaming, Squinting, Seeking.
He that maketh car rides to Grandma Lou’s
seem less long to Mom and Dad who beg for
just a moment of peace and quiet, please.
Claire Louise Harlan
And yet it seems it ne’er will end; he runs
and runs and yet time after time he’s found.
Arrested and accosted in his flight,
only to be released and lost once more.
A vicious cycle. O, will’t never end?
Though foolish it may sound, he dreams of one
day resting his sore and tir’d feet in a
home he calls his own. Could it ever be?
Sing, O Muse! Unfold to us this endless
tale of woe. Reveal to us our hero’s
chase of dreams, caught ‘twixt duty and desire.
Natalie Harker
But where to start! Oh hero with no past!
What did you do to incur the wrath of
so many who would seek you endlessly?
Oh poor Waldo, you, so misunderstood.
Your journey is not meant to be revealed.
You hide, not from those who would seek your face,
But from one who you tricked at justice’s
command. That villain, who many should fear,
who created an army of glasses
and stripes, that seeks to destroy all that’s good.
Anny Palmer
That voice which makes mother’s hold their children
close to their breast and breathe reassurance.
Those shrewd eyes that almost pierced our dear hero’s
thoughts as he stood amidst the blood-red caps
Alas, Oh Waldo! Your escape, in vain!
An eternal struggle of hiding in fear.
Sadie Anderson
It seems Waldo cannot run anymore.
No longer can he be endlessly chased.
No longer can he run from page to page
wracked with an endless red striped misery.
So, he switches into his thinking cap,
and plans his escape from the tyrannical,
evil keeper of all things that are lost.
Michael Rush
And so insipid his gray lament
With back crooked and knee bent,
Waldo remembered the cold treachery,
Of the vile, bloodied, Baron Mandekey,
Who painted Waldo in shades of white and red;
And lies of malcontent he widely spread.
So efficacious his mad foe’s calumny,
That no friend dared aid- e’en clandestinely.
But Waldo, aye, that cunning fox,
Would not be contained in any box,
And so he conspired this daring plan,
To wait and hide behind a hairy man.
Ben Stout
But what, oh Waldo, have you lost so dear,
in the midst of the crowds have you misplaced,
in England a blue cup of drink so fine,
in France, your favorite book of travel.
Oh what you have lost in the rabbled crowd.
Riley Olsen
Through his bristled legs Waldo did spy,
A flurry of red striped movement catching his eye
“Could it be?” he exclaimed full of hope and delight
Wilma, his lover, appeared in his sight.
He watched as Mandekey captured his love
and dragged Wilma off with a push and a shove.
So in a classic reversal of roles
Waldo must do the searching to defeat his foe.
Mariah Alvarado
And so our hero began to lament,
“Methinks that I must seek what has been lost
My dearest Wilma, clad in red and white,
Her ever-matching umbrella in hand,
Is gone! And oh, the woe! Oh, the woe!
What shall I do, oh where shall I go?”
Elizabeth Peel
He searched for his lover in seemingly
Hopeless attempts. What could he do? Oh, where
Could she be? Round every corner, through each
Crowd of foes, he knew she slipped further from
His grasp with each desperate move. “Why, oh, why
Did it have to be?” he thought with woe. “Life
Was so much simpler when all were seeking me.”
Ashley Orellana
From page to page did our hero go,
Sometimes imagining another world,
One filled with words of rhyme rather than the
Endless sea of identical faces.
Or perhaps a longer free prose?
Only then he would need the maiden’s name
Versus the labyrinth of breathing walls.
But alas! Such dreams do no good as the
Search must continue and the hero must
Produce the good - her oh so tender grin.
Christopher Nicholson (me)
After three days had passed with no success,
Desperation overtook our hero,
Who realized this herculean task was
Beyond his strength alone. It would require
The aid and guidance of an old mentor
Who once had been a lover, but whose name
Now brought a shudder to his stripey frame.
Harsh words exchanged, pride and feelings wounded,
Now paled beside the harsh reality
That without her, Wilma was forever
Lost. Summoning his courage, he cried out
With equal parts longing and regret, “Where
In the world is Carmen Sandiego?”
Angela Stout
A shadow fell o’er him and slowly he
turned to face the red clad figure.
“Who wants to know?” she crowed
with a smirk and a twirl of her gun.
