As some of you may know, as well as holding private creative writing workshops, I also tutor creative writing for the local council. Tutoring adults can be rewarding (discovering wonderful writers), chaotic (my lesson plans are rarely followed – someone will inevitably take things off at a tangent) hilarious (the undiscovered comedian/ the completely unaware comedian) and thought-provoking (especially with memoir writing) Every now and then I like to share some of their work.
Here is a piece written by one of my students after I set them an exercise which ended with the last line, “And this is the room where it happened.”
This is a poem by Alex Abercrombie.
You’re shaken awake from a jittery nap and
The mantelpiece clock shows a quarter to two.
The dog on the mat and the cat on your lap and
The owls in the attic are wakeful too.
There’s a rattle of chains and a loud ringing rap and
A creak of a door and a hullabaloo –
By the light of the moon on the cold foggy dew
A leathery, whiskery, rogue of a chap, and
A girl in a plain cotton smock and a cap and
A red woollen petticoat, float into view.
They say the wench brought the man down with one slap and
A knife in the ribs – though whether that’s true
Or a tall tarradiddle, I haven’t a clue.
But there are some things’ll make anyone snap and
Commit bloody murder and all – and I do
Say it’s not very nice of a toff to entrap and
Abandon a poor village lass. Don’t you?
When all that she got was a dose of the clap and
A bun in the oven (which turned into two)
And this is the room where it happened.
© Alex Abercrombie 2018
You may also like to see a prose piece on the same subject written by another student, Trish Power https://judithbarrowblog.com/2018/01/17/and-this-is-the-room-where-it-happened-thursdaythoughts-pembrokeshire-humour/here
Judith Barrow 
Oh, I love this, Judith. A wonderful story, so concisely told.
I clicked on the link to see Trish Power’s prose piece – and it took me to a list of my own blogs! WordPress gremlins strike again!
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Oh!! Glad you enjoyed Trish’s piece, Mary. Thanks for the heads up on the problem
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Ah, sorry, Mary, knew I shouldn’t have posted so late!! here’s Trish’s link. http://bit.ly/2mL11gD
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This is great. The rhythm and rhyme are such a contrast with the shocking subject matter. Works really well.
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Thank you, Sarah. Your comments are really appreciated.
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Reblogged this on Judith Barrow.
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I really like the entire narrative so succinctly conveyed.
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Thank you, Linda
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So enjoyed reading this Judith. The rhythm and rhyme kept the story afloat, despite the essence of the horror of the story. 🙂 x
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I know, Debby – I realise the outcome of the story is grim but written in such a clever way. Alex writes such good poetry; I’m very proud of him .x
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As you should be! 🙂 xx
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The meter of this reminded me of The House that Jack Built. Grim, but delightful 🙂 ❤
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Oh, yes, you’re right, Tina. Well spotted… or even The Owl and the Pussycat, come to think of it.x
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I forgot about that one 🙂 ❤
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Alex did a wonderful job with this. It was so haunting and sent a shiver down my spine as I’m researching Irish famine orphan girls and I wonder what they went through. Two of them drowned shortly after coming to Australia in a boat accident and I’ve been thinking along the ghost line so this poem felt very pertinent to me.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Thank you, Rowena. Alex will be so pleased with your comments.
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They’re well deserved. I thought you might be interested in reading a poem my soon wrote two years ago aged 12 when he first started high school. They had to write a poem on the topic “Through My Window”. I did give him a bit of help but not alot. https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/2016/02/26/mrs-poem-through-my-window/
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Hi Rowena
Thanks for this, and I do so like your son’s poem about the rabbit. “Imagination overload ALL OVER AGAIN” really struck a chord with me remembering my own childhood! Like you I’m a somewhat confused Christian, in my case with one foot very firmly in the Church and the other waving around looking for a hold somewhere.
Good to hear from you.
Alex
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