November the Fifth
Listen to Carole Bromley reading her poem
Bonfire night with its wheeshy-whooshing,
Spinning, fizzing, crackling, shooshing,
banging, exploding, ear-drum splitting,
oohing and ahhing and sparkler-spitting,
touch-paper lighting, dark sky igniting,
it’s my favourite, this bonfire nighting
but my poor dog takes refuge and cowers
at the first damp squib of golden showers
and when my dad lights a jumping jack
me and my sister stand well back
wrapped up warm with hands on ears
we watch as the last star disappears
then it’s all pile in for jacket spuds
for ginger bread and toffee puds
parkin, hot chocolate, ginger beer,
all over for another year.
Spinning, fizzing, crackling, shooshing,
banging, exploding, ear-drum splitting,
oohing and ahhing and sparkler-spitting,
touch-paper lighting, dark sky igniting,
it’s my favourite, this bonfire nighting
but my poor dog takes refuge and cowers
at the first damp squib of golden showers
and when my dad lights a jumping jack
me and my sister stand well back
wrapped up warm with hands on ears
we watch as the last star disappears
then it’s all pile in for jacket spuds
for ginger bread and toffee puds
parkin, hot chocolate, ginger beer,
all over for another year.
This poem is copyright (©) Carole Bromley 2024
About the Writer
Carole Bromley
Carole was born in Middlesbrough in the UK and lives in York. She has had pamphlets and collections published and has also won a number of competitions, including the Bridport, the Yorkshire Open, Torbay, Poetry Space and the Bronte Society Literary Prize. Her poems for children have been published in The Caterpillar, in her collection, Blast Off! and in anthologies from MacMillan and Emma Press. She was the winner of the 2022 Caterpillar Prize. Carole will be tutoring a course on writing poems for children at the Garsdale Retreat in October 2024
