Sunday 3 August 2008

Villanelle

A friend of mine from Poetry Wednesbury International (see side bar for link) introduced me to this technique at a recent poetry workshop. This is my first attempt. Self explanatory I hope.

Oh to be in England

Oh to be in England now summer is here
The beaches are empty there’s panic and fear
Dark clouds are gathering a storm is near

Inflation is rampant and people in fear
No government help for the poor, oh dear
Oh to be in England now summer is here

Price increases on petrol, food and beer
It breaks my old heart to see food so dear
Dark clouds are gathering a storm is near

The Prime Minister dithers but is he insincere?
Cabinet members plot, scheme and sneer
Oh to be in England now summer is here

Ten pence tax band was cherished and dear
A back bench revolt, a kick in the rear
Dark clouds are gathering a storm is near

Gordon’s in Suffolk drinking warm beer
David’s in Cornwall sounding sincere
Oh to be in England now summer is here
Dark clouds are gathering a storm is near

3 comments:

Bob Piper said...

Yes, send it to the Daily Mail... it reads like one of their editorials.

Anonymous said...

This was in our church mag.

The Politician
A man in a hot air bolloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below.
he descended a bit more and shouted
"excuse me can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I dont know where I am" the woman replyed "you are in a hot air balloon hovering
approximately 30 feet above the
ground, you are between 40 and 41
degrees north latitude and between
59 and 60 degrees longitude".
"You must be a engineer," he replied. "I am but how did you know," she replied.
"Well everything you told me is technically correct, but I am still lost. frankly you have not been much help." said the balloonist.
The woman replied "You must be a
politician"." I am but how did you know." replied the balloonist.
"well" replied the woman, " you dont know where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You make a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same place you were in before we met, but somehow, its my fault. Gerry

Bob the Black Country Brummie said...

As usual my regular readership makes the blog with their comments, thank you both so much. Gave me a good laugh this morning