Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after

Up Jack got and home did trot
As fast as he could caper
He went to bed to mend his head
With vinegar and brown paper

Jill was found still on the ground
By her Uncle Charlie
He took her back home to his shack
And fed her eggs and barley

It came to nought, said Jill, distraught
Oh why did my legs falter?
Said Charlie – Oh, did you not know
A tap turns on the water?

Meanwhile poor Jack (still on his back)
Was feeling proper poorly.
Said Doctor Green, Why, Germolene
Would work much better, surely?

Alas, alack, now poor old Jack
To death was soon succumbing
Jill said, said she, If only we
Had known about the plumbing

4am

Somewhere a dog barks

As you gaze from the dark painting
Chin resting on your hand
Your own dog
Waits patiently

Wasp

A wasp finds itself
Trapped inside my shirt
Escapes without harm

3am

And the house is sleeping fitfully

The pine table and chairs in slumber deep
The bed cannot settle
And the dark corners are restless
The oak beams dream woody adventures from before our time
And a thin-limbed spider puzzles over the nature of porcelain

The clock
Whose tick-tocking is at odds
Tries to keep up

But we are not asleep
You have a finger down your throat
Bringing up the angel
Whose horse you feel is the culprit

And light
Unusually awakened
Stares, as if finding itself in a strange room for the first time
Momentarily bewildered
Its small buzzy followers summoned
to share an unexpected feast

Two Birds at Stone

A fist of white touffeau rock
Falls on the red tiles

Two small, black birds
Dart across the cliff face
Hunting for insects
And singing

Craic
Craic
Craic

Monday's Child

Monday’s child selects
From her white wardrobe
A blue dress

Tuesday’s child dances
Across the playground
Heads the ball

Wednesday’s child worries
Three more days of maths
And counting

Thursday’s child decides
Her map of the world’s
Incomplete

Friday’s child donates
His Lego to the
Flood Appeal

Saturday’s child rises
Early for the best
Market place

Sunday’s child chases
The shadows of clouds
On the grass