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NASTURTIUMSWhy did I weed you out? Your autumn fireIs what the borders need. Scarlet and goldRun rampant, through the fence, along the wire,You fill the gaps. Stop summer growing old.

And here the bees I haven’t seen all yearAre bumbling, fumbling, busy at your lipsAnd zipping down your throats. To your long rearYou tempt them, tubes with nectar at the tips.

Four generations since I planted youAnd heaved you out among the plants you flattened. Now, weakened, corralled, I’ll give you your due:We need this bonfire, on the wall you’ve brightened.

Obstinate friend, just scatter a few seedsTo jazz us up next year, as autumn needs.

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SUMMER’S END : DRAGON & MOUSE - 1The mouse sat on the hedge. The cat came past. “Where have you been?” said the cat. “You were not here. Were you on holiday?”“It was festival time,” said the mouse. “We flew to a music festival.”

HELICOPTERS TO THE RESCUE“Vrroom,” Leo and Paul circled their helicopters over the plastic people scattered on the rug. Leo swooped down and scooped two figures into his hand and onto the helicopter. “The hospital is over there. Follow me,” he commanded. Paul scooped up two plastic figures and made his helicopter follow. Sascha was in the control tower. “Emergency, emergency,” she declared. “Fire out of control in Chelsea. All units attend.” Leo and Paul laid their plastic passengers in the area they had called hospital, and looked round, startled. “Where’s Chelsea?” asked Leo. “Over here,” called Munak. He had already built a tall lego tower and was putting another together rapidly. “Fill your tanks with water, Paul,” Sascha ordered. “No, no,”she contradicted herself. “The French helicopters are coming to spray water. You have to rescue the people from the roof.” Munak stopped work on the second tower, and perched a tiny person on each roof. Leo and Paul, circled, hovered, and scooped each person to safety. Mrs Turner was impressed. Had her class found a new solution, a truly International Rescue to save lives in unsafe tower blocks? If only it could be financed.

SUMMER’S END : DRAGON & MOUSE - 2The mouse sat on the hedge. The cat sat under the hedge. “What did you do at the festival,” asked the cat.“Do you like music?” “Oh, yes,” said the mouse.“I went to the festival and listened to the music.I ran under the chairs and sat at the front.Sometimes I danced under the chairs. The dragon stayed in the sky and directed the helicopters.

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The sky was full of helicopters.The dragon did not want any helicopters to crash.”

GENIES AT A FESTIVAL Bigwan, Sparks and Epaminondas floated through the trees. “Music gets close to magic,” said Bigwan, rocking to the vibes. “Yo, bruv,” said Sparks, hopping to his own little rhythm. Epaminondas floated ahead. They crossed different clearings in the woodland, where bands from different countries were playing traditional tunes. Fiddles, flutes and pipes, drums, guitars and singing lifted their spirits as they hovered past. They jigged with traditional dancers, and listened with children round a story-teller. The sound of the weirdest music yet led them to a huge, open-sided marquee. They floated inside. On stage, the singers looked like a vision from Tales of the Arabian Nights: five beautiful women in gorgeous silk baggy trousers and dresses were warbling strange throaty music. The genies swayed on the scented air. Scented? Bigwan sniffed suspiciously. “Huh,” he muttered. “Look at the people’s faces.” “Some of them look half asleep,” said Epaminondas. “Or half dead, even,” said Sparks. “I bet they’re smoking silly drugs,” said Bigwan. “They bought expensive tickets, and now some of them aren’t even listening to the music.” Sparks started to giggle. “Oops,” he said. “I’m starting to feel wobbly too. We’d better float above their smoke.” “Up we go,” said Bigwan, “into the clear air.” High up, they bobbed to the beat of the drum, as the women’s beautiful voices rose and fell.

SUMMER’S END : DRAGON & MOUSE - 3The dragon landed on the hedge.“Hello,” said the cat. “Have the helicopters gone home?”“Yes,” said the dragon. “Phew, no crashes this year.Plenty of sunshine. Not much cloud, not much rain. Days and days of good weather for flying.”

