Getting Grim
There’s a disgruntled growl of anguish
of genuine angst and of grief
My gingerbread man seems quite gutted
he’s grinding his gums and his teeth
He’s garbling his words as he grumbles
He’s losing the gift of the gab
Adrift in existential gridlock
Where there are no straws for him to grab
He’s getting giddy with gold-graded glumness
Grappling with guilt, getting gruff
His moaning and g...
Friday 16th December 2016 5:13 pm
Not Dead, Just Messy
Nietzsche got it wrong
And though I’ve often heard it said
I think I’m sure of it myself
Yes - I know I am not dead
I never died, nor was I born
I am older than the Earth
And as for all the stars around
I oversaw their birth
I am ancient. Modern. Wise
Sager than the sage
Though not as great as once I was
But I put that down to age
I remember when I started
On a creative cuisin...
Saturday 26th November 2016 3:34 pm
Listen
Do you hear a rustle
as you walk among the trees?
Do your ears detect a crackle
as you feel the autumn breeze?
In amongst the birdsong
are there murmurs in the lane?
Do you feel a little something
that your senses can't explain?
Is there a ripple as you roam
along that woodland way?
Is it coming from above
Perhaps it's hard to say?
As you walk the forest's path
Is there whisper ...
Sunday 20th November 2016 8:50 am
Wordsworth
We saw him there a-wandering
Lost in highfalutin thought
We were far too busy hosting
felt harassed and way too fraught
With his imagination roaming
he gazed at us for hours
We fluttered spritely, as we do
(for after all we're flowers)
We danced, we tossed and added glee
and somehow gave him health
He got pensive then, and bugger me
his poem on us brought wealth
Solitude, he...
Wednesday 2nd November 2016 6:56 pm
Sawn
Sharp jagged edges tear through my skull
running backwards and forwards
creating heat, as only your words can
Nerve ends jangle
trying to understand the sensations
of torn skin
of bone displaced
of blood in strange, new places
Then comes the ultimate reward -
my mind is opened
Based on Emily Dickinson's quote:
"If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off I ...
Sunday 30th October 2016 6:27 pm
Always Asking
No monster - just a shining star
that beats within an hour
Undiluted. Unrepenting
Sweet with pungent power
A breath of life pulsating
with passion and fine sin
Knowing questions always beckon
and answers rarely win
Truth can gnaw the stomach;
might blind us from the good
And common sense could starve us
of the blinkers of falsehood
Never doubt, as the narrator
that angels can...
Sunday 9th October 2016 10:27 pm
Mr Farage
"Did Farage really skinny dip?"
Well that's an image I'd rather skip!
Instead, I'll marvel at his craftsmanship
And try to write a playful quip…
For, somehow, again, he's in the news
He might as well, he's nothing to lose
So, as some poor sod tries to fill his shoes
He'll remind us of his own virtues
He says he's leaving now to restore his health
After creaming his wage fr...
Sunday 18th September 2016 8:59 pm
Vowels
As green and sweet smelling as freshly cut grass
out in a meadow in May
Comes a tall little angel, bold as can be
Striding out with a canter, comes A
Following, galloping, alone and in pairs
But always eager to please
Red as fine poppies, perfumed as the rose
We smile and welcome the Es
In search of a buddy, but brave when alone
And blue as a clear summer sky
A whiff of p...
Sunday 11th September 2016 4:34 pm
From Above
With a tune so crisp and clear
A jaunty cloudless chorus song
Designed to bring us cheer
In evening dappled skies
But its melody of sunsets
Bring music to the eyes
May dare to chill the soul
But if you care to listen
There's a hint of rock and roll
the d...
Thursday 8th September 2016 12:32 pm
Angel of the North
A bold statement of steel and copper
Towers above the northern road
Northumberland's way of facing its future
Shows their miners too, the respect they're owed
Every nut and bolt and welded sheet
Plays its part in her sculptured grace
A testament to modern art
A unique welcome, a grand embrace
A beacon of hope in a sea of fear,
Or a grotesque beast which spoils the view?
...
