Move! Comic poem number 351 by Angela Lansbury

We've been sitting in a groove

But now alas we're on the move

We might need a moving van

We stay in one place when we can

Now we need a packing case

We might need a storage place

We have to calculate the cost

And worry what might get lost

Now I envy the small snail

Which drags its home

Up the side of a pail

It's moving system cannot fail

A bit like living in a tent

Where you don't have to pay the rent

When you want to, get up and go

And smile at people you don't know

Who knows where our next move ends?

It's up to us to make new friends.

The worst thing is, I must say

How much we have to throw away!

=ends-. 

Giant snail in Ubud, Bali, more details from Wikipedia

Copyright 2023 November 1st

If I Were You, Fellow Traveller, comic poem number 350 by Angela Lansbury

 If I were you

I would speak Chinese

And not waste time

Saying thank you and please.

If I were the king

I'd make everyone speak the King's English

I'd ban Korean, and Greek

Bad Grammar, Creole, Russian, Vietnamese and Singlish. 

On second thoughts

We would learn Esperanto in school

An international language

Would be such a handy tool.

If I were you all the buses

And Sundays newspapers would be free

But f I were you

I would not be me

If I were a bee

I would make flavoured honey

Give beehives to every gardener and farmer

We'd all make lots more money

If I were a bird

I'd sing in tune, and parrot every word

Teacher's lessons repeated, re-heard

If I were not a bird-brained bird

If I were a horse

I would run fast of course

And neigh 'til I was hoarse

If I were an internet, animated, 3D horse

If I were a cat

I'd sleep on the mat

Catch mice as cat food, save money on that

If I were a cat

If I were a cloud

I could not laugh out loud

I'm sure it's not allowed

If you are a digital cloud

If I were a tree

How odd that would be

Much more animated than me

If I were overprinted on a 3D tree

If I were a fish

I'd swim in the pond or sea

Then be preserved in a car key ring

How lucky I am that I'm me.

Two colour suitcase in red and blue block colours. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

If I made travel goods

And make them all block colours

To go with matching clothes

Yes, I really would

If we had to start again

Maybe we'd all be men

All cocks and no hens

Pack unisex clothes, if we had to start again

Lastly, if I were you

That would never do

You know that it is true

For I'm me, and you are you

If you were in this room

And not just on Zoom

You could stand on the balcony

And watch tropical flowers bloom

Travel websites, now we've thought about it

Always tell the truth, I know you'll never doubt it

The museums closes Mondays, but on the web we travel far

Today I travel online, and love things the way they are.

-ends-

As the old Irish jokes goes, when asked the way, a bystander replied, 'If I were you, I wouldn't start from here.'

If I Were You comic poem 349 by Angela Lansbury

Dear, if I were you

Then where would you be?

For if I were you

I could not be me

You'd have to be me!

If a butterfly

And I fluttered by

You would ask me why

If I were a bee

I would make honey

My boss the farmer

Would make more money

If I were a bird

I'd not say a word

No thoughts would be heard

If I were a bird

If I were a horse

I'd run fast, of course

Neigh 'til I was hoarse

If I were a horse

If I were a cat

I'd sleep on the mat

Not care about that

If I were a cat

If I were a cloud

I'd not laugh out loud

That is not allowed

If you are a cloud

If I were a tree

How odd that would be

I could not be me

If I were a tree

If we were all fish

In ponds, streams, or sea

Non-swimmers can't be

I'm lucky I'm me.

Now let's start again

Pretend we're all men

All cocks but no hens

Don't let's start again

Last, if I were you

That would never do

You know that it's true

I'm me, and you're you

Let's think about it

You'll never doubt it

Don't take thoughts too far!

Leave things like they are!

-ends-

Photo Angela Lansbury in butterfly pattern caftan.

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A Pantoum Has Repeated Lines comic verse 348 by Angela Lansbury

 

A pantoum has repeated lines

You start and end it with line one

It saves the poet lots of time

It\s easy, looks smart, lots of fun.

You starts and end it with line one

Lines two and four in the next verse

It's like a wave, start and be brave

You need a strong line like a curse

Lines two and four in the next verse 

End with four verses, made from three

You need a strong line like a curse

It's easy friends, don't you agree?

End with four verses, made from three

It's easy, looks smart, it's good fun

It's easy friends, don't you agree

You start and end it with line one.