SYREENA’S CV Syreena the mermaid was sitting on her rock, staring at the computer. “What are you doing?” asked Douglas the fish. “Trying to write my

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cv,” answered Syreena. “What’s a cv?” asked Douglas. Syreena frowned at the screen. “It’s short for two Latin words, ‘curriculum vitae’,” she explained. “Curriculum means ‘a little run’ and vitae means ‘of life’, so it’s a quick run through your life; a list of things you have done and exams you have passed and jobs people thought you were good at.” “You are good at lots of things,” said Douglas, loyally. “No wonder you are thinking hard.”A few hours later, Syreena emailed her cv, and went to float with Douglas in his tank. “It’s always kind of you to let me share,” said Syreena, “but it is cramped, isn’t it. Let’s go for a real swim.” She gripped the edge of the tank and pulled herself over, and rolled onto her skateboard. Quickly she collected Douglas and laid him on her back. “Off we go!” At the river bank, she tucked the skateboard into its hiding-place and she and Douglas dived into the water and swam tothe lake.Syreena was astonished to see how many mermaids had arrived, all hoping to get involved in the famous All Creatures festival. They were spread out around the lake, a glamorous mix of beautiful faces and arms, and shining tails. Almost all were brushing their hair, while just a few were putting on their earrings, pouting in their mirrorsto see what looked best. Some were chattering nervously; some were brooding and silent. Syreena listened to the chat and reread her cv. “We’ll be waiting for hours,” she said. “There are so many of us.” “Do you mind if I swim back to some salt water and wait for you there?” asked Douglas. “Fresh water makes me too tired after a while.” “OK,” smiled Syreena. “I’ll see you at the coast.” She swam among the other mermaids, feeling how nervous they were. “Have you come far?” she asked a small, pretty mermaid. “From near Japan,” the girl answered, “with my friends.” “That’s our direction,” said a strong Australian voice. Syreena turned and saw a strong, smiling mermaid with even more blond hair than usual. “I’m so bored with waiting. Let’s do something,” continued the Australian. “Siren Voices choir,” suggested an Italian voice. “Synchronised swimming,” said a Danish voice. The nearest mermaids clustered together, deciding whether to sing or swim. As they began, the rest of the

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mermaids gradually noticed. Soon everyone had joined in, forming teams and devising routines, or clustering in groups and singing beautiful harmonies. When Ed the organiser and Cicero the secretary bird looked out to tell the mermaids who they would interview first, they were amazed to seewhat looked like a new festival: groups of dipping, bobbing, singing mermaids all over the lake. “Wow, what a start for next year!”

SUMMER’S END : DRAGON & MOUSE - 4The cat looked at the dragon. “I wish I could fly,” said the cat.“That is a hint,” said the dragon. “I know that is a hint.Climb on my tail and we’ll go flying.”The cat sat on the dragon’s tail. The mouse sat on the dragon’s head. Away they flew.

TWO NEW VASES Mrs Mann unwrapped the new vases and put them on a shelf. She hadseen them in a charity shop and could not resist buying them. Both of them were beautiful and quite unusual. The medium-sized vase was dark brown with bright flares of rusty orange, as if a fire had been captured in its shining glaze. The small plump vase beside it had a pearly sheen. Its comfortable shape cried out to be cuddled. Mrs Mannsighed happily and went out into the garden. The three genies had returned from their tour of summer music festivals. As soon as Mrs Mann had gone, they floated out of their vases to stare at the new ones. Bigwan tapped the brown vase gently: Ching-ching! “Top quality,” he said approvingly. “Who are they for?”asked Sparks. “We’ve all got somewhere to live. Do you think there are more genies on the way?” Epaminondas floated all round both vases. He rubbed the small pearly one thoughtfully: “Anybody home?” he asked politely. They waited hopefully, but no-one emerged.They floated up and peered over each rim: empty!

