The Time I Got Lost

I’m standing by the sweets

And I shuffle on my feets

Now I see that mum was right

When we got into a fight

About how much they cost

The time I got lost

I think I might just sit

I’m not brave a bit

I’m in such a fix

‘cos I’m only six

(well, five and a half)

My tummy is in knots

The time I got lost

I wish that people cared

Now I’m getting scared

The cleaner pushed his mop

I couldn’t make him stop

And I got sploshed

The time I got lost

Corridors of food

But I wasn’t in the mood

Normally I like cheeses

But I am by the freezers

I’m afraid I’m going to cry

Frozen fish with one big eye

I’m in the ice caps of Iceland

Oh, why’d I let go her hand?

I fell down on my knees

Won’t someone help me please?

I was truly in the frost

The day I got lost.

And out among the toys

There were only naughty boys

And dinosaurs that roared

and trolls that made me bored

With goo dripping from his fangs

The monster – there, he hangs!

He thought he was the boss

The time I got lost

And now she runs towards me

Oh, look, it’s mummy

All she does is grins

My world no longer spins

So afraid I thought I’d be

That I did a little wee

But now I am found

I’ll soon be homeward bound

And all is not lost

The time I got lost.

I Love little Furry Things

I love little furry things

that whizz across the floor

That no one can identify

It makes me love them more

And if they have long tails

It doesn’t induce fright

And if they have big whiskers

It fills me with delight

I love little furry things

anything rodent shaped

That might crawl up your leg

And make the faint heart faint

I just don’t get it

Why are we scared of them?

They’re soft and they are fuzzy

From where did our fears stem?

Why do they scare the elephant

When it is so big?

Why do they scare the human race

When they’re the size of a small wig?

Oh, I love little furry things

That dart across the floor

It’s true, they nibble a lot

But they don’t shout or roar

I love little furry things

That get eaten by cats

They’re much smaller than us

So don’t kill them in traps

So, the moral of this story stands

Well, there is no moral really

Just be kind to those of us

Who are small and cute and furry.

 

Colours

I was black and I was blue

With a yellow purple hue

Bruised because of you

So thank you

I was grey and I was down

Because of you, psychotic clown

You know you broke my crown

So thank you

I am grateful for your stink

Because it made me think

I started to be pink

So thank you

You took me to the lows

I went from China Rose

To red as Drinkers Nose

So thank you

But now I’m on the rise

The colours are surprised

They’ve suddenly got wise

So thank you

I’m not as green in game

You’re the quagmire heat of blame

You’re the dirty brown of shame

So F you.

 

Toasted Crumpet

A griddle cake

By any other name

Would taste as sweet

I toast it

Both sides

Now, hot off the press

I spread the

golden

melting

ever so slightly flowing

butter

And watch it seep

Deep

Not over the edge

And not out of the bottom

But into the pores

And into the heart of comfort

That is my crumpet

 

He’s Coming Home

Image result for Creative Commons Photos of Poppies

I’d not forgotten his face

Or the sound of his voice

I’d not forgotten his smile

My heart gave me no choice

I would close my eyes

And count to ten

And have the crystal clear dream

I’d wake up from again

But I’m not asleep anymore

There’s warmth from the sun

And bad times are over

This war is now done

He’s coming home

After all this time

He’s coming home

At long last, he’s mine

It might take a while

To finally feel free

But he’s coming home soon

He’s coming home to me

 

 

 

 

After Years Of Darkness

Image result for Creative Commons Photos of Poppies

After years of darkness

The light is shining through

After years of darkness

The sun is now in view

We will be together

When we were so alone

We will be together

Now you are coming home

After years of darkness

It’s looking brighter now

Let’s chase away the darkness

And make up the years somehow

Now there’s tears of joy

Instead of tears of sorrow

We have a new today

We have a new tomorrow

Now it is our time

Hope is on its way

After years of darkness

You are home to stay

The Story Of The Poppy

Image result for Creative Commons Photos of Poppies

The soldiers were courageous

But in battle they did yield

And John McCrea, he lost a friend

On Ypres fighting field

He wrote Flanders Fields for him

His soul he laid out bare

He wrote about the poppy fields

For every soldier there

The slender graceful poppy

Sprouted where they lay

So that we would think of them

Every Remembrance Day

They grew in their thousands

And proudly there they stand

This hardy little flower

Grows on barren land

American lady, Moira Michael

Made poppies of silk to sell

And Anna Guerin, brought them to England

And boy, did they sell well!

