when you make it big
in the music business
booking tour dates all over the USA
and maybe Europe
you live on a bus
clickety clack clickety clack
you try to sleep all day
because you are singing so late into the evening
when you make it big
in the music business
you wear tight fancy uncomfortable clothes
your sequins shine and you shake your tail feathers.
You live on a bus.
clickety clack clickety clack
whereas I get to stay home all day
and wear pajamas
It’s 6.43am,
I’m awaiting my train.
I tune into the station,
Listening to the invisible spring birds
Belting a Beltane call and response;
A syncopation in freewheeling jazz tracks.
Dipperty-dee, dipperty-dar,
Dipperty-dee, dipperty-dar,
I alight the shining lines,
Slide into my seat.
Watch the sun seep up and over rooves,
The rumble and tumble of the dustbin lorry,
Barking dogs,
People in a hurry,
Mobile but fixated by scrolling truths -
Reels of what's new, what's circumstantial,
And rolling news of worlds financial.
Woo-ah woo!
I'm borrowed fleeting glances
Of dolls house windows of toy town houses,
The click and flick of kettles
As the busyness of the new day blinks in.
Full steam ahead!
Clickerty-click, clickety-clack,
Clickety-click, clickety-clack.
Then a pause.
A beeperty-beep, and a whoosh of the doors
As they slide open.
An improvisation of passengers board,
Spilling into the carriages with costa-lot coffees,
Half full.
Commuting, suited and booted into the city.
Electricity!
With a murmuration, they're away from the station.
Dipperty-dee, dipperty-dar,
Dipperty-dee, dipperty-dar,
There was once was a lady called Ullah
took a trip across to Dimbullah
Why she went there
here's the story she'd share
Hey I'm not gonna fool ya
took part in a dance called a hula
And Peder would follow
he'd tweak his big toe
He didn't take part in this wonderful dance
hung on to his chair by the seat of his pants
Wherever was Ullah, Pedder would go
his admiration is always on show
This beautiful couple the friendship we cherish
Makes no difference if they're speaking their danish
We value their knowledge from the plants that they grow
observation of nature from the seeds that they sow
This information we make sure it wont vanish
Here's a secret I now will reveal they make no claim to be spanish
When Peders at craft he always just sits
clickety clack from needles, it's a hat that he knits
Dying fine wool Peder remains silent, uses the wool a holey sock he must darn
And Ullah ? Total contrast!! She's really quite noisy when spinning some form of a yarn
They often have fabrics, by hand they have dyed with colour galore
from all of the markets they've finally retired they'll sadly be seen there no more
LOVE DERAILED
Whose unscathed heart has dared to love,
for to love is to feel the pain.
Is it true love that hurts not the heart,
or just two passing trains?
In the best of times, dinner and wine,
when love feels like it shoud.
Dither and doubt linger about.
That dirt makes it hurt so good.
Love isn't fair, tis all but a dare,
arrogant, selfish, obtuse.
The winners gloat only in the grave
losers go back to the caboose.
Old lines and hard times denigrate the steel
making the cars woble and sway.
Even riding the smoothest rail,
clickety clack clickety clack, all day.
Left at the station, the end of the line,
Infatuation's purple heart.
The grotesque beauty of attraction
tis the angst of most great art.
When pain's embraced you've lost the race,
there is nothing left to see.
Bought and paid for, gelded and roped
like voluntary slavery.
If on romance you've take the chance,
I wish you the very best.
End of the line of the honeymoon train
It's all down hill for the rest.
Rain cometh, do you hear it?
Suddenly the whipping wind
Suddenly great droplets
Suddenly when all seems dry
Suddenly bones clickety-clack
Rain cometh, do you hear it?
The sudden shift of atmosphere
The trumpets loud and clear
The sky opening, tears falling
The heartbeat of God’s calling
Rain cometh, do you hear it?
Or the screech owl in branches
Or the fat bats screeching
Or the skeletons scratching
Or the floodgates opening
Rain cometh, do you hear it?
Which way do you turn
Toward Heaven or hell
Toward the angels reaching
Or the demons screeching
Rain cometh…do you hear it?
Were they in the ark?
Were they in the puddles?
Were they in the light?
Or were they in utter fright?
Rain came…just the same.
Rain cometh, do you hear it?
Do you hear it?
I can hear your heartbeat.
Ring the bell-hop, how quaint
Dial the Operator? – Translate! …
Western Union’s clickety-clack, now faint
alongside the sensory lure of wet paint
All of these ~ today, ain’t
I pick up the phone to call her
But she is not there
her phone is disconnected
I miss her laugh
Her voice inflections
I miss knowing she is where she is supposed to be
It has been five years two months and twenty-two days
Yet in a way, it seems like she passed yesterday
or maybe this morning
I miss her beef and noodles, her delicious pies
I miss the clickety clack of her knitting needles
I miss her mom smell
I miss my mother
Moments drift by in fleeting streams,
Like bubbles dancing in our dreams.
Hold those moments gently in your hands,
Feel the magic where joy stands.
Moments of laughter, wild and free,
Moments of surprise, like waves at sea.
Moments of celebration, purest light,
Moments of breakthroughs shining bright.
Wake to the simple moments, hear its call,
Embrace the whispers - great and small.
Life is not an emergency, let moments stay,
Don't let moments of pure joy just slip away.
The smiles of friends, the scent of rain,
The twinkling stars, the clickety-clack of a train.
A child’s giggle, a soft embrace,
Things in this life, we should celebrate and chase.