Wednesday 7th September 2016 7:21 pm
Piano Man
than a man who can ply his trade
when he cares not a bit of the weather
or the pennies he might be paid?
Is there a sound any sweeter
than when notes are read from flowers
when the delicate rose becomes a trill
or a vamp to fill the hours?
Is there a smell any sweeter
Than black keys mixed with white
with the whiff of a red London phone box
...
Friday 2nd September 2016 5:38 pm
The Jaffa Cake Controversy
Utterly beyond the pale
To be denounced in any season
A complete and utter FAIL
Some driven to rage and shock
So many scarred by what they saw
But you can't turn back the clock
Of an ogre and a fool
Before he causes any more damage
Let's send him ba...
Sunday 28th August 2016 7:18 am
Oxymoronic
Where the sky's always tinged a certain hue
We'll party along with all the other guests
Our mood will be a brashly-subtle reddest blue
Pushing through that pleasurable pain
Tell each other stories filled with honest lies
And then tell them for the first time, once again
Thursday 18th August 2016 6:30 pm
Murder On My Mind
And all the tension is still there
When rage is flowing through my veins
And I'm tearing out my hair
When the evening sky is as red as blood
And my anger as full as the moon
You can feel my fury burning
Tell an explosion is coming soon
There's murder on my mind
And once I get that feeling
There's just one way to unwind
Friday 12th August 2016 5:23 pm
From Whence We Came
Answering her ancient call
It's almost as if she whispers our name
That she knows and owns us all
Salt in the blood still proves the link
Urging hearts to soar, brains to think
Salt in the blood
Salt in the blood
We admire her with breath and ink
She beckons us there, somehow
Leaving only questions, no trac...
Monday 8th August 2016 9:34 pm
Red Ink
Scores a line and gives a grade
In the bossiest of moments
Tells of corrections to be made
As it sits there standing bold
Or a single word might hang there dripping
While your blood runs stinging cold
Like the warming of a fire
Consuming mind and paper
While the temperature gets higher
Saturday 6th August 2016 12:22 pm
The Life of a Bull
I am always kept on the hop
Told to go from cow to cow
- There's never a chance to stop
The finest food I am always eating
And my cousins in Spain, it's very plain
Give the matadors a beating
So, I never get in a strop
I write the odd song and a poem or two
Though, I admit, t...
Monday 1st August 2016 12:30 am
Pandemonium (acrostic)
Peace and dialogue are rejected
Anarchy with chaos breeds and
No-one is safe from the claws of fear
Demons with devilish or "divine" intentions
Excrete their venom, make their motives clear
Milton gave us the word in Paradise Lost, an
Odious capital in the midst of Hell
Nearing beauty in its simple concept, but how to fight it?
I cannot tell, there's
Unease and violence in the maelstrom, ...
Saturday 30th July 2016 6:59 pm
Song
Rooted in earth and fiction
Bearing the assaults of elements and of man
Eager to share, but standing unheard
From high in the nest or in swift flight
Singing their songs while meandering south
Eager to share, but flying unheard
Soil clinging with the last drop of strength
Earth gru...
Thursday 28th July 2016 5:59 pm
The Tongue
If smitten, she'll lick lips with haste
She'll savour the flavour and beckon for more
She's a muscle who lives for the taste
Though nerves can make her too dry
If she's tied by your words, you'll look like a fool
If she's forked, you're likely to lie
And i...
Monday 25th July 2016 12:46 am
Steadfast
The fingers grip fast and tight
Right arm drawn to yield potential
Eyes commit; the mark's in sight
Crafted. Etched. Owned with pride
Arrows designed to cut through air
Sharpened points forge a graceful glide
A jet black stallion with flowing mane
A steady course is set and ...
Friday 22nd July 2016 3:55 pm
God's Cahnty
Scotland's foak are nowe neer as tite, or fair
Lancaster az but weaker trees and moare gawmless flowwers
And o' watter from Thames or Tyne, i cannot care
We wer craaned as kings n queens from ar verry burth
Nivver fear nor dahht it, tho wethers wet an coald
A better cahn...
