Wordsworth

Gabe Atkinson

Readers were invited to submit a brief poem continuing this line from Faery Songs by John Keats: Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!

Bay of Plenty’s David Wort writes: Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!/Juanita; love the wall,/For Trump is on the other side/And that may save us all. From Jo Halley of Dobson: Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!/We have until the end of year/ To fill our average sunshine quotas/And find the missing million voters.

Peter Reid of Auckland: Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!/For I’ll fetch you another beer/ The pub is closed, that much is true/ But I have gallons of home brew. Kaye Bennetts of Whangaparaoa: Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!/I’m pleading with you, stop./ The drought is worse, the well is dry./ We must save every drop.

From Brett Reid: Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!/I’d much prefer you raised a beer./ The rumour’s true, I’ve up and died/But let’s not forget the lighter side./Life is brief! oh, life is brief!/Wisely spend your time and grief. Hamilton’s Yvonne Moosberger: Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!/Since Richie’s wed his Gemma fair,/I’ll just pretend that I don’t care,/And seek another beau to snare.

But Ken Edgecombe of Porirua wins this week: Shed no tear! oh, shed no tear!/It’s a post-truth era, nothing’s clear./ Although they’ve brought in Donald Trump/With all due circumstantial pomp/ Four years may seem like just a day/And even this must pass away.

For the next contest, send us a brief advertising jingle for a fictional new pharmaceutical drug called Fluxadrine. Alternatively, you may list some of Fluxadrine’s concerning side effects. Entries, for the prize below, close noon, Thursday, February 16.