The terror of Armreach farm

1 month in hiding, mostly due to forgetting my blog exists at times and finding other exciting and interesting things to do :) school work for one! Below is one of a series of poems I've written recently: random poems about silly things, and some nonsense poems inspired by my Year 1 kids' work on nonsense poetry. I'll post 'When a monster came to our school' soon. I just need to iron out kinks first.

See if you can guess what the 'beast' is before the last verse!

The terror of Armreach farm

I looked out on the moonlit farmyard
The sky like a tranquil lagoon,
The wind moved the leaves in a nearby tree,
The moon would be rising soon.

And still as the gravestones, it waited,
Its heart dark as the deep night sky
Ready to spring and swift mayhem to bring
When the moon stood complete, and high.

And quiet asleep in their stalls now,
The animals slumbered in peace.
From the gold eiderdown of the small of ducks
To the shimmering sheeps’ winter fleece.

And still as the mountains, it waited,
Its heart like the indigo sky
Ready to spring and swift mayhem to bring
When the moon stood complete, and high.

I opened the door with shiver.
I guess where the beast might be.
In truth I knew not, of his new hiding spot,
So I waited, resting on one knee.

And still as a statue, it waited,
Its heart dark as blackcurrant pie,
Ready to spring and swift mayhem to bring
When the moon stood complete, and high.

As midnight tolled out ‘cross the farmyard,
An unearthly silence swift fell,
And the dull ghostly tones of the ancient clock’s groans
Rang out 12 times, it beast’s deathly knell.

And slow as the ages, it wakened,
Beating heart as adrenaline flowed,
And fast through its mind, with chaotic thoughts,
Its fancies began to unfold.

Quick as a whippet I looked up,
A shadow had stirred to the side.
In the stable I saw, darker than there before,
A deep shadow’s malevolent eyes.

And unmoving, the shadow stood staring,
Unaware of my foolhardy plan,
No mere man, it believed, could prevent him,
Once its frenzied assault began.

Like lightning the beast sprang towards me,
Its hooves like the thundering of drums.
I knew only one move would save me this night,
Or else, to its fury, succumb.

And fast as the planets it bolted,
For the ground to which I was firm bound.
My hand swiftly reached for my tattered coat pouch,
And flung its contents to the ground.

The screeching of hooves was tremendous,
As I breathed, barely making a noise.
Would the beast take the bait, precious seconds to wait,
And let me spring out of my poise?

And careful, it sniffed at the truffles,
Shrewd wariness clear in its eyes.
Did it trust in this treat, would it leap for my feet?
When it lowered its tree-like thighs.

My lunge was as quick as a cheetah,
as bold as a school-teacher’s stare,
the beast looked up but too late now,
its squealing shattering the air.

And frenzied, the beast struggled madly.
With its tail thrashing wide through the air,
Til the moon was consumed by a nearby cloud,
And still was the beast’s bristled hair.

The sweat glistened fresh on my forehead
As I stooped to retrieve the still form.
And shouldering the beast with a weary grunt,
I crossed the now quieted farm.

The main barn door creaked as it opened,
As if knowing what lay in my arms,
And the straw crackled loud, as if cheering
My saving the farmyard from harm.

Yet I gently replaced the wee bundle,
Knowing soon I would face it again.
For the moon was the curse of this small sleeping form:
A monster within the mundane.

And so it repeats, every cycle,
As the moon becomes fuller each day.
I silently wait in the dark twilit yard,
For the twelve bells to summon my prey.

The sound of the low shallow grunting
As that swill-laiden smell cuts the air,
And I whisper ‘goodbye’ to the red beady eyes
Of the Were-Piglet. ‘Were’, piggy, ‘were’.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated. It is far from perfect I know, but then, it is just a bit of fun!

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

Dreams in stills

A fellow teaching friend from years gone by posted this on her facebook page & it's just a spot of sheer genious! If you like imaginative music videos or animation (or are up for something fun and creative, for that matter) then have a goosey at this:



I'm suddenly inspired to try making one. Bring on the ICT/Literacy/Drama project!

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

Introducing Steve

Adam and I have discovered a variety of nibbled things in the house recently, including 2 Mars bars (nearly nibbled in half) and a creme egg! Late one evening he was spotted running across our living room and it was confirmed, we have a mouse!

Having christened it Steve McQueen in honour of Hugh Laurie's character from House, we set a humane trap of peanut butter & partially nibbled creme egg. Dead tasty!

It appears Steve really was a sucker for chocolate and peanut butter though as he was safely caught in 1 night after nibbling was heard (ironically, while I was watching House) and was discharged in the morning with a clean bill of health.

He shall be missed though. Oh to be able to keep pets! Maybe one day. I wonder what Cat would think of that...

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

Good Friday

I'm loving Jesus. I love how he was willing to go through much pain, rejection and emotional/physical/spiritual suffering for me. I'm bowled over by his sacrifice and willingness to be spiritually cut off from God.

This came out of meditating on what Jesus went through ~2000 years ago:

Good Friday

This is the day my saviour died
and history bears he was crucified,
unfairly ruled and beaten raw,
dragged through the streets in sight of all,
carrying the bar of his own cross,
taking spits, abuse and other dross,
led up the hill called the place of the skull
tired and bleeding, humble, docile,
cried in pain as nails bit deep
no doubt causing him to weep,
slung up high and strung in place
forced to endure the worst disgrace,
and died, calling in full ear & view,
"Forgive them father, they don't know what they do."

I desperately want finish this off, but that's where my want to write stopped. It's very easy to think of Jesus dieing on the cross as a simple flick-of-the-switch act, but in truth it wouldn't have been. It does us good to stare on the rugged cross and walk Jesus last hours with him. It reminds us how much he was willing to go through, and how much he chose to endure for us. Mind-boggling, when you think about it. Bring on Sunday :)

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal

Huzzah!

The easter holidays has finally dawned and I'm looking forward to a spot of rest in between trips into school to get the Summer term ready!

Having dropped Cat off at Luton on Saturday morning (she's off to Poland for a week's mission at one of their universities) I spent the afternoon at a friend's house playing board games. Fab fun and wonderfully relaxing. Spending time with other people reminds me why God's made us his church, rather than his call centre; a group of people serving him together, rather than individuals in claustrophobic booths not dependant nor working for eachother. Fellowship is so important and is such a wonderful blessing! How great it is that we're the body. rather than the fishfingers of Christ.

Looking back over the past 3 months, it's been a testing term and I've now got a tough decision to make over the easter hols re: school following my mid-point review. Prayer would be muchly appreciated and I'll happily share what the decision entails with you if you give me a phone or drop me an email. Thanks.

Right, time like me is short so I'd best put my washing on and prepare for the church! Big blessings to all of you.

Rock on in Him :)

TheWeeScottie

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weird is just your own personal brand of normal