"The Zed Bubble Plot" or "Stay on Your Couch For Your Country" (with apologies to Dr Seuss)

The Zed Bubble Plot

Or Stay on Your Couch for Your Country (with apologies to Dr Seuss)

All across the world, a fever was spreading
Called Covid 19, the pandemic was heading
Through Asia, America, Belgium and France
It seemed nothing would stop its relentless advance

Soon word came to the Zedders, it was heading their way
And they looked to each other and said - not today! 
We Zeds down in Zedville like living a lot 

So the Zeds all got to work, and they all hatched a plot

From the North to the South the call could be heard

Keep to your bubbles and don't be absurd
Sit on your couch for your country, or exercise a lot
But stay in your bubbles & be thankful for what we've got

Keep your family close - and if they're alone -
Be sure to give Granny or Gramps a call on the phone
And whatever you do - do whatever you must
But stick to these rules and keep your fellow Zedders' trust:

Sit on your couch for your country, and wash your hands - a whole awful lot

Stay in your bubbles and don't be a twat

And soon, very soon, we'll get our economy spinning

But until then, let's beat the virus - because living is winning

And when all the Zed's down in Zedville have got that curve squashed

We'll go back to our lives, with hands beautifully washed
And so with our bubbles will be as clean as can be
Soon we'll be able to yell hip, hip horay, we're covid 19 free

Free novella prequel available now from bookfunnel

Yes, it's been a while. Obviously this is loosely in the style of Horton Hears a Who, because I'm lazy like that, and I can't help but think we're all as reliant on JoJo following the rules as the speck of dust that was Whoville. Also, there's the WHO, I know it's not actually mentioned, but ideas are weird like that.

I actually started it at the beginning of L3 and it almost ended up in the dumpster, like so many of my "started" poems, but I thought, what the heck why not finish this one. :)

Thanks for dropping by, now I've finished my last planned book in the Sylvalla Chronicles, I'm hoping to be posting here more often. But there are no guarantees!!!

A.J. 

Find out more about this series - or buy now!

Omens & Giveaway

Finally, something you've all been waiting for...

Good Omens...

You can win a $300 voucher and other competitions for (March 2020) 

Or go straight to my $25 voucher competition (March 2020)

The below competition is out of date...but the book is still awesome, with an average 4.5 stars on Amazon  - pick it up wide, or pick up the whole series here!

Obviously not the TV show...although that was awesome. No, this is Omens, the last book of my Sylvalla Chronicles trilogy. And to celebrate the release, I'm offering signed copies of Prophecy and Omens (OR a US $ 30 voucher)

& Giveaway:
Signed copies of Prophecy and Omens OR a US $30 Voucher! 

All you have to do is go to here to my website and fill in your name and email. My privacy policy is also here. (but the summary is no, I won't share your email address)

Good luck!

And I hope to be back again with poetry once the stress has subsided.
In the meantime, have fun reading,
A.J. Ponder

 

 

You can find my stories for a great price, and support my writing on ko-fi    

I'd love to know which poems you'd like to see in my upcoming poetry book—2024

 

 

The King's Breakfast as recited by Julie Andrews and Stephen Colbert

I just love AA Milne's poems. 
I think anyone who's followed this blog knows that...so when I saw this video, I just had to share it :)
I hope you enjoy. Also, the words are at the bottom now that they're out of copyright, so you can read along! :) 

Have fun, and if you're anything like me, you'll be reciting the words of the King's Breakfast along with Julie Andrews and Stephen Colbert.

Thanks for dropping by,
A.J. Ponder

PS, now it's out of copyright officially, here it is, the poem in full. 

The King's Breakfast

The King asked
The Queen, and
The Queen asked
The Dairymaid:
"Could we have some butter for
The Royal slice of bread?"
The Queen asked the Dairymaid,
The Dairymaid
Said, "Certainly,
I'll go and tell the cow
Now
Before she goes to bed."

The Dairymaid
She curtsied,
And went and told
The Alderney:
"Don't forget the butter for
The Royal slice of bread."
The Alderney
Said sleepily:
"You'd better tell
His Majesty
That many people nowadays
Like marmalade
Instead."

The Dairymaid
Said, "Fancy!"
And went to
Her Majesty.
She curtsied to the Queen, and
She turned a little red:
"Excuse me,
Your Majesty,
For taking of
The liberty,
But marmalade is tasty, if
It's very
Thickly
Spread."

The Queen said
"Oh!:
And went to
His Majesty:
"Talking of the butter for
The royal slice of bread,
Many people
Think that
Marmalade
Is nicer.
Would you like to try a little
Marmalade
Instead?"