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HARVEST HOPESGather up the harvest, all that summer broughtAll the plums and raspberries, all you grew and caught. Potatoes, peas and radishes, towering gladioli, Love ’n labour on the allotment, beans that reach the sky.

Bundle up the memories, all you’ve seen and done:The moors, the streams, the seaside; fresh air and shining sun;Games and views and friendship; laughter by the pool;Planes and trains and mountains; drinks to keep you cool.

The pain can be forgotten: lost luggage, aching back,The frost that nipped the blossom and threw the spring off-track;The swirl that nearly drowned you; the boredom of a queue;The goal you couldn’t run for when you fell over a shoe.

Jars of jam and chutney, and now the freezer’s full;I’m drying chinese lanterns and honesty, beautiful.Lavender between linen, perfume to lift our prayers;Sweet sage hangs in the kitchen; mint dries above stairs.

In the dried-out poppies, seeds rattle in the wind.No need to fret for next year. Nature has it all in mind. Under the fading roses, forget-me-nots prepare.From all the best of this year, let’s plant a strong new year.

SUMMER’S END : DRAGON & MOUSE - 5The dragon flew near Leeds.“The last music festival was here,” said the mouse.“They are still tidying up. I think tidying up costs more than the music.

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TWO NEW VASES - 2“I know what these can be for,” said Bigwan. “Pantomime season is coming. All the Aladdin pantos will be looking for genies; not just one, remember; they need two each: a genie of the lamp and a genie ofthe ring. This will be a great way to audition them. Let’s ring some agents and start auditioning.” “What has that to do with these vases?” asked Epaminondas. “I can guess,” said Sparks. “If they choose the shiny brown vase, they’ll be great lamp genies. If they prefer the small pearly vase, they’ll be ring genies.” “Absolutely,” said Bigwan, “and when we’ve organised all the genies for the pantomimes, perhapssome new genies will arrive, and these vases will be all ready for them.”

SUMMER’S END : DRAGON & MOUSE - 6The dragon flew down and landed on the hill. “Look,” said the mouse. “Here are lots of mice, Helping to tidy up.”The mice were running through the rubbish, nibbling and nibbling. “Squawk,” said a seagull. The seagulls were diving on the rubbish, looking for anything to eat.“Look out,” said the mouse. “Don’t eat me. I am not rubbish.”“Meow,” said the cat. “This is not very safe.The seagulls might eat both of us.Let’s fly away quickly.” The cat sat on the dragon’s tail. The mouse sat on the dragon’s head. Away they flew.The dragon thought: “Hmph, toasted seagull!No. Not here. It would taste of rubbish!”

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~ CRAFTY CREATOR ~I was mugged in a charity shop I thrust the kit back on a shelf.By a rug kit, still in its box, “If not you, who?” it wept,Untouched, though forty years old; “For six pounds!” You’ve guessed:Such a bargain! and still unsold. I relented; Brought it home. “I must be demented.”

“It’s mine now. I’d better get started. Twelve squares by twenty-five;A challenge. Not chicken-hearted.” Each, thirty-six tufts ! To survive,I didn’t understand the pattern, I twizzled and pulled, frenetic,So planned and plotted a new one. Single-minded and blinkered, fanatic.

Eight months of prodding and hooking, It’s rolled up now, for safety.Of counting rows, and looking No good for spilling coffee. For final scraps of colour - No good for rampant children.Ebay, my project’s saviour. (I’ll pen them in the garden.)

Our God has plans and a pattern, He’s not rolled it up, for safety.And watches over Creation, Risk is part of God’s strategy. Complex and ever-evolving. His resources far outstrip Ebay. Can we help Him, problem-solving? We’ll admire it with Him, someday.

Written, typed and circulated by F.Mary Callan, English Martyrs' York, 2017

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Formatted as A4, to be printed as A5 booklet