POETRY JAM
asks us to remember childhood games
VINTAGE FUN
I was unsophisticated;
Things I loved were rather tame.
Paper dollies brought great pleasure;
Dressing them, my favourite game.
I had hundreds I'd collected
And I'd sit up in my bed,
Playing with them hour by hour,
Making-up the words they said.
All of them had names assigned them,
Different outfits day by day;
They had friendships, they had quarrels,
Both at school and out to play.
How the little tabs of paper
Fitted round to make them fit!
How I'd soon manipulate them,
Forcing them to bend and sit!
Dresses just like Shirley Temple's
Were, of course, the most admired;
When the shops displayed new numbers
These just had to be acquired.
Little girls of this new era
Would find my paper dolls 'uncool';
Everything is electronic;
Grandma must have been a fool.
But the harmless story-telling,
Trained our brains and satisfied.
What was the date (I can't remember)
When the Paper Dollies died?
*
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THE WRASTLE
Three little boys and one pink shirt!
And Grandma saying 'You'll soon get hurt!'
While babies love to coo and nestle,
Lively boys like to fight and wrestle.
When we see lion cubs at play,
We see all 'cubs' behave this way.
Harry's on top but not for long.
Blake's underneath; he must be strong!
Max is about to land on his head.
Once more Grandma's filled with dread.
Shrieks of laughter fill the house.
And once we were quieter than a mouse!
The house is small; it's full of noise.
Full of happy little boys.
We tend to think there's too much riot.
*
But we hate it when the house goes quiet.
*
