Promptly Poetry

A Moon Lampoon

A Moon Lampoon

The man in the moon
Came down too soon
And asked the way to Norwich*;
He went by the south
And burnt his mouth
By eating cold pease porridge.**

I looked for the place
He’d come from space
And found a great big ladder.
It would make me proud
To pierce the clouds
But not would leave me sadder.

For many a mile
I climbed that stile
To and through the clouds I went,
And the stars drew near,
The moon quite clear,
But space smells of bacon scent.***

To the moon I rose,
Grounded my toes
On that vista of blue cheese.
Walked from Wensleydale
To Roquefort’s vale
And Camembert’s fields of ease.

Oh, I cannot tell
About those smells
Of mighty Gorgonzola;
Saint Agur did pong
And Stilton’s strong****
Amid the streams of cola.

Then I came back home
No more to roam,
Down ladder long and dreary.
I had feasted well,
So strong the smell,
That friends they won’t come near me!


Line Count: 36 (including the first stanza)
Rhyme scheme aabccb, syllables 5-4-7-5-4-7
For Promptly Poetry, Week 51
Prompt: There's a ladder, you can't see where it goes because of the clouds. Where might this ladder to the sky lead?
Notes: The first stanza is actually an old English nursery rhyme to which I have devised an answer.
* Pronounced Norridge by the locals.
** Pease porridge is made of peas, although “pease” is the old, singular form of the word.
*** Astronauts report that, after a space walk, their suits smell of bacon, admittedly overdone.
**** All these cheeses are blue with the one exception of Camembert, which is weird enough to be welcomed among their ranks. I have sampled them all and can attest to both their wonderful, subtle tastes and powerful perfumes!