Carpe Diem

My old Latin teacher taught us
Carpe Diem. “Seize the day”…

What nonsense!
I don’t know what things were like in Latin times,
whether their concept of day was
radically
different to ours
(Did you know they had no word for “blue”? I digress)

But the metaphysical notion of “seizing” in the sense of forcibly grasping and holding in one’s hands one full rotation around the Sun…

that’s beyond me.

No wonder the language died out.
No blue sky thinking.

 

Picture credit: flickr.com/photos/39493003

 

The Weary Traveller

I’m back! Miss me? Don’t answer that 🙂

I’ve just taken a couple of weeks off to recharge the batteries, and deal with some things offline (including, fingers crossed, finding a job). If I’ve missed any amazing posts of yours, please drop me a link in the comments!

There’s going to be a few changes around here, but more on that next week. For now, a poem I wrote a while back, which seems to fit nicely. I’ve written a bunch of stuff while I’ve been away, so there’s plenty more to come – both poetry and 99-word stories. Of course, I didn’t write the things I’d planned to, but that’s becoming a recurring theme… A poet with too many ideas is like a dog with two tails!

**** A huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for me for the ABBA Funniest Blogger award – I am honoured to have even been nominated (even if it was ultimately in vain, grumble grumble 🙂 )

The Weary Traveller
The weary traveller has returned
From the confident kingdom of chronic confusion,
The undulating valleys of mild toothache,
And inevitable ophthalmic inquisitions.

He alone braved the long-ish night;
Withstood, insulated, winter’s whiskered whimpering,
And greeted summer’s salacious sun with solemnity,
Standing stoic as others frivolously frolicked.

He bears so many scars, niggles and nicks within, yet bravely sallies on,
Still travelling through each day,
In and out of narrative,
Towards destinations
Undecided.

 

Picture credit: flickr.com/photos/zniper/2813426331

The Best Song Ever

This is the first full “song” I have ever written. When my ukelele skills are up to muster, I’ll post a video of me playing this… maybe 🙂

 

Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this one,
It really is the best!
It’s better than the previous one,
It’s better than the rest!

I’ve sung it once or twice before,
So please now sing along.
It really is a cracking tune,
Just such a lovely song.

It follows a familiar path,
The words go up and down.
It’s guaranteed to bring a smile,
Impossible to frown.

And now it’s time to   slow   it   down,
To   draw   out   every   word…
Beforewespeeditupagain
Sounding quite absurd!

So…

Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this one,
It clearly is the best,
Much better than the other ones
The bestest best best best!

 

 

Picture credit: flickr.com/photos/dlytle/8439621055

Haiku on my mind!

#1
Haiku on my mind.
Haiku on my mind. Curse you!
HAIKU ON MY MIND!

#2
To Ronovan:
Something on your mind?
Specific haiku, perhaps?
Oh well, never mind

#3
Meant to write about
Haiku rules to keep in mind…
Too many to list

#4
Don’t mind the haiku:
Carpet mess of syllables…
It’s not yet house-trained

#5
Please mind the haiku
It often starts out one way
And then …
Banana!

https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/ronovanwrites-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-69-haikumind/

OctPoWriMo #27 – Something Whimsical

I come from Planet Poetry
My skin is sunrise red
If similes were sandwiches
You’d consider me well-fed!

Life’s whimsical and wonderful
Down here on planet Earth
With freedom to express yourself:
You don’t know what that’s worth!

I come from Planet Poetry
Words whizzing round my head
If metaphors were magazines,
You’d consider me well-read!

Life’s fantastic and it’s fleeting
On this, my blue new home
So why do you court misery,
Like fleas jump to the comb?

But I come from Planet Poetry
You can tell by my third head.
If I’d said this all in front of you,
I’d hope you say…
“well said!”

Just For Fun… (poem)

This poem was written as a bit of fun, to try and use the prompt words “ubiquitous”, “consternation”, and “jackanape”… These being Annette’s favourite words. It’s a bit clunky, but I think you get the idea! Enjoy 🙂

Ubiquitous Bob
Was quick on the job
But a bit of a snob
Nay, a jumped-up jackanape

To wide consternation
He upset the nation
With this affectation
A hat, and crepulent cape

He sported a monocle
For matters canonical
Waxing all lyrical
About the grain and the grape

He then came a cropper
In drink, fell from chopper –
Was caught by a copper
Before he could make his escape

So, Ubiquitous Bob is humbler now
Counting his days in the slammer
But he’ll soon be back out, and bossing about
Rocking that monocle glamour!

If you have a burning desire to see your favourite words mangled and turned into nonsense verse, let me know in the comments!

flickr.com/photos/ittybittiesforyou/5258762690

Eye Strain (poem)

Eyes train…
Eye strain.
Ice train?
Aye’s train.
Nice train.

I strain…
Iced rain!

flickr.com/photos/mikecarson/14191870497 / Creative Commons

The Buoyant Bubble (poem)

A buoyant bubble floated by
Borne upon the breeze
A buoyant bubble hanging there
In days as long as these

That buoyant bubble bore inside
A hundred hopes and dreams
That buoyant bubble full of wishes
Glistens and it gleams

The buoyant bubble on the breeze
It starts and then it stops
I go to catch the buoyant bubble

It pops

Picture courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferran-jorda/2903135140 / Creative Commons

This poem was inspired by a beautiful haiku by Annette Rochelle Aben – you can check it out here: https://annetterochelleaben.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/ageless-wonder/

Summer Lovin’

Here in the UK, the school summer holidays are about to start. I’m taking most of this period off work to spend with my boys, so will be blogging less from now until September. My boys are 2 and 5 years old at the moment, and I’m really looking forward to doing a whole bunch of daft stuff with them while they are at such a fun age. (Any top tips on rainy day options, or things to do in the garden, gratefully received!)

So, the plan for the next few weeks looks like this, all around the loose theme of “summer”. I make no promises about posting every time – priorities!

Mon – Silliness, Stuff and Nonsense (I have some zombie/slug issues still to get out of my system… and don’t even ask about zombie slugs)

Wed – Haiku City

Thu – Throwback Thursday (a poem from the archives)

Fri – “Love”… yeah, I’m keeping this one vague to keep my options open!

A wee insight into my process – I literally have none of this written yet. As ever, I’ll fly by the seat of my pants, and use these prompts and “deadlines” as a spur to my creativity. Let’s hope it all works out… (I’ll still contribute to Ronovan’s weekly haiku challenge too, although I may have to submit late with some.)

Hope you can join me, and hope you have a great summer (even if it’s winter where you are 🙂 ).

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/3772193760 / Creative Commons… I’m not nearly as photogenic as this guy!

An Encounter In The Street (poem)

Walking home along the street
I met a man with cloven feet.
Staring at those mis-shaped toes
I bumped in to him, nose to nose.

“Oi!” he cried, “you stupid prat,
I’ve a mind to slug you, for that.”

I looked the fellow up and down,
All weedy limbs and surly frown,
And declared to him, “Do your worst,
I’ll squeeze your head until it bursts!”

The little man then laughed with glee,
“There’s more to me than you can see!
I was trying today to only do good…”
And he turned me into a slug, where I stood!

So if someone threatens to slug you,
As you’re walking down the street:
Before you slime off, feeling blue,
Deprived of the use of your feet…

The moral of this rhyming verse:
Check if they’re a boxer first.