Loading...

‘Celia’ by Ashlyn Butler

by nike, May 4, 2015

So many talented students! I am blessed with a great many talented writing students, and am really pleased when they’re brave enough to allow me to share their work with you. Today’s poem was produced after the first-run of the first half of a course that’s partly about writing poetry.

Ash is a university student currently studying a bachelor of arts at USQ, majoring in writing and society. She did most of her growing up in Rockhampton, Queensland, but her first few years of high school were spent doing Australian distance education in a Japanese middle school in Sendai, Japan. Now she lives closer to her extended family in Toowoomba. You can find her writing blog at thewritingrevival.tumblr.com. It is a new writing blog.


Water NixiesCelia

Part 1

In a land out west where the sky is green
And the dogs do nothing but sit and preen;
Where the birds sing low with their baritone voice,
And the cats are the ones with a hard life choice.
Lives a girl names Celia
Just Celia today.

In a land out west where the sky is green
And the air has a sort of glossy sheen;
A girl named Celia plays with her toys
And isn’t yet interested in girls or boys
But there she lives
And there she gives

In a land out west where the sky is green
And the fish fly higher than ever seen
This girl named Celia lays down to sleep
And she dreams of diving so very deep

To a place in the east where the sky may be blue
And the grass, why, it’s more of a greenish hue
Where the birds, not the fish soar high in the sky
And the ants come along to steal her pie
Where
The
Wind
Doesn’t
Blow
From
Up
To
Down
But side to side around the town.

In a land out west where the sky is green
Little miss Celia sleeps and dreams
Of a place to which she cannot return
But once each night when the fire burns
When the stars are bright and the wind, it howls
Tis only then she can follow the owls

To a secret place where dreams collide
With the ghost of a man to be her guide

Little miss Celia: middle name Harriett
Picks up her skirts and boards her chariot

In a land out west where the sky is green
And her chariot sits with a golden gleam
Miss Celia lights a fire on her candle
Knowing it shan’t be too hot to handle.
Her boat: inlayed with gold and black
Carries her down along the track
A well used road of silver and white
All glistening rainbows thanks to her light
It carries her off to visit her dreams
With Celia wrapped up and ready, it seems

Part 2

In a land down south wrapped in Celia’s dreams
Lives a dragon, his scales all golds and greens
He sleeps on his gold and munches on girls
Impressing the knights with his wings he unfurls
He’s not dang’rous, not really, despite all the talk
Although take a look at his cave, and then you might balk
He doesn’t like to clean, not if he can help it
He makes the girls do it or the knights–he’s a foul git

In a land down south wrapped in Celia’s dreams
Lives an elf maiden who lives in the streams
A naiad I believe is the technical term
Be careful though, their eyes, they can burn
A look or a glare that’s all it can take
A bit longer with this one though–she’s a fake
Holds her breath when she’s under, as long as she can
It’s only ‘cause she fell in love with a man.

In a land torn in two- the good and the bad
Which should Celia pick, it’s making her mad
To the good perhaps, to see the elf maiden
Or the bad, maybe to see the knight Hayden
She’s only ten though, she can’t decide
Either way her ghost will give her a ride.

In a land down south wrapped in Celia’s dreams
Where a sparkle in a little boys eye, it gleams
The dragon and the elf are just mem’ries or thoughts
And the boy doesn’t wash, though really he ought
He sits with a smile on the doorstep of home
Wondering when it’ll be his turn to roam
Over the hills to fight dragons and elves
Not running errands and stocking the shelves

In a land down south wrapped in Celia’s dreams
Lives magic floating like dust motes it seems
It gets in your hair and into your eyes
It sits on your photographs, laptops and pies
It’s unruly and crude, mischievous, funny
If you’re not careful it will take your money
So they lock it up tight in a magic proof box
With thousands, and thousands and thousands of locks.

                        In a land torn in two – the good and the bad
There is ever so much more fun to be had
You can sit on the rooftops and drop snow on the pixies
Or sit behind trees and throw leaves at the nixies
Neither will forgive you, that point’s for certain
But it’s good Celia’s chosen, clap for Celia Harriet Burton

Part 3

In a land out west where the sky is green
And a land down south wrapped in Celia’s dreams
And a land in the east where the sky may be blue
And a land torn in half – good, bad, yeah that’s two
Lives a girl named Celia Harriett May Burton
She’s ten, we think, although we’re not certain
She dreams up these worlds as she’s falling asleep
It’s better- we think – than counting no sheep
She sleeps all through the day, and through the night too
She thinks up colours green, red, silver, blue
She sleeps with her dog we don’t know it’s name
For he’s sleeping too gaining a mountain of fame
We’re scientists see watching Celia’s travels
On a screen to my left she’s playing with Zabels *
*please note she’s made up these zabel things
they’re made up of sounds: bings bongs, clangs and clings

I feel I should warn you, whatever you think
Now you know, trust us, you won’t want to blink
Keep a light on at night and leave open the door
The sleep we’re all getting is really quite poor
These things that she’s playing with these Zabels of sorts
They’re scary and loud, they can enter your thoughts.
So keeps the lights on and don’t trust the dark
Don’t go to your car, don’t go to the park
Stay indoors if you can, for they’re everywhere now
I believe it’s quite time for my final bow

I’ll wrap it up quick- that’s all, this is it.
I feel I should say Goodbye now oh sh–

No Comments


Leave a Reply

Subscribe now!

Enter your email address to subscribe to perilous adventures and receive notifications of new posts by email.