long, top-down drives
even shirtless-tans
sweet strawberry-kisses and
glorious watermelon stains

laughter lifting through the trees
glimpses of sun-blest promises
sugar-coated whispers
catching in the breeze

fruit bowls, waterholes
and refreshing icy poles
interlacing fingers share
starry nights and lazy days

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Inside me, something is starting to wake,

It moves with such purpose the world it did shake.  

A truth I hold dearly, no two men could take,  

Defying all reason, these choices I make.  

My emotions could fill up most of this room,

Whether frowning or smiling, most might presume,

I'm drowning in sorrow while singing in tune,  

My end a beginning that started too soon.  

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I couldn't find a solitary word

for someone who makes me happy

by doing nothing in particular.

So, I'll say your name.

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Nothing should have been finer

Then Alcolu, South Carolina,

In the springtime.

People, segregated by rail tracks

White, on the west side, east side, black. 

All too poor to spare a dime.

George was raised to respect,

His church taught what was correct,

In life, he deserved so much more.

But he was let down badly,

By white justice, sadly,

Contradictory evidence...

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Reduce this moment

to the simplest of elements:

one breath of air,

one sip of water,

one touch of warmth,

one step of movement.

What more is needed?

One smile of love,

one word of kindness,

one embrace of affection,

one corner of solace.

Is life complex?

Yes.

Is life simple?

Yes.

Reduce this moment,

and relax.

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Bury me in the sand

Of my favorite beach

Let the ocean breeze

Carry me to a place

Where I feel at peace

I don't know

The exact point

Where things went South

But it was not my intention

To hurt you

I love you

I wish you could see that

One day

We will meet again

And we will be happy

And there will be no end

My dad asked me

To come hom...

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NB. My original intention, somewhat clumsily expressed, was to voice the thoughts of 

A. someone benignly called a "settler", who, in any other context would be a considered a terrorist and a thief.

B. the so-called "Christian" mercenaries who, based in RAF Akrotiri, enable that genocide and ethnic cleansing.

I consider a re-post of “Land and Freedom” to be highly appropriate, in view of ...

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there’s a thrill 

over the hill 

will you come with me 

to fetch that pail 

I couldn’t find my thrill

eating all the blueberries

I felt like a fool then 

in such a hurry 

instead of climbing 

measure by measure  

through this 

inclement weather 

somehow with you 

suffering feels better 

soon we’ll be 

over the hill tog...

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Every saturday they gather

the hussle and bussle ever louder

To run round a park of green

To beat the crowd mobscene

Far away the others dwell

Away from the merry hell

By a lake, tranluscent and cool

A life giving, nurturing pool

Peace and calm linger in silence

No pressure, adrenaline or pretence

Snatching moments when they come

Perhaps a boring 'snoozef...

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If Hope was a song

I'd sing it all day long

I'd sing it through the night

I'd sing it from great heights!

I'd sing it ‘til my skin

Turned old & pale & thin

I'd sing it ‘til the Earth

Rejoiced in its re-birth!

I'd sing ‘til only love

Rained down from up above

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Failure Is a terror
and my Dreams show an error,
Although I missed on a lot
I believe there’s still a plot

The Dreams That I see
Do a good job haunting me
That’s How I know, I think big
and these dreams, only I can tick

”should’ve started when I was younger”
I tell me
But Today’s the youngest
I will ever be

So, Dear Dreams
Brace yourselves
I only plan on going Extreme

~h.

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I don't like people they make me blue
A dog will be faithful and true
For that matter any pet will suffice
I find people are generally not nice
With an animal you know where you are
An instinct for survival better by far
Where did it all go wrong
I should be singing a different song

Hey human race shut your face shut your face
Keep well away from me
I despise you can't you see
Hey hum...

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SOLILOQUY

Who do you think’s the indivisible king?

His name is writ on a butterfly wing

A fireface moon and a frozen rock sun

Collide in a dream and the dyes start to run

But Hamlet’s been healed by a shaman with spells

And vowels are our souls and words can be cells

You are who you love and not who you are

So set the controls for the prettiest star

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On hard wet ground,

exposed like a pulsing nerve,

half a yard from the comfort of grass,

it writhed unsteadily to unheard music

while the connoisseur’s eye

judged its girth from a bush.

Rainwater marinated

and near wasted after a night of passion,

casting tired letter shapes

as the sun split clouds overhead,

this six inch night crawler

knew its place ...

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I sleep when the stars forget to shine,
Eyes wide open, scrolling time.
2AM — my haunted hour,
Where silence hums with quiet power.

One night, the mirror caught me off-guard,
No angles, no edits, just me — hard.
Muscles softened, edges blurred,
A body I knew, now slightly slurred.

Flesh where firmness used to cling,
Like my strength got up and left in spring.
No tears, just a stare t...

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There is no finer prospect

Than the idyllic, tranquil scene

Of cliffs and fells and water bright

Of the Coniston Fourteen

And gathered all together

Beneath the Old Man’s craggy face

Fifteen hundred runners

Anxious before the race

Amongst them, there was I

In my gloves and woolly hat

Pondering the test ahead

And how I’d handle that

The announcer s...

