once upon a time
mushroom houses
dragons knights and castles
magic faerie tales
unicorns, Nessie and Yeti
gargoyles, griffins and kraken
damselflies, daisies and dragonflies
faeries, ferns, frolicking frogs
princess and princesses
full-blown fantasy
lions tigers and bears oh my
warlocks, witches and wizards
heros and heroines
happily ever after
Once upon a time,
they lived,
happily ever after.
Or did they?
Youth released to the breeze.
Sense of joy abounds in vivid colour.
Time fleeting outside precious moments.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Caught up in bubble
watching my life before me
wishing I could join
+Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we forget to live+
Feeling low best way to alter is kneeling at the altar of the Taco my romeo
Halter stealing TexMex slaughter dealing burrito or nacho cos ends with “O”
Clever clogs in boho vlogs falter say hey “Cilantro” but it is a herb so no
Yanks know tanks finest order for lothario or marauder's below the border
Crow say tally ho a true aficionado go gung-ho for mojo halo of Mexico
Mole is not a relic a culinary medic as holy as a cleric just like Pozole
Wholly done slowly not being hasty most things tasty ends in an “E”
Alright in the larder not from the Armada friends Guacamole or Tamale
“A” senorita might say forgot Enchilada and Quesadilla or Conchinita
Sages simmer sauces for ages so many stages as the flavour rages
The most pure for many I’m sure would quip the tip “al Pastor” Taco
Their cocoa gusto & avocado bravado so come on everyone go loco
Forget the crime.. sublime..prime chime once upon a time in Mexico
Now starlight is freed,
my book with dreams implanted,
I hurry to read.
Eager to be enchanted.
That's where each wish is granted..
Once upon a time, as the fable goes
There were us, your dog and my cat
Behind the fences the big outside was
Suggesting the stuff that we used to get
Pharmacies, hospitals, vets, hairdressers
Asda, the Co-op, your long earrings
Your roses and hyacinths, Uniglo dresses
The golden rings on your fingers
Your laughter when you threw your head back
And we drank wine talking about
Everything until we blurred into black
And the dawn was close to come out
Bottles of Lucozade, pods and sensors
Your blood glucose measures and pills
Your vapes, your questions and my answers
The photos you took from Coombe hill
I can't seem to put it into consistency
Into a somewhat coherent narrative
Can’t glue back the broken vase in subsistency
It seems like forever preparative
Here’s the apple tree in the sunset rays
With the apples down on the ground
Once upon a time, as the fable says
There were us, but we can’t be found.
Once upon a time,
to be loved was enough.
But what if I want more.
To be loved,
and to be known, chosen, and seen.
This is love.
Where I’m known, but misunderstood.
Where I’m chosen, but still haunted.
Where I’m seen, but aching to disappear.
I hoped for something different.
Something soft.
Something easy.
A picture perfect love.
A protection to my peace.
But that’s not real life.
No perfect pictures or fairytales.
Just pretty smiles behind a cracked frame.
Hopeful chapters on tear stained pages.
I thought love was meant to stretch,
not slowly rip me apart.
But how can you stretch
what’s already in pieces?
I’m just so tired,
tired of being strong.
Tired of being okay,
when every day I’m just losing.
So today, I'll be weak.
I'll beat your chest, as I wail.
Let you hold me as I shake.
And I'll fall apart in your arms.
Until the bomb in my heart starts ticking once again.
Because once upon a time,
I survived the battle,
with grace, with grit.
Only to enter a war,
and call it love.
What if I read to you a story Starting
once upon a time
And you realised that is was your
Life spelt out on every Line.
Would you hear my voice and Wonder as it
Brushed across each word and pray my Arms have the strength to hold the truth About your world
would your view on life be different and would it shock you most to find that
the things you thought defined you could be
Summed up in just two lines and all the
Ones you took for granted the ins and outs of
Everyday play a bigger part in who you are
Then you ever dared to say would you wonder
At the pages left and all the places that they could lead then vow to make
each moment one that you’d be very proud to read because there is the story
of your life but its you who holds the pen and i hope you fill the pages right
before you reach the
end
Len’s Story
Once upon a time I said we should wed
Your pretty face blushed as you whispered “yes”
Love for eternity, I promised this
For fifty years we shared married life bliss.
Ours was a perfect match, made in heaven
Gift wrapped in love of the purest essence
Every moment, minute and every hour
Magnificent as a bloom in flower.
It’s lonely without you, hard to go on
Time lingers from dawn to setting of sun
I cherish memories stored in my head
Those glorious treasures forever blessed.
I look at celestial stars every night
Wishing you were in my arms, held tight
On a high cloud in the somewhere above
To hug and kiss you and show you my love.
Our family joy glints through mist of my tears
I’d not change a thing of those precious years
In dreams we dance with arms and hearts entwined
The same as we did, once upon a time.
* * *
Still a child at heart
tho' older are some other parts
and only for a lark
back to my childhood here I hark
I remember a rhyme
in the far reaches of my mind
hickory dickory dock
the mice ran up the clock
the clock struck one
the mouse fell down
luckily the plucky other ducked
shucked and jived
escaped survived
got out alive
and ran away
to live another day
with relief and laughter
happily ever after
hickory dickory dock
The depth of our love is immeasurable
when hearts are bequeathed passion divine
and luminous lucid unforgettable dreamscapes
are entwined from heartbeat to heartbeat
symbolizing a glorious connection of love
completely luxurious and refined
so lustrous with an ardor of seductive majesty
that pulsates from tender tendrils of our soul
How did this world, this love, fade away?
once upon a time
in the fifties and sixties
school playgrounds had small merry-go-rounds
and teeter totters aka seesaws
our slides were as tall as our nine story school house
safety was not a big deal
no one wore helmets or kneepads
our job was to play
have adventures and love our life
I miss those playgrounds
Once upon a time
A woman began to rhyme
And found it was fun!
Once upon a time in Nigeria
Lived a storyteller with a voice like the wind
His parables, like whispers, traveled far and wide
Touching every corner, stirring every mind.
He wrote of a land where the yam was king
Where the ancestors’ drums forever sing.
He told of Okonkwo, fierce and proud
In a village where voices rose clear and loud.
With Things Fall Apart, he tore down the veil
Unveiling truths buried deep in each tale.
He spoke of clashes, of struggle, and pain
Cultures colliding like thunder and rain.
Once upon a time in Nigeria, lived a man
Who awoke a continent, once tightly bound.
Through the pages of history, his voice ascends
A river of stories that flows without end.
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