I worked The Poetry Takeaway on Friday night at Roundhouse‘s awesome The Last Word Festival. The first commissions were from some super imaginative kids who wanted a poem about their dogs’ adventure to the Disco Dimension, and battle to escape… Here’s the speed-written, unedited piece I came up with for them!
Dogs in the Disco Dimension
Murphy and Sammy were out in the sun
chasing balls and squirrels and having fun
when suddenly Sammy disappeared from sight
giving Murphy the most awful fright.
He’d gone into the forest and disappeared
so Murphy followed him, feeling quite weird
he found himself in a strange place
full of music and lights and pounding bass:
the deep vibration of the most epic music
so catchy, so snappy that Murphy: he’d lose it
start dancing like crazy with a joyful expression
he realise he’d fallen into the Disco Dimension!
And there was Sammy dancing on all fours
striking a pose, pointing his paws
“I’m better than you!” Sammy scoffed
“Then prove it” said Sammy: “dance off!”
They threw shapes and battled, song after song
Murphy a disco diva, Sammy getting no moves wrong
the music grows louder, the energy increased
until suddenly it stopped: “oh no! the woman from Greece!”
shouted Sammy. She jived across the dance floor
scooping Murphy up, pushing away his claws
but Sammy bit, so she ignored him
whilst Murphy focussed his energy within…
For Murphy had a secret: epic ninja powers
he unleashed a slow-mo kick that seemed to take hours
but it connected, and so she dropped him
clutching her leg and angrily hopping
cursing the dogs as she left: “one day I’ll capture you!”
but Murphy and Sammy always knew what to do:
working together they called the dance-off a draw
barking with happiness, high-fived – paw-to-paw.
Dan Simpson: poet blog 