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I lost my dad a thousand times before he was laid to rest.
A tiny portion left every time he fell asleep in the conversation-
every time I watched him struggle to stand.
Every moment in Pain.

I lost my father long before he died.
I'm grateful for the day when fate comes to take him home-
to relinquish the grasp on the others around whose only duty has become to
tend to him.

Not selfish...

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I miss you everyday

But today I missed you hard.

I had gone and done something 

That I don't normally do

And I could imagine you so clearly...

You would have given me a big hug 

And eagerly asked, "So, how was it?"

I would have shared all the details

And over dinner we would analyze each one

And I would second guess myself

And you would reassure me that I did great

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What Matters More at the Workplace: Pay or Peace of Mind?

In today’s modern world , when people are obsessed with earning more and more

Their peace of mind is steadily degrading day by day

They are becoming sick due to mental health despite professional and financial growth in their life

As their peace of mind has vanished, replaced by stress anxiety and restlessness

They are becomi...

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Remember M&M's? (or Smarties, for that matter)

I got the local variant. 

Suger-coated mayhem :)

A kitchen so indifferent, had lost all of its ambitions. 

The child, still innocent, takes another snack. 

And turns on the Video Game. 

'I'll just have to get through to the next level'

And suddenly you remember: 

This world of magic and mayhem is all there...

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Twenty dead so far……..

I wonder if they get an extra mark

For killing kids or snuffing babies out?

On their twisted scale of staff incentives,

Perhaps their bonus swells at all such scalps;

Perhaps their backs are slapped at each week’s end.

They say that talks for peace are well on track,

But we see little sign of it round here.

We feel the foul, malignant breath of b...

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The days that I have been fighting for so long

Have finally come to a halt

A hot baited breathing breath beats round my neck

Made up of heavy wheezing pauses

And a middle c irritating cough

Unwieldy and often interrupting my thoughts

So, I sit with contemplation on my chest

A coffee in my hand as black as tar

And a breeze around my ears

A long-ago burnt-out lipstick kis...

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She has to look pretty,  
No fat on her belly,  
She has to be extraordinary.

Looking for what people agree,  
She wants them to see  
Her beauty in reality.

Her body  
Becomes rent-free,  
As everybody's fantasy.

She is an irony,  
Wanting to be free;  
She is the one who brings a soul into reality.

But society has bought her dignity.  
They tell her what she needs to be.  
...

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No Time To Sleep

Daylight begins a retreat,

Gradually surrendering its warmth.

Chills, promoted by dusk’s bravado,

Settle on flesh and land alike.

Horizon’s parting kiss now fades,

Barely illuminated by the sinking sun.

Another familiar night nestles in,

Beckoned on by a seductive moon.

Stellar gems sparkle on a black velvet dress,

Joining the celebration of cele...

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i want to work on myself

what kind of work do i need?

am i a car stranded in the middle of nowhere,

waiting until the mechanic comes, only to pass me by

am i an equation, frows burrowed in deep thought

an excuse for the mathematician to silently slip away

am i a philosophical question, everyone has a different opinion

that they will rarely ever voice, for when they do it echoe...

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(A true story about Our Gert's naivety)

She keeps selling where she shouldn't be selling

I tell her but it's something she's not learnt

She'll advertise in public on that ebay

And now she's gone and got her fingers burnt.

Those boots weren't meant for selling

On such a public space

Now Our Gert has ended up with “egg” upon her face.

“I've seen those boots you...

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I always asked myself how I’d die—
maybe they want it tragic.
I’ve always been the selfish one,
'cause I only think of life
without the secrets in my mind.

I saw it in the sky,
crying in front of the stone,
but I forgot my voice
after the truth was told.
Their wicked minds are full of lies—
they’ll always be
the scammers in your life.
Would you run, or die?

Writings of hate,
...

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Poem 54 of 230:  HOBSON’S CHOICE

During a daytrip to Cambridge,

    My uncle showed the confined space

That left punters no choice to face -

    Using Hobson’s trade of carriage.

(C) David Franks 2003 - https://walkaboutsverse.blogspot.com

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Percy Plaice was a sage old fish, who loved to admire Blackpool’s scantily-clad women,
from a rock in The Irish Sea, until a plastic bag obscured his vision.

Alas, it contained several bottles of cider, and I’m afraid to say he became quite pissed.

Flapping his tail, he sang about his lost love, Mary the Dolphin,
who had left him, tired of his love of alcohol.

He remembered Mary as a sh...

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Oh yes, the knife I asked for

     sliced down my face

                                        till I bleed into my eyes

                                                                             cloudy & hazed with read

I crumple

               your arrogance mean spirited

                     and dark

You stab out, blindly, in darkness of denial

                   ...

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The Me After You
A fragile heart, still beating strong,
A soul that's shattered, yet still sings its song.
I thought I'd be stronger, but I'm not,
My soul crumbles at the sight of you.

I'm still in love with the fragments of you,
The moments we shared, the hopes we once pursued.
My love is a flame that flickers with every thought,
A bittersweet reminder of what could never be brought.

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Available to buy here:

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I always love to feel content -
For it's a state of mind that's heaven sent.
I feel so calm and quite at peace,
And all my troubles now have come to cease.

