She is so miminy-piminy she never gets mad
Nellie is too persnickety to ever act bad
We try to rile her, hoping to make her cry
Why? She asks us with concern, why cousin, why?
Because you are unflappable, too perfect I say
You make the rest of us look like slackers most of the day
Can’t you ever be mean, hit someone or sing a sad song?
You simply do not fit in with us rascals, you do not belong
Nellie is home, in the arms of great halls,
She's got plenty to sing and carve on these walls,
Nowhere, I linger, absence abound,
I've got none to return to - none safe and sound
I'm a nervous Nellie with good reasons you see.
Many a time I've had the rug pulled out from under me..
There are quiet stretches where I attempt to heal and
everything is co-pathetic, at an even keel..
Abruptly the rains come down and it's never
just a spittle.
It's often like the sky is falling and I'm poor Chicken Little..
If I only knew my future I could tweak the plot, then I
could stop waiting for the other shoe to drop..
Ol' Nellie Bramble; she loved to drink
She never washed and boy she did stink
In every bar in town, she'd cause a scene
And her rich language was quite obscene.
She spent many a night in a police cell
And all night long she'd scream and yell
She'd cuss and sing throughout the night
Then challenge all the duty cops to fight.
Every day when the jail clock struck noon
The police let her go saying "see you soon"
She'd then head for a bar and order whiskey
Try it on with the barmen and get frisky.
One dark wet night Nellie ran out of luck
When crossing the road didn't see a truck
The driver braked hard but he was too late
and poor old Nellie met with a terrible fate.
She was cremated, and ashes put in an urn
The bars proudly displayed it, each took a turn
And at the end of the night they'd raise a glass
To toast ol' Nellie that 'sweet' smelling lass.
Written 9th June 2022.
There once was a young girl named Nellie,
Who loved peanut butter and jelly.
She ate till it hurt and extended her girth,
Now they're calling her Nellie the Belly.
There once was a young man named Toby,
Who yearned for a shiny gold trophy,
But he had two left feet and was no athlete,
And his muscles succumbed to atrophy.
Now Nellie and Toby did meet,
And each thought the other was sweet.
They decided to marry and they didn't tarry,
And produced chubby kids with bad feet.
Nellie B. Chandler
1897-1911
There I am.
Here I am now.
I am the six year old girl
Behind the glass window
That wide open wedge to the north
From inside my classroom there
At Evergreen school, ‘neath
The towering ascending elm trees there,
Shrouded in immense shade.
I am standing and staring there
Daydreaming and yearning and desiring
For my mama and papa
To come get me here,
Wishing and waiting, waiting and hoping
For them to come get me and take me home.
I hate it here!
I hate school!
My forward gaze to the north
Extends out forever as the moon
stretches its beams, outward outward, and beyond
The limitless fantastic scenes in black space.
I see out there to the north
I see four faces in the distance there,
Friendly faces, familiar faces
Of family and friends, all
Now asleep with me here,
Here in the cool calm tombs
Of Mt. Olive Cemetery.
There I am.
Here I am now.
Mama. Papa. Come get me!
I hate it here!
I am waiting…waiting…waiting…
Shrouded in immense shade.
Nellie-Billy or Belly
If you turn a corner and see Nellie
She might come full force with Billy
If you can't keep up
Better dang don't hit pup
He might bite your big toe and belly
Written:
Jan. 3, 2016
Theresa
Nellie Gray Holland
1885 – 1899
I was never aware of the clock ticking
Or the spring spreading of the rose bud in my mother’s green garden.
I never saw the moonrise on a gray October night,
Or tasted the tart fruit of first love.
I never heard the cry of my baby
Or felt the warm heartbeat of a husband next to mine.
For birthdays and holidays
I lit the candles,
A dozen scented red candles,
And watched the ghostly shadows flicker on the walls
Of my mother’s special sitting room.
Shadows that danced and swayed and galloped.
Shadows that understood me
And listened to me.
They knew of my weak diseased heart
And of my impending early exit from Earth.
Clark Cemetery is beautiful in the fall.
The owls in the trees screech loudly
And the western winds make a music only I can hear.
My friend, will you kindly light a candle for me?
I am in the dark here
And I wish to see the dancing shadows again.
That's not my elephant, the barman said, when last I went a boozing
Then threw at me a grin filled glance, that was a long way from amusing
You brought him here, you bring him home, your game I’m not abetting
So pack your trunk, get out, your barred, no more drink you’re getting
So sadly I made the long journey home, my poor legs weak as jelly
I could perhaps have caught a cab but they would not take Nellie
Later as we passed a takeaway, the warm smell assailed my senses
I ordered spaghetti and parmesan cheese, Nellie just had lettuce
My door key I could nowhere find, when at last I reached my home
I had no choice but to ring the bell, the wife Ella soon came down
Her words, would cause a crimson blush, on face’s of horse traders
I have not experienced such awful fear since I was in 2nd graders
She insisted that, ‘Nellie’, was but just, a figment of my imagination
And that if I didn’t get off to bed, I’d end up in prone prostration
Now I’ve lost my new best friend, and sweet alcohol fuelled nights
She’s taken from me the will to live. and rewritten the bill of right
4th in Contest, That's Not My Elephant, by Matt Caliri
There once was a couple named Kelly
Who called their young daughter, Sweet Nellie.
And why was she so sweet?
Because all she would eat
Was just peanut butter and jelly.