Das waren die Vorgaben zum Gedicht – „Time to Sing ‚Ahoy!'“ -> So sollte es werden
Und hier nun das Gedicht selbst:
Time to Sing „Ahoy!“
The day Jonah turned one year old
was very cold, as I was told.
October 1st, 2012 –
“We need some fairies, and some elves!”
That’s what Jonah’s dad cried out,
quite loud.
“Fairies! Elves!
To Celebrate!
Come out here, before it is too late!”
(For it was 8pm already,
the sun was setting, steady, steady –
it’s time to sing “Ahoy!”)
*
The dad himself had never seen
a fairy, nor an elf, nor been
inclined to meet one for himself –
but for his son …
“A fairy! Quick! Come! Come!
Now come!”
he cried once more.
And then, before
he knew quite how,
a fairy by the name of Fow
appeared and sat on Jonah’s bum.
“Ahoy, my boy, ahoy!”
*
“What’s this?” the baby’s mother asked.
“I’ve never seen such beauty.”
“Fow, my name,” the fairy said.
“Fairy raised, fairy bred. On duty.”
“A fairy,” Jonah’s dad could not
quite believe his eyes. And: “What?”
cried Jonah’s mom. Jonah himself
was not surprised.
“The fairy’s come
to show me magic,”
that’s what he thought, quite wise.
“It’s time to sing ‚Ahoy!’”
*
For Jonah was a clever boy,
a boy that dreamed quite often,
of water, swimming and so on,
of pools and lakes and ponds
(of all of these he was quite fond).
He dreamed of rivers and of streams,
of oceans full of magic.
To make it short: he dreamed
of all things hydrologic, and his intent –
to go there,
as of now.
(Ahoy, my boy, ahoy!)
*
The fairy, Fow, had come to help
this boy to swim the waters.
With her she’d brought a yellow duck –
not for good luck, as one would think,
but for the splatters;
for what is swimming (you might ask),
when one’s not getting wet.
So to make sure of this, Fow had
searched far and wide for a duck, well-fed,
quite fat, and thus the splashiest around
(and who, to boot, just loved to make this sound:
“Ahoy, ahoy, ahoy, ahoy!”)
*
The duck (named Ernie)
Fairy Fow had found
near fairy-castle Allabound.
Duck Ernie was about to prove
that she was worth Fow’s trust.
Duck Ernie jumped – splash! splash!–
into the lake where all of this was taking place
(where Jonah lay with Fow on bum,
where Mom and Dad were staring).
Splash, splash!, she went, the fairy’s duck –
I think that was quite daring.
(Ahoy, ahoy, ahoy!)
*
“That’s wet!” cried Mom and Dad
in unison
and shook their heads.
“Wet, wet!” quacked Duck, and Jonah had
the most fun of them all.
“Quack, quack!” he said and then was led
towards the lake
by Fow.
“Jump in,” she said.
“Don’t be afraid –
and this I say to you all –
it’s time to sing ‚Ahoy!’”
*
“Not be afraid?” the parents cried,
“Where are you taking Jonah?”
“First to the waters, all around,
then on to fairy-castle Allabound.
Jonah’ll learn to swim and dive – he’ll thrive!”
And in she jumped, and Jonah, too.
(He loved to jump – don’t you?)
They splished, they splashed, and Ernie dashed
under the baby’s arms
and pulled him up onto her back – Jonah grabbed neck.
With Jonah safe on Ernie’s back,
they splished and splashed some more.
*
The parents stood ashore and watched,
“My Jonah!” they exclaimed.
“Don’t worry,” Fow called out to them,
“Be back by 9pm!”
“9pm?” They were amazed,
for it was 8 already –
within an hour sunset (steady, steady!)
see all that Fairy Fow had praised?
“Why, yes!” she said,
“because with fairytime
the bells don’t chime, except for when
it’s time to sing ‚Ahoy!’”