He curtly nodded and replied “I’ve heard you
are in search of Mandekey’s riches and I am
here to offer up my services.”
Abby Ensign
for twas’ better to him to seek the aid of one
whose love he lost, than to face the anguish of
losing love twice. It was Wilma he sought, and no
treasure could compare to the love that filled his chest,
while the thought of her, long now, disappearance filled
his whole soul with despair.
Monica Robinson
Oh, Candy Striped Waldo! Seeking solitude
when love is lost- the nameless foes persist
There is no peace, Declare! For without Wilma
your stripes are black, and mud is your
hiding place. The bright chace is folly-
Let the elusive Waldo be found,
for Wilma was the game, and Wilma the catch.
Emma Buckley
for Waldo, to be found is to be loved
a prospect frightening and compelling;
Will he give himself up? Will he become
No longer an enigma? Oh, Waldo--
If he ignores his heart which longs for love
He is indeed more lost than we had thought.
Spencer Skeen
“Mandekey’s riches you say” she mused
“What do you want? What is the price for this?”
Waldo cleared his throat and said a bit slow
“To find Wanda, my girlfriend, she’s gone”
Carmen laughed and pulled off her hat and took
Off her coat; she put glasses on her face
It was wanda! What a prank what a joke!
- Waldo Lost
- O Waldo, Where Art Thou?
- Waldo Found.
- Waldo’s Labour’s Lost / Love Waldo’s Lost
Lezlie Branum
Of those locales to which he traveled far,
from the Pyramids of yore to the Alps,
soles worn thin by our hero’s tireless pains
to duck, to tuck, to dart among the crowd
of similarly clad foes, stocking capped,
red-brimmed--then alabaster--and crowned with
fuzzy ball of sanguine rose: Praise the Man!
Sing of Him, the legend, that most cunning
of Brits! Forsooth, Sing, O Muse! Of the wiley
chameleon genius, Full well thou know'st
that our woesome ears have long since desired
to hear of the tragic quest he pursues
each day; Sing of this man, we implore thee.
Jessica Hill
O Waldo! Your world is in chaos, you cannot deny.
Page after page, you are pursued. Countless outcries
of “Oh, there he is!” Yet still you endure. Your well of
courage is without limits, and humbly praise your Hero’s
Plight. O Spectacled Specter of Red and White.
Brady Martin
Behind handcarts and villagers, he is
resistant to capture. He persists—he
scurries—he eludes. But whatever for?
He begs and pleads—he knows not why. “Why dost
thou chase me? Let me be, please, I implore."
Holly Hudson
Who is this man? No one knows the epic
Struggles he hath faced as he navigates
The dirty taverns and caves of the world.
What dangers hath he faced alone, without
Anywhere to call a home and no one
To care about his feelings? Doth he even
Have the impulses of common folk or
Is his only purpose in life hiding in
Impossible places to divine?
McCoy Allen
Does he truly wish to be found? Who knows.
O Waldo! It is his oath-bound duty
to provide countless hours of tormentous
internal Searching, Screaming, Squinting, Seeking.
He that maketh car rides to Grandma Lou’s
seem less long to Mom and Dad who beg for
just a moment of peace and quiet, please.
Claire Louise Harlan
And yet it seems it ne’er will end; he runs
and runs and yet time after time he’s found.
Arrested and accosted in his flight,
only to be released and lost once more.
A vicious cycle. O, will’t never end?
Though foolish it may sound, he dreams of one
day resting his sore and tir’d feet in a
home he calls his own. Could it ever be?
Sing, O Muse! Unfold to us this endless
tale of woe. Reveal to us our hero’s
chase of dreams, caught ‘twixt duty and desire.
Natalie Harker
But where to start! Oh hero with no past!
What did you do to incur the wrath of
so many who would seek you endlessly?
Oh poor Waldo, you, so misunderstood.
Your journey is not meant to be revealed.
You hide, not from those who would seek your face,
But from one who you tricked at justice’s
command. That villain, who many should fear,
who created an army of glasses
and stripes, that seeks to destroy all that’s good.
Anny Palmer
That voice which makes mother’s hold their children
close to their breast and breathe reassurance.
Those shrewd eyes that almost pierced our dear hero’s
thoughts as he stood amidst the blood-red caps
Alas, Oh Waldo! Your escape, in vain!
