Hi All

When I notify entrants that they are not the winner (everybody is told individually and it can be a long job as I invariably receive over twenty entries) the most common reply is ‘ thanks for letting me know, but it’s not the winning that matters, it’s good fun taking part and writing poetry’.

However, there are winners this month and they are Philip Celner for Barnet and Jeffery A Edmunds for Harrow and here are their poems.

A PET FANTASY BY JEFF EDMUNDS

 

I’ve always wanted a pet dog and a cat

My dog would be a chocolate Labrador

I love the breed’s go-getting impetuosity

Rather like me, really

 

I would call him George and he would be

a great companion to drag me out on

cold and wet days, get the conversation

going with others, about his doggy ways

 

My cat would be called Trevor and he

would be an accomplished ratter and keep

my garden vermin-free. He would be languid

in the sun, but alert to invaders, indeed!

 

Being two boys together my pets would

battle for my attention and sidle past

each other like scolded children. Trevor

would not like being annoyed by George

 

But they’d get along: Trevor with his secret

liaisons, George with his homely doggy ways.

Pets are lovely. They would keep me sane

But who would train who? Now, then...

 

Pets by PHILIP CELNER

‘You don’t have to be cuddly to be interesting’

David Attenborough

Pets are people too

domesticity is fur-deep

if only they could speak

their thoughts are pure

perhaps preverbal

apart from a tendency to sometimes bite

monkeys use tools

cats caress

they are the same in that they have eyes,

noses, teeth, ears

four sets of digits

four limbs

hearts, bowels, stomachs, kidneys

they are like children,

so let the children clean cages

tip in the cat-food,

pull on the leash

make hutches habitable

Some of our runners-up are:

 

MIKE LAWSON

A gap in the fence

let you invade my space

a welcome intruder

making home of my place

Easy to maintain. Feed on leaves

no complaints, serene and calm

doing what nature bequeaths

naturally sweet with a spiritual charm

I called you Timothy, did you know?

i don’t know why but it seemed to fit

our younger brains go with the flow

i had a feeling and I followed it

I don’t know if it was the same gap

or he thought you were a moving bone

I only know it as a great mishap

when Scamp tried to eat your mobile home.

A gap in the fence

led to a gap in your home

cutting short your serene life

leaving me sad and all alone.

PETS by Anthony Tischler

Dalmatians are not seen very often in public

They are a slightly rare breed

They are quite tame but can be a little ferocious at times

I have seen these dogs on TV ads

They make quite nice pets

A friend of my possessed quite a few of them

Security dogs are their own masters’ friends and pets

Where I live there are quite a few dogs about with their owners

and some of them I am pretty certain are security dogs

They are strongly built

I am a bit nervous of these dogs coming along in the street

They are very friendly but it is difficult to be calm in their company

There are two security dogs on leads

Probably just out to exercise

I don’t think they are the Drugs Squad

There are plenty of cats about with their owners

They keep mice away and birds

They are not such a nice special of animals

 

KUSUM HARS

He came to us a bundle of brown fur and two innocent eyes

From the home of his parents and siblings to our lives

We put him in his crate and watched to see what he would do

He sat there, looked around and watched us too.

That did not last, he was out and about soon

Hesitant at first but then ventured from his room

His favourite place was the garden, he went on a digging spree

Big holes appeared and the place was a mess I agree

Plastic bottles, flower pots and his toys whatever was seen

A little pup on a mission of rampage and chewing, ever so keen.

He stole our socks and other small wear from the stand

And chewed on them until he would be tired and bored

Hey where are my socks my daughter would shout

Looking around we would find them in his mouth.

We enjoyed his mad run and running with cushions twice his size

Marty came as a ray of sunshine and a warmth I cannot describe

He is a big handsome lab now connected to us in every way

Part of us and included in every moment of our life and day.

Enter the house and he greets us with our slipper in his mouth

Tail wagging and love in his eyes as he prances from north to south.

