The New Year Cometh
The held breath of midnight.
The old year solemnly folds.
Heralding blank canvases
Future stories as yet untold.
Fireworks, their colours burst,
In a star-studded velveteen sky,
A celebratory good riddance
Last year finally passes by.
Welcoming, most heartedly
Expectations of this newer year
Counting down the final seconds
In unison, we raise a cheer
Profferi...
Thursday 28th December 2023 1:34 pm
The colours of Christmas
Outside, bright gold and crimson bows hang large on frosted trees
Whilst white snowflakes dance merrily on winter's gentle breeze,
Bells chime lyrically, heralding midnight Christmas Eve
As Santa Claus brings presents to children who still believe
The sound of the reindeer hooves on the roof, clip-clop repeat,
Girls and boys are unaware, as they're snuggled fast asleep
...
Thursday 21st December 2023 4:52 pm
Poetry is like a good phuck
Poetry, like love, created when hearts and minds collide.
When any worry of inadequacy is reassigned to one side.
The pen caressed with a sensuous stroke,
Delightfully reliving thoughts that memories evoke.
In a world of words, many thoughts combine,
Erotic displays, dirty dancing with rhyme.
The cursive quill stimulates two lovers entwined,
A rhythmic embrace, with emoti...
Tuesday 19th December 2023 2:47 pm
Love died without dignity
I'm not sure what I'm unsure about,
I don't know what I don't know or doubt,
What I do know, and this I know to be true,
The love I give is just not enough for you.
I can't care about things for which I have no care
Won't share with others who similarly won't share
What I do know, is our need for mutual respect
For you, the love I give is less than what you expect
...
Monday 11th December 2023 4:44 pm
Over
In darkened shadows, an ungrateful heart resides,
Ignoring countless blessings, in pitch it hides.
No flowery blooms of appreciation in this barren pasture,
A stark thankless, cold, depressing life that’s fractured
Thank you’s blown away in the whispered wind,
Gifts overlooked, gratitude in recall and rescind.
Each kindness lost to a black void of disdain,
Ungrateful echo...
Friday 8th December 2023 2:56 pm
In the Land of Lost Content
In the land of lost content, irregular shadows play,
Stronger memories are now fading in the light of day.
We've harvested all those yesteryear fields where dreams were spent,
Whilst on the wistful journey to the land of lost content.
Through autumn's fallen leaves, through libraries of tales untold,
Wayward laughter set in a gallery of smiling gold.
Where your pou...
Thursday 30th November 2023 5:27 pm
Amputee
These injuries may limit my future path,
An IED blast, I'm the aftermath.
But don't you disregard me, my heart is true,
This soldier's bulldog spirit shines through.
Whilst abilities appear restricted,
Physically and mentally afflicted
Self-pity trumped, perseverance prevails,
My unyielding tenacity never fails.
Challenges demand much strength and resilience,
E...
Tuesday 21st November 2023 1:51 pm
Now we understand what love is
Only now can we begin to understand
How much each has loved and loves still
How much faith we’ve stored in both at will
Past years, lives out of hand, new futures planned
Troubled once, previous love not so rounded,
Tears: Hereafter bliss unrepleted,
A.N.other took our time and cheated,
We watched unsounded marriage vows grounded
Our new love won't allow either to...
Sunday 12th November 2023 7:12 pm
Love he, who has wronged me
Many threads coalesce to become this life's tangled weave,
Though reason and mercy, are rarely given or received.
Yet to forgive and forget, one another's wrongdoing,
Displays compassion of spirit, empathic reviewing.
Patience and tenacity, we view meritorious
Bullying of others is considered inglorious.
We subjugate wrongdoers rightly to the rule of law,
Without first un...
Thursday 2nd November 2023 10:39 am
Until then......
There will come a time
When meadow blooms are mindfully mum,
When majestic woodland oaks succumb
When poetry surely loses rhyme.
There will come a day
When exploits are regaled less often,
When hope is nevermore an option,
When love and laughter have gone astray,
There'll be a minute
When atonement for our wrongs is done,
When the final song to sin...
Friday 27th October 2023 2:54 pm
The Great Wave off Kanagawa
Hokusai's Great Wave
(Mount Fuji presidary)
Crews cower lower
Deep troughs, white horses
(Mount Fuji introspective)
First drowned, then trampled
Man's impermanence
(Mount Fuji remains steadfast)
Against nature's force.
The Great Wave's power,
(Mount Fuji oblivious)
Grasps man's life, now death
Wednesday 25th October 2023 1:09 pm
Wife, Mother, Self. Husband, Father, Self
Courage.
Fearless; Dauntless,
Treasured, feisty spirit.
Father's love-struck weekend punchbag.
Victim.
Patient.
Doting; Caring.
Driving; Shaping; Praising.
Sculpt’s progeny's crucial futures.
