Val Chapman in character as An’ All That Jazz and Mary Heys, Peterloo
Tag Archives: Val J. Chapman
Dear Life by Val J Chapman
Dear Life
I awoke slowly today, carefully.
Yesterday still owned me.
I have sailed through my life
And all its choppy waters, rough.
Sinking sometimes, gasping breathlessly at others.
Love was always around, in all its many guises.
Sometimes it danced; sometimes it kicked,
And sometimes it left.
Left me, still loving, yet empty.
And the clock ticked, its fingers circling rapidly.
Until death touched me, sharply.
And the years ticked again, loudly.
Speaking to me then as friends.
Dear Life, you taught me severely.
Yet now I feel the peace, coming almost full circle, with love.
Complete, satiated.
And I heard what you taught me, with thanks.
© October 2021 Val J Chapman
Val J. Chapman, It Flickered and Shone
James Nash was with us for our August Workshop, the writers were asked to write a piece then go back to it in the workshop and edit it. I have included both drafts from our talented secretary, Val so you may see how work can develop.
Ray Stearn, Chair, TCWG
‘It Flickered and Shone’
(First Draft)
It lit up my life, as I read by its light
Under the covers, in the darkness I lay
Until the noise was gone
Only then did I switch it on.
It lit up the pages, the print of the ages
The torch in my young hand
My guilty pleasure.
And then I heard a footstep land
And my Mum say “Val, are you asleep?”
“Yes, Mum”, I said, and shook my head.
————————————————————————————————————————————————-
(Second Draft)
I lay there in the darkness until the noise was gone.
Only then did I switch it on.
It lit up my life, as I read by its light.
It flickered and shone, and then it was gone.
It lit up the pages, the print of the ages.
The torch in my hand, until I heard a footstep land.
It flickered and shone, and then it was gone.
Under the covers, in darkness I lay
Until I heard my Mum say
“Val, are you asleep?”
“Yes, Mum”, I said, and shook my head.
It flickered and shone, and then it was gone.
© August 2021 Val J Chapman
April Fool’s Day : Spaghetti Tree by Val J. Chapman
April Fool’s Day : Spaghetti Tree
“Can I have some money, Mum?”
My young son said to me.
“What for?” I asked,
“And how much do you want?”
He replied, “Only 50p”
“It’s a surprise”, he said,
“So I can’t tell you,
But I know you’ll like it
‘Cause I saw it on TV”.
“Go on then, if that’s all you want”,
I said, offering the required amount.
And off he skipped to the local shop
In search of a spaghetti tree.
(I knew that, ‘cause I’d seen it too)
And I knew what would happen next.
My son just loved spaghetti,
And until now hadn’t known it was
Manufactured, not grown, or sown.
I waited patiently for his return,
Preparing myself for tears.
I pictured his face when he found out the truth,
Though it didn’t transpire as I’d feared.
He ran in the door with a box in his hand
Which rattled as he ran.
Turned out the shopkeeper knew of the scam
And had stuck labels on all his packets.
“Plant it in a pot and water it weekly”, he’d said,
And you’ll soon see you have a spaghetti tree”.
© Val J. Chapman 1st April 2021
