Saturday 21 June 2014

Of Mice and Men ....

 
Of Mice and Men
 
There's a vole in the house
Brought in by the cat
Or a shrew or a mouse
- Or it could be a rat
 
To resolve this dilemma
It must first be caught
At hiding they're clever
So the chase may be fraught
 
So nimbly it scuttles
In a dark spot to lurk
From shadows gleam a beady eye
A whisk of tail in the murk
 
Swiftly is zips across the floor
Like a living clockwork toy
Behind the sofa and under the door
To catch it requires a cunning ploy
 
It slips behind the bookcase
And in amongst the cables
With consummate ease it leads the race
To catch it you are quite unable
 
Picking it up is not advised
You shouldn't slip your hand beneath
This is a lesson to the wise
These creatures have needle sharp teeth
 
The answer's a plan both simple and neat
Lay out a wellington boot
The opening close to its whiskery nose
And in it will gratefully scoot
 
Now you must make a painful decision
To check that it is safe inside
Do you put in your hand to feel for its hide
And risk it being nipped with precision?
 
The moral is a simple one
As a vital vole accessory
Inside all well-ordered homes
Wellingtons are necessary
 
 
 


June sunshine...... Published Cambridge News 21 June 2014

 
 
June Sunshine
 
Where and Oh where has the June sun gone?
The skies remain cloudy and grey
A cold north breeze blows all day long
Of sunshine there isn't a ray
 
The bees are still searching for nectar and pollen
And scurry from flower to flower
But the lowering skies the summer belies
As the firmament threatens a shower
 
But the barley field ripples like silk in the wind
With ephemeral poppies scarlet stained
Wild roses arch with bryony twined
So waiting for summer will not be in vain
 
The soaring swallows are flying high
A tortoiseshell spreads his wings to bask
The air is pierced with swifts shrill cry
Apollo will glide from behind his mask
 
 
 
 Postscript
 
Apollo that mighty God now deigns
His beneficent rays to bestow
He has slipped his cloudy mask to reign
Over grateful earth below