Bye Bye Blackbird...RWP Prompt 120 A song from the era of the Great Depression

To be sung to the tune ' Bye Bye Blackbird'

Here I am alone again
Running scared
In deep despair
Bye Bye Blackbird

No-one is awaiting me
No-one cares
No-one shares
Bye Bye Blackbird

No-one here can love or understand me
Have few friends and grief is all they hand me
Have no home have no life
All I know is hurt and strife
Black Bird Bye Bye

If you'll have me
I declare
to care for you
and comb your hair
Bye Bye Blackbird

I will sing
write poems for you
open champagne
cook ragout
Bye Bye Blackbird

I will be your friend and make your dreams come true
Pare your corns and massage you with cologne and perfume
Go on be a brave boy then
Take a chance with a sad plump wren
Black Bird Bye Bye

Sunday Afternoon in Sydney

The sun hangs low in the sky
that autumn tinge of sadness
is always pervasive at this time of year
weather is beautiful with purple and yellow
tibouchina and butter bush in bloom
nerves frayed like spliced electrical cords
the build up to Easter has begun
chatter chatter chatter
on mobile phones,road rage
rudeness,savagery, speed
noise, leaf blowers, traffic ,stress

A gentle row around the rocks
on a late Sunday afternoon
gliding through glassy water
will blow away the cobwebs
Me in my little 'Seaweed'
and my seagull mates
all lined up for the show
I think of Captain Flinders
in the 'Tom Thumb' with his cat Trim
exploring the Eastern coastline and
I smile

GO FORTH AND CONJUGATE

Spring is coming
So is Jesus
Look busy
And God said
Go forth and multiply
Or
If you are no good at maths
Go forth and conjugate
And so, lying back
with thoughts of
green and pleasant land
I did

amo
I have produced verbs
amas
doing words
amat
expensive adverbs
amamus
birds do it
amatis
bees do it
amant
aunty did it but remained verbless

with lowered lids
and hushed tones
they said it was sad
not the done thing
she did not have her own declension
a brood of present participles
a glory box or wedding band

I never understood why it was sad
ma tante was so cheerful
not like the rest
I knew not to ask
Besides, I was secretly
being Audrey Hepburn
in a moon river of daydreams
for years on end

It took decades
for the penny to drop
the gentle arts had been a buffer
for far too long
I climbed down from my ivory tower
and with a deep breath crossed the moat
There was no turning back

RWP Prompt 119 ..Spring is Coming .Go forth and conjugate.

And The Winner Is Barbara Young AKA Barbra Seville

WINNER ...Barbara Young/Barbra Seville

SECOND PLACE...Pamela Villars and Doc FTSE

BEST SUPPORTING POET...Chris Hale

Congratulations to all and thankyou for participating in this prestigious event.
Everyone gets a prize in Rall's competitions...so be expecting some thrilling stuff in the mail
And remember a life without poetry is a life too bland!



Firstly I would like to thank Wanda McCollar and Lawrence Gladeview for giving their time so generously in judging this competition as I know they are both very busy people. Wanda has been away attending an Arts Festival in Maastricht and Lawrence has just returned from a modelling assignment in the Bahamas.
Their work can be viewed at the following websites:
http://wandamccollar.com/
http://beatnikprose.blogspot.com/

They have both come to an independent decision on the winner.

Wanda chose Barbara Young as Winner.
"Barbara's poem blew my mind - though she added very few words from those given,
her clever imagery and interwoven plot line amazed me. Judging this was very difficult -
all poems are quite good in different ways."
She found Pamela's "final lines delightfully shocking."
She also said that Doc FTSE's poem "Osprey" is so good that she is confident that it is publishable.

Lawrence chose Pamela Villars as Winner.
"Pamela's poem is romantic and intimate. The environment lends itself beautifully to the language and form. The penultimate line is lamenting in nature,which brings the reader to question the narrator's compassion-very effective writing."

Swimming in Autumn

Saturday Afternoon
I am happy
Frangipani tree is still blooming
I pick a sprig to put in my hat
First swim for weeks
Beautiful weather
I breast stroke past the rocks and
think of Captain Arthur Philip rounding the Bay
This Cove is my mother
As a child I did not have to share her
I spent summers like a sea urchin amongst the rocks
collecting shells decorating sandcastles with seaweed
covered in salt and watermelon juice
Gentle exercise only said the Doc
Sadly I must face the reality that
my body can no longer dive from the rocks
or ride the waves
I never thought it would end

RALL'S WEEKLY WORDLE COMPETITION THE FINAL

Here are the results:

Wanda McCollar nominated Doc FTSE as the winner of this round for his poem "Osprey Returning"

' It has a lilt which juxtaposes the very essence of the message in a most marvellous way - like the flap of a wing. The poem clearly seeks to answer a daunting puzzle - it's a poem that should have always been written - and now it has been. '

Lawrence Gladeview nominated Barbara Young as winner of this round for her poem "Pseudopod"

'Pseudopod is poetically experimental, utilizes word economy successfully and includes all of the word choices...very much enjoyed the full circle connection of the first and last lines.'