An eternal struggle of hiding in fear.
Sadie Anderson
It seems Waldo cannot run anymore.
No longer can he be endlessly chased.
No longer can he run from page to page
wracked with an endless red striped misery.
So, he switches into his thinking cap,
and plans his escape from the tyrannical,
evil keeper of all things that are lost.
Michael Rush
And so insipid his gray lament
With back crooked and knee bent,
Waldo remembered the cold treachery,
Of the vile, bloodied, Baron Mandekey,
Who painted Waldo in shades of white and red;
And lies of malcontent he widely spread.
So efficacious his mad foe’s calumny,
That no friend dared aid- e’en clandestinely.
But Waldo, aye, that cunning fox,
Would not be contained in any box,
And so he conspired this daring plan,
To wait and hide behind a hairy man.
Ben Stout
But what, oh Waldo, have you lost so dear,
in the midst of the crowds have you misplaced,
in England a blue cup of drink so fine,
in France, your favorite book of travel.
Oh what you have lost in the rabbled crowd.
Riley Olsen
Through his bristled legs Waldo did spy,
A flurry of red striped movement catching his eye
“Could it be?” he exclaimed full of hope and delight
Wilma, his lover, appeared in his sight.
He watched as Mandekey captured his love
and dragged Wilma off with a push and a shove.
So in a classic reversal of roles
Waldo must do the searching to defeat his foe.
Mariah Alvarado
And so our hero began to lament,
“Methinks that I must seek what has been lost
My dearest Wilma, clad in red and white,
Her ever-matching umbrella in hand,
Is gone! And oh, the woe! Oh, the woe!
What shall I do, oh where shall I go?”
Elizabeth Peel
He searched for his lover in seemingly
Hopeless attempts. What could he do? Oh, where
Could she be? Round every corner, through each
Crowd of foes, he knew she slipped further from
His grasp with each desperate move. “Why, oh, why
Did it have to be?” he thought with woe. “Life
Was so much simpler when all were seeking me.”
Ashley Orellana
From page to page did our hero go,
Sometimes imagining another world,
One filled with words of rhyme rather than the
Endless sea of identical faces.
Or perhaps a longer free prose?
Only then he would need the maiden’s name
Versus the labyrinth of breathing walls.
But alas! Such dreams do no good as the
Search must continue and the hero must
Produce the good - her oh so tender grin.
Christopher Nicholson (me)
After three days had passed with no success,
Desperation overtook our hero,
Who realized this herculean task was
Beyond his strength alone. It would require
The aid and guidance of an old mentor
Who once had been a lover, but whose name
Now brought a shudder to his stripey frame.
Harsh words exchanged, pride and feelings wounded,
Now paled beside the harsh reality
That without her, Wilma was forever
Lost. Summoning his courage, he cried out
With equal parts longing and regret, “Where
In the world is Carmen Sandiego?”
Angela Stout
A shadow fell o’er him and slowly he
turned to face the red clad figure.
“Who wants to know?” she crowed
with a smirk and a twirl of her gun.
He curtly nodded and replied “I’ve heard you
are in search of Mandekey’s riches and I am
here to offer up my services.”
Abby Ensign
for twas’ better to him to seek the aid of one
whose love he lost, than to face the anguish of
losing love twice. It was Wilma he sought, and no
treasure could compare to the love that filled his chest,
while the thought of her, long now, disappearance filled
his whole soul with despair.
Monica Robinson
Oh, Candy Striped Waldo! Seeking solitude
when love is lost- the nameless foes persist
There is no peace, Declare! For without Wilma
your stripes are black, and mud is your
hiding place. The bright chace is folly-
Let the elusive Waldo be found,
for Wilma was the game, and Wilma the catch.
Emma Buckley
for Waldo, to be found is to be loved
a prospect frightening and compelling;
Will he give himself up? Will he become
No longer an enigma? Oh, Waldo--
If he ignores his heart which longs for love
He is indeed more lost than we had thought.
Spencer Skeen
“Mandekey’s riches you say” she mused
“What do you want? What is the price for this?”
Waldo cleared his throat and said a bit slow
“To find Wanda, my girlfriend, she’s gone”
Carmen laughed and pulled off her hat and took
Off her coat; she put glasses on her face
It was wanda! What a prank what a joke!