There was movement at the church hall
the word had passed around
there was to be a writing contest
with a prize of a £100
seven poets arrived next morning
and were sharpening up their quills
and pots of ink were awaiting
the testing of their skills
On the stroke of midday
and after they had dined
each took a ream of paper
and settled down to rhyme
imagine the noisy scratching
the need for constant blotter
the huffing and the chuffing
as their quills ran hot and hotter
Miss Rosalind was anxious
and wore a face of doom
but suddenly she gave a grin
and dashed off a chic pantoum
as Jason was pondering
over words to rhyme with bear
on a random inspiration
he came up with Ted Astaire
Anne Camac came bearing snacks
a plate of nuts and cheese
and began a heroic poem
about the task of shelling peas
The youngest, Miss Jasmine Rose
was keen on metaphor
and very apt at turning things
into personal semaphore
Andrew was tireless
in pursuit of the quatrain
a form he chose to vary
with a variable refrain
meanwhile Miss Yvonne
who started very late
rustled up an epic
with apologies for haste
Adrian sighed and shuffled
it seemed he could write naught
but then compressed a thousand words
into a single thought
At 2pm each downed their quills
and sat with downcast eye
while the judges hummed and hawed
and then declared, “A tie!”
