ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

I was very happy to pick up 3rd prize in the Toolangi C. J. Dennis Poetry Written Competition in the category of "Poems written by adults for children" with this poem.


Huppet and Puppet and Baron Mc Tuff

Huppet and Puppet and Baron Mc Tuff
Lived all alone on an island of fluff,
An island of fluff in a milky white sea;
A button, a belly that’s all part of me.

Huppet suggested they sail far away.
Puppet was happy, and said they should stay.
They turned for direction to Baron Mc Tuff.
Who spoke with a voice that was tender, yet rough.

“The birds fly above us. The worms dig below.
The sun beats upon us. The winds come and go.
The seasons keep turning. The Earth’s in a spin.
Sometimes you lose, and then sometimes you win.”

Huppet suggested the timing was right.
Puppet maintained they should stay one more night.
They turned for direction to Baron Mc Tuff,
He spoke in a timbre both jolly and gruff.

“Time’s an illusion. It changes with speed.
There is room for regret in the soul that’s been freed.
Today and tomorrow, it’s really as one.
Sometimes it’s ended before it’s begun.”

Huppet asked “What are the clothes we should wear?”
Puppet replied: “We’d be better off bare.”
They turned for direction to Baron Mc Tuff,
Who looked overdressed, although quite in the buff.

“Kings might wear raglets and paupers wear gowns,
And some might wear smiles, while others wear frowns.
There are dresses and coats, there are T-shirts and jeans,
And pumpkins and ‘taters and carrots and beans.”

I ran a hot bath, and I deftly climbed in.
I lay till the water reached up to my chin,
And that was the end of the island of fluff,
And of Huppet, and Puppet, and Baron Mc Tuff.

© Stephen Whiteside 21.06.2013

Hi Stephen enjoyed your poem good for kindergarten kids but I find that it would be better in line four of verse four if you replaced the word timbre with (VOICE) as kids of that age would not understand what TIMBRE meant ( just a suggestion Mate)

bill the old battler

That's just BONZAA Stephen! I loved it & so will the kids. Congratulations mate.

PS....Hey bro Bill....only trouble there is 'timbre' is 2 syllables & 'voice' is only 1...so the meter would drop, & the kids may get lost then. What's another word for 'timbre'???....mmm

deep voice might work - it's good Stephen - sure the kids will love it - who ever knew so much activity took place in belly buttons

Thanks, all. I find it a real challenge to write nonsense poetry, because you find yourself waging a war with that part of your brain that is always trying to make sense - yet, at some level, you also want the poem to maintain its own internal logic.

Kids will love it. But you might want to provide a boat for the trio so you don't drown them!

Congratulations on your 3rd place Stephen, and I'm sure kids would love the poem.

There's a lot of inspiration to be found in the bath.

Now there's a thought.....

Three minutes ain't much time to write anyfink !



Bob