Thursday, April 22, 2010

You Have to Laugh!

I have always loved reading poetry and I have never been able to write it. However there was a time when I belonged to the Watchet Writers Circle (sadly no more) when one was duty bound to perform the monthly task which occasionally included a poem. I've been rummaging in the attic and here for your delectation is an example. I know it isn't poetry because a male friend of mine told me so.

The Recession (1995)



Children dear, was it yesterday,

Papa was made redundant?

It seems a hundred years ago,

That money was abundant.



Fencing lessons and your ski trips,

Will soon be things of the past,

There is some money stashed away,

We have got to make it last!



Charles, the chauffeur, will have to go,

We're going to sell the Rolls,

No weeks at Champneys now I fear,

Just to heap my head with coals.



Then there's negative equity,

And don't ask me what it means,

Cook is preparing dinner,

And that's another can of beans.



Meals are so much speedier now,

We don't have all those courses,

We have to keep our peckers up,

And not frighten the horses.



It's hell, it's tough, it's agony,

It's what's known as 'the slump',

And till it's over, little dears,

It is all hands to the pump!



When I was young like you , kiddies,

I was a cockney sparrer,

And blood will out, we'll be alright,

Yer grandad's got a barrer!


22 comments:

Queenie said...

Men don't know everything, this looks remarkably like a poem to me and it made me smile.

Charlie's Tribe said...

We agree with Queenie. Lovely poem!

Barlinnie said...

Your friend may be wrong hen. It certainly looks like excellent prose to me.

lom said...

It's a poem, what's he going on about. And it's a good one at that

Pat said...

Queenie: smiling's good;)

Charlie's Tribe: you can come again;)

Jimmy: I'm wondering - do you ever write poetry Jimmy?

LOM; well he belonged to a poetry society - and everything.

Pat said...

All: GO TO ERYL (SIDEBAR)HER DAY 21 POEM. NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!

Charlie said...

I think that's a great poem-your male friend must be a poetry snob and only likes what no one else can understand.

I always laugh at people who say they "understood" Joyce's Finnegans Wake. Sure they did.

DILLIGAF said...

You talented thingy you!

A barrer? Chaz and Dave might by this off you...;-)

Eryl said...

Have you ever read The Littlest One His Book? This totally reminds me of the poems in there, I can't remember the name of the author but it was written sometime in the thirties and is brilliant. I gave my copy to my best friend to read to her children and they love it.

Don't pay any heed to your male friend.

And, thanks for the plug!

Mage said...

Delightful, real, poem! Ah yes, we are there now...with a Chevy and a Toyota to old to sell, and the cook already gone. :)

Just really good.

Pat said...

Charlie: I think you could be a little biased but I love it;)

Four.D: that'd help the coffers.

Eryl: no - I'll google it.
Your poem deserves to be heard. Keep it safe.

Maggie : this was 15 years ago. We seem to have been tightening our belts for decades.

Pat said...

Eryl: the author is Marion St John Webb. The books look charming - I should get yours back. I think they are quite sought after.

I would scream if I had the energy said...

It rhymes, what more do you need? :)

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Well, whoever it was..He Was Wrong! That is definitely a Poem in my view...And a good one, too.....!
But, there were two things I wasn't sure what they meant. 'Sparrer' and 'Barrer'....I am a bit dense sometimes, my dear....(lol)

Pat said...

Naomi: 'sparrer' is the cockney way of saying sparrow - a little bird associated with cockneys. 'Barrer' is the same for barrow which cockneys would use to carry fruit and vegetables or whatever they were selling on the street.
A cockney is meant to have been born within the sound of Bow Bells.
If you have a 'barrer' you have a means of earning a living.
Their way of speaking was illustrated in Mary Poppins by Dick Van Dyke but he didn't quite get the hang of it:)

rashbre said...

Excellent work and still relevant.

Pat said...

Rashbre: I'd forgotten we'd been here before

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Barrow! Finally...I got it...I kept reading barrier and couldn't make head or tail of it.

I quite enjoyed your pome, Pat! It makes me think of old times, those old books and movies, yet it's about today, isn't it?

Pat said...

GG: I wrote it in the 90s. I had forgotten we had a recession then. It is still relevant today - in an old fashioned sort of way. Not a lot changes.

Crowbard said...

I would suggest that your poetry is spontaneous, entertaining , honest and real.
I think I see where your male aquaintance(no friend) is coming from, I can imagine he would have fiddled about with the metre to make it more precise from his 'retentive' perspective. Personally I admire your liberated expression and your ability to stop when you've finished rather than titivate around endlessly.
Keep on writing freely, don't let 'friends' inhibitions inhibit your expression!

Pat said...

Crowbard: ooh thanks - I'll happily accept those kind words.

sablonneuse said...

Of course it's a poem - and I loved it- especially the last verse!