Find joy in what is simple and true,
Let small delights awaken us.
For in those moments of whispers, calm yet mighty,
We will hear the Voice of the Almighty.
In a world of glass and metal chic,
Where screens shatter with just one flick,
Stands a legend bold, tough as can be—
It’s Nokia, the one, the OG!
While iPhones snap and Samsungs fry,
Nokia’s built to never die.
Drop it, stomp it, toss it in the sea—
It’ll bounce right back, like, “Is that all you got for me?”
Text on its keys, clickety-clack,
Snake on the screen, never look back.
With battery life to last all week,
And no software bugs, or apps to tweak!
Nokia’s armor, thick and dense,
The ultimate shield, the one true defense.
When life throws bricks, or walls collapse,
Nokia shrugs, takes no naps.
From construction sites to outer space,
No smartphone’s fit to take its place.
So here’s to you, Nokia, champ of the past—
Forever immortal, and built to last!
The bones, lay flat, without a sound,
Then one by one, clickety-clack.
Departed souls’ cold backs did crack.
The bones lay flat without a sound,
Until their jaws did flap, confound.
Each found its skull a lantered-Jack.
The bones lay flat without a sound.
Then one by one, clickety-clack.
The bones lay flat without a sound.
The bones lay flat without a sound.
The bones lay flat without a sound.
Then one by one, clickety-clack.
Then one by one, clickety-clack.
Deceased army prepares attack.
TRAIN TRAVEL
I am on a superfast train
Listening to the soothing refrain,
Of the wheels on the railway track
Clickety clack, clickety clack.
Verdant vistas on either side,
Soothing visions during the ride.
Hamlets and villages flash by,
Little children waving "Hi"!
Fields of wheat and sugarcane,
Glistening from recent rains.
No pollution, no blaring horns,
No impatience or faces forlorn.
The catering staff wend their way,
Distributing food on trays.
We tuck into a hearty meal,
Get a satiated feel.
Chat with fellow travelers,
Some sober, some revelers.
Each with different tales to tell,
Caught up in a magical spell.
Halting at railway stations,
Quaint outposts of the nation.
The aroma of frying food,
You simply cannot elude.
Idyllic this train travel,
Just unwind and unravel.
Far away from stress and strain,
Modern life's eternal bane.
Stretching on my berth, relaxed,
Languidly just laying back,
Till I reach my destination
I'll admire Nature's creations.
TRAIN TRAVEL
I am on a superfast train
Listening to the soothing refrain,
Of the wheels on the railway track
Clickety clack, clickety clack.
Verdant vistas on either side,
Soothing visions during the ride.
Hamlets and villages flash by,
Little children waving "Hi"!
Fields of wheat and sugarcane,
Glistening from recent rains.
No pollution, no blaring horns,
No impatience or faces forlorn.
The catering staff wend their way,
Distributing food on trays.
We tuck into a hearty meal,
Get a satiated feel.
Chat with fellow travelers,
Some sober, some revelers.
Each with different tales to tell,
Caught up in a magical spell.
Halting at railway stations,
Quaint outposts of the nation.
The aroma of frying food,
You simply cannot elude.
Idyllic this train travel,
Just unwind and unravel.
Far away from stress and strain,
Modern life's eternal bane.
Stretching on my berth, relaxed,
Languidly just laying back,
Till I reach my destination
I'll admire Nature's creations.
When life in the city becomes too much to bear
When I am overwhelmed by a sense
of hopelessness and unrelenting stress—
The cacophony of city streets,
A mish mash of jarring sounds
cars whizzing by, horns blaring,
Ambulance wails in a distance
Buses moan and screech
Clickety-Clack of the overhead
“L” trains rumbling by
The din, the clamor, the ruckus,
the racket, rattle and roar
The street musicians
Dogs barking furiously down the lane
The chatter at the roadside vendors,
Oh, the babel of voices, the drunken brawls,
I retreat into the arms of nature.
Away from this chaotic world,
Alone, just by myself,
in the serene solitude of seclusion,
Wrapped up in a swath of silence
in this solemn dusk
I am at peace with myself
Among towering trees and splendorous falls
With its gushing streams and magnificent mountains,
The verdant fields and emerald green valleys
with rivers meandering down through
rolling hills and lush plains…
Soothe my insatiable craving for quietude.
toasty variegated yarn from Oskaloosa
the hues of colors
red blue yellow green
knitting needles are clicking along
warm mittens and slippers
afghans and shawls
a dress for a toddler
clickety clack clickety clack
Knock, knock! Who's there? A Pen, sharp and keen,
Said, "Paper, my pal, is it writin' time, green?"
The paper sighed loudly, with a rustle and flop,
"Come on in, Pen pal, here's where we can't stop!”
The Pen tapped its foot, with a clickety-clack,
"Got stories and poems, a whole writer's pack!"
The Paper unfurled, smooth as a green sea,
"Let's ink some ideas, just you and just me!”
Scratchity scratch, the Pen danced with glee,
"This story's a-flowin', for all the world to see!"
The Paper whispered, with a happy little sigh,
"Words come alive when you and I fly!”
They wrote through the day, with a swish and a flick,
Creating adventures, with each clever trick.
The sun dipped low, casting shadows so long,
But the Pen and the Paper knew where they belonged.
Curled up together, a perfect pair,
Ready to write more, with love and with care.
So next time you're feelin' a story inside,
Grab a Pen and some Paper, and let your feelings confide!
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.