Original Verse

Southland Times, Issue 22728, 2 November 1935, Page 18

Original Verse

Cousin Matty has confused the pattern in her triolets. The fourth line should be the same as the first. TO A PANSY. Tiie Pansy is a lovely flower, It seems so pale and sweet, Blooming in a shady bower, Drinking of a freshening shower, Gently smiling hour by hour, With lovely face so neat. The Pansy is a lovely flower It seems so fresh and sweet. —1 mark to Cousin Matty Winsloe (16), Merrivale R.D., Otautau. TO A LAMB. The lamb was just a little one, With whitest, snowy wool, And every day in the bright sun, He frisked around and had such fun, Until the warm sunlight was done, And the evening air grew cool. The lamb was just a little one, With whitest, snowy wool. —1 mark to Cousin Matty Winsloe (16), Merrivale R.D., Otautau. In “Flowers in Pots,” Cousin Chrissie has used an irregular pattern, with the word “space” used three times. This would be permissable if it occurred as a refrain. The rhythms and the ideas are good. FLOWERS IN POTS. I pity flowers in pots. How their poor roots Must chafe within the mean restricted space, And how the poor, blind, questing shoots Must long to thrive in some moist kindly space. Moving in glorious unfettered life, In the dark healing of the kindly soil, Where they might flourish in some barren spot And bless the land with blossom and with toil. Flowers that grow in garden, road and field; Flowers in pots with sides that never yield; With gnarled roots crippled in the narrow space, Dreaming of some wide sympathetic place. —2 marks to Cousin Chrissie Ross (16), 24 Lochend Street, Dunedin. ' “June” is a smooth poem, and paints a slight but effective picture. JUNE. I love to see the sheeted world With snow so fair and white; I love to see its velvet skin That is so soft and light. I love to see the tired smoke Curl zig-zag through the snow; I love to see it twist and twine As snow-storms harshly blow. —3 marks to Cousin Betty Greer (12), 295 Herbert Street. Cousin Pat is probably the most promising of our younger verso writers. The short line at the beginning is effective. WELCOME TO SUMMER. Welcome to summer with her colours gay Morning sunrise crimson, evening shadows grey, Roses, perfume laden, in gentle breezes sway. Sweet peas in the garden, like butterflies at play. An azure sky above, a radiant sun all day, Summer brings her beauty as Spring fades away. —4 marks to Cousin Pat Henderson (11), Waikana. Eleven-year-old Cousin Jeanette has made a very good attempt at telling the story of Red Riding Hood in verse. The last line, I thought, made the ending a little weak. RED RIDING HOOD. Eggs and butter Red Riding Hood took To her Grandmother’s cottage beyond Bubbling Brook. When on her way she met a bad wolf; But by his speech he seemed quite aloof. He enquired of her mission and which way she would go, He seemed quite interested to know. She knocked on the door of her Grandmother’s house, But nought did she hear, but the squeak of a mouse. She opened the door and to her surprise, Saw Grannie in bed with awfully big eyes. Then out jumped the wolf with his mouth opened wide, Which made Riding Hood feel funny inside! Her cries a woodcutter heard nearby, And soon the wolf was in the Land of Bye-Bye. —3 marks to Cousin Jeanette Moore (11), 231 Gala Street. The rhythm is rather uncertain in places.- “Dozens” and “cousins” are original rhymes. POETRY. Some are good at poetry, And easily can compose, A whole poem in an hour About a child, toy or rose. They sit down at a desk With paper, pen and ink, And seem to write out verses Without even stopping to t*jnk. Many people are gifted like this, For I could name many dozens, Many of them are real poets And many of them are Cousins. —2 marks to Cousin Eugenie McKenzie (12), Tone Street, Bluff.

—Commended.— The sun climbed slowly over the hills and the sky is tinged with red, purple and gold. The dew on the grass shines like diamonds and the cobwebs sparkle like silvery threads in the sunshine. The trees are bare and the animals have all got their warm winter coats, and the mice have made cosy nests beneath oat and wheat stacks. Sometimes there is rain and sleet which drives all animals to shelter. —2 marks to Cousin Constance Lloyd (11), Section 5, Glencoe R.D.

—Commended.— Winter is here again With its snow, hail and rain. Rain comes pouring down, Without thought of the town. I like winter so, The cold makes a man brush his mou, A snowball fight makes a man light. No heavy heart when in the dark. 1 mark to Cousin Norman Watson (12), Section 8, Glencoe R.D,