Competition

Tessa Castro

IN COMPETITION No 225, you were invited to write a poem called Common Sense. It was a difficult subject, but you rose to the challenge.

As Basil Ransome-davies pointed out, common sense ‘May be a civilised restraint, / Delight and merriment it ain’t.’

Mary Hodges also gave a rhyming moral, in the mouth of a fairy godmother: ‘Being brainless and beautiful sounds like a curse, / But a sage who forgets simple things is far worse.’

Commiserations to them and congratulations to those printed below, each of whom wins £25, with the bonus prize of that compendium of uncommon lives, a Chambers Biographical Dictionary, to Judith Tremaine Drazin.

One silken afternoon, I sent my lover, My treacherous lover, into the garden, To charm the birds down from the trees,

where I would join Him later. Safely behind my window, I watched them come Bluebirds, green breasted finches, a

nightingale in song, The dense air scarcely parting at

their flight. But soon, came lordly swans, an eagle

from the North; And then with claws outstretched the

angry harpies swooped, Bird women, women birds. And he

is looking Frightened now, so, sensibly, I stay behind my window, for, It would not be Quite prudent at this time, to join my

faithless lover, In the garden on a hot and silken

afternoon. Judith Tremaine Drazin

It’s common sense, it must be said, To make the most of every minute. All too soon we’ll end up dead, We must live life to the limit.

To make the most of every minute, Before our wits start to unravel, We must live life to the limit, Enjoy good friends, fine food and travel.

Before our wits start to unravel, Our bodies left sans everything, Enjoy good friends, fine food and travel. Forget the kids’ inheriting. Our bodies left sans everything, All too soon, we’ll end up dead. So forget the kids’ inheriting, It’s common sense it must be said. Mary Onions

Yes, I remember common sense When stating facts was no offence, When teachers teaching X and Y Were confident of how and why, When those who terrorised the nation Could not apply for compensation Or, having got it by some error, Were not allowed to cause more terror, When children who behaved as brats Were given more than friendly chats, When it was not considered odd For bishops to believe in God. With common sense was how we acted But that approach has been retracted. Yes, I remember common sense: It’s absent in the present tense. Frank Mcdonald

If only I had used my common sense I could have seen that you were not

for me, Our differing outlook should have been

a fence But love or lust, whatever it may be Pulled us together. Now decades on,

I smile On thinking of the things that we

have done, The rows we’ve often had, the nights

of bile, The tears, and neither of us ever won An argument, but somehow we still plod Towards old age, walking side by side, Fighting battles with ill health and God It seems, a calm and peaceful life denied. Common sense would split us from

the start, But what does common sense know of

the heart? Katie Mallett

COMPETITION No 227 Time for the annual bouts rimés. Please write a poem of twelve lines on a subject of your choice using these words in this order as the rhymes: where, why, air, sky, brink, white, drink, night, earth, words, mirth, birds. Entries, by post (The Oldie, Moray House, 23/31 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7PA) or email (comps@theoldie.co.uk) – don’t forget to include your postal address – to ‘Competition No 227’ by 29th March.