Once Upon a Time

CARRY ON TUESDAY

http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com.au/

asks us to consider this time-honoured phrase

ONCE UPON A TIME

'Once upon a time'

Who said that first?

Those magic words that light the way to fairyland?

Was it some wrinkled grandmother,

Sitting in the firelight,

Surrounded by avid listeners,

And weaving stories?

The phrase must be very ancient

For the language is archaic.

What would we say now?

'Some time ago......'?

How banal!

Whoever she was,

She was a Marketing Manager's Dream-Girl!

Her phrase 'caught-on'

And it has never been bettered.

She was an unsung and forgotten genius.

*

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THE HIDDEN TREE

The Family Name! How grandiose!

How proud and dominating!

This tree shows all the offspring

From the convoluted mating!

The Name! The Name! It's passed on down

To future generations,

And all who share the self-same name

Share self-congratulations.

The surnames of the mighty Sirs,

Or should we call them Sires ,

Emblazoned on the Family Trees,

Are what the world admires.

But what of the other, the hidden tree,

That weaves through all the spaces?

Forgotten Family names and titles,

Overlooked female faces?

Their names appear but once, that's all,

In a single generation,

And then their female offspring,

Take another appellation.

But mitochondria has proved

That their invisible tree

Is many times more powerful

Than what the world can see.

The genetic line through females

Is the one that really matters;

It remains constant down the years;

The sperm count merely scatters.

Muscular strength and dominance

Meant female inferiority;

Now science makes it clear we have

Genetic superiority.

So when you view this Family Tree,

Don't be over-awed

By all the Family Names you see;

The system's simply flawed.

*

Miners

The Wordle

SUNDAY WHIRL

http://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/

asks us to use all the words in the Wordle

MINERS

Someone has to do it.......drag the good stuff from the earth;

Someone has to delve beneath the ground;

Someone has to deal with  claustrophobia as well,

And, luckily, the willing can be found.

I know I could not do it; I would be too afraid;

I'd think of all the others who have died;

The nine men on the first shift who were gassed  and breathed their last;

The evidence lying on the grass outside.

The white, bare skin besmirched with coal, the mining gear, unused, 

The wives bewailing lives just tossed away;

The number down the ages who have lost their lives for us,

While we have pleasured in the light of day.

I find that most of us require our lives to be smooth and sweet;

Let us refresh the memories  of men

Who have laboured underground for us throughout the centuries,

And who will never see the light again.

*

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ANNA'S DRESS

(Written especially for Anna)

What a picture of happiness!

Anna's got a brand new dress.

The skirt is like a ballerina's

(So much prettier than Tina's!)

The top is lovely, red and blue.

How I wish I had one too!

Is that a picture of Snow White?

Email and tell me I am right.

And you've got such a lovely smile!

I hope you're smiling all the while!

I wish I could see you so nicely dressed,

But a photograph is second-best.

Say hallo to Max for me

And tell him I would like to see

A photo just of him alone,

So I can see how tall he's grown.

Anna, isn't it a pity

That boys can never look as pretty

As you do smiling out at me!

And now, goodbye, from over the sea.

*

Who Nose?

MAD KANE

http://www.madkane.com

supplied the first line

WHO NOSE?

A woman who tended to preen

Caught her nose in a sausage-machine

It came out long and thin

And would not go back in

And it's now in the office canteen.

*

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THE FOUNTAIN

I came upon a magic fountain as I walked in the heat of the day.

But only I could hear the words that fountain had to say.

'You're hot, you're tired, you're dusty; I'm here for your delight.

See how my waters radiate, both silvery and bright!

Drench yourself in my liquid loveliness, forget the summer heat;

Immune from the harshness of the sun you'll find that life is sweet.'

So in I dashed and was purified, refreshed and then set free.

Fancy that beautiful fountain speaking only to me!

*

Genius!

GRANDMA'S GOULASH

http://grandmas-goulash.info/

asks us for a VERY short story

GENIUS!

This is a teacher called Kath

Who teaches the little kids math.

She says 'Can't you see

Two plus one... 23!

Yes that is the answer I hath!'

(140 characters)

*

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DACTYLONOMY

(the art of counting on your fingers)

The human body has its uses,

Though we often make excuses

Regarding every working part

That's not exactly a work of art!

Take your fingers....ten (with thumbs)

Unlike the teeth, set in your gums,

Which must invariably vary

In number, being quite contrary.

