My first foray into writing was in using my rhyming ability to write lyrics for a theatre restaurant in Townsville then later in the Gold Coast. This continued over 15 years.
In 1987, I had two children’s books published by Macmillan in their Southern Cross series: The School Photograph (which was in verse) and An Alphabet of Australian Animals.
Another book, What Little Dragons Do, written in verse, was published in 2007. In 2012, I won second place in Jackie Hosking’s Rhyming Poetry or Verse for Children and in 2013 a Highly Commended in KBR Unpublished Picture Book Manuscript Competition.
I have work published in the NSW School Magazine and the NZ School Journal and more recently I have turned back to lyrics and written a series of children’s Christmas songs, composing the music for these as well.
I’m the Poetry Co-ordinator for an organisation called Creative Connections where WA poets write poetry to artworks created by artists with a disability. We hold an annual exhibition which attracts a lot of interest.
I love writing poetry and below are two re-written nursery rhymes plus a more thoughtful piece.
LITTLE MISS MUFFET
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on her tuffet,
A tuffet as tough as could be.
She yelled at the spider
Who hung there beside her,
‘It’s gotta be softer for me!’
‘It’s hard on my bum,
And it’s making it numb
And the edges are jagged and rough.’
She gave it a kick
And a whack with a brick,
But the tuffet remained just as tough.
The spider just smiled,
‘There’s no need to get wild.’
And Miss Muffet snapped round with a glare.
‘Oh, stop being jolly,
You hairy-legg’d wally,
I tell you, it’s simply not fair!’
The spider was breezy,
‘Now, just take it easy,
You’ve got to do things that are smart.
Now, please understand,
All you need is a hand,
I’ll search on my web for a start.’
He spun up a line,
The connection was fine,
And he googled the words, ‘tuffet buster’.
His web came aglow
With the sites now on show –
There was one that stood out from the cluster.
Reading ‘Dragon for hire,
I got flames, I got fire,
And l soften up all opposition.’
The spider pressed GO,
In a minute or so,
A big dragon flew in for the mission.
The spider said, ‘Great!
You look just the right weight.’
As his footsteps were shaking the ground.
His scales were bright green,
His expression was mean,
Till the moment he first turned around.
Ignoring the tuffet,
He eyed off Miss Muffet,
It seemed it was love at first sight.
And he roared, ‘You’re divine,
Won’t you say you’ll be mine
And we’ll fly off together tonight!’
He approached in a stride
With his arms open wide,
And Miss Muffet shrieked off in dismay,
And the spider said, ‘Good!
It was time someone should
Come and frighten Miss Muffet away.’
© Val Neubecker
MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB
Mary had a little lamb
She had one last year, too,
It isn’t so unusual
‘Cause Mary is a ewe.
© Val Neubecker
COUNTRY
Published by the NSW School Magazine
Leave the city behind
and head out
where the traffic thins
where fruit trees blossom
vegetables fill paddocks
and grape vines hold hands
where goats and horses nibble
and chickens nod
where pigs snort in leftovers
and cows single-file to a shed
Head further out
where roads run straight
through endless landscapes
where wheat crops sweep the air
canola fields dazzle
and cotton fuzzes the fencing
where sheep gaze vacantly
and yabbies burrow deep in muddy dams
where cows are called cattle
and kangaroos own the land
where clouds of galahs
swing in unison – grey, pink, grey –
and wide-winged eagles hover
where dusk heralds a bush bustle
of rustles and scuffles
where you can look up
into the night sky
and see more stars
than you have ever seen before.
© Val Neubecker
