Your verse can be funny or thoughtful or sad,
Can scan or be libre, be measured or mad,
Be limerick, haiku, rhyme, riddle or reason,
As long as it's something to do with the season.
Photos: James Lyon www.lyonphotography.co.uk from South Park 2009
Your verse can be funny or thoughtful or sad,
Can scan or be libre, be measured or mad,
Be limerick, haiku, rhyme, riddle or reason,
As long as it's something to do with the season.
Où sont les firework nights d'antan?
When I was young and full of fun we used to beg around.
‘Penny for the Guy' was commonplace:
A dummy with a mask upon his face,
And a broken pram we'd ‘found'!
He'd Dad's old suit that Mum had said was only fit for burning.
Moth-eaten scarf around his throat;
Trousers tied with a length of rope,
Sartorially: undiscerning.
We'd jockey for the richest Witney pitch: outside the pub or chippy.
Banter with drunks for some of their change;
Ambush them by The Corn Exchange,
Get thumped for being lippy!
We bought bangers and rockets at Boswells (well, we got the older kids to!)
Jumping jacks and sparklers packets,
Easily concealed inside our jackets,
To be let off in the cut-through!
Everyone knew a kid who'd lost some fingers to a banger.
He'd just held on
For a second too long,
And dropped the ultimate clanger!
Organised parties are all very well and the displays are often magic.
But bonfire night
Doesn't feel quite right
If you're out with your mum: it's tragic!
So give me the days of begging on the street for a penny or two from a stranger.
A homemade Guy
In an old school tie
And a bommy night fraught with danger!
The Poppy's Power
I sit on a beach,
I sit in a car,
I sit at home,
I sit in class,
Mothers, Brothers, Sisters, Cousins, Aunties, Uncles and more.
We have to stop and pray for them
two minutes, that's all they get
for they fought for us in the war
and the Government have to bet.
The British win, the German lose.
Each poppy represents a man or woman
and that's the poppy's power.
The Butterfly
Cold wind blows warm
on the sunlit wings of the butterfly
There she Dances
the last one left to play with the falling leaves
All Alone
How bitter the happiness of solitude
And oh what a lovely day to die!
Celebrate the season!
Fireworks fireworks up in the air
Fireworks fireworks did they give you a scare
Colourful lights whistling exploding
Beauty in the sky a compilation composing
Fireworks fireworks just for one day
To celebrate a time many ages away
To maintain an event that once did occur
To keep in our minds so never a blur
It's that time of year with a crisping of leaves
Walk the red velvet carpet, hear the bristling breeze
A time for fires, spooks and mist air
A time for loud bangs and haunting dares
Fireworks fireworks such a great time
Fireworks fireworks and drinking mulled wine.
The electric sheep is dreaming of the talking wolf
This alien has a gun that can shoot your dreams,
The elephant in the gazebo regards his advent calendar with greed,
The snowman caught a bee from a tree and set it free,
The pirate parrot has gone rogue with a scythe,
You're going to sleep with the fishes,
The Eiffel Tower is in Paris, France,
Chemistry can be very dangerous.
A Winters Ale !
Oh the days end quick
Drinking too much might make you sick
And there again the nights are long
So why don t you write out your song.
I saw a guy. Up on a stack,
He looked pretty sad
I looked again, and a flame on his leg,
Burnt through his pants he had,
His bum was scorched,
His hair was too,
He did not scream,
The pain was through,
A bit of him here,
A bit of him there,
All the village folk,
Just stop and stare,
Another year gone,
A terrible shame,
There once was a man,
Who had, had a name.
Indian Summer's been and gone
The Harvest now is safely stored
Grey squirrels curl up in their nests
To hibernate in winter warmth
Autumn Days are rushing by
Pumpkins flourish in their prime
Soon it will be Hallowe'en
A special supernatural time
Witches will be flying high
Clearly etched against the moon
Their broomsticks sturdy, spruce and strong
Silhouetted in the gloom
Fast approaches Guy Fawkes Day
With flashing fireworks loud and bright
A little piece of history here
Burning Bonfires on the Night
The dying embers glow and pop
Large potatoes bake and roast
“Apple-bobbin's” still in vogue
And russet cider's served by ghosts
Traditional food is handed round
To nourish and delight each guest
Oatmeal parkin circulates
Homemade toffees pass the test
Sweet chilli bangers taste so good
Magic sparklers dip and weave
The woodland creatures hide and watch
The trespassers until they leave
As I follow footsteps on a wet ground,
I see orange leaves dancing in the windy air,
Surrounded by a rainy symphony,
Expressing the anger of the Autumn soul,
Singing the melody of a transitional heart,
Exploding in emotions,
Screaming as fireworks,
and fading away as the shades of a colourful rainbow...
So much beauty
So much light
So lovely
Oh what a delight
So much to take from this season
Excuses to be unhappy but no true reason
Sunkissed autumn leaves
Greating us on our way to work
The sound of pooring rain
When we are crawling into our beds
So much beauty
So much light
So lovely
Oh what a delight
Autumn, Autumn,
Here you come,
The trees so brown,
You ought not to frown.
Autumn, Autumn,
Dropping it's leaves,
The tree breathes.
Autumn, Autumn,
Bringing with you rain,
Leaving the world abstain,
Autumn Autumn.
Days are rainy,
The weather gets cold,
I like Autumn,
The leaves are so gold.
Piles of leaves,
Brushed to the side,
Who is it then,
That does this with pride?
Piles of leaves,
Scattered around,
Who is it then,
That jumps on the ground?
Piles of leaves,
Red, gold and brown,
They all adorn,
As bright as a crown.
The dragons are out tonight
To paint the sky in red and gold,
To whip their tails in trails and fold
The clouds in beams of light.
The dragons are in the trees;
They light each branch with rusty flames
That blaze in sunlight, playing games
And dancing in the breeze.
The dragons are flying high.
With icy breath and glassy claws
They blow a chill as darkness draws
A shroud across the sky.
The dragons are on the wing
To claim the Earth; for in their wake
Their countless scattered scales will make
A sparkling diamond ring.
Autumn leaves when the grass is jewelled
Until "climate change" comes to play
Time for children, awe and wonder
Until that 9AM bell for school
Makes you leave instead of play in the leaves
No time for this. Wait wait wait.
Lunging forth to get out to South Park
Overtures of candy floss and non stop chit chat
Vamooshed by biting wind and a roar, it's
Everything you've waited for...Fireworks!
They failed in that first terrorist plot
But each year since they have blown up the country,
maimed us, and blinded our children
We identified ourselves by our enmity
And let them win
Bonfire smoke curls and snakes through the air
The winds of October are pulling my hair,
Hallowe'en pumpkins and Guy Fawkes dolls too,
Men with a cough say they're dying of flu.
Kicking up leaves of red, orange and gold,
Donning the knitwear to keep out the cold,
Mittens and jumpers and wellies and socks,
Take over the cupboard from sunnies and frocks.
Looking forward to Christmas but missing sun too,
And picnics and ice creams to name but a few,
If you are sad about what Autumn will bring,
Then just bear in mind that it will soon be Spring!