SKEDADDLE 2

MTB: Revisiting Cascade Poems

Skedaddle!
(original)
(This was written after my first visit to a greyhound race meeting. Some of the words used are Loosely based on the names of the dogs’ names.)

Vacant tote skedaddles away with loot,
Westfield Eleanor going like a bullet,
Wreck it Rolo ruins his run,
Splaattt.
Winners for your two slippery rascals,
A golden wind blowing for totes.
Bombay puzzle tree felled,
By waste of space on race card 115,
Whoosh,
Romeo Wolfe beating oh so sluggish,
Wiping out the tote’s banter,
Their personal service defunct.
Race course sponsors still believe,
Fabulous glamour still lives on,
Biesterfield Bullet taken out at last,
 Kerblamy
Lemming forced rioting in the stands,
  Future unsure fun memories made.
© 27/05/2024 rog leach

thanks to Merrill @#dversepoetspub we are writing cascade poems this evening. As you can see i have transformed an old poem into this form. i thought it would suit this poem.

Skedaddle!
(In Cascade form)

Vacant tote skedaddles away with loot,
Westfield Eleanor going like a bullet,
Wreck it Rolo ruins his run,
Splaattt.

 Winners for your two slippery rascals,
A golden wind blowing for totes.
Vacant tote skedaddles away with loot.

Race course sponsors still believe,
Fabulous glamour still lives on with,
Westfield Eleanor going like a bullet.

Bombay puzzle tree felled,
By waste of space on race card 115,
Whoosh,
Wreck it Rolo ruins his run.

Biesterfield Bullet taken out at last Kerblamy
Lemming forced rioting in the stands,
Splaattt.
© 05/02/2026 rog leach

city challenge.

Poetics: The Smile in a Simile

Hello all this got me going tonight so here is my attempt at the simile prompt.

City challenge.
#simile, #dversepoetrypub.

The buildings rise like ant hills,
From the concrete desert,
Sodium orange glow welcoming you.

Pigeons swirl around rooftops,
Like teenagers around rock gods,
Neon lights calling, calling.

City challenging me to enter,
My teenage whims caught up,
In the bright neon’s.

My heart beating to the rhythm,
Of rock and roll, like lava 
Through my parent’s icy fear.

First concert opens my ears,
To a live supported by my first love,
MUSIC.

© 03/02/2026 rog leach

The first band I ever got to see in concert in the big smoke was an Aussie group called Midnight Oil and this is the song that persuaded me to .

Tongue tripped

Quadrille #240: Fill, Zip, Trip

taken at Bushey performing arts festival

Back in AUGUST of 2024 at a meeting of one of the poetry groups I attend on a regular basis. Almost everybody who shared a poem or three got tongue tied and tripped over their tongue. I wrote this to share at the next meeting, not quit a quadrille.

Tongue tied.

Brain faster than tongue,
Twisted words, twisted thoughts,
Tongues tripping on words,
Mind tripping on acid.

Tongues falling over lost words,
Wishes wanting, wanting to be given,
Gibberish kicking in,
Throwing ability, spoken word ability.

Brain awkwardly fidgets,
Against tongue tied gibberish,
Tongue twisted into tied knots,
Absurd caterwauling’s getting weaker.

Numb mind grasps control back,
Twisted and tied tongue permanent?
Not on my watch, not on my watch,
Words full of life, just fighting to get born!

© 24/09/2024 rog leach

Tonight’s #dversepoetrypub quadrille prompt has us tripping over our words to create a wonderful 44 word poem.

Trippy tongues.
(Tongue tied #quadrille edition)


Tongues tripping on words,
Mind tripping on acid.

Tongues falling over lost words,
Tripped,
Gibberish kicking in,
Throwing ability, spoken word ability.

Brains awkwardly fidgeting,
Against tongue tied gibberish,
Tongue twisted into tied knots.

Trippy words full of life,
Just fighting to get born.

26/01/2026 rog leach

upside down

Quadrille #239: Smile!

Upside down!
#quadrille.

Turning frowns upside down,
Always, always a good friend.

Sweet treats upside down,
Sticky, sticky sour shoes.

Turning my black brain upside down, 
Smile, you sick f****s.

Sweet treats upside down,
Sticky. Sticky sour shoes.


Turning frowns upside down,
Always, always a good friend.

© 12/01/2026 rog leach

welcome back #Dversepoetrypub. trying to smile through a scrambled head after returning to work after to long a break. where i sat not doing much for longer than I normally  do.

Heading home, #quadrille.

Quadrille 237: Zero

Heading home.
#dversepoetrypub, #wordatthewharf, #quadrille.

Heading home, warm bed awaits,
Hibernation craved,
Zero till home.
Tired.

Two-mile snow 🌨 tunnel,
Beckons me through,
Muted world.
Hush.

Footprints lead the way, into darkness
Who’s’, I wonder?
Another adventurer?
Perhaps.

Swallowed by silent obscurity, 
Calmness descends,
My footprints added,
Zero fear.

© 01/12/2025 rog leach

Thanks Melissa for a fun word for tonight’s quadrille @ #dversepoetrypub. I have also included hibernate from Decembers writing prompt for a monthly spoken word evening called word at the wharf. The pic was taken a few years back when I had to walk home in the snow.