Farmer Jones had once had a kindly look
About his cheery self when they’d first met
But frankly, he’d blotted his copybook
When he’d mentioned their weights to the vet
This morning he’d told Tommy and his friends
That they were wonderfully plump, fat enough to go
As they had no pocket money for a day out to spend
They reasoned it was to Old Grisly Gobble & Co.
Tommy thought no chance! They’d taken a vote
Agreed to a mass exodus, they wouldn’t be Christmas dinners
Tommy had written Farmer Jones a firm farewell note
He was sure that hats would be doffed to the great turkey winners
In his turkey crown and cape Tommy had left the farm
He’d seen The Great Escape he well knew what to do
That night he started an “Eat Sprouts and do turkey’s no harm!”
Campaign with pigs in blankets on the evening news
Poor newsreaders looked utterly bemused.
P.S.
The note read:
Dear Farmer Jones,
Ho ho ho and off we go! With the ‘snips and sprouts we’ll not pout
With free flowing gravy fresh from the spout
Love (Yeah right) Tommy and his turkey heroes!
Noble Warrior
A noble warrior, winter’s icicle
Appreciates its vulnerability in strength
It meets with stoicism its preordained role
In arctic winds its life’s duration spent
A whisper of warmth, from ice to water
It weeps as it follows natures lead
From teardrops to memories and vapour
To the sun’s will it is forced to accede
Angelic prisms of light play heaven sent
Farewells but no laments for this warrior of fate
It fell as was wished, at Mother Nature’s intent
Spring delivers its war cry and winter capitulates.
History
Heroes, villains and everyday folk
In war and peace, the landed gentry, the poor
Stories of lives mesmerizingly told in
Textual tapestries of fortunes and fates
Opportunities missed, risks and chances taken
Royalty, republics, politics and shifted values
Yesterday’s stitches are sewn in our today, our history.
The O.C.D. Cartoon Man.
My O.C.D. voice can often be heard
Not by you, by me, word after word
It whispers and when ignored, it shouts
Its mission it seems, to plague me with doubts
And so, I make a joke of it whenever I can
I’ve made the voice in to a cartoon man
With little arms and legs and a silly face
Anything to face this foe with grace
My cartoon man works long hours, too hard
He enjoys being an over zealous bodyguard
So, a question for my persistent mate
Can I squash you, splat, with a cartoon ton weight?!
Joanne started writing professionally in March 2014.
Her books are available on Amazon, some of her children’s stories can be found on www.childrens-stories.net and a selection of her recent short stories are downloadable from http://alfiedog.com/products-page/joanne-hayle/
A number of her poems have been accepted for publication in anthologies.
Her poem, His Prey, was shortlisted in the Creative Writing Ink competition in August and September 2014 and in October 2014 her haiku was featured in Chrysanthemum in English and German.
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