He poked his ear

And scratched his head

And pondered on the state,

Of everything

And everywhere,

And ditty’s dreadful fate.

His editor was ruthless,

Razor tongued and vile.

A foul and ghastly ogre,

Who bathed in bitter bile.

Dear ditty died of innocence,

Verse slashed by analytics.

He couldn’t cope within a world

Of harsh and horrid critics.

And  now each day is darker,

One ditty’s light extinguished.

He’ll twinkle on in memory,

Posthumerously distinguished.

 

 

©  Copyright Philip Barton, June 28th, 2025 All rights reserved

If all men stopped pretending

That they’re busy every day.

To their business they’ve been tending

From their youth until they’re grey.

How much time would be on show

And would the future move away?

Or would the speed of time just slow

So yesterday’s today?

 

© Copyright Philip Barton 2nd May 2017. All rights reserved.

 

I had a rather nasty fall,

Which took me by surprise.

My nose got stuck within one ear.

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

 

© Copyright Philip Barton, February 13th, 2026. All rights reserved

I set out to write something sensible,

Something meaningful,

Clever

And smart.

But it all fell away in a childish display

When I realised that line rhymed with ‘fart’.

 

© Copyright Philip Barton 28th May 2009. All rights reserved

Words can be thought of as families,

Some are perfect and others quite gross.

And some are estranged,

Or completely deranged,

Some happy and others morose.

But each has their place in the balance

Of a world that is tuned to perfection.

For all of their quirks,

Their place in it works,

It just takes a bit of reflection.

 

© Copyright Philip Barton 4 February 2017 All rights reserved

A zebra ate

an alligat…

or was it another critter?

Whatever it was

the zebra thought

it tasted rather bitter.

 

© Copyright Chris Hayden 5th Feb 2026. All rights reserved.

I washed my hair as usual,

One otherwise ordinary morning.

Then a sudden cough

And one ear fell off.

So let that be a warning.

 

© Copyright Philip Barton 17 March 2008 All rights reserved

When markets rise it’s no surprise

Your government takes the credit.

It’s a cleverness and vision thing,

Bold leadership that led it.

But when markets fall and suffering starts

It’s business thugs who bled it.

Those greedy corporate crooks are jailed

And your government takes the credit.

 

© Copyright Philip Barton 24 November 2014 All rights reserved

First breath in and then breath out,

Is a rule to never flout.

And after lying down from strain,

Make sure you stand back up again.

To ensure your life is kept on track,

Don’t have a major heart attack.

These rules will keep you safe and sound,

Not decomposing underground.

 

© Copyright Philip Barton 5 September 2008 All Rights Reserved