-ends-

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A Little Seed comic poem Pantoum 347 by Angela Lansbury

 

A little seed grew a flower

A little acorn grew a tree

Over time an oak tree's bower

Was the grand view our street could see

A little acron grew a tree

Higher and higher over time

A place where squirrels built their nests

And boys with ladders and ropes climb

Higher and higher over time

A place for birds, a lure for cats

And boys with ladders and ropes climb

Rooks, parakeets, owls, maybe bats

A place for birds, a lure for cats

Until one day a giant storm

Rooks, parakeets, owls, maybe bats 

Scattered to earth fearing some harm

Until one day a giant storm

Over time an oak tree's bower

Scattered to earth fearing some harm

A little seed grew a flower,

-ends-

I have a sample pantoum and the rhyming scheme in my book  POETRY WORKSHOP which you can buy from Lulu or Amazon.

I need to reprint the book and add that Victor Hugo who revived the Pantoum was the author of Les Miserables.

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Winter Stops What Went Before - Malay style Pantoum comic poem 346 by Angela Lansbury

Pantoum 

Winter stops what went before

Too much snow, nowhere to go

Stopped Napoleon, stopped the war

Good in the end, now we know

Too much snow, nowhere to go

Sun means long days, people in streets

Good in the end now we know

On the internet we meet

Sun means long days, people in streets

While for summer days we're pining

On the internet we meet

All clouds have a silver lining

While for summer days we're pining

Snow stopped Napoleon stopped war

All clouds have a silver lining

Winter stops what went before.

-ends-

Useful Website

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantun

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A Pantoum Shouting In The Room comic poem number 345 by Angela Lansbury

 I think I'll write a short pantoum

It's easy with a lot of rhyme

Easy recall, write, lifts the gloom

Fine when you do not have much time

It's easy with a lot of rhyme\

It's also a quick one to read

fine when you do not have much time

The poem grows, just plant the seed

It's also a quick one to read

One verse's last line in the next

The poem grows just plant the seed

So simple, you won't be perplexed

It's soothing to the mind and eyes

It's also a quick one to read

And yet you should have some surprise 

The poem grows just plant the seed

It's also a quick one to read

I think I'll write a short pantoum.

The poem grows, needs a good seed

East ti recall, lifts the gloom

...

I think I'll write a short pantoum.

This could be written by an internet bot

Easy recall, write, lifts the gloom.

I'm glad to tell you that it's not.

-ends-

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3tOrXbJEMk

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Angela with magnifying glass. Photo by Angela Lansbury. copyright.

Pantoum on Sleeping and Siesta comic poem 344 by Angela Lansbury

 I want to work

But my eyes shut

I should not shirk

Stuck in a rut

But my eyes shut

I jerk awake

Stuck in a rut

Woke at daybreak

I jerk awake

I do my best

Woke at daybreak

I need some rest

I do my best

Fight thoughts that keep

I need some rest

I need to sleep

Fight thoughts that keep

Me up since dawn

I need to sleep

Don't speak, just yawn

Me up since dawn

Snooze through daylight

Don't speak just yawn

I'll sleep at night

Snooze through daylight

I should not shirk

I'll sleep at night

I want to work.

-ends-

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantun

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantoum

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Fight thoughts that keep me from siesta

Do not want to miss the fiesta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3tOrXbJEMk

A French Villanelle - translated, comic poem 343 by Angela Lansbury

 French poetry forms include the 12 line dizain, the complicated long sestina, the simple rondel and the musical 19 line villanelle.

The first verse is just 3 lines. The first and last rhymes rhyme. 

The middle line rhymes with lines in  later verses.

A villanelle  has 19 lines. But line one is repeated at lines 6, 12 and 18. Line 3 is repeated as lines 9 and 15 and 19.

 It can be humorous or ironic, or tragic, or spooky. 

Today I composed one in French.