Both judges awarded Pamela Villars second place, so all three contestants can go through to the finals.

FINALS
There are 25 words
To win ...all words must be used and the poem must not exceed 20 lines. I did one in 16 lines so
it's possible.

Wordle prompt:
ardent clink moon discreet ruffles
finger chandelier sparkle cloud jealous
pattern trellis presentiment divan midnight
foreboding whisper fleck scrunch consummate
chill amber room frisson marble

Good luck to all. Poems should be submitted by Friday 19th March ... your northern hemisphere time.

Strumpet Champ 2010

Strumpet Champ 2010

She staggered onto the motorcoach
lumbering bags of fruit squeezing into her seat
almost falling out of her magenta top
fumbling around in her bag for a turquoise makeup mirror
The old man sitting next to her holding a potted fern
glanced furtively at her leopard skin costume
causing his spartacles to mist
This heated moment was nonpareil to the usual exasperation
he normally felt when being squashed by a fellow passenger
His eyes moved slowly to her open handbag where he caught
a glimpse of a silver cup with bold engravened letters
' Strumpet Champ 2010'


RWP 118
Wordle:
motorcoach, magenta, mirror,turquoise, cup, furtive
fern, strumpet ,mist, nonpareil, costume,fumble

*spartacles* is a word for spectacles used in Sussex UK
Chris H of Middenshire Chronicles ( a Spartacus look alike) introduced me to this
and I believe he also has a nice pair of spartacles.

The Flowers That Bloom In The Spring Tra La

This is inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan and also written to celebrate Spring which is on the doorstep of my northern hemisphere blog friends. It is amazing how the memory holds so many songs ( some never heard since chilhood).This took a while to write. There are more than forty songs, a lengthy poem but I enjoyed all the flash backs connected to them. Have been unwell and feverish this week.. however very conducive state for writing surreality.

RWP 117 prompt: Write a surreal poem with a VOLTA (a hinge which changes the mood of the poem towards the end.)

Three little maids from school are we
folderol diddley and nanki pea
Tying yellow ribbons round the old oak tree
Three little maids are we
Spring is coming
It's cherry pink and apple blossom white
We're flowers that bloom in the Spring tra la
as we merrily dance and we sing tra la
of roses and violets and flings ha ha
Sing willow tit willow tit willow

Ring ring
Hello is it me you're looking for?
Who's that girl?
Peggy Sue
My bonny lass she smileth
lhude sing cuccu
You've got a cute way of talking
What's new Pussycat?
sumer is icumen in
So I love to go a-wandering
along a mountain track
You'll never walk alone
Yes I can , yes I can , yes I can
with Val de ri and Val de ra
Ricky don't lose that number
Don't let me down
Meet me half way at the Sad Cafe

When Flora smiles
Don't tell her
On the third day of Christmas my true love came to me
Have you seen but a whyte lily grow
before rude hands hath touched it?
No!
Never mind, Here comes the sun
De-fer De-fer
to the Lord High Ex-e-cutioner
John Tra la VOLTA
is stayin alive stayin alive
cos he's workin for the man

What is this thing called love?
The very thought of you makes my heart sing
You go to my head like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew
I can't stop loving you
You must remember this
a kiss is but a kiss
So this is love?
A fine romance with no kisses
Alas my love you do me wrong
to cast me off discourteously

It's too late baby
I will survive
So go now go, walk out the door
and take your tan shoes and pink shoe laces
You drive me crazy ooh ooh
This is your Haitian divorce
Got the message?
Yep, in a bottle
No point in writing love letters in the sand
You're moving out today
How can I miss you if you won't go away?
I did it my way and by the way, Desperado
Who IS Sylvia?

GIlbert and Sullivan Revisited

I can't believe I use to bag Gilbert and Sullivan when I was young. I have rediscovered this music and I must say I think it is such fun and a delight. I love 'Three Little Maids'. In fact the Mikado is such a hoot ....a sort of 19th century forerunner to the Village People. I dont think there are many of us left who have even heard of Gilbert and Sullivan . I have put some you tube videos on my blog of G & S but they morph into others which I have not selected and do not recognise. If any kind dinosaur out there can suggest how I can fix this it would be greatly appreciated.

ROBERT GRAY...15 POEMS

Robert Gray is one of the most acclaimed living Australian poets. Born and brought up on the north coast of New South Wales, his poetry is notable for its visual quality, suppleness of rhythm, clarity and observation of the natural world. He has recently published a novel
"The Land I Came Through Last"
He also lives in the same suburb as me in Sydney. Sometimes I see him catching the bus.

"Robert Gray is one of the contemporary masters of poetry in English." Les Murray.

