• About the Journal
  • Book Reviews/Interviews
  • Masthead
  • Our Special Thanks - Supporters of Three Drops Press
  • Paperbacks (Anthologies and Seasonal Editions)
  • Poetry and Prose Pamphlets
    • Among the White Roots by Bethany W Pope
    • Back to Yesterday by Zöe Broome
    • Constellations by Susan Castillo Street
    • Follow the Stag and Learn to Fly by Anna Percy
    • The Unicornskin Drum by Stella Bahin
    • Under-hedge Dapple by Janet Philo
  • Submissions
    • Call for Submissions: A Face in the Mirror, a Hook on the Door (An Anthology of Urban Legends & Modern Folklore)
    • Upcoming Calls for Submissions
    • Web Journal Submissions

Three Drops from a Cauldron

Three Drops from a Cauldron

Tag Archives: children

1826 by Helen Vivienne Fletcher

23 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by three drops from a cauldron in poetry

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

changeling, children, fairies, folklore, Helen Vivienne Fletcher, poem, poetry

1826

At four years old
he couldn’t speak,
couldn’t stand.

She watched him,
the word
changeling
hiding just behind
her lips.

She bathed him
in the Flesk.
Once.
Twice.
On the third time
the water filled his mouth.

She swore she had only
been trying to drive
the fairy
from him.


Helen Vivienne Fletcher’s poetry has appeared in online and print publications. She’s recently turned her hand to writing for the stage with her first play How to Catch a Grim Reaper, for which she was named Outstanding New Playwright at the Wellington Theatre Awards. She also writes for children, and is a previous recipient of the WCBA New Pacific Studios residency. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand where she teaches creative writing classes for children.

Fed up to the back teeth by Kath Whitehead

02 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by three drops from a cauldron in poetry

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

children, children's poetry, Kath Whitehead, poem, poetry, teeth, tooth fairy

Fed up to the back teeth

My teeth are feeling wobbly,
I can roll them with my tongue,
Some are hanging by a thread
And kind of bungee jump along.

Even teeth get pushed around
By the new ones underneath,
They push and shove the old ones out -
I call these bully teeth!

Losing teeth is not all bad
You can make some easy money,
The going rate’s a pound a time
insurance for being gummy.

Place the tooth under your pillow
And the fairies, if they are willing
Will flutter down and check it out,
You’ll get less though for a filling.

Mum says they only choose the whitest
They recycle them and make
Pearly necklaces of the brightest…
Mum. Give me a break!

Following this sound advice
I placed my tooth quite hasty
Underneath my pillowcase
And hoped for something tasty.

Next morning I woke up to see
A dainty fairy letter,
They were very sorry for my loss
And hoped I felt much better.

They went on further to explain
And I found this rather strange,
They didn’t have a pound this time -
Would I accept loose change!


Kath Whitehead writes poetry for both children and adult audiences, bringing to life the everyday in comic verse but never shying away from more emotive, heartbreaking subjects. She recently starred on The Poetry Show on Sheffield Live TV performing as Guest poet at Chesterfield SpireWrites. Her Train Driver husband often bears the brunt of her wit but we expect it won’t be long before we read about her new role as a first time Nan!

The Blue Children by Nancy Scott

31 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by three drops from a cauldron in poetry

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

children, folklore, legend, Nancy Scott, orphans, poem, poetry, witches

The Blue Children
(or Why You Best Not Go Where the Sun Don’t Shine)

Two children appeared in front of the bookseller’s shop
+++on the last day of December.
Perhaps their skin was blue because it was so cold
+++and they wore thin, strange-looking clothes,
or they’d come from deep below where everyone was blue,
+++never having felt the warmth of the sun.
The good baker and his wife took in the children, outfitted
+++them in proper clothes against the winter chill
and fed them fresh milk and wholesome bread made in
+++the baker’s oven. Soon the children’s skin turned
a bright rosy color. The baker and his wife adopted the two,
+++who now resembled their other six children.

One warm spring night, the boy and girl lured the other
+++children into the woods and coaxed them along
the river that led to the neighboring town.
+++They skipped and twirled with childish glee
until their way was suddenly blocked by a fearsome sight.
+++The wild-looking hag, known as Wollenspit,
had climbed up from a world beneath the river,
+++and was sporting a buzzard on her shoulder.
She had long blue hair, blue skin, and bloody stumps
+++instead of fingers. The children stood terrified.
She’d come to claim her children, but she couldn’t tell
+++which ones were hers. All were rosy colored,
not a single one was blue.

Alas, she said, her voice a rumbling earthquake, my children
+++obviously aren’t here. They’ve escaped for good.
She twisted the buzzard’s head from front to back
+++and disappeared into the river.
The children ran all the way home, climbed into their beds
+++and never spoke a word about what they’d seen.
As for the two who had arrived blue, they didn’t come
+++to breakfast. No one in town ever saw them again.


