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Landscape with Animals

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Welcome to my blog, where I share stories, writing tips, inspiration, research, and whatever else sparks joy. Here, you'll find a little bit of everything from behind-the-scenes of my writing life to creative resources and random musings.

Once again I have found myself drawn to a child’s poem- something for children to experience the magic in the world.

So, if you have any children scampering about, I hope you show them the magic hidden all around us, and talk about what you may find in a Wizard’s pockets!

Even better- get them to write their own version of what you may find in a wizard’s pockets, and have them comment below- it would be fun to see their ideas!

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A Wizard’s Pockets

A wizard’s pocket has no rules, anything at all could be found there, Like self-writing quills and spell casting jewels, and feathers that float in mid-air. But that’s not all you’ll find, for these pockets are like worlds of their own, One minute a pocket could be the size of an acorn, the next, if it needs, it’ll have grown!

In a Wizard’s pockets, you could find: A thumbnail’s size model of a pirate ship, the one on which he cast a spell of swift speed, And a unique yellow pair of spectacles, which, any language, they’ll help you to read. One pocket holds an old, cracked wand- one replaced and long since forgotten, Another holds an entire tiny habitat, home to a pair of earwigs who made their bed in the cotton. Sometimes you’ll find a dishevelled leather tome- a spell book that helps you cast spells on the air, But by now the spells have squished and merged together, so often the book won’t even be there! Song quills, mermaids’ hairs and lizards’ teeth, and other mysterious goods, That one might expect to use in a potion, you’ll find hidden in this Wizard’s hood! There are even rumours of a dragon’s egg- deep purple and patterned in fiery swirls, And another pocket homes the nest of a pygmy phoenix- look how it yawns and uncurls! So, you can never quite guess what you might find hidden here, these are only some of the things you may find, For the insides of a Wizard’s pockets are as unknown as the universe, thinking about it might just blow your mind.

Give it a try!

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  • Dec 29, 2017
  • 1 min read

High Tide at Night

There’s something ominous about those inky black waters- I stand staring at them as the icy wind buffets around me. The dark and aggressive waves launch at the harbour walls, And smother the beach, hiding the rocks. All I can see of the waves are the pale frothing horses, galloping with wild, foaming mouths, And the rocks I clambered over earlier become lost to the murky abyss. I see no distinction between the night sky and the sea, Only a flashing orb of light in the distance To mark the position of an invisible island, To stop boats and tankers from joining the ship wrecks In those ominous, inky black waters.

There’s something ominous about those inky black waters- I stand staring at them as the icy wind buffets around me. The dark and aggressive waves launch at the harbour walls, Smothering the beach, hiding the rocks, under the shady abyss, And I only feel safe watching from the other side of the strong harbour wall.

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  • Dec 26, 2017
  • 2 min read

I had a strange feeling to write a children’s poem today. For a few years in my life, I turned to teacher training and spent 8 months as a teacher of my own class. It wasn’t for me, but I do look back fondly at some of the memories.

Some of the best memories I have working as a teacher were when we covered poetry. Quite often poetry has a stigma of being boring- but I so enjoyed seeing the engrossed look on my class’ faces as they watched poetry recitals: ‘Chocolate Cake’ by Michael Rosen and ‘Talking Turkeys’ by Benjamin Zephaniah being our favourites (and the latter being very Christmas appropriate- in a way- so check it out!). I also loved the looks of enjoyment and pride in their faces as they wrote creative and wonderful poems of their own- me being me, I made sure it was very descriptive and magical as a topic.

I am a bit of a sucker for sharing my nerdy love of dragons, wizards and anything magical! Opening up new worlds to others is a favourite!

So here is my children’s dragon poem- I hope you and the younger generations in your life enjoy it- and I’ll have to see if I can create a few more like the magical poems I created as a teacher.

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The Dragon

A dragon hides deep in this cave, Curled up atop a mountain of gold. They say he’s killed over a thousand men, With his long talons and powerful jaws.

The bard says his scales shine like onyx, As if he’s cloaked by the night sky itself. His snores vibrate the air in the mountain, And the stale air burns hot from the smoke. (Don’t go in there!)

They say a magician once spoke with him, And the dragon spoke words beyond wise. He spoke of the gaps in the universe, And how he watches the stars in the sky.

A dragon hides deep in this cave, In a slumber lasting many a human lifetime. He lies atop his millennia-collected hoard of treasure, But that is all that I’ve been told.

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