Purple Cow

Today's vocabulary word:

Palinode

Meaning:

(noun) A poem in which the author retracts something said in an earlier poem.

Etymology:
From Greek palinoidia, from palin (again) + oide (song). It's the same palin that shows up in the word palindrome (meaning a word, phrase, verse, or sentence that reads the same backward or forward).

*Obviously the word has nothing to do with Gov. Palin (VP candidate), but it would be a coincidental turn of events if she were to become known for frequently retracting what she's said in her speeches.

Humorous illustration:

Gelett Burgess (1866-1951) wrote a poem called The Purple Cow:

I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.

As the poem's popularity increased and his own association with the poem heightened, he later wrote a palinode:

Confession: and a Portrait, Too,
Upon a Background that I Rue!
Oh, yes, I wrote 'The Purple Cow,'
I'm sorry now I wrote it!
But I can tell you anyhow,
I'll kill you if you quote it.