Poeticwisdom.com

Legs, the Centipede

Centipedes have a hundred legs. Or so it seems when you see one walking down the bathtub. Imagine having to buy shoes and socks for all that lot! And think of the time it would take to put them all on in the morning!

Centipedes are all wriggly and moving. Nobody knows why they have so many legs. I just hope they don’t get rheumatism, that’s all.

Legs was a great one for walking. He thought it was definitely the thing to do. Walk, walk, walk, all day long. Sometimes, of an evening when he was tired, he would have loved to sit down and put his feet up. But this, he realised, was not possible: there just weren’t enough tables and stools in the house.

Read more…

Posted in Childrens stories | 2 Comments »

Muscles the Octopus

Octopuses, or octopi as the man who writes the dictionary calls them, have lots of arms. Eight, in fact. The big ones live in the Pacific Ocean because it’s warm there and sunny, and so they don’t have to buy gloves, which would be expensive for so many arms.

Muscles was a cheerful octopus who loved shaking hands. Right from when he was little and his uncle had said, “My! You’re quite a little man now,” and bent down and shook hands with him.

Read more…

Posted in Childrens stories | 1 Comment »

Putting away the summer

Dismantle the swing seat
Away with the toys
Roll up the hosepipe
The shrieks and the noise

Box up the bouncer
The ticktock, the drum
Maracas and banjo
And cuddles with Mum

Put back the high chair
The shade for the sun
Grand children are home bound
Plotting chaos to come.

Posted in Poems | No Comments »

Dawn in a Swedish village

He was dying. He was in pain, too.

The old man knew he was dying, but he stood there in his blue dressing gown, welcoming them. He embraced them with one hand, the other he kept deep in the pocket of his robe to hold up his stomach.

It was Christmas Eve and the wind brought snow swirling through the front door. There were ten children, five boys, five girls, all grown up. To the girls he said, “Welcome home, my darling. What a treat to have you here!”
To the boys, “Ah, my boy, Wonderful, Wonderful!” together with a bone cracking handshake.

Read more…

Posted in Short Stories | 1 Comment »

Happy, the hippo

Hippos are huge, bigger than Daddy. They live in Africa and have enormous heads and fat bodies. They are rather ugly. Which is to say they look ugly to you and I. On the other hand hippos themselves think we look ugly, which is only fair, don’t you think?

Hippo is short for hippopotamus, although hippo is good enough for most people. Happy was a young lady hippo and, well, ugly. However, Happy herself was quite certain that she was very beautiful. Perhaps she was, with her great fat jaw and stubby little feet, perhaps she was indeed beautiful. If you think you’re beautiful, that’s all that matters.

Read more…

Posted in Childrens stories | No Comments »

Toots the Owl

Owls are night birds who can see in the dark. When everybody else is in bed, they sit quietly in trees with their eyes and ears open, looking and listening for mice. When they see one, down they swoop and…Jipp! It’s gone.

Owls don’t miss much. This is because they never blink more than one eye at a time.When there are no mice, owls go, “Whoohoohoo!” especially if there’s a moon: a very creepy sound.

Read more…

Posted in Childrens stories | No Comments »

Yes Mum

Yes..yes, but I am eating properly, Mum.
I do wash between my toes.
I am wearing my vest.
I only ever wear dry things.
I swear I brush my teeth, day and night.
I do shampoo my hair, twice a week.
I change my pants, and socks, daily.
I do have access to a washing machine
It’s in the room next to mine. I use it, truly.

Read more…

Posted in Poems | 1 Comment »

Scruff, the Shaggy Dog

Do you ever wonder why God made some dogs shaggy, with long hair hanging down at the front, sides and back? Life must be very difficult for shaggy dogs, because even if they know which is their front end and which is their back (which I doubt) nobody else does.

Sometimes, when it’s dinnertime, Auntie has to guess which end to put down the dinner bowl. And if you count up carefully you will notice that she is wrong two times out of four. She really ought to put down a inner bowl at both ends just to be on the safe side.

Read more…

Posted in Childrens stories, Short Stories | No Comments »

Lest We Forget

Company Flags, dim in the mist
Polished medals, high on the breast
Words, words, cold as a tear
Bugle note, Last Post for the ear
Wreaths for the Then
Salutes for the Now

Read more…

Posted in Poems | 1 Comment »

Your Bloke

What is it you see
In a flat-pack bloke like me?
When I confront my mirror mate
I just see ordinary.
No Hollywood chin. Aah-tributes thin.
Brains..umm, talent..doh, presence..hmm.
Yes, I love, I care, am always there.

Read more…

Posted in Poems | No Comments »