Yes, it’s that time of the week already – almost the weekend and time for my weekly writing challenge. Here are your options:
Option one: Write a limerick with the word unicorn in it somewhere
Option two: Write a poem on the theme of your old school days
Option three: Write a ten-word story using all of the following words: treacle, nasty, exorbitant and hairy
Last week option one was to write a limerick with the word scrabble featuring in it somewhere. Here are your simply brilliant results:
Keith Channing leapt in with two of what he does best:
For twenty-five days on the run
Me and Jimmy were looking for fun
We challenged the rabble
To a quick game of Scrabble
And guess what, we ruddy-well won!
–
Tis a difficult game, 3D Scrabble
Using words that are sheer techno-babble
Though it does serve you right
If you’re stuck there all night
You were just so determined to dabble.
Kim Russell sent in a witty one:
A Scrabble player from Nunhead
Was anxious to pick up a Z
He felt deep in the sack,
Kept throwing tiles back
And got stuck with a Q instead.
Jocelyn Barker sent in two hilarious limericks:
“Isn’t Scrabble a wonderful game?”
Says my sister, “But what’s in a name?”
“Clear, sable, crab, sale,
Barb, cable, scab, bale,
And there’s plenty more words whence they came!”
–
Arriving for room, bed and board,
His landlady soon had him floored.
Invited to dabble
In one game of Scrabble,
In no time he found he had scored!
Petra Rovere hasn’t ever written a limerick before. I think she’s coped exceptionally well, don’t you?:
There was a man who liked to gabble,
And thought he was a winner of scrabble,
Until his wife,
Told him his life,
Was lived in a big cozy bubble.
And lowering the tone is Geoff Le Pard. Sheer genius:
If there’s one thing to make maiden’s babble
It’s a full frontal game of strip scrabble
Without letters from France
They’ll be taking a chance
They dabbled with a rabble at scrabble.
A huge welcome to newcomer, Graeme Sandford and his take on the theme:
What had seven eyes and can’t cope;
Has exchanged MONEY for A ROPE
Needs a queue.
But, doesn’t have you
And is scrabbling to score… what a hope!
Ladyleemanila is another newcomer. She’s written some poems on the scrabble theme:
https://ladyleemanila.wordpress.com/2016/01/08/scrabble/
Option two was to write a poem on the theme of winter. Here are the chilly results:
Keith Channing delights with humour:
Because we’re quite old
We escaped from the cold
The missus, the doggy and me,
But the damned rain in Spain
Wasn’t down on the plain
It was right there with us, by the sea
Day two it was lighter,
The weather was brighter
And the sun shone a watery face.
It was warm; what is more
We were down by the shore
And fell quickly in love with the place.
The long pebbly beach
Took three minutes to reach
So we went there each day before dinner.
The dog had long walks
While we had long talks
You could tell everyone was a winner.
You know, I had a hunch
When we ate Christmas lunch
That we wouldn’t be there for much longer
But some big things had changed
Since the trip we’d arranged
And the urge to go home was much stronger.
It was really quite funny
The weather was sunny
Till the night we decided to go
But the very next day
The sun went away.
Still; at least there was no blooming snow.
Kim Russell wrote a beautiful poem:
Winter Rising
Early morning frost laced
Leaves and grass
Bejewelled cobwebs
Glittered as we passed
Our words hung breathless
In the frozen air
And then melted away
In the early sun’s glare.
Carol Campbell sent a link to her atmospheric poem:
https://writersdream9.wordpress.com/2016/01/08/deptha-clarity-pyramide/
Sammi Cox has shared her vivid winter poem:
Words of Winter
The wind blew through the
Frost-encrusted trees
Whispering words of winter
Telling tales of snow and ice
Chilling all it touched with its
Frozen fingers
That clawed through the air
Until it reached the
Very heart of everything.
Finally, option three was the good old ten-word-story, which required you to use the following words in the story: vanity, Angus, spiffing and cauliflower.
Jason Moody will make you chuckle:
The spiffing cauliflower Angus grew? Modest. His vanity? Absolutely enormous!
