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DER YIDDISH-VINKL March 4, 2005

By now, the special style and use of Yinglish (a mix of Yiddish and English) by our regular contributor, Stanley Siegelman, is known by readers of Der Vinkl. A goodly part of his genius is his rare ability to find subjects that bypass most of us. And in this column he does it again, with his choice of Viagra as his theme. In what follows, both the English and the Yiddish versions are the work of Siegelman.

Viagra far Alte Menner

In nursing homes” zey krikhn shver:

Alte mener, veytikdik zeyer

Doktoyrim gibn zey a “drug

Vos mener darfn (Oy, a klug!)

Viagra shlingen zey a sakh

Far vos, du fregst? Kum, gib a lakh

Vos tut dos far an altn “guy”?

Dertseyl far undz “the reason why”!

Der entfer iz gants prost, nisht “coy”

Es geyt — m’shushket zikh nit — azoy:

“Viagra farzorgt a ‘safety net’

Zey valgern zikh arop fun bet!”

Viagra for the Elderly

In nursing homes they move like snails

The populace of aging males

And yet the drug that they receive

(By far the most, would you believe?)

Is named Viagra, stimulant

That makes ’em yearn and squirm and pant

Can this be justified, we ask?

Or should we take the docs to task?

Just listen to the homes’ defense

And tell us if it makes good sense:

“Viagra, now much coveted

Prevents their rolling out of bed.”

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