No Escape!

IMAGINARY GARDEN
http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com.au/
The theme is Halloween; I chose Witches

NO ESCAPE!

How terrible to be a witch
In the days of the ducking stool!
Say something out-of-line
And a swift death was the rule.
When one was strapped in the ducking-stool
It was only a matter of time
Before one died a dreadful  death,
Whatever was the crime.

The stool was held out over water
And the witch was dunked right in.
If she died that was certain proof
That she'd committed a sin.
But, if she lived, it was equal proof
That witchcraft had saved the day,
So the 'witch' was taken and burnt at the stake
In a truly horrible way!
'The good old days' ? I think not.
Nowadays were much more free
And you can cast your witchy spells
With equanimity.

*

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                                          Newcastle; NSW

BULGING WITH BLUES

Sailing into my home port after a week on the ocean,

I felt an unexpected joy that was sentimental emotion.

Newcastle isn't fashionable, it's full of industry,

And it's really quite peculiar that it means so much to me.

Growing-up in English prettiness, then living in London Town,

With a stint in glorious Cape Town, truly South Africa's crown,

A middle-sized city Down Under, designed for hard work and trade,

Surely can't compete with Sydney, which wins every accolade!

But sailing into the harbour, I rejoiced in the pleasant views,

And, most of all, in the blues and blues and blues and blues and blues.

*

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PS

Nearly all my pee-esses seem to involve food! Yesterday a group of us met to celebrate The Fifth Monday. I have instigated this, being President of the Probus. We normally do things on Mondays, but a few times a year there's a left-over Monday, a fifth one in the month, so I thought we could meet for lunch that day. We went to The Burwood Inn on this occasion and we enjoyed the fod and the company.

Pet Peeve

IMAGINARY GARDEN

http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com.au/
asks for a Pet Peeve

PET PEEVE

My pet peeve is trivial,

Hardly a peeve at all,

And yet it's a little something

That drives me up the wall.

If ever there's a mutual accident,

Of a truly petty kind,

I always say 'I'm sorry'

It's automatic, I find.

Little side-steps are what I mean,

Maybe a passing nudge.

I always say 'I'm sorry'

But some people bear a grudge.

Although the 'accident's' mutual,

They glower and look ferocious

And I find this behaviour

Off-putting and atrocious.

My smile just freezes on my face

And I wish my words unsaid,

I wish I'd done the glowering bit

And not apologised instead.

You'll probably think 'She's ungainly'

 Or else 'She's accident prone'.

I'm not. Such things are normal;

I know I'm not alone.

But next time my shopping trolley

Nudges up to another trolley

I won't just smile placatingly

And set about being jolly.

I'll glower at my 'opponent'

Yes, I may even scowl;

I'll wither him with a torrid glance

Till he throws in the towel.

Enough of being pleasant!

Enough of being sweet!

You should thank your lucky stars

That we're not likely to meet!

*

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MARTIANS!

So this is what a Martian looks like!

A creature from Outer Space!

It really is peculiar

With that shiny pinkish face!

The poor old thing is bald too,

Apart from a little fluff!

It's claws look very feeble;

 They're just not sharp enough!

We share one little feature, though;

Both of us have eyes.

We're looking at each other

With them widened in surprise.

*

So this is what a Martian looks like!

A creature from Outer Space!

It never gets up off the ground;

 It just slinks about the place.

It's face is very hairy;

It makes a rumbling sound.

It's nose is very pointy,

Not, as it should be, round.

We share one little feature, though;

Both of us have eyes.

We're looking at each other

With them widened in surprise.

*

What Need?

                                                          Klimt

IMAGINARY GARDEN

http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com.au/

We are asked to take a line from a Walt Whitman poem and make it our own.

WHAT NEED?

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle;

To be alive at all is too good to be true!

What need is there for angels or other remarkables?

Take a look at life and simply drink-in the view.

*

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EASY?

Nothing is ever easy; life is like a maze.

There are so many twists and turns, so many different ways.

You start out going somewhere and then you change  your mind;

Or else you suddenly realise you've left your purse behind.

The bus breaks down, the train is late, you fall and hurt your knee;

You wander in the garden and you get stung by a bee.

You buy a special outfit, very up-to-the-minute,

And then you find that Alice Spink is looking pretty in it.

Even in your cosy home Life catches you unawares;

You go to write a shopping list....ah, your glasses are upstairs!

'Life wasn't meant to be easy' some famous person said.

That's proved on a daily basis, so get it into your head.

*

Bottleneck

                   China

IMAGINARY GARDEN

http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com.au/

asks us to consider bottlenecks

BOTTLE NECK

Is this the shape of things to come?

Even now the constant traffic hum

Tends to drown out thoughts and words,

And even the singing of the birds!

When Henry Ford dreamed-up the car

He never looked ahead this far.

He never visualised we would settle

Into a morass of metal!

I'm lucky; living where I am

I rarely see a traffic jam,

But on the news I watch each night

A helicopter, in its flight,

Beams back pictures that aren't pretty.....

Cars all leaving Sydney city .

Bottle-necks and deviations

Accidents and complications;

Not to mention noxious gases

Being breathed-in by the masses.

Of course I like to drive in style

Covering many a motoring mile,

But how I wish the roads were clear

And other cars would disappear!

*

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JAMBOREE

Scouts and Guides from every nation

Meet to have a celebration.

This is called a Jamboree;

A word well-known to you and me.

But when it appeared in 1920

There were question-marks a-plenty!

What on earth was this strange word

One that nobody had heard?

Baden-Powell, the movement's founder,

(Who some consider 'rather a bounder')

Had lived in Africa for years,

Learning Swahili, it appears.

Jambo's a word that is a greeting;

Africans say it upon meeting.

But we go to another continent

To find out what the 'ee' bit meant.

We learn the Australian Aborigine

Has a good word 'corroboree';

This means a gathering of folks,

To drink and laugh and tell old jokes.

Put together the two words say

'Hallo-Meeting' in a sort of way.

All very suitable, you see,

For a Boy Scout Jamboree.

*

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PS
A belated Happy Birthday to David, with whom we celebrated on Thursday!