Dare to be Different

                     Kandinsky

MAGPIE TALES

http://magpietales.blogspot.com

supplied the illustration

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

Try to see the world anew;

Not the way that others do.

Artists with a new perception

Send the world in a new direction.

 Kandinsky was right out on a limb

And nobody thought much of him,

When he painted the above;

They said 'What are you thinking of?'

(Forgive my ignorance, it could be

That this was painting thirty-three!)

Though this work is so surreal

I can see some apple peel;

You may see a fair-ground scene

Or a dance on the village green.

All he saw was a 'Red Spot'!

Like the painting or like it not,

His work, at the time, was a surprise;

He had looked through different eyes.

Don't let society dictate

What is acceptable and great.

Dare to be different! You may find

The world is following-on behind.

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TATTERED TEDDY

I wish I were a tattered bear

With not a single stitch to wear,

With paws all worn and velvet scuffed

And fur a single mangey tuft.

I wish my eyes were not quite there

Giving a sort of anguished stare.

I wish my nose hung by a thread,

Not central, but side-on instead.

I wish my mouth had come askew,

As mouths of old bears often do.

I wish my ears had lost their lift,

Doing a sad and downward shift.

I wish I were lying by myself

On someone's high neglected shelf!

Why do I wish for this sad fate?

Because, I know if I only wait.....

That Someone will rescue me one day

In a delightful sort of way.

She'll make me paw-pads out of suede!

No finer paws, I think, are made.

With finest wool and thread she'll sew

A mouth like a perfect Cupid's Bow.

And then she'll add a nose as well,

So real it almost seems to smell!

And now the best part, button eyes,

Widening with new-found surprise!

She'll add a jacket, brilliant red,

And a little hat for my furry head.

Two holes where both my ears will go

So that they'll know which way to grow.

Then a gift tag round my neck will say

'A brand new bear for Christmas Day!'

But. alas, I'm human, not a bear

And my increasing wear and tear

Can't be put right with a handy thread,

A loving needle and coat of red.

I'll have to strive and play my part

To preserve the youth of my inmost heart,

So that, though age I cannot hide,

I'll still declare with joyful pride

'The outside's not too debonaire

But INSIDE I'm a brand new Bear!'