The Nylon Gibbet

There's death riding over the waves,
so lets raise the jolly roger
avast

It's been so long since
we danced the hornpipe,
and made our victims walk the plank
lest they raft ashore,
on plastic bottles
 
All hands to deck,
trim the sail,
and raise the nylon gibbet,
for the tide waits for no man -
and our ship's a ghosting
against a hot wind,
amongst the empty waves,
while the innocent
hang


And a don't ye splice the mainbrace
until we've raised
the black flag
avast

A.J. Ponder

The idea for this poem is a mash up of a "dancing pirates" idea that refuses to work, and this truly horrible article The Ocean is Broken http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1848433/the-ocean-is-broken/--this/

It's a real worry that everybody wants and needs what the sea can provide, but it seems not everybody is prepared to look after it.

Miss Lionheart on Amazon

A.J. Ponder is the author of Wizard's Guide to Wellington and  Miss Lionheart and the Laboratory of Death.  

(Bundled into a super secret underground bunker Lilly must use her awesome genius skills - and her not so awesome social skills to survive long enough to create awesomely dangerous creatures and escape almost certain death...

 

Cat-World Problems

People are starving in Africa,
but the cat is at his bowl
complaining about the
vast sliver of bowl
daring to peak through
cat biscuits

There's murder on the news
but the cat is at the door
complaining about the rain -
and what are you going to do
about this climate change?

You can't deny it,
you know it's serious
when it's a cat-world problem
 because the fatter the cat

the bigger the noise




A.J.Ponder


P.S. Although of course neither of our cats are fat - they're just...big boys. And absolutely gorgeous...if a little demanding.

P.S. A.J is the author of Quest, Prophecy, Omens, Miss Lionheart and the Laboratory of Death, Wizard's Guide to Wellington, Attack of the Giant Bugs - a You Choose Science Adventure, and The Frankie Files

 

 More cat poems:

Accounting for Herbert

Queen of the Chair

The Piano Twins (cute kittens) 

Find my stories and support my writing on ko-fi and tell me which poems you'd like to see in my upcoming poetry book—2024: https://ko-fi.com/ajponder

 

 

 

Travelling

It's a dangerous business
travelling
the empty path
of dreams

sunlit as it is
you'll never see the
danger
until you're bundled

into mouldering blankets
and dragged
into
shadow

there's no telling
where you'll be swept off to-
mountaintop or
Khazad-dûm

you could fly
or fall

and never stop


 A.J. Ponder

On a more upbeat note, our family went to the opening of the Rivendell Archway in Kaitoke National Park over the weekend, it was great fun, and we are especially grateful to our "fairy godmother" Kristi Klein who made our gorgeous elf costumes from dresses she found at the SPCA op shop.


For more photographs of the event go here to my Wizard's Guide to Wellington site. https://wizardsguide.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/pass-through-elven-ruins-and-discover-a-world-of-magic

Poem inspired by the Lord of the Rings quote: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to.” (Frodo Baggins about Bilbo, The Fellowship of the Ring,) Which I think was itself partly taken from "The Hobbit."


This is not the first Kaitoke, Lord of the Rings inspired poem. My original Kaitoke poem (published Quiet Places 2005) starts...

I run as lithe as any elven maid,
through forest steam and...

and is here at http://anafflictionofpoetry.blogspot.co.nz/2010/07/nz-poetry-day-kaitoke.html

Wishing you all a little magic, and look out for more fantastic poems at the Tuesday Poem Hub