Ten fingers! Goodness! No more, no less!

Now we don't have to make a guess

When working out a tricky sum!

No reason to be looking glum.

Nature has supplied the tools

Which stop us looking arrant fools.

Dactylonomists, one and all.

Nature's supplied the wherewithal!

Now you can count right up to ten;

For twenty do the same again.

And should you find greater stumbling-blocks....

Easy-peasy, take off your socks!

*

Silent Sound

MELLOW YELLOW MONDAY
http://mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com.au/ 
SILENT SOUND

Can you hear it? I can.
It echoes in my brain;
The wailing passionate music
Of an old jazz-age refrain.
The player's posture tells it,
As his whole body curves
With the utter blissful mingling
Of the muscles and the nerves.
Is it a mite discordant?
Is it a mite too loud?
That doesn't really matter.....
It's strong and true and proud.
It doesn't need a title,
It doesn't need a name.
I view the tune as silence
But I hear it just the same.
*
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EEYORE!

(An Acrostic)

Every donkey that I've met

Ends up proving to be a pet!

Yes! Those lovely gentle eyes

Open wide and what a size!

Robin, (I mean the Christopher one,)

Enjoyed his Eeyore. Oh what fun!

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PS

Yesterday was the first day of Spring and it did not disappoint, being beautifully sunny and full of bird-song. However, there was a distinctly chilly breeze and most people were still rugged-up. The monthly Olive Tree Market was very well-attended, and the Spring flowers were blooming magnificently at The Junction.

This view of the newly-built Lingard Hospital, a stone's throw from our house, is for Mike, who will remember the old building.

First Day

(Not me, but very like)

FREE WRITE FRIDAY

http://kellieelmore.com

FIRST DAY

 I wore my glasses for the first time,

The day I started school.

(Later, when wearing glasses,

I'd feel like an ugly fool.

I'd be called names such as 'Four-Eyes'

By other kids in the street 

And I'd feel so utterly worthless

That I'd often beat a retreat.)

But those days lay before me,

Days which I would survive,

And I am now returning

To wearing glasses at five.

They were large and rather owl-like

On my very tiny face

But I didn't feel disheartened,

I didn't feel disgrace.

Indeed, I felt important

As I walked holding Daddy's hand;

I felt grown-up wearing glasses,

And really rather grand!

I don't remember the classroom,

Or recall the teacher's name,

But starting school wearing glasses

Brought me a sort of fame!

I didn't know then that the future

Held such humiliation.

That day when I started school

Was like a celebration!

*

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TEN A PENNY!

If everyone wore diamonds, they'd simply look like glass!

Not signs of wealth and dignity and being upper-class.

The dowagers and duchesses might feel a little bitter

If everyone around them displayed the same old glitter.

To stand-out in the crowd, one would dress 'down', a bit like Ghandi.

Which, in these very worrying times, might come in really handy!

*

Those Glorious Thumbs!

WE WRITE POEMS
https://wewritepoems.wordpress.com
the subject is 'hands'

THOSE GLORIOUS THUMBS!

Those thumbs, those thumbs, those glorious thumbs,

From whence all our supremacy comes!

Without a thumb doing clever stuff

Our hands would not have been quite enough 

To cause us to be top of the tree

Speaking biologically.

Our thumbs have enabled us to do such feats!

No other creature on earth competes.

And now evolution has reached its peak.....

When on the phone we need not speak!

We need a thumb in order to text!

Whatever will they think of next?

But wait......the dolphin has a brain

That makes it smart enough to train.

And dolphins will soon be doing sums,

For dolphins are growing opposable thumbs!!!!!!!

*

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PARTY TIME!

( A Poem for Children)

It's party time! it's party time!

And aren't we having fun.

We've got some fizzy lemonade ,

Enough for everyone.

Benny's dog bit Sammy

And little Sammy cried,

So Benny had to take his dog

And stand with him outside.

Then Ivan let his pink balloon

Float off into the sky,

So Ivan was another one

To have a little cry.

The lady and the gentleman

Who live in the flat below,

Said 'Kindly stop that awful row'

And the Birthday Boy yelled 'No!".

Lucy turned up rather late

And we wouldn't let her in!

She sobbed and howled and stamped her foot!

You should have heard the din!

A Policeman came to arrest us!

He thought there'd been a crime.

I hope next year is just as good

When it comes to Party Time!

*