My Parallel World

My parallel world is just like yours,
except for the odd little thing.
Everyone here has a lucky dip,
for the chance to be queen, or king.

And in my parallel world,
grown-ups never tell lies.
Teachers are never sarcastic –
just helpful, friendly, and wise.

Everyone travels by bus,
on foot, by bike, or on trains.
Policemen stand waving, on corners,
handing out macs when it rains.

Our guns are all made of jelly,
and our bombs are all made with cheese.
Whenever a person gets angry
they almost immediately sneeze.

Rain comes in five different colours,
mud tastes surprisingly good.
Shops only open on Tuesdays,
and computers are all made of wood.

When anyone here has a good idea,
a bell in the town hall rings.
My parallel world is just like yours,
- except for one or two things.

The Custard Tree

The custard tree is loved by birds
They flock there with bananas
Which they eat, as an evening treat,
Whilst wearing their pyjamas.

Earthlings

The Earthlings are a-coming!
From planet Earth they shoot!
Landing in their shiny tin,
-each in their special suit!

With their funny, bouncing walk,
they wander round our world.
And every time they visit,
they leave a flag unfurled.

Nosing in our craters,
stealing bits of rock.
It’s tempting to jump out and wave
and give them such a shock!

Best, though, just stay out of sight,
blend with our terrain.
Cross our tendrils in the hope
they’ll soon blast off again.

And, finding nothing useful,
they’ll simply head for home,
look for somewhere else to go,
and leave us well alone!

The Morning that the Jungle…

The gibbons stopped their gibbering,
The gorillas didn’t growl.
The chimps all ceased their chimping
And the howlers didn’t howl.

What the green chameleons thought
Even they don’t know,
The morning that the jungle
Got covered in snow.

White fluffy stuff,
Slippy, cold and wet.
A hippo tried to eat some,
But only for a bet.

A rhino chased a snowflake,
But he was much too slow,
The morning that the jungle
Got covered in snow.

Every ant retreated
And burrowed underground.
All the noisy animals
Didn’t make a sound.

Flowers shut their petals up
Plants refused to grow,
The morning that the jungle
Got covered in snow.

The snakes all started slithering
The crocodiles were weeping.
The hummingbirds were shivering
The sloths, of course, were sleeping.

Termites stayed well out of sight
Snug and safe below,
The morning that the jungle
Got covered in snow.

Tigers, padding through the white,
Didn’t think it fun.
Zebras curled up, sick with cold,
Thought the end had come.

Then the sun, in melting mood,
Said “Cold! It’s time to go!”
And very soon the jungle
Wasn’t covered in snow.