Wednesday 20th July 2016 6:06 pm
Moles
Deeper and bigger than freckles
I'd play dot to dot, if I knew where to begin
If I were a hen; I'd be speckled
As head holes can cause mayhem
Though hills appear, without invitation
Let's not make mountains out of them
From a very special sleeper
A fly in the ointmen...
Monday 18th July 2016 12:44 am
To a Slug
When blessed with seasons, wet and warm
With foliage and fungi, you mark your time
A gastropod; a handsome form
As your journey is marked with a trail of slime
I wish you well, as you perform
Spread word of your foes with silent talks
Avoid beer traps, salt piles, the brazen frog
And gardeners with their rakes ...
Wednesday 13th July 2016 3:50 pm
Downwind
I will never know
My brain was always sharper
the corner of my mouth?
Hackles raised. Target in sight.
The advantage was ours
And the prize a good one -
enough there to fill o...
Monday 11th July 2016 7:16 pm
Introspection (acrostic)
In careful pursuit of peace
Nothing should be allowed to impede, yes even
Treacherous thoughts should be accepted, so that
Reason is slowly allowed to win
Observe then, with each of your
Senses, the inner core of your being
Proudly sweating with the heat
Emanating from your humanity and permit the
Cold fresh wind of change to breeze into your mind
Time has no meaning if you do this right
...
Saturday 9th July 2016 4:22 pm
Sweet Little Lies
A lie was born - I can't explain
A viscous tide that did not ebb
From between my teeth, emerged my lies
To add some honey to the tale
It trickled into your kind ear
Th...
Tuesday 5th July 2016 2:56 pm
Silk Worm
But, so full of youthful joy was I
That I longed for love and in the gloom
Your exotic beauty caught my eye
Your merry jive and empty talk
I followed you, and how you led
Elan and aplomb in your dashing walk
We brought lively banter to a weary road
A perfect team, al...
Monday 27th June 2016 5:17 pm
A Garden Party
And the flowers unfold and smile
Then we gnomes will be ready to do what we must do
We'll prepare for the party with style
Haul out our toadstool chairs and bunting
We've been ironing the table covers since the break of dawn
We find it far more fun than fishing and than hunting
Thursday 23rd June 2016 2:43 am
Decision Made
We no longer rule the waves
We rarely show the Dunkirk spirit
We no longer free the slaves
With the strength to control with will
The turbulent forces surround us
And this earth does not stand still
No matter how splendid the idea might be
We'd drown in a sea of troubles
That's not...
Tuesday 14th June 2016 12:02 am
The Jolly Merchant Bankers
Delighting in their numbers and the quest for feral greed
They buy and sell and speculate and hunt in packs like hounds
Smelling blood when weakness shows in the euro or the pound
Pension funds, hopes and dreams and stability take the hit
When things go wrong, it's rare for them to be neck deep in the shit
They'll make their loadsa mone...
Saturday 11th June 2016 12:11 am
Wired
and their tones that empty human bones
I wonder too, through wired rage
Can perhaps evolve beyond its scorn
Sharing ideas, battling strife
It seems, surely the best thi...
Tuesday 7th June 2016 9:16 pm
Unrefined*
Upon the nearest tit
Carve a cross and hump all night
I won't care a bit
And buck without a wit
As long as you can read and write
I couldn't give a shit
If that's your choice and aim
Laugh and fuck with all your might
Treat life as a game
Monday 6th June 2016 7:48 pm
Migration
No words detected, but a powerful call
From within and a shift in the weather;
It's time to leave - to begin the mighty migration
From the Chobe river to the hopeful paradise of Nxai Pan
Open plains, dense forrests
And all too many enemies lie in wait
Leopards, snakes and vulture...
Monday 6th June 2016 1:18 am
The Heart
This is one beast of a machine
the core of our feelings
or weak enough to be broken
Big. Kind. Heavy. Light
Yearns, faints and aches
and be a place to search for answers
It can ...
