Just A Dish Poem by Douglas Scotney

Trish:
So, the Shortlia,
why do you call the Paulownia* that?

Doug:
It's named after Pavlovna* the Russian princess.
Pavlo is Paul.
Paulo is Latin for 'short'.
-vna, I take it, is Russian for -ly,
and -y becomes -ia
(trees, like nations, often end in that.)

Ask me why
I call the pavlova* the shorty?

Trish:
So, why?

Doug:
The same for Pavlo,
and because
-va, I take it, is -y.

Trish:
So it ends in -y:
so why not the shortia?

Doug: It ends in -y, trendy* Trish,
because it's just a dish.