Dragon Time

When you live with dragons
There's a roundness to loss,
A completeness

It's waiting,
everywhere you go
everything you do,

every movement slowed
as you wait
for the rush of wings

cold and sharp
as hope
and just as fleeting.

That's the thing with dragons,
you're their natural prey,
and they're patient

patient as time

A.J. Ponder

Have a great week everybody, and keep safe from dragons :)
A.J.

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

Port of Poems: for pirates, smugglers and other rogues

Given the popularity of the Portal to Fairy Tale Poetry, I thought, why not pirates and the like!
With links to my poetry, some great poets, and some I've just found. If you find some more, I'd love for you to leave a comment, or for my shy friends, (you know who you are:) ), talk to me and I'll add them.

In the meantime, 
Enjoy!
(poems are in alphabetical order)

A Ballad of John Silver by John Masefield

We were schooner-rigged and rakish, with a long and lissome hull,
And we flew the pretty colours of the cross-bones and the skull;  

read aloud or read the words yourself

 

A Smuggler's Song by Rudyard Kipling

An amazing poem...if you don't remember, it starts like this...
If you wake at midnight, and hear a horse's feet,
Don't go drawing back the blind, or looking in the street,
Them that ask no questions isn't told a lie.
Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by.

Articles of Faith

Part 1: Pirate's life & Part 2: How Doth the Deinosuchus

Part 3 Dancing Pirates by A.J.Ponder

The use of pirates as a metaphor for

Cargoes by Poet Laureate John Masefield

Nice contrast of the exotic against industrial Britain. And in the juxtaposition lies the tragedy. The poem is featured by both Helen McKinlay and Helen Lowe on their Tuesday Poem blogs.

Here be Dragons by A.J. Ponder

Yo ho
and there's a map to
where the skeletons lie,
sunning themselves
on the sand and
Spanish gold...

 

Murdering Poetry by A.J. Ponder

I would kill... 

Timothy The Pirate by Charles M. Moore

 "...Timothy the pirate
he didn't like the sea..."

Piracy by A.J. Ponder

I still quite like this, it's space pirates (so insane) and the pace gathers momentum as the tragedy unfolds. :)

Pirate Story by Robert Louis Stevenson

I'm not sure how anyone can resist the cute version of kids playing pirate on the lawn.

And so, there we have them all. The pirates we love to love, and love to hate, have a great week! And if you haven't yet had enough poetry, there are always more fabulous poems on the Tuesday Poem Hub, or on my blog,

 

A.J.

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

Pirate's Post: Here be Dragons

Yo ho
and there's a map to
where the skeletons lie,
sunning themselves
on the sand and
Spanish gold
lying
at the bottom
of the deep blue sea

Yo ho
you think you know
where x lies
but a jaunty tilt
is all the dragons need
for misdeeds and
misdirection
sending the unlucky
straight to the
skeleton's rocks
lying
at the bottom
of the seven seas

Yo ho
I'll wave the flag of fear
with crossbones
and let it fly
over the water
with a jaunty tilt -
It's a dangerous boat
on a treacherous sea
but here be dragons,
and if you're watching me
you'll miss them
amongst the glitter
of gold
on the rocks
at the bottom
of the seventh sea


A.J. Ponder

I know it's late, but I do hope you enjoy this little pirate piece on the danger of statistics!

A.J. 
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



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