A WWI remembrance poem

(First published online for Northern Life magazine 2018)

It creaked as he left:

The old garden gate

He’d promised to fix it

But now it was too late

Tearful in the doorway

His mother cries out,

‘Do it when you’re back, Billy!’

And of this she has no doubt

He waves,

And off to glory are the swathes

Of boys, and men in their pr...

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Heroes In Blue

Unprecedented times, the like never seen before

This pandemic has shaken us all to our very core

A whirlwind ripping through our cities and towns

The evil coronavirus wearing its invisible crown

It does not care if you are rich or poor

A Royal, a minister or the boy next door

No matter what age, wealth, colour or creed

Affecting us all, and with devastat...

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Old Men’s Tears

With hearts as heavy as thunder clouds

What once were torrents

Are now just trickles

Reflecting our futures

In the silver shimmer of our past

And they come

In stumbling honour

And their humility

Denies them as heroes

For the heroes were left behind

In voices cracked with age

They tell their tales

Of simple duty

In the face of...

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Caring crusaders and daring debaters

Emmeline, Greta, Ruth

Your voices sound loud with the bold toll of truth.

Uncowed and defiant. You refused to give in.

Life-changing campaigning is a wonderful thing.

Marathon runners: hard-trained and focused 

With miles in your strides

And pain hardly noticed.

Everyday heroes with strength in your limbs

Your drive and passion a...

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