A Break from Novel Writing
Sometimes we writers need a break from short story or novel writing, and for me an escape into poetry does the trick. My Alphabet Of Silly Verse is something I put together over two decades ago - I even created the illustrations - and I had a lot of fun. There are openings for poetry nowadays - WRITING Magazine, for example, has a large central section devoted to it, plus monthly competitions - so why not have a go?
There are 26 verses to my Alphabet - doh! - with some, but not all, having illustrations attached. I'm hoping to include them all in this blog over a period of time. Meanwhile, here are the first four:
An albatross called Arnold, a bird of great renown,
Was spotted over Heathrow flying upside down.
As he flapped above the runways causing chaos on the ground,
An Air Controller shouted out 'Clear off, you great white clown!'
We've no place here,' he angrily cried, 'for silly aerobatics.
If only it didn't bring bad luck I'd soon cut short your antics!'
Babe in black satin, dressed in mother's clothes,
A shiny scarlet sequin gummed upon her nose.
Babe in black satin, beads hung on her chest,
Bumps of socks and handkerchiefs stuffed inside her vest.
A centipede called Caesar was locked inside a freezer
With fifty chilly carcasses of beef.
When at last he was defrosted he was somewhat maladjusted
And had a hundred chilblains on his feet.,
In a dug-out west of Eden lived a daemon - don't say 'demon' -
Of his dipthong he was obstinately proud.
His real name was David but he wrote it D-AE-VID
And perpetually spelled it out aloud.