*
Jonah waved bye to Mom and Dad,
then jumped off Ernie’s back.
“I want to swim, all by myself!” is what he said.
“Full speed ahead!”
Fow sighed and sprinkled fairy dust
that helped him swim
(though wouldn’t last).
But soon enough the little boy
– ahoy, ahoy! –
kept right afloat,
just like a boat.
(Ahoy, my boy, ahoy!)
*
They traveled fast, the three of them,
Fow, Duck and little Jonah.
Fow first in line, to lead the way,
and Ernie last, to make well sure
that none of them would go astray.
They swam a lot and dove a little,
quite often they came up for air;
till Jonah (out of sheer despair)
tried breathing through a peanut brittle.
A teeny-weeny piece it was, the perfect size for Jonah’s hand,
and best of all: it worked quite well. Swell, swell! How grand! Don’t you agree –
it’s time to sing “Ahoy!”
*
The first stop of the threesome was
– believe it, it is true! –
the local swimming pool.
In there they met the Chlorine Fleeple,
who swam around and round
between the legs of all the people
(it made a beautiful soft sound).
“Hi Fleeple,” called Duck Ernie,
for she knew him well. “Come join us!”
But Chlorine Fleeple shook his head.
“Work, work!” he muttered, rather sad.
“Ahoy, my boy, ahoy!”
*
And on they went, the three of them:
they left the swimming pool
by sliding down the drain
(which Jonah thought was supercool).
And just a bit later
they came up a sink
through the sink’s porcelator.
The sink was bright pink
as all of the sinks
of fairyland school (that’s where the sink was) –
the place where fairies were taught a whole lot, more often than not:
Ahoy, ahoy, ahoy, ahoy!
*
“But I’m not a fairy,”
Jonah voiced his concern.
“But you are our guest,” Fow said.
“Let’s go and learn.”
And learn they did,
first about Zids and Sutiks:
Zids are quite long and of a bluish cyan;
Sutiks slightly shorter but sporting a tan.
And both of them are truly great divers,
especially, as everyone knows,
inside a fireman’s hose –
ahoy, ahoy, ahoy!
*
The next subject they had was “Creatures that Float”,
as they were the Great Moat Toad and the Small Floating Goat
(the latter not a real goat, as one might assume,
but a toad with a bloat that made it float – it being called “goat”
only because
of its rather goatish looking jaws).
They heard about Yikaz and Kamps and Cureens,
none of which Jonah had ever seen.
Neither had he heard of the Medium Quim,
but Fow assured him: “They all can swim!”
(And also, my boy,
it’s time to sing “Ahoy!”)
*
“But can I see them? What are they like?”
Jonah was curious.
“If I don’t get to see them, I’ll go on strike.”
“Hush, hush, little baby,” said Fow and Duck Ernie.
“Just one more lesson, then we’ll go on a journey.”
So Jonah sat through a picture slide show
of creatures that rowed
as well with their toes
as others with oars and with rudders.
And when Jonah saw this
he silently muttered:
“I can do this! Won’t this be bliss?”
*
And Jonah left school and class (rather fast).
He wanted to see if he,
too, could swim by rowing his toes.
(And what better place to try than the first body of water
that he’d come by –
Fairyland Ocean, this happened to be.)
So in he jumped, with Fairy and Duck
hot on his trail. They swam
and swam and swam and swam and swam till – bam! –
to the shore of an island they’d come.
This is when Jonah said – clever boy! –
“It’s time to sing ‚Ahoy!’”
*
Then Fow announced (and pointed it out):
“Look: fairy-castle Allabound!
All fairyland creatures will come here tonight –
this surely will be a sight!”
“Then show me the Yikaz and Kamps and Cureens,”
demanded Jonah of Fow,
and Ernie added: “Please don’t forget the Medium Quim!
I never saw her, or is it a ‚him‘?”
“I’ll show you, I’ll show you; we’ll greet them all,”
Fow promised. “Now let’s set up some stalls
with food and drinks and then let’s sing:
‚Ahoy, my boy, ahoy!’”