 

Nancy Scott is managing editor of U.S.1 Worksheets, the journal of the U.S.1 Poets’ Cooperative in New Jersey, which has met continuously since 1973. She has also authored eight collections of poetry on various subjects, including social justice, humor, ekphrasis, memoir, fairy tales, and her career as a social worker assisting homeless families and abused children. She frequently exhibits her collages and acrylics in juried shows and in online and print venues. www.nancyscott.net

The Wanweird by Kath Whitehead

12 Saturday Dec 2015

Posted by three drops from a cauldron in poetry

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

children, comic verse, creatures, forest, Kath Whitehead, poem, poetry

The Wanweird

In the still and windy forest
On a straight and winding path,
The Wanweird takes its time
As it rushes past.

The Wanweird is attractive
In an ugly sort of way,
And he always stays inside
When he goes out to play.

His furry coat is very thick
Which helps to keep him cool,
He’s always very helpful
But is as stubborn as a mule.

Wanweird likes to be alone
Especially in a crowd,
His roar is very quiet
And he whispers very loud.

You will often hear him crying
With tears of joy and laughter,
He always goes before you,
But always gets there after.

The Wanweird is a creature
Who is bad when he is good.
He simply doesn’t understand
Why he’s so misunderstood!


Kath Whitehead writes poetry for both children and adult audiences, bringing to life the everyday in comic verse but never shying away from more emotive, heartbreaking subjects. She recently starred on The Poetry Show on Sheffield Live TV performing as Guest poet at Chesterfield ‘SpireWrites.’ Her train driver husband often bears the brunt of her wit, but we expect it won’t be long before we read about her new role as a first time Nan!

The Taco Hunting Owls of Sacramento by Paul Tristram

22 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by three drops from a cauldron in poetry

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

children, folk tale, folklore, new legend, owls, Paul Tristram, poem, poetry, tacos, usa, Wales

The Taco Hunting Owls of Sacramento

Althea awoke to a swooshing, whooshing sound
and called to Christina in magical, Elven whistle notes
to the crib where she was laying in the arms of sleep.
She yawned, stretched and said “What is it Dada!”
(She couldn’t quite say the word Mama yet)
“I think silly Grandma has left the kitchen window open
and the owls have got in and they’re rifling around
in Aunty Gina’s cupboards and refrigerator looking for tacos!”
There had been a party the night before and there were
lots and lots of delicious, Mexican and Greek leftovers.
Quick as a flash, Christina stomped her legs rapidly together
and flew up and out of the crib like Tigger, only much cuter,
by now she was wearing blue woad and mud on her face.
Christina picked up a shoe and swung it around her head
in a clockwise fashion 5 times and it magically turned
into a big mockingbird with a saddle and reigns on its back.
Althea just managed to open the bedroom door in time
and they flew and glided out and charged the kitchen,
there were 4 owls engaged in this party platter burglary.
There was cake and sandwich pieces strewn everywhere,
but everyone knows a Sacramento Owls favourite food is tacos,
and between the 4 of them they could not find any, yet.
Christina pulled a special catapult her Da had made her
out of Welsh Wizard wood from the Bron – Yr- Aur Zeppelin song,
from out the side of her diaper and fired little hard balls
of poop that she’d been making and baking overnight,
while the Mocking bird, set about the Owls insecurities,
calling one ‘Fat’ one ‘Ugly’ one a ‘Dork’ and even told
one of them to ‘Bag its Head’ and to ‘Gag me with a Spoon’
Well, as you can imagine, the poop and insults were too much
for even Owls have feelings, and they flew back out
of the window and off to whence they came just as Uncle Greg,
Uncle Josh and Uncle Jacob came running in with shotguns
because they’re old-fashioned Americans and believe
that it’s everyone’s right to bare arms and eat lots of bacon.
And that was the end of that, the tacos were of course
hidden in a gun safe buried under the kitchen floor tiles
and could only be opened by 3 kingfisher tears, a goblin toot
and a napkin smeared with pulled-pork juice and beef jerky.
So after everyone refreshed themselves with a glass of root beer,
they all went back to bed because they needed their beauty sleep
for they were all going camping in The Red Woods tomorrow.

 

Paul Tristram is a Welsh writer who has poems, short stories, sketches and photography published in many publications around the world, he yearns to tattoo porcelain bridesmaids instead of digging empty graves for innocence at midnight, this too may pass, yet. Buy his book ‘Poetry From The Nearest Barstool’ at http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1326241036 And also read his poems and stories here! http://paultristram.blogspot.co.uk/

The Boy in the Poem by Françoise Blanchard

16 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by three drops from a cauldron in poetry

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

books, children, fable, fairytale, Françoise Blanchard, imagination, parenting, poem, poetry

The boy in the poem

No sooner had he opened the book that fairies flew out,
Fluttering left and right.
He turned the page carefully
So as not to crush their pale wings.

- Ouch! He cried.
Mom! The dragon on page 63 just bit me!
I turned around from the sink,
Hands soaking in soapy water,
And looked at the boy licking an imaginary wound.

- Dragons can’t bite, honey, because they don’t exist.
Only in books.
- Yes they do! And they bite! And they burn!
I shrugged and turned backed to my dishes.
He fetched a cup of water, “just in case”,
And kept reading.