From the collection "Creekwater Journal"

Looking After A Friend's House

I wake sometime towards daybreak,
hold apart
the curtains, propping myself up
and can see the moon
setting.

It's down behind the stand
of distant bare trees-those torn bits
of flyscreen
tacked onto sticks

The moon is settling
quickly, the way an egg yolk
slides along
and off
a table top

It shines across
these paddocks with their dark
turned- over clods
In some of the hollows, in the moonlight
water lies.

I reach back and
press the light switch, to keep on
reading. And read
until there glides up against me what seems
an icy cat.

Drab as goat's milk
the first daylight. I hunch down and feel myself
dissolving.
And next, sunlight is heavy on the quilt,
I am under all the dust motes.

Now this light will be inside, shoved right through
the house, cycling down
onto linoleum.
And I hear the refrigerator starting up again
in the bare kitchen.

RALL'S THURSDAY WEEKLY WORDLE COMPETITION SEMI FINALS

SEMI FINALS

The semi finals have been brought forward to next week.
Professor B. Pear and his associate Buttercup had conflicting opinions on the winner for this week because of the high standard so a decision was made to have two winners;
Ms Pamela Villars and Barbra Seville.Congratulations. The contestants next week will be
Doctor FTSE
Pamela Villars
Barbra Seville aka Barbara Young

Apart from being a well known poet Pam has the distinction of being voted Ms Texas
for twenty five years consecutively.
Barbara is Nashville Tennessee's Poet Laureate and current Karaoke Champion.


Next week the semi finals will be judged by Wanda and Lawrence both published poets.
Wanda McCollar is an American living in Germany. She is the literary guru of RWP and her job is to ensure Germans are speaking American/ English with the correct inflections and appropriate accompanying gesticulations.
Lawrence Gladeview spends his time as poet /decorator in the US. He purchases bars, wallpapers them with his poems and offers free booze to anyone who can recite them by heart.

The wordle for this week is:
colourless, libretti, audience, await, splinter
bells, amateur, bland, joy,inevitable
crystal, aghast, IT, wings, derision

*IT = information technology

Good luck all!

Clarrie's Cornered RWP 116

This week's prompt is photo ' Charon ' by h koppdelaney








Clarrie's Cornered

this is my comeuppance
washed up on a poetry blog boat
swallowing oceans of verbal sludge
onanistic tortured angst ridden verse
deafened by the sound of breast beating
headed for the VIP section
of agony aunt's poetry hell

a cube in San Bruno looks good
a beach at Byron looks better
Too late
I've overdosed on classical allusion
overblown lexicon and linguistic flagellation

what's worse is that bitch Fairy Moans
nicked my Mardi Gras outfit
an art piece eight months in the making
and buried me in a three piece suit
deliberately making me look like
the Reverend Fred Nile

Hommage a Michel Serrault 1928 - 2007

Your brilliance dazzled
Your versatility enviable
But it was your warmth
Your warmth
True charm
Your compassion
Your humour
Your dignity
Your sadness
that struck chords
And sparked flints
from the hardest hearts
You were a beacon
in a sea of grey
A reassuring soft embrace
Parce qu'avec toi je suis bien
Tu me manques Michel

The following are the lyrics from a delightful duet Michel Serrault sings from the movie 'Le Papillon' (2002)
It is in question answer form.
The translation is available with the video clip on you tube. However there is no need for a translation as the music and the sound of the language have a meaning of their own to a
responsive ear.

To View the duet... You tube... Le Papillon MTV 3


Le Papillon

Porquoi les poules pondent des oeufs?
Pour que les oeufs fassent des poules
Pourquoi les amoureux s'embrassent
C'est pour les pigeons roucoulent
Pourqoui les jolis fleurs se fanent?
Parce que ca fait partie du charm
Pourquoi le diable et le bon Dieu?
C'est pour faire parler les curieux

Pourquoi le feu brule le bois?
C'est pour bien rechauffeur nos coeurs or
Pourquoi la mer se retire ?
C'est pour qu'on lui dise 'Encore'
Pourquoi le soleil disparait
Pour l'autre partie du decor
Pourquoi le diable et le bon Dieu
C'est pour parler les curieux

Porquoi le loup mange l'agneau?
Parce qu'il faut bien se nourrir
Pourquoi le lievre et la tortue?
Parce que rien ne sert de courir
Pourquoi les anges ont ils des ailes?
Pour nous faire croire au Pere Noel
Porquoi le diable et le bon Dieu?
C'est pour parler les curieux

Pourqoui notre coeur fait tic-tac?
Parce que la pluie fait flic flac
Pourquoi le temps passe si vite?
Parce que le vent lui rend visite
Pourquoi tu me prends par la main?
Parce qu'avec toi je suis bien
Pourquoi le diable et le bon Dieu?
C'est pour faire parler et curieux

Sing along and enjoy!