Never say you are only in the chorus because without a chorus there is no show!
The following poem comes from
Should I Wear Floral and Other Poems on Life, Love and Leaving
© Di Castle
to be published in April by Matador and is dedicated to all those hardworking thespians who are preparing to go on stage either in a play or in a musical. I think most people will identify with the sentiments.
Sopranos
(with apologies to Gilbert and Sulllivan)
We are the very model of the Operatic chorus sops.
Who put on great performances, that buzz… until the
curtain drops.
We take all our instructions with a duty so reliable.
We need to get it right so all reviews are good and
viable.
Our leader is so cheerful that she keeps us feeling up, you
know.
We Operatic chorus sops preparing for our brand new
show.
Our leader gets us going and she really is incredible
Withstanding interferences from some you might call
‘meddle bull’.
Withstanding interferences from some you might call ‘meddle bull’
The pianist is playing hard and covering up mistakes, you
know,
And costume lady’s running round with measure tape
and things to sew.
Treasurer is selling tickets, sorting stats to fill each row
We’re Operatic chorus sops preparing for our brand new
show.
We’re very good at singing when we have the words in
front of us
But leader says to face the front and leave the sheet away
from us.
She says we sing it once or twice and then we’re told again
to go
We hope this all gets sorted before April when the show’s
in flow
We hope that this gets sorted before April when the show’s in
flow.
We don’t think we are ready for a show that soon will go
on stage.
We are still learning words, crescendos, breathing and…
must hold the page.
And now we’re told to move around, our brains go into
overload,
We cannot do it all without us going into overload.
We cannot do it all without us going into overload.
We have to make a hat that now is looking very
complicate,
For singing Ascot whatsit and we mustn’t walk on much
too late.
Yes, singing Ascot whatsit is what really makes our brains
go pops,
We mustn’t come on late or find ourselves on stage
without our props.
In short we mustn’t come on late or find ourselves without our
props.
We are the very model of the Operatic chorus sops.
Put at the back if we’re too fat and old and grey in case
we flop
We miss our cues, forget our words and cannot dance like
dainty birds
And now conductor splits us up into three groups he calls
three thirds.
Conductor splits us up into three thirds to make us learn our words.
We are the very model of the Operatic chorus sops
Who keep the show a buzzing on the stage until the
curtain drops.
We’ve learnt our words, we know our thirds but now it is
finale time
Our brains go pop, the words now stop but never mind
we’ll use some mime.
Yes, we still keep the show a buzzing on the stage til
curtain drops.
‘Cos we’re the very model of the operatic chorus sops!
LIKE IT?
More poems will appear soon along with the fabulous illustrations by Denise Horn.
you can pre-order the book by emailing details to dcastle32@talktalk.net
My debut, Grandma’s Poetry Book, is available by post via dcastle32@talktalk.net or on my website http://www.dicastle.co.uk .
This poetry collection spans sixteen years capturing the experience of a first-time grandmother on her sometimes wobbly journey in her new role. It includes many facets of unmissable moments and childhood milestones, some humorous and others more poignant, even sad. Such treasured times can easily be forgotten so the book acts as a nostalgic memoir. Touching and funny in turn, readers will be reminded of the joys of witnessing childhood development and the effect o n their own lives. Even those yet to reach grandparenthood including fathers, aunties and primary school children have already enjoyed reading this book. Grandma’s Poetry Book makes an ideal gift for new grandparents, birthdays, Christmas and Mothers’ Day and many readers have returned to buy more copies for friends and relations. Each poem has its own laugh-out-loud illustration by an artist who has been likened to E H Sheppard.
Some comments have included ‘Pam Ayres meets Winnie the Pooh’, ‘made me laugh, made me cry’, ‘charming book’ and ‘every grandparent should have one’.
OUT SOON SHOULD I WEAR FLORAL and other poems on Life, Love and Leaving, By Di Castle and illustrated by Denise Horn.
You can follow me on twitter @dinahcas and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Di-Castle-Writer/266866193324409