The kitchen was silent for a while.
I was starting to enjoy the peace
When I heard him gasp.
- Mom! You and I are in a poem!
Does that mean we don’t exist?

Shudders.
- Touché, I uttered.

 

A French woman living in Seoul, South Korea, Françoise Blanchard is currently working on a follow-up to her first two books, Say Chic and Foodie French (http://www.diateino.com/en/18_francoise-blanchard-choi). Poetry, she recently discovered, is a wonderful tool with the power to create magic using just words. The few poems she has published online (in French) are available under Creative Common license (http://accentdecomplexe.weebly.com/). Words and ideas are not meant to be locked away in books that are never opened.

The Devil’s Nursery by David Mark Williams

10 Sunday May 2015

Posted by three drops from a cauldron in poetry

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

children, David Mark Williams, devil, fairytale, poem, poetry, witches

The Devil’s Nursery

Every morning they would usher us in
from the playground where we cowered, trapped
small figures in a shadowy lithograph
bordered with briars and ravens.

Cooing at us, eager to begin,
they said they had never seen
such good children, so sweet they could eat us.
As we sat down, our foreheads cracked like Pavlovas.

The weather they conjured was always bad,
dishrag clouds teeming with fever,
winds with blue faces screaming around corners
to blow us over and how well we would recall
those days when the slow terror of snow
was summoned for all the mothers to cut
straight lines through the white with their wheels.

Always we were urged to draw closer to the fire
kept blazing and unguarded, cracking out sparks.
We feared to move, being wax or wood,
still as puppets until they pulled our strings.

Every afternoon they laid us down to sleep,
each of us parcelled up in single beds,
our eyes reluctant to close while the cut flowers
around the room breathed out a subtle poison.

When the time came, they promised us,
we would all be called.
There would be a place for everyone.
We were such promising material.

 

 

*This piece first appeared in The New Zealand Poetry Society’s anthology, Ice Diver.

David Mark Williams writes poetry and micro fiction. His debut poetry collection will be out from Cinnamon later in 2015, followed by a collection of micro fiction from Liquorice Fish in 2016.

Once more with feeling by Kate Garrett

01 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by three drops from a cauldron in poetry

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bloody mary, children, folklore, ghosts, Kate Garrett, poem, poetry, sleepover, urband legend, usa

Once more with feeling

I’m exactly where they expect
me to be, but hope I’m not.

Alone inside the glass at quarter
past midnight, I turn to the creaking of the door.

The others push her into darkness,
I hear giggles, gasps, see a torch burning cold.

I’m the bad news they wouldn’t want
for themselves, but don’t mind telling.

Inevitably, they call me Mary, the only name
left of the many. I stare at the girl, who gazes

into her painted reflection, eyes big and blue.
She’s a plastic doll. They don’t make children

like they used to. She utters
two words, six times, stops, lip twitching.

My own face has been hidden for years, stuck in here.
Say them, I whisper, once more is all it takes.

 

(originally published in The names of things unseen, in Caboodle from Prolebooks.)

 

Kate Garrett was born thirtysomething years ago in southwestern Ohio, but has called England home since 1999. Her work has been published here and there, and her first pamphlet ‘The names of things unseen’ is part of Caboodle, a six-poet collection from Prolebooks (February 2015). She is a 2016 Pushcart Prize nominee, and the editor of the Slim Volume anthology series, published by Pankhearst. She lives in Sheffield with a man-poet, three trolls, and a cat, and would not-so-secretly rather be a pirate.

 

Three Drops from a Cauldron is a Three Drops Press publication.

Recent Posts

  • Three Drops from a Cauldron: Issue Ten
  • A little holiday break…
  • Three Drops from a Cauldron: Midwinter 2016
  • Three Drops from a Cauldron: Issue Nine
  • Three Drops from a Cauldron: Issue Eight

Archives

  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015

Categories

  • Book Reviews
  • flash fiction
  • Interviews
  • News
  • poetry
  • Seasonal Special
  • Uncategorized
  • Web Journal

Duotrope

Listed at Duotrope

Social

  • View threedropspoetry’s profile on Facebook
  • View threedropspoems’s profile on Twitter

Links

  • Folklore Thursday on Twitter
  • Lore Podcast
  • Promises of monsters
  • The Folklore Society

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.com

Tags

age Apollo britain Celtic children Christianity Christmas death england fable fairies fairy fairytale fairy tale fairytales fairy tales feminism flash fiction folklore forest forests Gareth Writer-Davies ghosts goddess gods Greek greek mythology Halloween history Jennifer A. McGowan legend legends lore love Maggie Mackay magic Marc Woodward Mary Franklin modern myth mythology myths nature poem poet poetry princesses red riding hood reimagining retelling review Samhain Sarah Ghoshal Sarah Thomasin Scotland sea seasonal special sequence series sestina Snow White spooky spring Stella Wulf stories story summer trees usa Wales winter witch witches wolves women

Blog Stats

  • 63,627 hits

Photo credit

Main photo of Red Riding Hood is a public domain image via pixabay user Vika04.

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.