Kate Williams

Two poems for younger readers:

My Town at Night

At night
my town turns into other things:

fireflies,
fishes’ eyes,
gold and silver crowns,
bracelets,
amulets,
a wizard’s glinting gown,
the moonlit threads of spiders’ webs
stretched across the ground…

but next day
it’s always just the same old town.

Published in The School Magazine, April 2012 issue,
produced by NSW Education & Communities, Australia.

November Seaside

Ever tried the seaside in November?
You’d remember: it’s grim.

The sea looks grey as iron,
and hard as iron to lie on –
a great iron wedge.

You wouldn’t want to swim:
the chill can drill your toes
just standing at the edge.

Ever tried it in December?
Loud as a lion?
High as a ledge?
Sharp as shark-teeth through your shoe?

I’ll leave that one to you.

Published in my book: Wildlife Poems.  (Click here for details.)

And some advice for older readers:

Tips For Surviving The Recession

Don’t drink, for one thing,
and don’t eat anything.
Don’t diet – that costs:
just starve yourself thin.

Don’t use heat or light.
Don’t travel – see sights.
Don’t stay in; don’t go out.
Just – well – hang about
’til the money starts coming back in.

Don’t wash-up. Don’t wash.
Don’t shower or bath.
Don’t Hoover the house or strimmer the path.
Don’t see anyone, or have any fun.
Don’t book any speakers (at least, not this one).

Don’t burn energy: don’t work, or play.
Don’t run, dance or sing – it really won’t pay!
Don’t sit, stand, move, walk,
laugh, cry, whisper, talk…
Trampolining, did you say? No way!

And don’t use your mind,
or stuff of that kind:
no goals or dreams
or grandiose schemes!
The safest maxim, I think you’ll find,
is Do nothing ’til the money comes in.

Basically, just simply exist.
If you want to do anything, try to resist...

Alternatively, ignore that long list!
Ride the recession,
your house repossession,
redundancy,
bankruptcy,
global depression!

Do your own thing:
stride on with a swing!
Life’s too supreme to be missed!

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Please note: all poems on this page are copyright: Kate Williams