It was The Royal British Legion

Who sold nine million poppies on

Remembrance Day

Back in nineteen twenty one

Over one hundred thousand pounds

That first appeal did raise

Which helped the Great War veterans

In those very early days

The Legion, along with Major George

Houston’s factory line

To this day, produce nine million

poppies, every year combined.

Scotland wanted poppies too

But England’s were all gone

Lady Haig set a factory up

So Edinburgh had one

A story of a little flower

A symbol of life and not of death

Its beauty blooms to give us hope

And help us never to forget

My Pixie Boots

At my local Writers Group, part of the session involves an improvised writing exercise. We are given a writing prompt and then we have approximately ten minutes to write something and then have to read it out. Last time, we had to write a poem or story on boots or shoes, that were important to us in some way.  I’m in awe of people who can write improvised poems, or indeed any creative writing that is ‘off the cuff’ and under pressure. Also, people who can just take out a notepad on the bus and start writing. I normally need a good comfort zone and lots of time to write, with no time limits or restrictions. I’ve done improv acting but never impro writing, until lately. I’m learning in that sphere and it’s interesting. Didn’t know I had it in me to be spontaneous.  It’s scary but I think practice is the key.  If you keep doing something, you get better at it and one day, hopefully, it’s not scary at all. So here’s an impro writing exercise I did on boots. My first ever impro poem!

 

Pixie Boots

I am but a thimbleful

I roam in strange hours

I sip from buttercups

And abseil from flowers

I climb to the top

Of the ivy on the wall

There’s not many pixies

Who can do that at all

I saddle a slug

And we ride the soil

Jump over cabbages

It’s not much of a toil

I’ve not lost a feather

I’m full of spice and pep

My pixie boots

Have lots of mileage yet

And when the sun is tired

And I feel sleepy too

I snuggle in the moss

And say goodnight to you.

 

 

 

 

Autumn Tints

She’s just slipping into

her sophisticated gown

It fits like a glove

Lays a train all around

The neckline is green

And the colours on the bust

Are chestnut, coffee, hazel

Auburn, tawny, rust.

We see the seasons fashions

Start to unfold

The waistline is burnt orange

The skirt is copper gold

The hemline is yellow

With warm and earthy tones

Embellished and bedecked

With pink and purple stones

Now she’s dancing on the ground

And it is her sole duty

To be the belle of the ball

This graceful autumn beauty

Hitting The Sauce

My niece is thirty this November. I recently got in touch with her after not being in contact for two years. It’s the longest time we’ve ever gone without contact, simply because life got in the way. We would always see each other quite regularly and I realised just how much I’d missed her.

We wrote this little ditty together back in our darker days, when life was more challenging than it is now. There was a time when we both needed a drink to get through the hell that was our life. I hope I’m not being over dramatic here (and they say the past always looks sweeter in hindsight).

Well, anyway, this is what we wrote together. Although, I’m fairly certain she wrote most of it. She’s a very talented lady. To Kerry. Let’s try not to let life get in the way again. It’s far too short.

Hitting The Sauce

Lager, cider, wine and port,

Rum, brandy, vodka quart.

Gin, ale, alcopops,

Baileys, Barcadi, tequila shots.

 

Bucks fizz, snow balls, Aussie whites,

Gettin’ blind on all the nights.

Champagne, absinthe, lotsa sherry.

The stuff to down when you wanna get merry.

 

Chorus:

Let’s get loaded.

Let’s get pissed,

Let’s get drunk,

On Vodka Twists.

 

Pernod, Bourbon and JD,

Lots of drinkin’ for you & me.

Southern comfort, bitter, stout,

I wanna be a lager lout.

 

Tia-Maria, Guinness, mild,

Let’s get smashed, let’s get wild.

Cointreau, whiskey, advocaat,

Down the chute, you won’t get far.

 

Chorus:

Let’s get loaded.

Let’s get pissed,

Let’s get drunk,

On Vodka Twists.

 

The moral of this story stands,

Keep your precious drink in hand.

Drink it fast, drink it quick,

Morning after…now – you sick.

 

©Hassell/Young