Happy to say that my infinite number of monkeys clacking away at a keyboard trying to produce a lucid piece of writing phase seems to have borne some fruit! Presenting to you my first children’s book: CURIOUS ANIMALS, A CLOUD, A FRUIT AND A FLOWER. This collection of poems comes straight from the funny, quirky cockles of the heart. With little stories ranging from the grumpy caterpillar, to the shy tomato, to how the okapi got its name, these short stories entertain, inform and also bring out a giggle or 4! Both, children and adults will enjoy this vibrantly illustrated, lyrical story-telling. Print copies will be available in Sri Lanka next week (hopefully!). I’m going to try and make them available in Pakistan soon too. The KINDLE e-version is currently available on Amazon at:
La de da de da, sang the Arum As she rustled her giant leaves It was her seventh birthday today And she was oh so very pleased!
She was feeling especially grand today As she nestled her very first bud She was going to flower any day A thing of beauty rising from the mud.
That night when the moon was high in the sky In the lush rainforest of Sumatra The Titan Arum sat in prideful state As her bud blossomed into flower
She giggled and shook her big big leaves Sending out waves of her special pong Her smell reminds some of smelly cheese Others of socks that have been worn too long!
The rotting smell is a sweet bouquet For dung beetles and flesh flies They settle onto the new bloom Inhaling her smells with happy sighs
The magnificent flower stays facing the sun A splash of burgundy red colour Its frilly edges rippling in the wind - An upturned bell on the forest floor.
Three days and nights the Arum flower blooms And then collapses onto the ground Its short life was one big adventure Of funky smells and insect sounds!
Seven years on, there will be a new bud For forty years this cycle will repeat But in between the hulking plant returns To its quiet life on its hillside steep.
In the rain forests of Nicaragua There’s the cutest little animal Always smiling, forever lounging He keeps his movements to a minimal
Even though he is quite blind And lives his life in slow motion He can remember all the place he goes He’s also the pull-up world champion!
He’s three times as strong as you and me And yet he eats only a leaf a month Smiling and blinking, hugging and napping He does only super slow things for fun
One day Slow Mo fell off his tree Remember, his movements are very slow He dropped down a hundred feet Crashing into the plants below
But lo and behold! He was whole Unhurt he crawled out of the brush It took him four days and twenty one hours To ever so slowly climb back up
He decided he didn’t like such adventures Because Slow Mo also had vertigo And as he was climbing he had an odd feeling That his ears had changed places with his toes!
But he made it back home, a smile on his face As he settled himself at the top of his tree He took three hours to pick a flower And once more began his slow motion feast
A lovely musical sound is heard From the rainforests of Queensland Also the whirr of an electric saw And the toots and da-dums of a marching band
They’re not the sounds of a jungle party Nor a trumpeter tuning his instrument It’s just the superb lyre bird Showing off his many vocal talents
He can be found in the theatres he builds In the shrubs of his forest abode In which he dances like a prima donna For all the girls in his neighbourhood
He fans out his beautiful tail The girls all watch with interested eyes He’ll then take two steps forward One step back, three to the side
He then goes up to the nearest bird And asks her if she likes his dance If she says “Oh yes I do good sir!” Well, then its the start of a little romance
The superb lyrebird sets out to impress Not one girl but a whole lot of them He’ll sing for up to four hours a day Until every last one is in love with him
Every year he puts up ever more Beautiful acts of song and dance Better and better are his displays As he entertains his special audience
If you ever chance to come across An especially friendly lyre bird Say something to him a few times And he may just say your magic word
Kaboom! Boom! Biff! Biff! Thud! That’s the sound you hear from this stomatopod As she attacks her enemies big and small Breaking them up shells, claws and all
She’s a warrior of an ancient line Fierce and strong is this lass She can punch the living daylights out Of anyone who shows her sass
She has independently roaming eyes Nothing escapes her frightening glare Your friend and you can run and hide Ms. Mantis will follow you each with her stare
Miss Mantis Ali has many friends They even have a secret code Their bodies sparkle in the sun As they dance in their shallow pool homes
She has a cousin whom she loves Who lives in the warm Pacific waters They meet up once in a while And get up to all sorts of fun and laughter
If you ever come very near her home In the warm waters of the Indian ocean She’ll puff out her chest and growl at you And get her boxer mode full on
And there we leave Miss Mantis Ali Of the Mantis Shrimp family Boxing champion of all the oceans Fearless fighter of all the seas.
Mahvash Mohtadullah 