I'm free of hardship and of every worry.
I'm now in the moment - not in a hurry.
And as contentment is a sweet sensation,
I shall give the world a huge ovation.

And I believe this feeling shall last all time.
Now tranquillity rests...

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They sent me to a specialist,

    They didn't say in what,

He told me I was positive,

    I wonder what I've got.

I hope it's nothing serious,

    I hope it's nothing bad,

I hope it's something someday I'll

    Be proud that I once had

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It was only after your death that I realised
why you disliked windy weather
crossing the broad Atlantic
while still a boy
for arms and food
needed at home.
I never knew exactly why
or what exactly those hypocrites  at the orphanage
did to you
but I will not forget
and I will not forgive.

I only knew that you were buried
with a back full of the white scars
inflicted by those sadi...

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A temple once ruined by your sacrilegious dirt, is now renewed. Replenished. Free.

Each pane shattered by what I blindly believed as love, is replaced by those you’ll never see.

3 years I prayed for the agonising weight to dissipate, for your shadow to unlatch from my skin.

But ghosts do not fade on whispered wishes —

they rot in the marrow, nestle within.

Each morning I carved out ...

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I was told this today, of which I wasn’t aware.

Liverpool’s Croxteth Park, my Dad went there!

With his Niece Janet, my Dad went to play.

To think, I was in Croxteth Park the other day!

They played football together, chasing the ball.

My Dad made Janet aware, football was for all!

As that wasn’t always the case, way back then.

And Janet still loves footy thanks to ‘Uncle L...

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ancient wisteria vine

laces through trees

still waking

from winter's sleep

binds the dead up

with the living

but this cold sailor heart

is still

out of place and time

an anachronistic device

running down the clock

running all these nowhere roads

keeping the wheels hot

until my ship comes back in

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I come awake, sunlight banishing the night,

clawing at curtains it smears the shabby walls...

the debris of yesterday best forgotten offends my sight,

relentless optimism cares not where on it falls.

The fog of memory lifts, dreams combust in vampiric flame.

I am adrift, ripped too early from interstellar torpor.

It's not that heavenly bodies could be held to any b...

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 I was stood outside with my grandfather and mum, specifically to see the comet,

I was the first to spot it.

This comet takes 437 years to circle the solar system. I will never see this comet again in my lifetime. 

I will never forget that moment,

not until the day I die.

Standing, barefoot in the mud and staring up

into the night sky for so long I could see the different

stro...

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There's two sides to this scenario 

If you are living your life in stereo

The abundant beauty fades to grey

Lord knows we've seen better days 

Lived yet loved long

Was not so easily forgotten 

It's crest still resides in our hearts

As pure as the light of our conception 

Brothers and sisters lived free

Not of the land

Not of our obligations 

But of the heart

Som...

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Underworld

     Life here, life now,

be akin to a forced air environment,

   the day pans out as before and,

      the tickly cough and sore throat;-

            a common denominator in our being.

     Before all the labels were created

for observance of all and fully kept,

   we had choice of being – besides

   the submariner we now are,

      there wa...

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Now, I am left with myself.
Not in the way I once hoped,
But in a way that feels cold, detached.
I whisper words of self love,
Yet they feel hollow, like rehearsed lines in a play
Where no one is watching.

I try to believe that I am whole,
That I am enough
But the shadows of my past selves linger,
The ones I sacrificed for love
That was never meant to last.
Now, love is not something ...

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I don't know where it comes from
This pain I carry in my chest
It’s a weight I don't understand
But I keep going, as if the burden were my truth
There’s something inside me
A desire that gets lost in the shadows
But I insist, I insist
Because, maybe, there’s no other way to be
I looked into the abyss
And the abyss didn’t look back at me
Only the silence echoing within
And I, trying to b...

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My personal project for #NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) is a tiny little project "resonant whispers" where I will write, short intimate pieces, reflections you could say, capturing the quiet moments and lingering feelings that shape our lives. Ghosts, personal experiences, raw emotions and the subtle beauty of the everyday.

For all of these poems, I will be stripping down my poetry t...

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It’s Trump-tastic, policy elastic
What he said yesterday
Ain’t what he said today
What’s today’s favourite word?
What’s today’s favourite steaming turd?
It’s tariffs, tariff-tastic
Tariffs on cheap Chinese plastic
China, nowhere finer
For your cheap Chinese plastic MAGA tat
Your cheap Chinese plastic MAGA hat
Meanwhile here’s a pile for the EU
Meanwhile here’s a pile for the UK too
Not...

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That blind Mare

left alone by the herd as usual

shakes her head to gain short respite

from the eye blinkerings of Horseflies

soon to return

head lowered she snuffles about trying to find

a dewy grass stem to coil her tongue around

she cautiously saunters in my direction

stopping a few feet away from where I am

is she able to sense my pitying presence I wonder?

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By animus animated, 

As if aspiring to

Mercilessness, conspiring

To harm, but when

Push comes to shove, 

They deflect, even

Gloat, as their 

Perjured words pollute

The air, yet fail

To cloak their soul's 

Practised emptiness...

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