Bedtime Story - Home and Away Day Post 451b revision of comic poem 451 by Angela Lansbury

 Life's more fun when you're big, and three

Climb stairs, stand on chairs, feel at home

Open the top fridge on your own

You can reach strawberries for tea!

She likes to eat a blueberry

For breakfast, lunch, dinner and tea

She eats a stoned olive, takes two

Frowns, thinks of handing one to you

Her little shoes are on the floor

A pair beside the big front door

We ask her, 'Dear, whose are these shoes?

These pretty shoes, reds, pinks and blues?'

She picks up a shoe, she smiles and says

'This shoe is mine!' That shoe is mine!'

She opens the door. Weather's fine

Ready!. Let's go . Have a good time

 

Her favourite outing's a nearby park

She loves swings, ropes and the long slide

We leave to get home before it's dark

Then she sleeps on a short car ride (possible ending at bedtime!)

Little Ava has lots of friends

With birthday parties most weekends

But when she has a day that's free

She goes out with her family

She likes to eat with family

Sit on sofas to watch TV

Twice small Ava rode on a boat

Her life jacket can float, on sea

Child wearing life jacket. Photo from Sharot Family. Copyright.

 Little Ava has lots of friends

With birthday parties most weekends

But when she has a day that's free

She's out, or in, with family.

-ends-

Lost, Loss And Doubly Cross. Comic poem 443 by Angela Lansbury

Big and heavy room key, won' get lost. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Lost, loss, we've all had a bad loss

I've lost and found and lost again

Lost hotel door keys, window keys

The smallest lost, the largest pain

I've lost diaries, half a tooth

A power drive, tiles from the roof

Pullers from zips, needles and thread

The pillow case - it's time for bed

The party address, shopping list

Phone numbers of the last I kissed

The recipe, cookery book

'You had it. I want you to look!'

The shoes laces. The swimming hat.

For curtains, the width of windows. 

The size of the carpet and mat. 

The parrots. Dog. Goldfish - and cat.

I've lost the list of things I've lost.

Lost my cv. Daren't tell the boss.

'It's lost - again! That's why I'm cross.'

Buy duplicates. Don't count the cost.

I've lost my brolly. Jacket, Coat.

I've lost tickets. Names of the boat.

I've lost the sugar, salt, pepper.

My Wellington boots, and it couldn't be wetter.

We're lost because the map's upside down

They put the north in the south in this town

They say that everything comes around

Some happy days lost things are found

'I found it. Hooray!

It's a wonderful day.'

'My reading glasses.' 'Old photographs.'

'Your hat's on your head!' You have to laugh.

-ends- 

How to cut: 

Remove the word the. Change no wonder to that's why. Remove pronouns. Turn singulars with prepositions into plurals, eg a man into men. The ticket is changed to tickets. The name of the boat is cut to names of the boat. Umbrella is changed o brolly.

 Never mind he cos becomes don't count the cost. I saved a syllable, or rather I cut it. I added alliteration Please share links to your favourite poems.

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.

Please share links to your favourite poems.

Magic Healing Words comic poem 193 b

Some writers, from six to sixty are prolific

Everything they write is neat, perfect, terrific

The rest of us just write, and write, and write

Day after day, and night after night, no end in sight

Our thoughts are loose and tangled, never pulled tight

Our words don't match our thoughts, something jars, not quite right

But we live in hope, like sinking boats wait for rope

We all search for a saying which will help us cope

That after struggling day after day, after night

With words we should rewrite - or maybe throw away!

One day, one wise phrase, will, unaided, climb outside

One magic phrase to be a source of lifelong pride

One little phrase will make our life's work justified

That magic phrase will brighten up the darkest day

Lighten up the sky and help all who come our way

Make them shake hands and say our whole life's justified

Our words have driven all troubles and cares away

And made our whole bright life on earth seem justified

Like a Mexican wave, like floodlights in a cave

Like a ripple which grows, like a candle which glows

Like a green tree which blows, like a perfumed, pink rose

Like white waves on blue sea, like two friends who agree

Like black swans on a lake, like a rising nut cake

Like red yachts with white sails, like dogs wagging long tails

Like a mother's kiss makes toddlers bruises better

Like an apology, when you have upset her

Like when a girlfriend phones, just go round and get her

Like carrying umbrellas guarantees good weather

Like you calling for tea, like you smiling at me

One thought which climbs outside, makes your life justified  

One phrase helps outside, makes hearers feel justified

One word flows outside, heals and makes all justified.

-ends-

Dog picture

From T Simpson Flickr  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Dog_behavior#/media/File:Dog_gives_flowers_(3125106567).jpg

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Reflections On Reflections comic poem 172

 I look at myself in the mirror 

What do I think of that? 

I think I am thin and beautiful 

Why does the mirror say that I'm fat? 

Reflections in the pool, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. March 2023. 

I exercise while the day's still cool

I swim to get slimmer

I look at reflections in the pool

Kind tall trees wave, and weave and glimmer

I'm reflecting on the reflections

It's something new to do

Never mind, forget introspection

It's a lovely world for me and you

Why does the water reflect blue sky?

I read but I forget

Keep reading, one day I'll remember

Sadly. I haven't remembered yet

Someone stops to talk, reflects my mood

He's a cheerful neighbour

I reflect all interaction's good

Despite mad chats and weird behaviour

I reflect the time for swimming's past

I've stopped swimming, just float

I reflect I'm ready for my breakfast

Solid, secure, thoughtless, like a boat.

-ends-

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