Monday 19 September 2016

Delores at ‘Mumblings’ challenged us with a writing prompt. She said, 

Feel like having some fun with a writing prompt?
How many ways can you work the word 'sliver' into a sentence?
Maybe someone will write a poem.

This got me thinking so thank you for that, Delores. I need a kick-start in the mornings – or maybe just a kick.

Well, I just had to dish up some doggerel . . .


A sliver of liver
Makes small children shiver
When struggling to swallow
The unswallowable.

And all of a dither
Their tears start to slither,
Unstoppable river -
It’s horrible.

They gaze at the giver,
A look that would wither
The hardest of hearts -
Ineffable.

‘Just a sliver of liver,
To make you grow strong’,
The adult’s persuasion -
Implacable.

The sliver grows bigger,
And drier and harder,
It can’t be choked down –
Unspeakable.

If all children ate
The things that they ‘should’
They’d grow into giants –
Implausible.

(That got much darker than I intended!)

Why not meander over to 'Mumblings' and see what else is on offer?





10 comments:

  1. Hi Janice - oh oh I love liver ... but this doggerel is brilliant - the kids I can quite see laughing or wanting to be sick into their boots ... great fun ...

    Cheers for happy days like this with poems to inspire some ribaldry and giggling ... great on Autumn evenings - Hilary

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  2. Thank you, Hilary. I was recalling the days when I made my children eat liver . . . and the days (at school) when I was made to eat something I just couldn't stomach.

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  3. You are a fantastic writer! I hopped over from Mumblings to read your "sliver" poem, and it is just amazing! Really!! I don't think I'll even attempt a try after reading yours!

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  4. The dreaded liver....why is it people have such a 'thing' about liver. We love it here smothered in fried onions. What a great poem.

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  5. The dreaded liver....why is it people have such a 'thing' about liver. We love it here smothered in fried onions. What a great poem.

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  6. I could never even eat a SLIVER of liver when my mother fried it. The smell enough was enough to make me ill! No liver for me, no matter who the giver!

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  7. Oh my goodness this is a fantastic poem. Have you submitted it to a HIGHLIGHTS for CHILDREN MAGAZINE or any other kid's mag?

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  8. I loved this poem, Janice. My mother loved liver, and would try to make me eat it, but I'm like Mary, I could never even swallow it. I couldn't stand the smell of it cooking. This caused considerable fuss and bother at the dinner table. The fuss could have been avoided by ever avoiding liver, but Mom would not agree.
    I agree, you should submit this poem to a children's magazine.
    K

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  9. You made me laugh with your poem, because I love liver !! Maybe that's why I am tall ?

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  10. Darker yes, but perfectly true. Liver, whether as a sliver or in a casserole is not a dish I relish.

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