Teacher.
Eager.
Avid; Fervent.
Striving; Grasping knowledge.
Universe absorbed to recall
Student
Husband, Father, Self ...
Saturday 21st October 2023 4:42 pm
Who's that there?
Dullen eyes,
thinned skin,
salt 'n' pepper hair.
Droopy jowls,
saggy bags,
who's that there?
Sounds lost,
blighted sight,
thoughts frittered.
Stiffened joints,
unfaked aches,
mind littered.
Once young,
agile, virile,
now neglected.
forgotten youth,
decrepit exhibit
Mirror reflected.
Wednesday 11th October 2023 11:47 am
The Crossing
A drifting dinghy in the shed tear of a storm’s cry
Souls crouched desperately frightened beneath bedraggled rags
They seek a future: We have one to give, and that’s why
Our safe refuge is undetermined by their tattered flags
Don’t consider them foreigners from a foreign land
They are pitiful parents, young children who need our care
To be warmly welcomed, not pol...
Thursday 5th October 2023 8:39 pm
Freedom
The lightness of liberty gives me lift to fly,
Without restriction into the blue open sky.
No chains will ever bind, no bars will ever cage,
I pen freedom across every poetic page.
My firm voice speaks out against tyranny boldly
For my future's sake, there will be none to hold me.
In my youth, the fire of my empowerment burned,
The lessons of previous generations learned.
I...
Wednesday 4th October 2023 4:41 pm
The river of life flows
Like Achilles, we're headfirst into the river of life
Slowly floating downstream towards death, irrevocably
Circumstances may speed many through whitewater rapids,
To an untimely end, somewhat unbenevolently
Those less fortunate perish in cascading waterfalls
While others simply meander aimlessly in shallows
Egotists, ignorant of the plight of their own drowning
Unaware t...
Saturday 30th September 2023 4:18 pm
Residential Dementia
One, Two. Do I know you?
Three, Four. What’re you here for?
Five, Six. Just for kicks?
Seven, Eight. Tell me straight.
Nine, Ten. Are you with them?
Eleven, Twelve. Or yourselves?
Thirteen, Fourteen. You got morphine?
Fifteen, Sixteen. Oral or vaccine?
Seventeen, Eighteen. See Nurse Nadeen.
Nineteen, Twenty. She’s got plenty.
Twenty, Nineteen. One Girl crime scene.
...Thursday 28th September 2023 8:00 am
The Globaticus
The ferociously frenzied yellow-eyed Globaticus
chews for an eternity every morsel of road kill
licking her lips after each glorious chomp
swallowing hard whilst enjoying the thrill
Flavouring the prey with a pinch of black pepper
rubbing salt into the drying skin of the trunk
flickering her tongue around bloodied nooks and crannies
A meaty lump hits her stomach, kerplunk...
Wednesday 27th September 2023 1:57 pm
77, 78, PUNKed
Our yesteryear
Youngster's fear, turned to dust
Just then. We discovered punk,
we dunked our souls
unlikely society trolls, we were individuals
residuals, no modern comparison
An Oliver's army garrison, we fought back
dressed in black, moved by the beat,
leather booted feet stomped the city.
what a pity, Johnny Rotten died
We cried, while out of reach
On Rockaway B...
Thursday 21st September 2023 8:52 am
Celebrations
Many years unfold, and our last hours swiftly scurry
Family and friends gathered reminiscing on a life well-founded
Reflecting on this mortality, we decisively flame out in a hurry.
Pondering the may or may not have been, of experiences unsounded
In my final thoughts, I attend, again, each celebration.
Those cherished occasions change as we grow old,
Happy times, often...
Sunday 17th September 2023 5:05 pm
What happens in the hot tub, stays in the hot tub
It started very slowly
Then, it quickly got out of hand
Commencing, without warning
Without pressure or demand
It continued more rapidly
Then either could understand
It began with no previous forethought
Neither plotted nor pre-planned
Our feelings moved on so quickly
They caught us both by surprise
Wrongly, others may have supposed
This had been formerly devised
...Thursday 14th September 2023 4:16 pm
Waste No Time
Waste no time debating,
What defines your moral character.
Let not your public words
Be another man’s disparager.
Actions speak more clearly
than a thousand words you say,
Don’t allow ignorance or arrogance.
to be the persona you display.
No need to argue endlessly,
On the attributes of reputable men,
Or whether the depth of their piety
Is more significant tha...
Tuesday 12th September 2023 7:48 pm
I stand alone
Unseen, many gods remain concealed,
I tread life with reason as my guiding light,
Proud owner of a sceptic's heart,
Dogmas unbound, no ancient tomes reviewed,
My creed is doubt, in doubt I find my way,
With open eyes, the world is revealed
Unseen, many gods remain concealed
No prayers whispered, no insight divine,
I marvel at the cosmos and its starry field,
...Tuesday 29th August 2023 8:25 pm
New Book Launch
A new 180-page book of my thoughts and ramblings, buy yours on all the usual sites including JDRussell.online.