Cuisine Français

1 Moi, j'aime bien un rendez-vous  

2 Ou on essaye cuisine Français

3 Bien sur, pour moi, et toujours tu

4 Et tout le monde peut envier nous

5 Pour changer on mange Anglais

6  Moi, j'aime bien un rendez-vous

7 Les choses bien cuit, and jamais cru

8 Peut-etre on parle Franglais

9  Bien sur, pour moi, et toujours tu

10  Recettes ancient, quelques fois neu

11 Pres de la mer, vue de la baie

12  Moi, j'aime bien un rendez-vous

13 Un vin blanc et un vin doux

14 Sur on pont ou sur un quay

15  Bien sur, ce'est moi, et toujours tu

16 Moi, j'aime bien un rendez-vous

17 En Mars, Avril, encore en Mai

18  Moi, j'aime bien un rendez-vous

19  Bien sur, ce'est moi, et toujours tu

I typed out numbers 1 to 19. I composed my first line and copied it to the lines 6, 12 and 18. 

I made a rhyme for line 3, and copied it to 9, 15 and 19. 

If you cannot find a cedilla (the teil under the letter c) copy the word Francais from Wikipedia, change the font (the A symbol far left top of your Blogspot screen) to Times new Roman, or your font, which you can identify by clicking on another word. failing all else, change all the fonts in your blog post to the same font so that the new word matches the font used for the other words.

Glossary

Avril - April

bien - well (adverb)

blanc - white

changer - to change

cru - raw/uncooked food

cuisine - cookery/style or nationality of cookery

doux - soft or sweet wine

French - English

j'aime - I like

Mai - May

Mars - March

mer - sea

moi - me

rendez-vous - meeting (literally render yourself  - there/at a place)

toujours - always (literally all days)

tu (you (second person singular)

un - a/one

vin - wine

English - French

always - toujours

(to) change - changer

one - un (number one) on (impersonal one person)

April - Avril

March - Mars

May - mai

me - moi

sea - sea

sweet (wine) - doux

uncooked food - cru

you - tu / vous

well - bien

Useful Websites

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April is the American National Poetry month.

Spanish-English poetry books reviewed in

https://www.latinobookreview.com/10-bilingual-poetry-books-to-read-during-national-poetry-month.html

English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese etc on Amazon bilingual book search for children

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bilingual+books+for+children&i=stripbook

Escape Into This Poem comic poem number 342 by Angela Lansbury

 

When the world is full of heartbreak

You're obsessed by the tragic news

Take care of yourself, take a break

If you can rest, then you can choose

Do you still need to be alert

To dangers lurking all around

Terrorists who are far away

Dead  insects, litter on the ground

You need to eat and drink and stop

To bathe and shop, rest you deserve

So you return to life refreshed

To fight your nerves with zest and verve

Yesterday's peace was a blessing

Today's loss shows values and cost.

Recall times of joy and laughter

Treasure for the bad times after

Remember those you loved and lost

And honour them with fulsome praise

Let their memory bless the world

Like the radiant sun warms chill days.

Remember kind words loved ones spoke

Envisage how they smile and laugh

Remember every joy, voice, joke

Their half life - fill  the other half

What is strong action you can take

To end the world's tragic heartbreak?

Just take a break, wear hats, bake cake

Recite a poem for escape. 

-ends

Poetry And Prose comic poem number 342 by Angela Lansbury

 [09:55, 12/10/2023] Angela Lansbury BA Hons: 

What is a poem and what's fancy prose?

Everyone thinks they're the expert who knows

It's metaphor, image, rhyme and reason

Rhythm and hope, extolling the season

Show life and death, without them, that's treason

Poems should end up with ribbons and bows

I hope this line's strong rhythm clearly shows

Bricks which build poems, not poetic prose

The rhythm and rhyme help you to recite

Good rhymes should be strong, but lines not too long

If you can remember it, it sounds right

But check the grammar so you've done no wrong.

A poem has rhymes you will remember

What's written in March lasts till December

What's learned as a child lasts through life's dips

When needed revives mood, like fish and chips.

-ends-

Humour, passion, reason, the ridiculous or mundane.

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Forest Path comic poem 341 by Angela Lansbury

Path in Botanic Gardens, Singapore. Trevor and Angela pause to pose. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

 I walk from darkness into light

Happy to be alive, alone

From the city, in the forest

Peaceful, quiet like baby's home

I need no bath nor water glass

All I need is the pure fresh rain

I don't need to find a toilet

I hide behind the trees again

I don't need a bike nor a car

Don't need sign posts nor story books

My little feet will take me far

Each tree tells stories if you look

And yet at last lunch time has past

Lonely trails are known for murder

So I'll trot back, catch coach, bus, train

Seek hot coffee, big hamburger..