*
Before too long the stalls were set,
and creatures started to arrive.
The first one was (quite a surprise)
the Medium Quim’s large-sized pet
by the name of Nett (as his ticket said).
He looked a lot like a closet door
and when he tore (while climbing ashore)
his beautiful dress,
Ernie squealed in delight (giving pet Nett a fright),
for under Nett’s dress the Quim appeared –
unmistakable, for s/he looked so weird.
(It’s time to sing “Ahoy!”)
*
“And look, there’s the Yika!”
Ernie pointed him out (quite loud).
The Yika hissed
for he possessed
(he felt quite blessed)
the hissiest hiss of them all.
Then the Yika came up to their stall;
it took him a while – he was not tall (in fact, he was quite small).
But when he finally got to where Jonah sat, he lifted his hat and started to chat –
a polite Yika he was after all.
And the first words he said?
“Ahoy, my boy, ahoy!”
*
The Kamp, on the other hand,
was grumpy when she arrived.
She barked a command (“Stand! Stand!”),
then saluted – once, twice.
She growled at small Jonah, at Ernie she gnarled, and at Fairy Fow she snarled:
“I lost my wig, and now I’m not chic.
Don’t you know a trick to make me look less like a pig?”
(The Kamp had a very big snout.)
Fow thought, then nodded and then she dug out
a veil to conceal grumpy Kamp’s pouty snout.
And with the snout gone, the Kamp – oh boy! – started to sing:
“Ahoy, ahoy, ahoy, ahoy!”
*
The next guest to come
was a Bamwam.
Bamwam turned up with her most special thing:
a bathtub with the plug on a ring, and she insisted that everybody jump in.
“But isn’t the bathtub too small for us all?”
“Yes, yes,” said Bamwam, “but I recall
that we did it last year – and we did have a ball!”
So one after the other, with the Kamp serving as usher,
everybody got in, filling the tub to the brim.
When Bamwam pulled the plug on a ring, they started to sing
(till the water was drained and symphony attained):
“Ahoy, ahoy, ahoy!”
*
“What fun I had!” was what Jonah said,
as he went back to his stall to check tickets and all.
And after twenty loud fairies,
who paid for their tickets with berries,
finally came – the famous Cureen.
The Cureen was a blue beast from the Far Far East,
and he was said to know – at the very least –
twelvethirtyandninesome ways of taking great baths
(quite a mind-blowing number, if I know my maths).
Half of them he taught to Jonah, who then said
(being a very chipper boy):
“It’s time to sing ‚Ahoy!’”
*
And again Jonah said, “What fun I had!”
But then he added, “I miss Mom and Dad!”
“Uh oh,” said Fow,
and Ernie looked sad.
“Huh,” sighed Fow.
“What can I say –
I guess it’s time to call it a day.”
On Ernie’s back they put Jonah once more
and started swimming – fast! – before
they’d start to weep
(it was that deep
they’d taken Jonah into their hearts).
*
They crossed the ocean, they crossed the lake,
and there the parents stood.
“Jonah!” they cried, and Jonah, too, was happy to be back.
He waved good-bye to Fairy Fow and quickly pet Duck Ernie.
“You will be back, quite soon, won’t you? We’ll make another journey!”
“Yes, yes,” said Duck, and also Fow, “If Mom and Dad allow.”
The parents brooded, thought, and pondered; then said, “We wondered:
could we come along, next time?” – “Sure,” said Fow, “But you’ll have to chime
a happy song, with a very fine rhyme.”
The parents thought, “Oh boy, oh boy!” – But Jonah smiled (ahoy! ahoy!):
“I’ll teach you my favorite, and you’ll be fine.
Come on, let’s try – it’s time to sing ‚Ahoy!’”
bestellt von: Heather, 36
bestellt für: ihren Sohn Jonah, sechs Monate
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