Category: Poetry

Spring Fever for O Zangado

Spring Fever

I know where the ivy climbs
while lords and ladies
drop in from the fields
and rambling brambles
with nettles entangle.

I notice the goosegrass
clambering through
the Japanese Quince
and see the forget-me-nots
competing with peony shoots.

And I smile wearily
at the dandelions
(with their long tap roots)
as they grin at me knowingly
from their position of strength.

But from where I sit
with the scent of the Daphne drifting
over me I see tulips and cherry blossom
lit up in the Spring sunshine.
I pull on the gardening gloves.

This year I will win.
It has only just begun.
This year a little at a time
the battle between nature
and nurture will be mine.

PS this is not new, only lightly pruned, so it may not qualify for OZ poetry competition

6th Poetry Competition

Well I’m pleased and flattered, with the result of the 5th, especially as I managed to turn Stephen Hawking into Stephen Hawkin in the first one (you would not believe poetic license I suppose?).
For the next event I propose “A Parody” (not that many of the previous entries have not been inadvertently that), but this should be deliberate and should target some piece that is recognizably pompous, maudlin or melodramatic (or all three).
Continue reading “6th Poetry Competition”

5th Poetry Competition

I thought it might be interesting and the results amusing, to ask Charioteers to write some Clerihews. I am sure most are familiar with the form, but if not, here is some background, pinched shamelessly from Wikipedia.

Form

A clerihew has the following properties:

  • It is biographical and usually whimsical, showing the subject from an unusual point of view; it pokes fun at mostly famous people
  • It has four lines of irregular length (for comic effect); the third and fourth lines are usually longer than the first two
  • The rhyme structure is AABB; the subject matter and wording are often humorously contrived in order to achieve a rhyme
  • The first line consists solely (or almost solely) of the subject’s name.

Clerihews are not satirical or abusive, but they target famous individuals and reposition them in an absurd, anachronistic or commonplace setting, often giving them an over-simplified and slightly garbled description (similar to the schoolboy style of 1066 and All That). Continue reading “5th Poetry Competition”

Poetry Competition – Nursery Rhymes – Winner

As you will have probably seen for yourselves on the Poll, Sipu is our clear winner.

Congratulations, Sipu!

On behalf of Janus, thanks are due to everyone who entered and also to all of you who read their beaut submissions and voted.   Let’s hope Janus is back soon, even if they are both a year older. 😎

On Nursery Rhymes

In the early 70s I was studying for my National Certificate in Electrical Engineering. I was now 30 something, before ‘Friends‘, and at a time when being 30 meant being an adult and not some late developing adolescent. It was also the time when, for reasons unknown to me, it was decided that engineers lacked ‘culture’, and so lessons in ‘cultural studies’ were an essential part of the course. Having two young children at the time,my chosen subject for a particular presentation was Nursery Rhymes and their origin. Janus’ post on the poetry competition reminded me of this. The nursery rhyme books are in the loft, but unlike the 70s when there was no Internet available to me, I don’t have to search the loft for them.
Continue reading “On Nursery Rhymes”