National Poetry Day - The Birthing Pool

Well today is National Poetry Day
And water is the theme
So I could write about a river
Or a puddle, or a stream
But I thought about my birthing pool
And all the havoc it did wreak
When we found the floor was soaking
‘Cos the pool had sprung a leak
Now the room is like a sauna
Thanks to the big dehumidifier
And we’re waiting for replacement parts
From the birthing pool supplier
While the carpet slowly dries out
And the pool is out of action
We hope that baby stays put
And won’t start off a contraction

Christmas newsletter

‘Twas the run-up to Christmas and one wintry night
Louise sat at the computer, our newsletter to write
Setting to rhyme all our news from the year
In our traditional style, as Christmas draws near.

Our work is the same; there’s no change there at all
Louise catches babies and still works on-call
Michael keeps busy with work for Playstation
Giving techie support for events and presentations

With his technical skills, Michael was rather adept
At building a labyrinth out of old bits of set
The church was transformed for an Easter reflection
By imaginative use of the lights and projection

One day late in July gave cause for celebration
To Southampton we went to attend graduation
With a PhD, Michael was finally awarded
The years of hard work at last were rewarded

Whilst Michael’s days studying are finally through
Louise made the decision to begin hers anew
Creative writing was something she wanted to do
And she’s recently passed a course with the OU

There were two shows this year: Fiddler, then a revue
With Louise on the stage and Michael as backstage crew
We’re now having a break from the whole am-dram thing
But will probably return to it sometime in spring

On the thirteenth of October we were both celebrating
For ten years had passed since we first started dating
But we barely had time to celebrate that
We were busy preparing to move out of the flat

At the end of October, we changed our address
After two months’ decorating, which caused us some stress
But it’s nearly all finished – we’re happy to say
That we’re settling in well in our house in Grange Way

In November, Louise was caught up in a craze
Writing a novel in just thirty days
For this year’s NaNoWriMo; the word count was set
At fifty thousand words plus, but the challenge was met

An accident in November caused a bit of alarm
But fortunately ‘twas only the car that was harmed
Although sadly too much damage to it was done
And so the search for a new car has now begun

Now we’ve reached the end of this year’s Christmas rhyme
And we send you good wishes at this festive time
So now there is only one thing left to write
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

'Tis the season

Christmas is approaching and panic’s setting in
Still haven’t done the shopping; don’t quite know where to begin
The house is full of boxes, they’re still scattered everywhere
Can’t find the decorations – they must be here somewhere!

The streets are full of people; it’s like a rugby scrum
When I try to do the shopping – it’s really not much fun
Wandering up and down the aisles – not quite sure what gifts to get
Wish I’d been more organised and done it on the ‘net

The tree is finally up now, the cards have all been sent
The presents bought and gift-wrapped; all my money has been spent
Off to all the Christmas parties; all dressed up to the nines
Time to start the festive season and have a merry Christmastime

NaNoWriMo

At the start of the month, a challenge was given
For 50,000 words – a novel – to be written
So I sat at my computer and stared at the screen
Tentatively typing out the very first scene
The plot was still vague, the characters hazy
I’d only just moved – this challenge was crazy!
There were days when I thought it would be better to quit
Each word was an effort, with writer’s block I was hit
"Why write a story that no-one wanted to read?"
A little voice said, but still I had to succeed
In completing the challenge – if only just for myself
Who cared if the finished story was just left on a shelf?
And so as the month carried on, the story kept growing
The word count grew higher, at last inspiration was flowing
This challenge was one I was determined to win
Now I have a completed first draft – let the editing begin!

Writer's block

Oh, what can I write? My brain’s gone to sleep,
I lack inspiration which makes me just want to weep.
My thoughts are a blank and my mind’s in a maze -
It would seem that today is just one of those days!
I free-write for ten minutes in an attempt to get started,
But alas my creativity has sadly departed;
Can’t seem to focus on characters or places or plot,
All my pen can produce on the page is a blot.
I’m hunched over my notebook and chewing my pen;
Looks like writer’s block has hit me once again.

The Big Move

Moving day arrived, all the boxes were packed
And loaded in the van, precariously stacked
Then to my horror I saw that they’d managed
To put LPs at the bottom – hopefully not damaged!
Furniture loaded – would we get it all in?
Phew just about! The van was full to the brim
Off to our new home – pulling in to our road
And then all of the boxes we had to unload
Surrounded by chaos, don’t know where to begin
Unpacking it all – but so glad we’ve moved in!

Decorating dramas

Surrounded by chaos – the house is a mess
Moving day approaching – everyone’s stressed
Painting the ceiling, painting the wall
Sanding the skirting boards out in the hall
Floorboards all up whilst the cables are laid
Neighbours complaining about the noise that we’ve made
Crossing the bedroom, a sudden sinking feeling
As my father-in-law puts his foot through the ceiling
Putting the pieces up, gaps needing filling
Laying down floorboards, sawing and drilling
Mending and patching, building and creating
And looking forward to the end of all this decorating!