Saturday, December 1, 2012

Between You and Me



WRITTEN FOR SUNDAY SCRIBBLINGS

BETWEEN YOU AND ME

'I' is a subject,'I' does the doing;
The shopping, the eating, the fighting, the wooing.
'Me' is the object that is done to,
'I' can see 'Me' in the mirror, not you.
'Between you and I' sounds really correct
But it isn't , so just try to be circumspect!
'Are you coming with I?' would sound really strange.
If you say 'You and I', make sure that you change!
*
--------------------------------------------------


TERROR
(A True Account from Long Ago)

I was eight.
Old enough to fear War, 
But not old enough to rationalise.
For weeks we had known War was 'coming'.
Now it had come.
*
'The Prime Minister will address the nation'.
That was all it took.
In my eyes, 'it' was upon us.
*
I remember rushing out of the house,
And up to the top of our small garden,
To the Bicycle Shed.
I locked myself in.
*
Because I knew that words were going to be said
Which would unleash carnage.
And it would be carnage in my street.
Immediately.
*
The German troops would march up Connaught Road.
And I would die.
*
The emotion I felt was terror.
*
My father's bicycle stood up-ended
In the middle of the shed.
A puncture was in mid-repair.
*
With a jerk I began to spin the wheel,
Faster, faster, faster,
In an orgy of terror.
It was like running away,
But being trapped.
*
At last my father tapped at the door.
'Let me in' he said,
'Everything's all right'.
*
And it was.
*
But not for Ann Frank.
*

8 comments:

Brianna said...

I think the rhyme and rhythm in your "between you and me" piece is really cute and bouncy, and it makes me smile.

Your poem about war, is really neat, and I especially enjoyed the image of the father's bicycle. :^)

Margaret Gosden said...

Terror: And I was 7 on this very day but all I recall is
that nothing happened for a long time afterwards. I do remember the anxious listenings to the radio and
Churchill's memorable speeches! To this day, an articulate speaker talking about a serious event catches my attention! Where are those speakers today who
can galvanize good sense and just action?

Kathe W. said...

oh my such intuition in children.
I remember the terror I felt
at the age of six looking at Life magazine's photos of the Holocaust.
Horrific. and then I read The Diary of Anne Frank a few years later. These two events seared into my being to never ever forget because if we forget it will happen again.

Old Egg said...

You and I (me) were different. I was a little younger and being a boy, war was exciting. It was not until the true horrors were revealed at the end did I realize what I had survived, especially when some uncles did not return and others would not talk about it. When will we ever stop glorifying war? Thank you for your post.

Jeff B said...

Liked your take on You, I, Me.

Josie Two Shoes said...

Thank you for clarifying I and me... I get it now, I think! :-) Your tale of terror was so very frightening for a small boy, the image of the spinning wheel worked very well. So did the start ending... and the bitter reality of war. War is not healthy for children.. or for any living things.

Lady In Read said...

between you and me, the first poem made me smile; and the second one brought out the terror faced then so clearly.. thank you for a lovely read

M. A. S. said...

Holy jusxtaposition, Batman! They don't get much more different than that. I like them both. I think the last line really changes the atmosphere of the whole second piece.