She was like Piffy on a rock
Such a barmpot
Not so much maudlin
as a mitherer of Mum
When pretending to be ill,
she went up the wooden hill
with a doll and a drum
and a kick up the bum
NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 18: Castrato
From a glossary of classical musical terms
Canon? The salesman struck a chord,
despite the drone in his voice.
This would be my fifth printer,
and not a major choice.
He continued his exposition
with an impromptu display of glee,
before his intonation
turned to parody.
His pitch was espressivo
and the form was filled – hey presto!
But the printer was temperamental
and now his trill‘s castrato
NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 17: Whippets and Witches
Better late than never!
Weather: Gloomy
Flora: Bluebells
Architecture: Lowry
Customs: Pie and chips
Mammals/reptiles/fish: Whippets
Childhood dream: Librarian
Found on the Street: Penny
Export: Whippets
Graffiti: Lots
Lover: Too young for that!
Conspiracy: Witches
Dress: Flat cap
Hometown memory: Black eye
Notable person: Dad
Outside your window, you find: Fields
Today’s news headline: 50 years hence
Scrap from a letter: Dear me
Animal from a myth: Dragon
Story read to children at night: Magic Faraway Tree
You walk three minutes down an alley and you find: Whippet poo
You walk to the border and hear: Whippets howling
What you fear: Whippets
Picture on your city’s postcard: A pack of wild whippets
Wild whippets whipped their wiry tails
Wondrously wagging at the witches of Pendle
Lowry landscape leapt up on the hills
Tall, pointy, witches hat mills of yesteryear
I spent much of my childhood in Burnley – very close to Pendle Hill, renowned for its witches. Read all about them here.
NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 16: Peek in the keep
He was a yob; just a boy
His mood was one of doom
He’d step on his pets
Snip them with pins
Stun them; he was nuts
No pal for his lap
Nor God for his dog
He was a liar; off the rail
Destined to live a life of evil
Stressed, he got his just desserts
Take a peek in the keep
NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 15: Starstruck
Her eyes sparkle like the stars
Beauty reflecting in their gaze
Tears fall as rivulets on strawberry cheeks
Reddened; echoing the beauty of Mars
She barely sees through eyes a-haze
Star-struck, out-of-luck, ne’er to meet
No hero glance. Her beauty bespeaks
the eyes of the star on her to beat
NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 14: Reach for the stars
You will fly so high
Birds will gaze up in wonder
You will reach the stars
NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 13: Jane Eyre
Grabbed a copy of Jane Eyre and got creative.
A little solace came
Burning with fire and brimstone
Calm betrayed alike the tinkle of the nearest streams
Darkened by a drizzling yellow fog
Elegant conveyance, I meditated much
Fresh now as a succession of April showers
Graceful scarf and golden rose
Head bending with native grace
I stood lonely enough
Judgment untempered by feeling
Key of sweet subdued vivacity
Likely, I returned, or perhaps
Metamorphosed into a lion
Nightingale warbling in a wood
Obliging, and amiable too
Picking at ripe cherries
Quaking heart and through my spirit
Rest yourself here an hour
Solemn eyes melt with sudden fire
Transformed myself into a will-o’-the-wisp
Utterance to this conviction
Voice murmured
Waved leafy and fragrant as groves between the tropics
Xperience to long for the calm
You – with truth, fervour, constancy
Zeal
NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 12: Cool Beans
The stakes were high
Marking the territory, they stood
Ramrod straight in circular formation
Like soldiers on guard
Sun glinted off their gunmetal coats
Before too long, they would be surrounded
An impenetrable forcefield taking hold
The drill began; they began to run
We will eat well this Summer
NaPoWriMo 2016 – Day 11: Read all about it
There is no enemy but time.
Take the ultimate, far journey
out of your body
to discover a separate reality;
the inner workings of parallel universes.
A vision of dreams
holding tales of power.
On awakening from your necrotrivia,
you may believe that God is love.
Get it in writing.
NapoWriMo 2016 – Day 10: Home Comforts
Comfort makes me uncomfortable
Stuck-in-a-rut, stuck-in-a-bubble
No passion of which to speak
No lingering looks to make me go weak
Day-to-day drudge with no forward looking
No off-the-cuff, heart-pounding, illicit fucking
Groundhog day rollovers taking the place
Of rolls on the ground and tumbles in hay
Get up, feed dogs, shower, dress, go to work
Get home, feed dogs, try to smile (it’s a smirk)
Staying up late, drinking wine on my own
Relaxing in comfort in the space I call home
Jane Sandford 