The King said,
"Bother!"
And then he said,
"Oh, deary me!"
The King sobbed, "Oh, deary me!"
And went back to bed.
"Nobody,"
He whimpered,
"Could call me
A fussy man;
I only want
A little bit
Of butter for
My bread!"

The Queen said,
"There, there!"
And went to
The Dairymaid.
The Dairymaid
Said, "There, there!"
And went to the shed.
The cow said,
"There, there!
I didn't really
Mean it;
Here's milk for his porringer,
And butter for his bread."

The Queen took
The butter
And brought it to
His Majesty;
The King said,
"Butter, eh?"
And bounced out of bed.
"Nobody," he said,
As he kissed her
Tenderly,
"Nobody," he said,
As he slid down the banisters,
"Nobody,
My darling,
Could call me
A fussy man -
BUT
I do like a little bit of butter to my bread!"

If you enjoy AA Milne's poems you may also love Teddy Bear. :) 

Chatting with Sherri

My interview Chatting With Sherri welcomes award winning author A.J. Ponder! is live now. We talk everything from science to books.

Here's a spider holding one of my books we didn't mention. Actually there was a lot of geeking out about shared heroes from scientists to famous authors. It was fun.

Sherri is a lovely lady and it was a real pleasure and an honor to be on her show.

Have a great week, everyone,
looking forward to dropping in at least one more time before Christmas! :)
Hopefully with a poem!

The Subversive Act of Writing on The Cosy Dragon

I think poets are great at breaking rules, I can't think of a single rule of poetry that hasn't been warped out of shape at some point. And I think that is because early poetry had so many rules poets were just dying to burst free. So generally I like to put rules back into poetry - and that's almost as genre busting as breaking out in ordinary prose...

But anyway, I thought this might be a fun article for people following this blog who are interested in the art of writing, or as encouragement for those who want to break out and try something new.

It starts:

"Originally this article was going to include the idea best covered by a quote attributed to Pablo Picasso “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” The subversive act of taking ideas from other sources and making them your own. But great writers are not only thieves, they tend to be rule breakers...

The rest of the article can be found on The Cosy Dragon here, or on the html link below :)

http://www.thecosydragon.com/2018/11/guest-post-aj-ponder-on-the-subversive-act-of-writing.html

I know this post is a bit late, so have a great weekend,
A.J. Ponder
P.S. The following is no longer upcoming - but we had the Riders of Fire book launch and it was a whole heap of fun. If you came along I hope you enjoyed it, too. :)

Riders of Fire Book Launch and Medieval Fun

Saturday, 17 November 2018 from 13:30-15:00
Vogeltown Bowling Club, 93 Mornington Road, Brooklyn

Free short story "The Forgotten World"

"The Forgotten World"

I've been a little bit quiet lately in terms of poetry.  But if you love period action adventure with cryptozoological species, you may well love this little short story. Written in the time of Arthur Conan Doyle, there might be a little truth to the fact that the title is a riff on Athur's "The Lost World" :)

The Forgotten World

To find out what those creatures might be follow the link, and don't be caught on the cliffhanger! ...keep on scrolling to get the second half.

And of course if you haven't read my latest book Quest - please check out the free preview here.

Happy Reading!

A.J.

P.S. I'd love to know what you think of my stories. Reviews and feedback really make my day! :)

The Monsters are Real

Okay - today's Tuesday Poem on a Wednesday is "The Monsters are Real"
I'm hoping to post some motivational "poetry" soon - so look out for that. :)

The Monsters are Real

What do you do when the monsters are real
and they're not hiding under the bed?

What do you do when the monsters reveal
that they like to play with your head.

It's zeroes and ones
until it becomes
a dance with truth
and deceit.
Tell me, what will you do when faceless suits
dance to their puppeteer's drum?

So what do you do when the monsters are real
and they're not hiding under you bed?

And what do you do when with murderous glee
the monsters complain of civility?

"Oh oysters, pitiful wretches,
come and walk with me
the day is - oh, so hot
and my tears are wet, as wet could be."

Tell me, what will you do now the monsters are real
and they're not hiding under your bed?

Now the gaslight is on
And the bedroom's not safe
Can you see that the monsters are real?
Their words are fair, and their acts are foul,
with tongues are as divided
as the rage they can't keep in their heads.

Will you believe what they say?
Will you believe what we say?
Will you believe it today?
Will the propaganda mess with your head?

Come, will you become a faceless suit -
and dance to their puppeteer's drum?
 
What do you do when the monsters are real -
and the monsters come for your head? 

A.J. Ponder

 A.J. Ponder is the author of Quest - to find out more about Quest, follow this link to Quest on my author website.