New Look At Us Old Treasures comical poem 643 by Angela Lansbury

 I love old styles like art deco

The swirls and curls of art nouveau

The mirrows might show off-white teeth

But smiles hint layered wit beneath

My home's a store, chutney pleasures

I hoard hordes of games and treasures

Old gold, like jewels to behold

Old friends' names kept like Scrabble games

Old wonky drawers, parquet floors

Extending tables, solid doors

A garden where old roses grow

Dictionaries of words roots I know

No empty days, so much to do

More words creating something new

Wrinkles draw stories on faces

New shops, revive, open places

Roman stones found when we build new

Can the old folk be me and you

Grand children do not see grey hairs

But gladly climb the steepest stairs

Grandchildren glow and learn old games

And we remember old friends' names

We've read all books, know how to cook

And don't judge everyone by looks

Instead dress up when it's required

Effort ensures that we're admired

Retired, create, before expired

Share piled knowledge we've acquired

Though it's harder to push pedals

We display prizes and medals

Just like an old but comfy car

The world's amazed we drove so far..

-ends-.

Please share links to your favourite poems

Ava Indoors, Outdoors Birthday Party comic poem number 452 by Angela Lansbury

 

Ava who's' three, has lots of friends

With birthday parties at weekends, 

When it's sunny and she's free

She goes for walks with her family.

When it's sunny and she's free

She goes for walks with her family.

When it's midweek she likes to cook

And when she'd done we read a book.

When it's midweek she likes to cook

And when she's done we read a book.

Ava's three, has lots of friends

With birthday parties at weekends

Ava, who's three, has lots of friends

With birthday parties at weekends

She wraps a present she can take

Thinks fish and chips, fruit, birthday cake

She wraps a present she can take

Thinks fish and chips, fruit, birthday cake

I'm happy cos we'll be there soon

Jugs of red drink, and pink balloons

Birthday Party Here Balloons. Photo Sharot family. Copyright.

I'm happy cos we'll be there soon

Jugs of red drink, big, gold balloons

Ava, who's three, has lots of friends

With birthday parties at weekends

Birthday Party cake. Photo Sharot family. Copyright.

Ava, who's three, has lots of friends

With birthday parties at weekends

But if there's one day when it rains

She always smiles, never complains

Yes, if there's one day when it rains

She always smiles,, never complains

When it's midweek she likes to cook

And when she's done we read this book.

-ends-.

Copyright Angela Lansbury.. Please do not share the poem but share the link back to this page. I intend to sell it as a book with illustrations.

Name Changes

For the customer, recipient of the book, or babysitter, the name can be changed to that of the child being  read to or receiving the book and reading it to a younger brother or sister.

For example

One Syllable Names

For one syllable names (such as Ann, James, John, change to Ann who is three.

Two Syllable Names

For two syllables, like Ava, Anna, Emma, Henry, Lucas, Mia, Noah, Peter, change to Ava's three, Anna's three, Peter's Three. Other two syllable names include, Ali, Mary, Christos, Richard, Johnny, Paris,, Rina, Tina, Sharon,  

Three Syllable names 

Three Syllable include, according to the list of top names in the USA in 2003, include (my alphabetical order, not popularity which was the order published),Elijah, Mateo, Oliver, Theodore, William, Evelyn, Sophia.

Four Syllables -

Four syllable names are mostly girls' names which add an a on the end, which include Amelia, Isabella, Olivia,  

Age Changes

The age can be changed to one, two, three, four, five, six, eight, nine, ten (or a word in another language in a bilingual home, such as French, un deux, trois, German ein, zwei, drei, Spanish dos, tres.

This is the first time I have tried my new rhyming scheme, repeating the last couplet of each verse as the opening of the next verse.

I shall do another version tomorrow, using the words biking and hiking.

For a family or child or culture without birthday parties, change the words to with the family or sees the family at weekends.

I though of changing and thinks there might be birthday cake, to 

'Thinks, sandwiches, fruit, birthday cake,' which sounds healthier, but m original version is easier for a 3 year old to say and understand.

The Dorset Prayer Answered by Angela Lansbury (aka Hazel Nutter)

Della Galton asked for a Dorset song for her book. I wrote:
Here you are. I checked local landmarks and legends online. Here's an ancient Dorset song, from 8.50 April 21st 2020, by Angela Lansbury. It starts


:I went to St Catherine's Chapel,
For it's said she will answer your prayer,
'Please send me a husband, who's wealthy'
But only two poor men were there.

One of them said to me, 'Darling,
Why don't we go for a walk?
I'll take you to see the great giant -
Whose ample physique is carved in the chalk!'



I said, 'Sorry, dear, you're not for me
For you're poor as a little church mouse.'
To scare him away, I ended the day
At haunted Athel-hampton House!

Mother said, 'Our sensible God only helps
A person with skills who will help himself.
You can add up a bill and read lots of books
What else does a man need to share health and wealth?

'You're young and pretty but age fades your looks
What's missing, that's lasting? You must learn to cook!'
So off I went, to take cooking lessons
Guess who I married? I married the cook!

We went to the chapel to marry
'Cos Saint Catherine had answered my prayers
What's more she provided as witness
Those two ragged beggars, still hoping there.
-ends-
first draft, improved version will be added later.


Dorset

Poem after 35 UNBELIEVABLE COOKING HACKS for holiday drinks and fruit bought from the market on holiday

Oops. Wrong blog. What shall I do?
Leave it, my friend. Hope it's of use to you.
Then call it serependipity, a lucky clog
Misplaced video makes an odder blog.

Poem On Cooking and Eating
by Angela Lansbury

I wish that I could learn to cook
Spend no less time writing a book
Or reading books. Let other cooks
Use aromas like a title's hook

May all book titles have a colour
Nothing bland, boring, duller
But instead, a strawberry red
As spicy as pepper, as soft as bed

All through the day I alternate
Writing and reading, food and drink
The hunger which makes me want to eat
Feeds my drooped brain, pushed to grow, create and think.

Angela Lansbury

First version reads
Then feeds my brain with the urge to think
Second version ends
Then feeds my brain urged to make and think.
Third version above.

I read in a book on songwriting that you should edit your first draft with surprising and contrasting words to make your song (or poem) original, memorable, not just doggerel.
However, adding adjectives, metaphors, removing a and the, sometimes spoils the flow.

I remember contradictory advice:
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Don't over-write. (In both senses: don't cross out, don't spend too much time changing your first thoughts. I often write a blog and add a sentence to the end of a paragraph. Then the following paragraph's first sentence does not follow on, because the last sentence of the preceding paragraph has now gone off at a tangent.

I leave both final sentences so you, or a later editor, can choose what goes best.

PS Adding a syllable to every line:

How I wish that I could learn to be a cook
But spend no less time on writing a book
Or reading books. So let some other cooks
Use aromas to tempt, like a titles' hooks

May all book titles have vivid colour
Nothing bland, boring, grown dry, or duller
But instead, a bright, slap, strawberry red
As spicy as pepper, soft as shared bed

Each day I yo-yo, forced to alternate
Writing and reading, stop for food and drink
The hunger which drives my strong urge to eat
Feeds my drooped brain, pushed to grow, create, think.

-ends-