Saturday 4th June 2016 11:08 am
Summer Evenings
With their melodies strong
And their playful wishes well-fed
With a daring, keen story
Reluctant to cast us to bed
Kiss hello to the moon
and blossom in purple and red
Thursday 2nd June 2016 10:09 pm
A Shy Shiraz
Pinotage, they reckon, for cheese
Tempranillo is the choice for Mexican grub
But, I'm somewhat easier to please
While chilling to some melodic jazz
I've had the bold, the brave and the border-line nasty
But I've never had a "Shy Shiraz"
And ...
Friday 13th May 2016 2:56 pm
Sunday Shiraz
Cannot touch the mellow stance
Nor begin to feel the depth, which I
may gaze and flow in merry dance
sinking, tickling my tonsils keen
I cannot be but in pure ease
My mind blurs in a haze serene
And fruit and smoke and peppers pure
A bold perfection can but entice;
The weeke...
Monday 9th May 2016 8:19 pm
Cold April Days
for blaring into his day;
She is simply happier
when couched in her mumbles of grey
They have their blinkers on
They leave the paths untrodden
While the world chokes out a song
It's a choice that they embrace
They know the Earth keeps turning
At its' baffling, blurring pace
Thursday 28th April 2016 11:17 pm
To Fill a Gap*
Don't paste in rubber cement
You know sealant just won't cut it
And mortar won't make a dent
Mud and sand will make a mess
Glue will get you stuck too fast
Chuddy can never impress
If you bind with gunk and grout
The chasm will deepen further
If you fill with junk and doubt
Monday 25th April 2016 10:10 pm
Measure by Measure
Or standing feet deep in a puddle full of pleasure
I could be miles away from reaching Maybe…
But I know to take it measure by measure
Flying through each furlong of land
The beat of my heart matching quavers of a song
With unbridled horsepower at my command
Saturday 23rd April 2016 10:01 pm
The Bend
Where the bluebells grow
Strong, full of spice and sweet
Where the witches and the wizards
cast their spells, I know
And the elves feel safe to meet
Where the waters run deep
And the vines harsh thirst is fed
Where dry grapes can burst
in pleasure and folly;
The valley can sing in a glory of red
Saturday 23rd April 2016 8:54 am
Computer Error
I.T is everywhere
But with the hunt to get online
Comes the onset of grey hair
Said the slick man in the shop
"I don't know how you do without"
He opined in a modern strop
A new world to explore
But did my troubles vanish?
No, they multiplied all the more
Tuesday 19th April 2016 11:39 pm
The Fox
By the light of the full moon
With my look refined and cunning
I will almost make you swoon
Don't treat me as an enemy
Or fear me as a foe
Don't use evil words against me
I'm a well-bred soul, you know
I'm a smooth, suave, refined old chap
A four-legged paradox
Oblige me for a moment, please
- I'm an urbane urban fox
Monday 11th April 2016 9:05 pm
Keeper of The Heads
The death of a traitor
is always sweet
echo through the city
when the mighty fall
or the wretched scum meet their end
Parboiled
Dipped in tar
Beautifully macabre
Proudly plying my trade
For there's a colour to my craft
and a heritage I'm proud to continue
Sunday 10th April 2016 8:33 am
Fools Rush In
A goof, a dope, a wally
What a wazzock, a goose, a goon
He must be off his trolley
A twerp, a twonk, a nitwit
A divvy, a cretin, a doofus, an oaf
A berk, a jerk, an eejit
A dipstick, a plonker, a twit
A drongo, a plank, a jester, a clown
A prat, a pillock, a git
_...
Saturday 9th April 2016 1:19 am
The Pen
- In general, I guess that's true
But mine's a lazy blighter;
It treats sloth as a damned virtue
It's always at a halt
It likes staring at blank paper
As though that's the thing at fault
It lives a charmed sedentary life
Full speed is torpidly inert
It charges around at the pace of a slug
When flat out and a...
Sunday 3rd April 2016 11:03 pm
Money
Parsimonious. Frugal. A miser
After this, no-one will be richer
But words might make us wiser...
Chips. Gravy. Bananas. Beans
Potatoes. Fish. Milk. Lolly.
