This is my penultimate NaPoWriMo post. It’s the first year I’ve done this challenge – and challenge is the right word: I’ve had to step outside my comfort zone on more than one occasion to produce a poem on the chosen topic or in the chosen style. However, I’ve also learned a lot – I now know what a triolet is, for example. Today’s challenge asked me to write about the family pet – we don’t have any pets, but we do have pet substitutes in the form of stuffed toys that have been around for so long (my youngest child is now 16) that they’ve developed their own personalities and tend to join in conversations or get up to all sorts of things when nobody’s looking. So, in the absence of an animate furball, this is my

Ode to a Stuffed Lion

Large, furry hips but a

squishable, squashable shape,

he rules the roost: the Alpha-male in a

house full of humans.

By day, he dreams of

scampering across the

Serengeti,

in search of elusive wildebeest –

but then everything’s a wildebeest

in Jeffrey’s eyes.

Early morning sees him

sitting at the breakfast table,

not wanting to miss out

on anything;

whereas after the evening’s

repast, you’ll find him

sitting on the sofa, wedged between his

parents in the ultimate

viewing position.

He has a tartan tie for special

occasions and a

nightcap to wear to bed.

He’s less trouble than a cat and

he doesn’t trigger my allergies.

All in all, he’s a bit of

a superstar.