Mark Grist 2018- Alchemist - a poem and a punishment:

To go back to this dark 

atmosphere of

 R. Dahl's characters.... 


you may also read 

some negative criticism

 to his work... here

Mark Grist   

 Alchemist: A Poem about a Mistake

            TASK1.  Listen to the poem below 
                           and assess the final punishment.

      TASK2.   Read the script provided in the automatic captions

 and deal with the punctuation of one of the  6 passages.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qbu-RDvzRc 

Oct 3, 2018

hERE IS a poem for National Poetry day  2018. 

Hope you like it

·        

•        my stomach flipped thinking of downing vinegar.. oof!

•       Chapter 5: Solution- made me chuckle

•                    Chapter 1.   The confesion

•       01:23   Chapter 2.   Desire

•       02:22    Chapter 3.   Action

•       03:05   Chapter 4.   Failure

•       04:47   Chapter 5.   The solution

•       06:19   Chapter  6.   Punishment

      TASK2.   Read the script provided in the automatic captions

 and deal with the punctuation of one of the  6 passages

here's a confession

Chapter 1.   The confesion

When I was 7, 
I harbored a rather unusual obsession.

Deep in the night when my parents both slept,

I would creep to the kitchen ...

find bottles,
 and neckin the sauces, the syrups 

Oh, how I loved it! 
Sneaking supplies from the back of the cupboard. 
A conquerer, plunderer, condiment pillager.

My favorite thing to drink...
 it was vinegar.

And glug, glug, glug, glug, I would

secretly chug upon each of those bottles.

Guzzle them up. Yes.

Cooking oil was nasty, Tabasco was rough,

but these were experiments and 
I wasn't fuss and with each one I sampled 

I felt a bit braver,  a little bit bolder.

As I nicked them all down 

but really my eye was 

on something much greater :
a bottle that shimmered brighter... and pinker.

The liquid within was so vibrant ... and loud.

What I wanted was sat 
far off from the kitchen 
the sweetest of visions, ...
 it was my dad's mouthwash.

01:23   Chapter 2.   Desire

oh how it sat there

so shiny so pink from high on its throne

looking down on the sink each night I

would brush on my teeth and I'd wonder

what does it taste like and asking my

mother if tonight was the night that I

could try some she'd shake her head

saying oh you're still much too young

now knowing the things I had secretly

drunk all these rules and concern seemed

a little bit dumb oh it's only for

adults mouthwash is dangerous and look

how my father he'd carefully take it all

measured out in some small little cap I would certainly

swig on it braver than that so one fine

night I headed to bed excited elated

already quite proud because tonight

was the night I would do something great

tonight was the night I was drinking

that mouthwash

02:22    Chapter 3.   Action

I had a small nap early that evening so

wide awake and my parents both sleeping

I crept out of bed I crept to the door I

crept to the bathroom looked up and saw

that bottle

oh goodness how brightly it Shawn as

bright as the fleece that the argonauts

one and the moon high above me not

making a sound I climbed on the sink and

pulling it down I stood with it held in

both of my hands this was my moment this

was my chance i undid the lid and

tilting it up I went glug glug glug ride

it hurt and it stung   

 03:05   Chapter 4.   Failure

and I yelped and

gassed as if in slow motion the bottle

it dropped and lashings of potion in

great whopping arks flew out I stood

stunned the bottle then hitting the

floor with a dunk and I dropped down to her tripping hands that were shaken I grabbed for the bottle held it dismayed

it was practically empty down to the

dregs most of it soaked in the bath mat instead and my throat it was stinging my

eyes were now brimming with tears when

they found out I knew they'd be livid

because when I was a child if he did something rotten the punishment was that

you got a smacked bottom and I didn't

want one I wiped both my eyes and I

tried to get what I could back up inside

but there wasn't much more than some drops to be found so I picked up the bat

mat began squeezing it out but now there

was just some grey bits therefore in the bottle there wasn't much there what there was and looked awful

again the tears came and I thought of my dad and the imminent burn on my bum of that smack I was really in trouble I was

out for the count but what if somehow

I could make a new mouthwash it just replaced what was lost with the same pinkish glow I could balance it back my

dad wouldn't know I look around the bathroom surveying the bottles and

things of course this is doable I'll

take some of these things and I'll mix

them together who knows perhaps I could make something that tastes even better

04:47 Chapter 5.   The solution

so first off I took toothpaste

you know it's minty it's fresh it goes

in your mouth I picked up the tube began squeezing it out then I added some water

measured and thorough eye drops for texture

cow poll for color then I moved on to

the rest of the bathroom it got a bit

weird that added some shampoo and some shower gel - it wasn't like it was

planned I really regretted the bit of

bubble bath because it was now really bubbly and it still wasn't complete so with things looking drastic I added some

bleach and now if I'm honest it didn't

look right there were great big yellow

blobs and even the pink bits looked a

bit odd but I found if I took it and

shook it together it looked kind of

alright for a couple of seconds so I

shook it and balanced it turned and I

scuttled on back to my bed I hid under the covers and for hours that night I lay awake in my bed knowing that when my dad drinks it he'll drop down dead and

knowing the trouble I'd be in for owning

up my head in this work I just wasn't

sure which of those two things was worse

so I lay there and cried and I shivered

and bored until suddenly it was sunlight

I woke up all sprawled on the floor and

I turned and looked on with dread

my parents were stood at the end of the be

06:19   Chapter  6.   Punishment

ma have you done something? my father

then asked I could see the bottle held

tight in his grasp it was now sort of

green with these yellow blobs - so I

cried out I'm sorry dad I think I've

just murdered you you've done what my

dad said I've killed you I babbled they

looked at me looking really quite

baffled you've not killed him my mum

said don't be ridiculous this looks like

some kind of poison no way that he's

drinking it there there it's all right

there's no need to panic just tell us

what happened

they were both understanding and they

were both really kind and they gave me a

hug and they said that they thought I'd

been punished enough so I saved up my

pocket money and I paid for a

replacement my bottom when unsnapped

 I'd somehow escaped it reborn and forgiven a

true prodigal son and I only ever stole

condiments from that morning on.