-ends-

Copyright Angela Lansbury 2023 

The essence of humour is to go in one direction and then, at the last minute, go in the other direction.

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Nothing To Wear comic poem 340 by Angela Lansbury

Drawers full of clothes. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
 

I do not have a thing to wear

I've loads of clothes like uncombed hair

I've silk which does not go with leather

And jeans which do not go with feathers

I've boots although it's hot outside

A missing button, or a stain

I've lots of stuff, too much to hide

Broken umbrellas for the rain

My new top is a size too small

I can't do its zip up at all

And most of the elastic's gone

One dress too short and one too long

I ought to sell what I don't need

But selling's such a dirty deed

An empty shelf? Destroyed! Not freed!

An empty shelf need socks like seeds

Although the bedroom looks like hell

Looking at it makes me unwell

I hunt and sort, but truth to tell

I cannot find one thing to sell.

I cannot throw a thing away

I know selling should start today

What I'd ask is too much to pay

And so the whole lot has to stay.

What do you wear, I hear you say

I cannot make a decision

So I've found a good solution

I wear the same dress every day.

-ends-

Two Girls' Reflections comic poem 339 by Angela Lansbury

Two girls were walking arm in arm

Each right leg matched the other

Both the same race, both the same pace 

Like twins, triplets, sisters,

 brothers

Like two matched cogs, like two matched wheels

I'm sure that they sing together

Matched tee-shirts and matched umbrellas

Matched for rain or summer weather

Like two hear music. and both dance

Two see the same sight, and both glance

Two walk along a country path

Sit at a table, share a bath

Like a horse matched with a rider

Like two bike wheels or four car wheels

Each girl has a friend beside her

Who knows exactly what she feels

I am apart, I am outside

And yet I feel part of their scene

They are performing as I watch

Like a bride, singer, or a queen

Now they have gone like fallen leaves

Like memories of two roses

Part of the jigsaw of my life

Which my tiny brain encloses.

A happy moment which will last

 I see arms locked, recall their laughs

Like a dog's four legs like two halves

As two girls arm-in-arm paced past. 

-ends-

A Writer's Big Decision comic poem number 338 by Angela Lansbury

 

A writer's one big decision

Is producing fact or fiction

Careful not to upset factions

Of well organized religion

when can you reveal a secret

When they'd said promise you'll keep it

Years later, when they're dead and gone

Surely you can speak up, move on?

Until you unexpected find

That distant folk are not so blind

For unaccountably they mind

Protecting what\s been left behind

They think of their reputation

Of their family and nation

Is it damaged beyond repair

We share our ancestors as heirs

So in the writer's anxious eyes

Is built the heaviest disguise

For no matter how hard one tries

The world fights over all your lies

And when you smiling read aloud

To entertain a happy crowd

Prepare, when cornered, what to do

When one demands, was that girl you?

Be honest, is that story true?

You can think and blink, um and ah

But saying no won't get you far

When you sell signed books in the bar

So here's the safest thing to do

You must pretend it isn't you

Set your wild plot up in the stars

Put your whole family on Mars

You can't defame the old, deceased

And at the very, very least

You can escape, and find release.

Pretend the villains wanted peace

Of course you pity those who hide

Of course you pity those who died

It's tempting to kill enemies

Wishful thinking is sure to please

However much the readers scoff

You can't kill hated villains off

That's not the clever thing to do

You need to save them for book two.

-ends-

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A Short Poem comic poem number 237 by Angela Lansbury

 A limerick has just five lines

But gives you lots and lots of rhymes

Japanese, haikus, like cups of tea

Reduce lines' size to only three.

A shorter poem's succinct and tough

One last couplet is quite enough.

-ends-

Angela Lansbury writing with outsize pencil. Selfie photo by Angela Lansbury. 

(How can I be sure it is a selfie if I did not save it with a caption saying so? Because it has the green background of my study and my red chair. The photographer would have to be sitting on my laptop on the desk in front of me. I have obviously taken it with my mobile propped up on the desk top.

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Dreaming, Dreaming rhythmic comic poem number 236 by Angela Lansbury

Dreaming dreams beyond belief

Waking up is a relief

Clearing, clearing, clearing head

Getting, slowly, out of bed

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning teeth

Search for shoes hidden beneath

Just one shoe, who was the thief?

Find the other, what relief!

