School supplies, fall fashions, latest cars (or last year’s models), all marked down, so they say, for quick sale. I’ve reached the point where I don’t see the ads, my eyes just slide on by, though this might get my attention …
VOID YOUR VISA
sale price
get tickets now 
seats still available
watch Pleiades leap
Hesperus caper
Aldebaran shimmy
all the fun of the space
age a star-studded
nebula-encrusted programme
set out in macrocosm
for your entertainment
with black holes to consume you
while red giants
and asteroid belts
will keep you safe
terrestrial globes extra
for an astronomic fee
all before the price soars
through the stratosphere
first published in Short Humour
To Bethlehem: ‘This little book is delightful, full of … poems on this timeless subject. … the most fun is the little prose vignettes of the common people in the Christ-child story. The slave who looks after the wise men’s camels, or the overworked maid at the inn who has to fetch water for the birth, and many more. A lovely gift for the reader on your Christmas list!’ Rosalind Adams. Available from Amazon and
1960willowtree 