"Sip a Zonata or nibble a Nog"

  Det blir ytterligare en antologi med roliga barndikter på engelska. Den här gången heter skaparen Colin West. Han är inte bekant för mig sen tidigare. Bokens rim är oftast mer fåniga än roliga, tycker jag. Men tre texter ur "Never nudge a budgie!" får ni.

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Sir Hector, by Colin West
(from Never nudge a budgie : 100 funny poems. London : Walker Books, 2015.)

Sir Hector was a spectre
and he loved a lady ghost -
at midnight he'd collect her
and he'd drive her to the coast.

And there upon the shingle
they would rattle all their bones,
and ocean sounds would mingle
with their melancholy moans.

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  Så här presenterar sig Colin West på sin hemsida.

"Colin West was born in 1951 and studied Graphic Design at Wolverhampton Polytechnic, and Illustration at the Royal College of Art, London.

Shortly after graduating in 1975, his first book, a collection of nonsense verse was published.  Since then he has written over sixty more children's books, and aims to continue till he runs out of ideas!" Källa: colinwest.com

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The blunderblat, by Colin West
(from Never nudge a budgie : 100 funny poems. London : Walker Books, 2015.)

Until I saw the Blunderblat
I doubted its existence -
but late last night with Vera White
I saw one in the distance.

I reached for my binoculars,
which finally I focused -
I watched it rise into the skies
like some colossal locust.

I heard it hover overhead,
I shrieked as it came nearer -
I held my breath, half-scared to death,
and prayed it might take Vera.

And so it did, I'm glad to say,
without too much resistance -
dear Blunderblat, I'm sorry that
I doubted your existence.

***

  Efter den märkliga synen tar vi igen oss i skuggan under ett träd i Wallabagoo. Den här dikten har det mest fantasifulla ordmakeriet i samlingen.

Wallabagoo, by Colin West
(from Never nudge a budgie : 100 funny poems. London : Walker Books, 2015.)

I'm glad that I live here in Wallabagoo,
there's always a zillion things you can do -
you can lie in the shade of a Tippety Tree
and watch as a Bottle Bee lands on your knee.

You can sip a Zonata or nibble a Nog
or hear the far call of the wild Jitterjog.

It's better than living in Mumble-on-Murk,
for when you live there, all you do is hard work.
There are Fiskets to fill up and Coggles to turn
and seventeen Scrudles a year's all you earn.
Yes, happy am I here in Wallabagoo.
I bet that you'd like to be living here too!