Hot Plot
A vegetable stew, steaming hot
Started off on the allotment plot
But think. Before you lift your spoon
How they came to meet their doom
First of all, those sweet peas
Sitting warmly in their pod
They thought that they were safe from you
You hadn't mentioned cod?
The onions they gloated loud
We'll not run in a hurry
Then you yanked them by their necks
You hadn't mentioned curry?
The leeks they laughed and laughed
Couldn't give a cock-a-hoop
Then you tugged them up so hard
You hadn't mentioned soup?
And so through all the veggies
And methi, and the lettuce
The carrots and the turnips
And of course the cresses
You took them from their nice warm beds
And washed them nice and clean
Then dropped them into boiling water
You didn't even hear them scream
So if you do not mind
And its all the same to you
I don't feel very hungry
And I think I'll miss the stew
© Samantha Neale 1998
Peace and Quiet (Sometimes)
When we cannot find you two
We know just where to come
Straight down to your little plot
Be it rain or sun
And there you'll both be, pottering
Enjoying peace and quiet
When thirteen grandkids all turn up
Its bound to cause a riot
One pulls up your strawberries
One jumps on your sprouts
One starts crying, one spews up
And one begins to shout
One is eating Growmore
Anothers digging dirt
The one that you are holding
Has peed all down your skirt
You try to reassure us
That you don't really mind
But why then are your fists all clenched
And your teeth, they seem to grind
You kindly say, 'The kids look tired'
Don't they want their tea
You glance across to each other
Its nice just you and me
© Samantha Neale 1998