If you have the biscuit - you have the means
Nicker. Coin. Lucre. Notes
Bones. Tender. Funds. Swag
G...
Sunday 3rd April 2016 2:36 pm
No
No goal
No rhyme
No soul
No joy
No play
No ploy
No sound
No sky
No ground
No white
No bark
No bite
No arms
No powers
No charms
No games
No fire
No flames
No steel
No drink
No meal
No ink
No speech,
Just think
No leaves
No air
To bre...
Sunday 27th March 2016 10:08 pm
Puddings
And sticky toffee pudding head the top of my list
But apple pie, rhubarb crumble
Or a decent cheesecake are hard to resist
Dumplings, nougat, cheese board or mousse
Crème brûlée. Fruit cocktail. Yoghurt
Serve it up and set me loose!
Rice pudding, Christmas pudding
Let me say it loud and clear
Summer pudding, Eve...
Saturday 26th March 2016 12:49 pm
Socks
There's a shuffling noise from the drawer
It's clear they're having a promiscuous party
And swapping their partners once more
I'd paired them up with duty and care
Matching them as they should be
But I left them alone for 10 ruddy minutes
And now they're loose and free
The greens pair with the brown
The st...
Thursday 24th March 2016 8:52 pm
Socks
I fell for their little scam
"4 pairs for £5" the label said
That drew me in -
Basic human, innocent error
With underwear, dressing gowns,
slippers and belts
They knew how to behave
Gently paired
Nicely pressed
Coolly hanging together
from the garments around
As I naively ...
Friday 18th March 2016 7:06 am
Fruitless
A poem in response to "This is just to say" by William Carlos Williams...
That you found the ice box bare
I haven't bothered to replace them
And there's not one left to spare
The bananas, the grapes
The pears, the peaches too
The oranges and kiwis are consumed
There's simply nothing left for you
Wednesday 9th March 2016 11:24 pm
The Dawn
among the blades of grass
Damp with dew
Clamouring with anticipation
of a new day
with its hues of pinks, blues and
smiling white clouds
was born to be seen
and exploded silently
All the better to listen
The fields cooed one by one
Even the surliest of trees
blinked in th...
Tuesday 1st March 2016 5:17 pm
March
Of being mired in mud;
In need of respite
In need of hope
In the furthest corner of my right eye
I see something gleaming;
A glimpse of something bold
With a whisper of promise
And a whiff of sweat and steel
Bringing a fresh strong arm
A sharper blade
A stronger shield
Monday 29th February 2016 7:13 pm
Red Letter Day
Ticks
and the liquid
Chime
and gentle oak
Blend
The lips poised
The tongue
Ready
mind and soul are
Satisfied
shared, valued
Enjoyed
Celebrated
Saturday 13th February 2016 12:40 pm
Census Report
Pass through wood and brick
Mortar and strong Yorkshire stone
The ghosts passing on the stairway
The spectres, ever astir, in the upper rooms
Of living, breathing
Vibrant souls
Nest with me here
As shadows.
Of life and love
Passion and hate
Exciteme...
Sunday 7th February 2016 2:22 am
My Belly
I like reading and watching telly
Sitting around is my hobby
And you can tell that from my belly
Or an apple, or a drum
Call it curvy, call it fat
I prefer to say "rotund!"
And never gain an ounce
But somehow, now I'm older
I have found I've extra "bounce"
I co...
Wednesday 27th January 2016 7:04 pm
First Walk with Hearing Aids
Clack
Click, clack, click
Clack
Click, clack, click
Got a rhythm going
Hearing aids in
And yes, I'm "strollin'"
Clack
Click, clack, click
Rain drops falling
Thunk
Click, clack, c...
Sunday 17th January 2016 6:08 pm
Fire Monkey
Playing his pranks
Winding up the wife
Using his brain
Owning it. Bossing it
Playing the game
- a little bit spunky
A little bit of attitude
A little bit of grit
With daring and drive
Top of the tree
And feeling alive
Fire and wi...
Monday 4th January 2016 10:58 pm
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