Sacha Black just found time to get hers in. I’m so glad she did:
Angus’s date, hated both his vanity and his ‘spiffing’ cauliflower.
***
http://finallyawriter.com/2016/01/14/my-weekly-writing-challenge-esther-newton-blog/
Thank you for taking part, Tessa. I love your limerick 🙂
Thank you!
Terrific limericks! I’m going to tackle the 10 word story. Where DO you get these ideas??
I just close my eyes and think about words and ideas that first come into my mind!
I should have tried that!
Here I go: Hairy situation: Shopkeeper’s exorbitant price makes me barf nasty treacle!
What a great story. Thank you so much for taking part 🙂
Well, I’m looking forward to reading some REALLY good stories. It’s much harder than it looks!
You’re right there but your story was really good 🙂
A struggling young artist from Morne
Said, when asked to paint a unicorn,
“That’s all balderdash,
But for enough cash,
I’ll paint you a horse with a horn.”
What kept me awake all last night,
Was not that the unicorn’s white;
No. The question that vexes
Is: do both the sexes
Have horns? Surely that can’t be right.
The antelope’s horn is of bone
While the rhino’s is hair; that’s well known
But I need to find out
To remove any doubt,
Is the unicorn’s magically grown?
You’re far too good at these, Keith. They’re absolutely fab! Thank you 🙂
Aww, shucks! Thanks, Esther.
You’re very welcome; it’s deserved 🙂
“The nasty hairy beetle drowned in the exorbitant priced treacle.”
Not sure it tells a story, but it’s all I could come up with 🙂
It’s great and made me laugh out loud! Thank you 🙂
I composed a haibun in response to Option two: Write a poem on the theme of your old school days.
https://simplicitylane.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/when-love-is-still-a-stranger-haibun/
I really enjoyed this, Steve. Thank you so much for taking part. I’ll send readers over to your blog to have a look 🙂
Thank you Esther; keep the writing inspirations coming.
Learning v Education
Alison wore green ribbed wooly tights
Which is an odd detail to remember
Given I was nine at the time
And I thought girls were aliens
I sat next to a boy called Vyvyan
Who looked a bit like the girl called Vivian
They had small noses and curly red hair
But he wore shorts and
She had long hair
So that explained it.
We used a climbing frame
Until Douglas fell off
And broke his arm
During break
Which was ironic
Only. I didn’t know it at the time
Stuart smelt of old shoes
And was sewn into his underwear
During the winter.
We didn’t mind
Because he collected slow worms
And we thought that was cool
Before we knew what cool was
I had a lot to learn
Which I didn’t do at school.
I really enjoyed that. Takes me back to my own memories of school – especially a Stuart who smelt of old shoes! Thanks, Geoff 🙂
Sat at the back
Content to be quiet
While other kids roared
And whipped up a riot
I tried to fit in
And discover my voice
But bullies got to me
So I had no choice
Despite this small hitch
I threw myself in
“Ignore them,” Mum said
but my skin was too thin
Year after year
I grew a little
The bullies died down
And my feelings? Less brittle
Friends I had made
So that was a start
A sanctuary I had
When I was in art
The years had rolled by
Exams were ahead
How could I recall
All in my head?
I did what I could
Perhaps not enough
Had I let myself down?
that was just tough
My time at school
At best, a bit mixed
But soon off to college
Where that could be fixed.
This is really good, Jason. Really heart-felt.
Thank you.
You’re very welcome 🙂
Option 3.
Twenty pounds for that exorbitant, hairy, nasty bit of treacle?
Ha, ha, ha 🙂 Love it!
Option 3.
The big hairy, nasty monster loved treacle. Not exorbitant prices!
Another goody 🙂
Last go. Option 3.
“Alright, treacle? Fancy an exorbitant, nasty, hairy cat? House trained!”
Glad you’ve found a place for a cat in there somewhere!
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Thank you, Carol. What a heart-wrenching poem. I wanted to give the poor child a big hug!
I really need to try a limerick. For some reason the thought intimidates me. As always, Thank you, Esther!
Try one! I;m sure you’ll surprise yourself 🙂
I just may. 🙂