Conkers high above
Dangle from the branches
Like ancient weapons of war
Waiting for the wind to blow
And wrench them from their seat
To bounce and split upon the ground
To birth a shiny copper orb
A sleeping beauty glowing brown
So smooth and handsome
Spawned from an ugly child
Awaiting boys and girls to find
And secret adults too
To touch and smell and marvel at
To gather keep and to admire
To run your fingers through
To enjoy their perfect form
To drill a hole and thread on string
To dangle in defiance
To challenge other conker folk
To smash your burly orb
To swing and string and bash and bonk
Until the cracks appear
And challenger is split apart
To crumble in defeat
And there we have in victory
A one’er, two’er more
Hard, Invincible and battle scared
The victor a hundred’er
A conker giant survives to fight again
To age and harden
For next years challenge
To sleep in a drawer
It’s that time of year, autumn and the Conkers have started to fall.
13.9.20
