Tuesday Poem: Frozen

There were Turkish Delights,
I remember that much 
smothered in icing

Once tasted
Almost all else is forgot

There was Hide and Seek
I remember counting
doling out time in delicious seconds

Each heart beat a sliver of
icy anticipation

and lakes to skate across
I remember flying,
and falling

the icy shell easily pierced
unlike a heart frozen through
and through

Tears that never fell
Rim glassy eyes

Do you remember?
I think there was a time
called Green.
And everything was Spring

A.J. Ponder

Hey people, only a little late, and I dare say might come back with a couple of tweeks in a week or so. But here it is - my little Frozen poem, borrowing a little nostalgia from a few places, but mostly Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen and C.S. Lewis' White Witch of Narnia.


Hope you all have a great week and enjoy the Tuesday Poem Hub
The poem I enjoyed most this week was Touch, by Michelle Elvy, up here on Helen McKinlay's blog (another of my favourite poets - it's too hard to pick just one)

cheers,
A.J.

P.S This poem got the seal of approval from a huge Elsa / Frozen fan - even though it mostly references earlier versions of the fairytale - so I'm very happy :)

The Crocodile by Lewis Carroll

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin!
How neatly spread his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!


                                                                                       
Danger is beautiful, it will entice you in with smiles and perfect teeth.  Has there ever been a better metaphor wrapped up in more perfect verse?  Probably, but I'll take some convincing...

A.J. Ponder

PS I was on "An Aotearoa Affair" this week with "Remember Remember the Babes in the Wood" so
why not enjoy the dangerously and beautiful world hiding behind the Aotearoa poetry blog.  :) 

Thank you to fellow poet Michelle Elvy for setting this up in the count down to National Poetry day.  I must say there are some other great poems to check out while you're there including a gorgeous selection from Ora Nui 2012 and I must say I particularly enjoyed Helen Lowe's The Wayfarer:  Odysseus at Dodoma.  Of course I did.  As Siobhan Harvey commented, it is - "A poem which seems distinctly Helen and her wider work – mythical, beautifully crafted, layered, skillfully, with evocative language."   So yes - it seems there's almost twice the fun this week...so s while I'm smiling - watch out for the teeth! ;)

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And tell me which poems you'd like to see in my upcoming poetry book—2024? https://ko-fi.com/ajponder

Father William by Lewis Carroll

'You are old, father William,' the young man said,
'And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head -
Do you think, at your age, it is right?'

'In my youth,' father William replied to his son,
'I feared it would injure the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.'

'You are old,' said the youth, 'as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -
Pray, what is the reason of that?'

'In my youth,' said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
'I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment - one shilling the box -
Allow me to sell you a couple.'

'You are old,' said the youth, 'and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet;
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -
Pray, how did you manage to do it?'

'In my youth,' said his father, 'I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife;
And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
Has lasted the rest of my life.'

'You are old,' said the youth; one would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -
What made you so awfully clever?'

'I have answered three questions, and that is enough,'
Said his father; 'don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!'


Such a  fun - stupid - and feckless poem - so Lewis Carroll - and I'm sorry this wasn't up earlier folks, had a bit of a sore throat turn yesterday - but feeling so much better today, probably just been burning the candle a bit heavily at both ends so spending the day in bed settled things down a bit.

A.J. Ponder 

 A.J. Ponder's work is available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, and good Wellington bookstores

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Authors and Poets

Busy week, there's lots to do in the build up to Christmas - there's the obligatory making of Christmas Cakes and scramble to tidy the house and the garden, not to mention all those social event -  books, writing, books and more books - in my case ;)   

And like most people these days I'm also working - although some of it is fun -  Rona Gallery is putting on "The Santa Trap" (One of Peter Friend's and my School Journal Plays) for Christmas.   Not to mention the Christmas exhibition itself - and all the advertising.... so

So for a change I'm putting up about twenty favourite authors -  and in as few words as possible why they are so fab.  Feel free to contribute, I'm sure I've missed more than a few!

JRR Tolkein 

       for historical fiction that went the extra mythological mile

John Wyndham

        for disconcerting and surprising children     

A A Milne

         a bear however hard he tries grows tubby without exercise, 

         he gets what exercise he can by falling off the ottoman --

         and yet other authors seem to lack a certain good willed knack

         of finding love in little things, in toys and chairs - and crackpot kings.

Frances Hardinger

           the newest inductee.  Not for the prizewinning "Fly by Night,"

           but the bottomless well that is Verdigris Deep

C. J. Cherryh

          Down Below Station -  Enough said

Andre Norton

          The lady of science fiction herself   

Helen Cresswell

           There was winter, and there was birds --

            but I although I read the same words I could never read the same story twice

Roald Dahl

           Danny the Champion of the World, not to mention an abiding love of chocolate.

CS Lewis

          For opening the wardrobe door.

Terry Pratchett

           for raising a smile, and adding footnotes.

E.B White

          Thankyou for Charlotte, and your even more endearing mute swansong.

Diana Wynne Jones

           Ged

Mary Norton

           For making little people big.

Astrid Lindgren

          Two strong arms, plaits and an indomitable personality. 

Ursula K Le Guin

           Ged - and  more recently the little known Lavinia. 

Lewis Carrol

          A glimpse into madness,

Maurice Sendak

            One night Max made mischief - and the rest is history involving a boat and some very cute monsters.

Dr Seuss

           And the song of the swomee-swans rang out in space

Douglas Adams (both really I guess, but this one in particular) 

          Got towel - can travel. Don't panic.     

HG Wells

          For travelling back in time to get there first.

I hope you enjoy these authors as much as I do,
A.J. Ponder

A.J. Ponder's work is available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, and good Wellington bookstores

My very popular, Wizard's Guide to Wellington on my author webiste.