All I can say is, I have read it and I think it's wonderful
Thursday 24th August 2023 9:06 am
Imagination trumps the details
She cradles her head between her hands
as if dispatched by Madam la Guillotine.
Eyes tightly closed, hair stickier wet than the dew
blood spouting from fissured jugulars.
As her head fell, it left a blood-red stain
Upon Madame's blade, upon the gravelled stone court.
She cradles her head between her hands
too tired to hold erect when cradled in Hypnos arms
Sleep overwhelms...
Tuesday 22nd August 2023 4:08 pm
Columba livia domestica
City's beating heart, a grey-clad sentinel.
winged grace, comic-faced, yet objectionable.
A messenger, a precursor of fanciful tales
brushed up by urban winds, setting sails.
Bustling human streets provide isotach soaring
an outpouring of nuisance thoughts, unadoring.
A scavenger, a subtle dancer on the city's stage
iridescent, with a watchful eye, colourful sage.
A...
Thursday 17th August 2023 12:52 pm
To love a woman even more
To love a woman, be dependable and firm,
Assure her of the future. Let your love affirm,
Into open arms, harmonise your connection,
Support her in her dreams, as one, in the same direction,
Cherish her continually with utmost affection
Both hearts gladdened, realising your love is right
Andante dance tempo, hold her close, hold her tight
Watch her for direction. Be keen t...
Wednesday 16th August 2023 1:17 pm
Grandchildren playing
Frivolous laughter whilst playing together in the park,
Their youthfulness and you, two ends of an ageing arc.
Their unbridled exuberance, to them all life is a lark.
Frivolous laughter whilst playing together in the park,
Time stands still as childhood memories embark,
The light of adolescence shines brightly through the dark
Frivolous laughter whilst playing together ...
Friday 11th August 2023 2:46 pm
William Winters 1791
That night, as black as Coal hewer’s hands
A sliver of moonlight edged the darkened cloud
A heavy fall of August rain fell onto the moor
That washed their faces, though heads were bowed
Her small cottage doubled as a village shop
High upon Northumberland’s, Elsden Moor,
Mistress Crozier warmed by the heat of her fire.
Heard a loud knock knock knocking, on the wood...
Friday 4th August 2023 5:18 pm
The bride.
Beneath the veil, a vision as yet unclear.
Eyes widen, whispers hushed as she appears,
Head held high, assured and confident,
Opulent, her dress stitched with extravagance,
Look closely at how the bodice compliments her frame,
Desirous women wish they could dress the same
Behold, raised veil, her beauty revealed.
Exquisite radiance nevermore concealed.
Alabaster...
Monday 31st July 2023 7:38 pm
Ode to a Red Rose
Oh, crimson Rose, nature's gift of grace,
Your ruby petals entice fairer sex embrace,
Your lusciousness evokes men's hopes and dreams
Erect stance stems, a metaphor for love’s extremes.
Your thorns remind us that the path of love’s not smooth,
Yet tenacity helps us hold on to love we can not lose.
Avoiding those thorns that safeguard your velveteen bloom,
We choose flush t...
Friday 28th July 2023 6:18 pm
The Seven Ages
In our innocence, as babies, we sleep,
Cradled closely in mother's love so deep.
This great world of wonder yet to behold
A million fascinations are still untold.
This child of learning carries heavy loads,
Whilst choosing future friends and future roads.
He absorbs knowledge like a Kalymnos sponge.
Opinions consumed, no notion expunged
This lover takes the s...
Thursday 27th July 2023 3:40 pm
East Norfolk Elegy
Norfolks Hemsby shore
Tidal surges persist.
Every passing storm
More precious land's dismissed.
The consequences
Abruptly take its toll.
As Marram grassed dunes
Relinquish any hold or control.
Higher levels and warmer seas,
Rising tides and storms collide,
Crash against geologically feeble coast
Which then inevitably slips and slides.
The once sandy du...
Monday 24th July 2023 4:27 pm
That’s no life. (Image, Melancholy by Edvard Munch)
Take it for a teatime dance,
Show it the joys of a fine romance.
Take it to the movie flicks,
Show it all your back-row tricks.
Go for a drive in an opened topped ride
Where to go? Well, you decide.
Escort it to fancy restaurants
Wine and dine, whatever it wants
A turn of speed in a two-seater sports,
Down country lanes, to seaside resorts.
Take it away on vacation we...
Saturday 15th July 2023 3:06 pm
Naughty Nonet
High-waisted, French-laced, or Brazilian,
White cotton, red silk, or black string,
Bikini briefs and hipsters,
Caress my lady's skin.
