"Seven bums and fourteen legs,
a brazen ecstasy which begs
the question some of us are asking -
is Peter Goulding multi-tasking?"

Martin Parker, Editor, Lighten Up Online

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

That milk jug made of pewter (reprise)

Like the gobshyte that I am, I posted this up a week too soon for Willow's Magpie Tales. So, for those of you who missed this masterpiece first time around....

There are vases that are prettier
And teapots that are cuter,
But something kind of struck me
‘Bout that milk jug made of pewter.
It was sleek, it was curvaceous
And its fine embossed relief
Made me wonder ‘bout the provenance
Behind that laurel leaf.

I flew down to the library
As fast as I could scooter
To see what I could find out on
The library computer.
But, though I spent an age, I couldn’t
Find out what’s the beef
With that grey, bewitching milk jug
And it’s stamp of laurel leaf.

Perhaps it was a birthday gift
To some girl from her suitor?
A thank-you from a graduate
To his despairing tutor?
I marvelled at the mystery
Contained in that relief
On the side of that grey milk jug
In it’s wreath of laurel leaf.

I know I should have sold it,
If I’d been a bit astuter.
I really had no answer to
That scheming prosecutor.
For now I sit here in this cell,
A sad career thief
Betrayed by one small fingerprint
Upon that laurel leaf.

11 comments:

  1. I came back for another delightful read. I love the repetition of the laurel leaf and the super rhyming pattern. Thanks, Pete!

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  2. What fun! I've always been a fan of comic verse. This is quite Gilbert and Sullivan-ish!

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  3. I adore this, especially the lines about the library because boy do I see lots of people that come in with treasures only to find out they are worth nothing monetarily speaking.

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  4. Well, thank you all very much for dropping by with your kind comments.
    Isn't it great to see how one simple picture can inspire so many different moods?

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  5. This was fun! A very enjoyable read.

    Just wandering by from the Magpie,
    Jen

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  6. a tale cleverly woven...wonderfully done!

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  7. And here I was all enamoured with the questioning on the laurel leaf, and then a twist at the end of the tale. Another enjoyable one!

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  8. Delightful and cleverly done! I'm so envious of your poetic abilities.

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  9. Light and cheeky, and I love the rhyming of "astuter" and "prosecutor"! Nice surprise ending!

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  10. Again, many thanks for dropping by and leaving such encouraging comments.

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