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Monday 6 August 2012

Wood you like to join me?



This is my new writing place - a wooden arbour tucked away at the back of the garden. My fascination with words started when I was very young and my mother taught me to recite poetry.  The first  poem I ever learnt went like this:

  Old Wood gave me some wood and said would I carry the wood through the wood. And Wood said if I would he would give me the wood, and if Wood said he would, Wood would!

This showed me the importance of  punctuation and intonation when reading out loud, and demonstrated how words could be spelt differently even when they sounded  exactly the same.

The other poem that I have never forgotten was even more prosaic.

It was a dark and stormy night
And the rain came down in torrents
And the Captain said to the mate
'Bill - spin us a yarn'
So Bill began...

It was a dark and stormy night
And the rain came down in torrents
And the Captain said to the mate
'Bill - spin us a yarn'
So Bill began...

I'm still waiting to hear how it ends... 


4 comments:

clo said...

How does it end!? . .

Elaineyross said...

And Bill said ......? Who's this chuffin captain anyway!

Gloria Horsehound said...

I like it.
Also the poems.
My introduction to poetry was in 1965, when, as a nine year old, I fell deeply in love with 'The Lamb' by William Blake.
Can still recite it perfectly, Now that's what I call making an impression.

Guernsey Girl said...

Good to hear from you GH - poetry is addictive and often shapes who we are. As my own mother has been ill for most of my life, I relate very much to your blog about you and your mum.