The Beginnings Of A Fairytale Adventure
About a quarter of the 1,300 poems that I have written over the last four years are for children. They fall into various groups: poems about animals, poems about children, poems that are variants of famous children’s rhymes, poems featuring fairies, goblins and elves and some that are nonsense verses.
From time to time I recite them to friends and family, though my grandchildren are now becoming rather too grown up for the children’s verses now.
I was reading one of my poems to my granddaughter Jemima. She’s an inquisitive and outspoken young lady, who was nine at the time. The poem was called Cocktails and I’ve included it in this blog.
I told her what it was called and she said, “What’s a cocktail, grandfather?” Well, that was the first line of the poem so, when I read it, she looked a bit startled.
I carried on and, about half-way through, she stopped me and said, “Well, I’m sure I wouldn’t like one!” which was the next line of the poem.
“How did he know what I was going to say!” she exclaimed to Charlotte, her mother.
When I finished, Jemima said, “You’ve got to write a poem with a dragon in it. I did.
Some time later, I wanted to publish a children’s poem, but needed to find an illustrator. Two artists were keen to try, including my daughter’s mother-in-law, who is a talented artist. Both gave up, saying that it wasn’t their metier. Then, through my half-brother’s wife, I met Emily Luke, whose drawings are, I think, quite magical.
I asked her to choose any one of the 200 or so children’s poems that I had written at that point. She picked Never-my-name and Isn’t-my-name. That became our first collaboration of what I hope will be many more children’s books.
Cocktails
“What’s a cocktail?” asked Jemima
For she really didn’t know,
As she’s not a social climber,
Has a healthy, indoor glow.
“It’s a kind of drinking mixture,”
Charlotte told her with a smile.
“It’s a frequent party fixture
But it’s not your sort of style.”
“Why ever not?” she pouted,
“I like lots of party stuff.”
Limits ‘Mima often flouted
If she couldn’t get enough.
“They’re extremely alcoholic
And they’ll muddle with your head.
So that first you’ll want to frolic
Then you’ll huddle in your bed!”
“I’m quite sure I wouldn’t like one,”
Said Jemima with a frown.
“I suppose they must please someone,”
As she put her Pepsi down.
“Why do people want to drink it?
‘Cos it’s seems a silly choice.”
“It’s a sort of fashion trinket,”
Came Jemima’s father’s voice.
“Alcohol is best avoided,”
Andrew added looking wise.
“Keep away, as Sigmund Freud did,
It can lead to your demise.”
So they all remained teetotal
Thought the grandparents did not.
An avoidance sacerdotal
Resolutions without blot.
