Skipping sleep

April 7. Today’s Napowrimo 2026 challenge is to write our own poem that emulates school playground skipping songs – something to snap, clap, and jump around to.

I guess these are meant to be light but for a number of reasons I chose not to follow that path and with the second one invert the idea of innocence rhymed with politically motivated assassination.

I’m meant to be fishing,
But I’m laid here wishing,
That at some point last night,
Both eyes clamped tight,
With sleep I did not fight.
I could wake sprightly bright,
Refreshed and awake
Free from this torpid state
More alive less dead, not
A third-awake in this bed.
So let me just state,
How I very much hate;

Sleep ap-no-e-a.

I really could weep,
Cos I’m skipping sleep,
And I’m meant to be fishing,
But now I’m laid here wishing,
I could sleep and not be,
A knackered zombie.

---

The pumpkin man he is insane,
He grows TVs in his brain
The pumpkin man he is quite ill,
How many people will ICE kill?
1,2,3,4
The pumpkin man he broke the law,
He plays golf and he plays war,
The pumpkin man is full of hate
He likes to bomb and obliterate
5,6,7,8
The pumpkin man he is quite mad
He does things to ladies that are bad,
The pumpkin man he is insane
He grows TVs in his brain

9,10 start again.