Waking, waking, waking woke

Eating, eating, eating, yolk

Quickly, quickly, quickly, quick

Licking, lovely, licking, lick

Feeding, feeding, feeding, fed

Reading, reading, reading, read

Speaking, speaking, speaking, spoke

Telling, telling, telling, joke

Boating, boating, boating, boat 

Floating, floating, floating, float

Writing, writing, writing, wrote

Gloating, gloating, gloating, gloat

Building, building, building, brick

Feeling, feeling, feeling, sick

Some people are rather thick

Getting, getting, on my wick

Some people can do no wrong

Longing, longing, longing, long

Moving, moving, moving on

Going, going, going on.

Lovely, lovely, lovely sun

Time to run, and run and run

Til the exercise is done

Some people's idea of fun

If it rains, more rain and rain

It waters the flowers again

As for me, never complain

Ten umbrellas match all  rain

Angela with red umbrella. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

Shopping, shopping, shopping shop

Carry bags until I drop

Wonder if I'll ever stop

Keep them till buttons pop

Lovely dresses, dresses, dresses

Nine successes, what success is

Only ever had one flop

Never, ever, ever stop

I'm a poet, poet, poet

So I show it, show it, show it

If you have the talent grow it

Let the whole world love and know it.

Angela writing with outsize pencil. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

-ends-

Copyright Angela Lansbury 2023, Thursday September 5th. 

Read this aloud. It is a triumph, a joy of rhythm. A perfect piece of performance poetry.

I hope to perform it at Swanwick Writers' Summer School in 2024. I must put it on Tiktok.

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Floating comic poem 235 by Angela Lansbury

The busy hot cities sitting far below

But we spent lots to sit high up in the cool

Despite the crowded world below

Honeymooners spend the whole day floating in the cool pool

 In the great blue pool, swimming and floating

Dream of green lakes, rowing, paddle boating

Thinking of castles where builders make a moat

And grandparents protect toddlers on whom they dote

Revived, I'll go upstairs to sit at my desk

Sorting out my life, clearing up leftover mess

I should make a list of everything I've missed

Though I can't go back to kiss those I never kissed

No point sighing, crying for long-forgotten sorrow

Instead I must plan action for tomorrow

Skills I need to be a better wife

A plan for where to go the rest of my life

Maybe not fighting, maybe not writing

Maybe cooking, maybe cleaning

When you feel passionate about it

Nothing is deaming, everything has meaning

When I'm gone, or deaf and blind

What precious gifts of joy will I leave behind?

In four safe walls, a window in my room

I leave thoughts to inspire like rose perfume

Alive can't dream of passing on

Write my life of delights, righting all wrongs

In my deep sleep, I will be gloating

About the plans I made when I was gently floating.

-ends-

Anthony in the pool at Marina Bay Sands. Sharot family photo.

Copyright Angela Lansbury. 

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Bride Too B comic poem number 234 by Angela Lansbury

Some brides are never satisfied

Unless they arrive in a surprise

A bike, a bus, a camel ride

A gold cart and much more beside 

She wears something blue, lots of white

The dress is heavy, head is light 

Her mum thinks she's a pure delight

Admire or envy, what a sight

No ex boyfriends filled with lust

Cameras and videos you trust

Arrive early, not late, no rush

And speeches which won't make you blush

Everything should look enticing

Wedding cake with thick white icing

The wedding cake is filled with fruit

The groom wears a hired morning suit

Should you respect the soon to spouse

Should they respect contract and house

Can you take seriously the vows

Of someone dressed as Mickey Mouse

You want the bride to look her best

Not spill red wine on her white dress

The cake the best bakers could make

Don't carry and drop tiered wedding cake

Don't drive away or fly away

Stay in the same hotel today

The bridal suite - no-one let in

An apple pie bed is a sin

Cancel because the food is fish

The groom's Mum wants hog as the dish

A priest who's green, fat as a frog

A ring on a pillow brought by dog

I was witness on a cruise ship

Glad my couple had no blip

Recite the vows, remember it?

His fifth wedding, he made no slip

Make sure all's the best it could be

A happy day we all agree

For there is more joy yet to be

One and happy one makes three.

-ends-

Copyright Angela Lansbury. Please share links to your favourite poems.

https://pixabay.com/images/search/wedding

https://pngtree.com/free-png-vectors/mouse-bride-clipart