Wordsworth

Gabe Atkinson

The challenge for the week was to compose a haiku in celebration of one of life’s small successes. Bay of Plenty’s David Wort writes: Forty years ago/You gave me a Rubik’s Cube/I’ve done it, damn you! Sweet revenge by Philip Lynch of Upper Hutt: He knew he was plumb/ But stuck with the umpire’s call./I bowled him next ball. Carterton’s Stephen Timperley: Two seats left on bus,/Mad guy looking right at me./Goes past, goes past. Ah!

Kate Watson of Christchurch: I caught a salmon/After thirty years’ fishing/What will I do now? Robyn Gillies of Geraldine: Managed to stay dry/By tiptoeing through wet grass/Preserved my suede shoes.

Marton’s Jeanette Galpin: My pumpkin pie won/At the harvest festival/ The only entry. Rex McGregor of Auckland: I found a good way/To remember my passwords./Now it’s slipped my mind. Occasional winner John Jones of Waikouaiti writes: Over the decades/Wordsworth prizes have been won./Is this another? (er, not quite).

A tip from Maureen Skinner of Mangawhai: Secret hint for scones:/ Double the baking powder/And savour success. Anne Martin of Helensville:

Got that crossword clue./ The flower is a river,/Not a flower bloom. But Yvonne Moosberger of Hamilton is the winner:

I can at last spell/With all those Ss, Es, Ls/ Miscellaneous.

For the next contest, send us some examples of malaphors – which occur when two sayings or idioms are blended together. For example, “we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it” or “until the cows freeze over”. Entries, for the prize below, close noon, Thursday, May 11.