Ring-A-ring O' roses,
Cover mouths and noses,
Keep the front door closed lest,
We all fall down.
The King has told the masses,
The schools will hold no classes,
Until the Covid passes,
Or we'll all fall down.
The bird upon the steeple,
Spies defiant people,
That still walk the streets 'til,
We all fall down.
The Doctors and the Nurses,
Pray for heavens mercies,
And bravely face the worst as,
We all fall down.
Drily apposite and well worked in its content. Good one!
Really enjoyed this one Jason. I've been thinking of that nursery rhyme a lot in relation to this current situation, nice re-working. I do feel Boris thinks he is 'King' as well Ha,Ha.
Jennifer, I found it really interesting what you said about Rosemary. For some strange reason I keep feeling the need to smell Rosemary essential oil in the past few days, and I didn't know this old belief. A funny coincidence! I thought it referred to actual roses.
PS: I've just found out that Rosemary oil supports respiratory function, so it turns out to be as relevant as ever.
Topical, appropriate and humorous. We need poems like this at the present time.
Thanks
Keith
Philipos
Tue 24th Mar 2020 13:57
I really like this Jason - one of the former plague ditties well suited to this crisis. As the old cockney saying has it, 'so I turns to him and says....' - actually meaning turning away from, and so as not to infect (or becoming infected by) germs of another, in those rat infested days of yesteryear. Well done. P. ?
Ring a ring o roses was about the old Black Death plagues, wasn't it, so clever re-use of it for this one! Think the 'roses' referred to a posy of flowers with rosemary, which was thought to give some protection. (Perhaps more nastily, to avoid the stench of bodies etc!) The bird upon the steeple - drones now. Really nice one.
Jennifer
If you wish to post a comment you must login.
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Jason Bayliss
Tue 24th Mar 2020 20:25
Thank you all so much and I'm really pleased that everyone picked up the references, in my mind I also saw the bird upon the steeple as either drones or CCTV and yes old Boris does think of himself as a bit of a king, but to be fair, even though I'm not much of a Boris fan, I do think he's doing quite a good job at the moment. We'll see how it all plays out.?