the silver birch
it likes to hide
so as you search
at eventide
you find it there with many friends
playing poker through the night
the common oak
a wise old man
an aging folk
since time began
grandfathers of the forest they
speak myth and folklore when they can
the sycamore
with helicopter seeds
sets out its store
among the weeds
then grows to be big and strong
from people’s picnics on which it feeds
the horse chestnut
is the conker tree
the children’s favourite
but too spikey
until they are ready later on
and why kids were late home for tea
the yew
is old
and grew
so slow
its age is in millennia
and battles from the archer’s bow
the hawthorn
its blossom white
and at dawn
as if it snowed all night
then all too soon the white has gone
a desperate case of bad stage fright
the conifer
fir, spruce and pine
a regular
likes mead and wine
to keep it warm in winter then
comes into homes at Christmas time
Categories:
conker, fun, funny, humorous, light,
Form: Light Verse
every tap and scratch of chalk upon the blackboard
every tick tock tick tock of the classroom clock
every bored yawn, restless fidget, impatient sigh
these were...
every reprimand for running, telling off for not
every hymn sung, register taken, detention served
every hundred lines, six of the best, clipped ear
the best...
every white tache and bubble in our cartons of milk
every sly drag of make you feel older playground ***
every conker conquered, knee graze, girl kiss-chased
days of...
every seven times table, count to fifty, crossed fingers
every love letter, Valentines card, flash of knickers
every muddy shoe, inky shirt, nasty rumour
your life...
every period of logarithms, Shakespeare, cookery
every rustle of sweet wrapper, cough, drop of pencil
every excruciating scrape of chair at lesson’s end
these were, these were, these were...
23.5.2011
Categories:
conker, memory,
Form: Free verse
My neighbour out searching for conkers
Is blessed with incredible honkers
But when she bends down
All the housewives frown
Where to look drives their husband bonkers!
Categories:
conker, humor,
Form: Limerick
Do you remember
Skipping with a rope..alone
Or catching 'jacks' with stones.
Do you recall
Tennis against an old brick wall
Or conker contests in the fall.
Did you chalk out hopscotch squares
Play make believe,games of dare
Hide and seek or touch and run
In a childhood wrapped in fun.
Is simplicity a thing of the past
Will life in a circle turn
Will common sense..return?
Categories:
conker, childhood, remember, time,
Form: Verse
In the wind or in the sea
Are you beneath the apple tree
In my dreams I'm there again
Living life without the pain
A part of me is scattered too
From that void reserved for you
Conker one and conker two
In a jar just me and you
In Niamh's eyes I see it all
From the tree the fruit will fall
Never landing, forever longer
With each new bud a little stronger
In the wind you have no fears
To compensate for all those years
Pause your peace for just one day
And help me chase the grief away
A long lost smile upon your face
You are in a better place
Your in the wind and in the sea
And beneath the apple tree
Categories:
conker, angel,
Form: Quatrain
There's a blizzard blowing in my brain.
Jack Frost has been again.
Overnight snow has fallen.
I know now he has been calling.
Frozen flakes on my windowpane
tell me Autumn has left again.
Crystals forming on the glass
whisper that season now has passed.
This means my friend is waiting
for me to arise and go skating.
Temperatures dropped so low
heralds ice over river flow.
Each season brings it's own joys.
Love the snow since we were boys.
No more conker games for us.
Must hurry, here comes my bus.
25/08 2016
Categories:
conker, adventure, friend, snow,
Form: Rhyme
A midget made a Rumblebean
Whilst lying in the sun.
It was the greenest he had seen,
‘That’s green,’ he said, ‘bar none.’
He picked it up and spected it,
Implying to and fro.
He felt it like some clever dick
And knew what he did know.
‘I’ll plant it!’ came his voice in sound,
Familiar as his face.
‘I’ll plant it in the earthy ground,
And leave no digging trace.’
The midget, with a knowing look
Dug deep and secret down.
And using only half a hook,
A conker and a frown.
‘This Rumblebean is wrapped in mud!’
He bellied on ascending.
‘The kind that turns things into wood,
And letters ripe for sending.’
Then with a little stake he stuck
Upon the very spot,
A note made out of hope and luck,
Tied with a safety knot.
‘Grow well my little Rumblebean,’
The midget shed in tears.
‘Grow up onto a might av been,
And prosper through your ears.’
Categories:
conker, nonsense,
Form: Rhyme
Woke up this morning to some snow,
Where oh where did Autumn go?
We went from roasting to deep freeze,
When did the leaves fall from the trees?
When did the Conker Season end?
It’s something I can’t comprehend,
Why should Autumn seem much shorter,
Than any other yearly quarter?
How could I a whole season miss?
Could climate change be blamed for this?
I’m afraid I just don’t know,
Where oh where did Autumn go?
Categories:
conker, confusion, nature, seasons, time,
Form: Rhyme
Autumnal power
Collected a summer of admirers
Now she Stoops to Conquer
Me monkey like watching in awe
Cast a big stick high into the big tree
Now proudly I Stoop to Conker
Categories:
conker, funny
Form: I do not know?
Do you remember
Skipping with a rope..alone
Or catching 'jacks' with stones.
Do you recall
Tennis against an old brick wall
Or conker contests in the fall.
Did you chalk out hopscotch squares
Play make believe,games of dare
Hide and seek or touch and run
In a childhood wrapped in fun.
Is simplicity a thing of the past
Will life in a circle turn
Will common sense..return?
Categories:
conker, childhood, nostalgia
Form: Rhyme
THE CHESTNUT TREE BLOOMS .
BOYHOOD DREAMS OF AUTUMN GAMES
WILL STOOP TO CONKER .
Categories:
conker, nature, autumn,
Form: Haiku
I came
I saw
I played conkers.
I felt denied a pleasure
as mine was too small.
But it had a life of its own.
Tiny little piece of wood
I knew it could
conquer
the bigger existance.
It had great resistance.
Small
and yet insistant.
begin what it had started
not ready to fall,
rising above expectations
of itself
smashed...
but rising
a little grain
a little salt
bury me
but
i
will contiue the fight
not yet contrite
place me in a subtle soil
nourish me
and time will tell.
I will conquer that conker!
Categories:
conker, faith,
Form: Bio
Trade-off
in the school yard-
soccer cigarette cards
equals five stones plus my sixer
conker.
Categories:
conker, childhood, nostalgia, school,
Form: Light Verse