 

 

MY OWN PET by Ruheena Shah

As I was walking in the park

I saw under a tree, a little doggy

Drenched and  shivering in the cold 

Its body all wet and very soggy 

I took out my woolly scarf 

Over it I wrapped it round

It's shiny eyes looked at me

It's moan gave a thankful sound

I took him home and fed him

And put him beside the fire

Eyes closed he went to sleep

As he was hungry and tire

The next day I took his picture

Put it in my area, on all the trees

To see if any one will claim him

They can collect him from me

But no one came to own him

The doggy is now my friend 

He has become my own pet

This is how with me he end

 

BLIND By Sukriti Bisht

Since I was 12 all I saw was the dark,

Then you came along, my candle, the spark.

Your lustrous, fluffy coat and long, floppy ears,

Were all it took to get rid of my fears.

Whenever I was with you, I couldn't help but grin,

Your cold, cold nose brought warmth to my skin.

We walked down the street, you by my side,

Obstacles big or small we took in our stride.

The jingaling of your bell as melodious and sweet,

As the echo at dawn of a bird's golden tweet.

And when we came home after a long day,

You would spawl across my lap and wash my worries away.

You brought colour and happiness to my world,

Without you, I'm incomplete.

I miss you...

 

ANTOINETTE GURA

Forever faithful
Love abound
Oh you mischievous hound
Warm heart, wet nose
This poem for you I compose
Explosive with delight
On my return
Constantly at my side
Especially at dinner time!
Now you are gone
The joy we have shared
Brings me happiness
For the years ahead.

 

 

PETS by Richard Adam

I wonder what Paddington and Francesca , our red orange goldfishes used to think about,
Swirling around the plastic bowl all day.
My aunt Joyce brought Prince, her black and tan German Shepherd,
From Blackburn, on a chilly snowy 1981 November.
Regal and never straying from my auntys side.
There was Teddy , born in 1984;bug cuddly and very furry, tongue panting like a happy husky.
She rescued starved Rosh and toothless Gina, epileptic Harry and frivolous Nancy and hypersensitive Honey.
The latter two outlived my aunty.
I wonder what happened to them.

 

 

Thoughts Of A Hungry Cat

Through the open door Tiger strides

His nose and tail held up high

As loudly for food he does cry.

He looks neither left nor right as he walks straight

He's hungry and with his food you mustn't be late:

Up to the fridge he continues to proudly stride.

He gazes up at you standing by the closed fridge door

He stares his green eyes pleading

Telling you quite clearly, 'I need feeding.'

He watches every move you make

'Now hurry up there for heaven's sake

I'm hungry, very, very hungry - go on, open that fridge door.'

He's becoming more impatient still

He knows if looks could kill

He would shock you by opening the door himself

He would steal every piece of meat from the bottom shelf,

Drag it along your nice clean floor

And proudly with his prize run out of the kitchen door

To eat his fill of the meat today

But unfortunately you're standing in his way.

©Patricia J Tausz

PETS by Howard Lambe

Some people like a frog

But most would prefer a dog

Others like a cat

Or even a pure white rat

Almost everyone wants a pet

Although you can't be sure of what you might get!

Hamsters and mice can be very nice

But who would ever consider a wood lice?

Tropical fish and carp are very colourful

Whereas a tortoise or turtle is not at all

Rabbits may need much grooming of their hair

And snakes and lizards require a lot of care

Pets come in many guises

A reptile could be quite a surprise

Little ones are quite taken by a guinea pig

Probably because they are not too big

Pets are a comfort and your best friend

When your not well they can help you mend

However not all pets are animals

For teacher's pet is found at school!

AMAZON SAMMY

By Derek Barretto

His plumage a lush verdant green

underfeathers a coarser blue tinged with rusty red

bright tropical yellow crest above  a beak quite hawkish

yet his melodious chatter is seldom squawkish!

Age estimate: 42 years and counting

species and sex: Amazon parrot, male

repertoire ranging from an old lady’s chuckles

contentedly ending with ‘come on’ as peanuts he suckles

He’s a caged bird, his wings are clipped

we let him out daily he clambers up and down

with an undaunted but latent gift of flight

a bird so intelligent; any owner’s delight

Diet: sunflower seeds, all kinds of nuts and hemp

Temperament: very fond of repeating affirmatively

‘Oh what a good boy, bye-bye’

when we leave him alone he tuts a little sigh!

 

Hope you enjoyed them - next month’s subject is The Scenic Route.  Look forward to receiving your poems.

 

Judy Karbritz

Harrow’s Community Poet

& co-founder Jewish Poetry Society