Her Bridget Jones’s.
(bigger knickers)
Conceals zone.
Small pants
Groan.
Friday 14th July 2023 3:25 pm
In an attic room
Too often she carries her weight in despair
Dark thoughts have free rein in her life, she complies
Dwelling on the burdens of the life that she bears,
Unable to craft a new story of care,
She dances to the beat of negative vibes
Too often she carries her weight in despair
She has no imagination, pizzazz or flair
No way of knowing how to turn tail on the tide
...Wednesday 12th July 2023 6:29 am
With love, goodbye
''Don't trouble the doctor needlessly.''
She said, ''I just want to take my rest, ''
''With your hand in mine, lying peacefully.''
''Remembering our younger years when we were blessed.''
Together, hand in hand, they reminisced,
That moment long ago when they first met.
The passion when they initially kissed
Handsome docker and spirited brunette
Recalling clandesti...
Saturday 8th July 2023 12:21 pm
Take hold of life
In darkened shadows, where hope seems but a waste,
Despair entwines the very core, leaving little space
to the possibility of taking any other direction,
Wrapped tendrils bind in an icy brace.
Your soul, your vessel lost amongst the souls
No guiding hand, no flicker to ignite a light
that will illuminate any forward gain,
Grasped by darkness, your life in blight
...
Wednesday 5th July 2023 11:56 am
Lost Love, Lost Heart (A Villanelle)
The emptiness of your heart haunts my soul.
The taste of bitterness still lingers here.
A lovelorn dagger plunged deep, takes its toll.
Entwined, our two halves would've formed the whole,
Images shattered. Love has disappeared.
The emptiness of your heart haunts my soul.
Passions dancing, emotions take control,
Fate's cruel hand then blurred our love unclear,
A lo...
Wednesday 28th June 2023 4:59 pm
Not everything is within your power
In the realm of life's intricate design,
There inhabits a truth that's so refined,
"You have the power to control your mind,"
Let outside events remain unaligned.
Embrace this wisdom. Let it be.
the beacon of strength for you to see,
In every challenge, big or small,
Find the power within and stand tall.
For storms may rage, the winds may blow,
Your mind i...
Monday 26th June 2023 5:24 pm
My......
No! This can't be happening, she losing against death, I’m losing her from life, my yesterdays, my today, my tomorrows, my evermorrows, eyes dimming, breath failing, muscles wasting, she’s my light, my breath, my strength, where will my strength go when she goes, my mentor, my judge, my jury, my supporter, my forgiver, my friend, hold fast my gentle lady, I’m not ready to let you go just yet, ...
Saturday 24th June 2023 12:55 pm
Reflections in a Photograph
The years have rolled,
A young man stares back
from an old passport photo.
He believed himself wiser,
older than his youthful years.
Principles form from boyish ideals.
Once ambitious, once determined.
A fighter, a winner, yet still a beginner
The youngster in the old passport photo
is still inside this old man,
staring back from my mirror.
Thursday 22nd June 2023 10:04 am
Unlikely WW2 Allies
Early nineteen forty-five, west coast of Burma
In charge, Colonel Kan'ichi Nagazawa
The tiny strategic tropical island of Ramree
‘’Defend at all costs!’’ he said ‘’Till your last hour!’’
The Colonel mined the beaches,
Fortified the garrison in the cliffs.
Split his force to maximise his fire
Left no stone unturned, there were no ‘ifs’
Twenty-first of January,...
Wednesday 21st June 2023 12:45 pm
Perfection of Character
Your moral character is unsmirched, unmaligned.
You've lived life with good purpose, well-defined,
Sure-footed, with a firm grasp on each day,
An inner truth illuminates your way.
With fortitude and intent. Let your image grow.
No waste, no haste, no laziness on show.
Embrace acquaintances as new friends you’ve made
Spirited dialogue urges pretension to fade.
Engage li...
Saturday 17th June 2023 1:04 pm
A good deed is a good deed, not a favour
Random acts of kindness, and charitable schemes
Brings inner warmth that bolsters self-esteem
Embraced in the comforting arms of selflessness
Discard ego, when virtue is the emphasis
Don't yearn for an ovation, no self-serving aim
When goodness blooms, those less fortunate gain,
In those moments of compassion, we truly see,
The epitome of man's bred humanity.
In the ta...
Thursday 15th June 2023 3:11 pm
What harms the bee, harms the hive
Judgement day comes for an apian hive
On the threshold, will it die or survive?
The Bee's priority is the unhoneyed comb
Unaware of the finality of her home,
What harms one bee, ruptures the greater whole,
Their shared destiny, the colony's goal.
The bee is the hive's cooling, beating heart.
Each tiny winged creature, a precious part,
What threatens the hive may destroy the bees
Confl...
Wednesday 14th June 2023 11:06 am
It’s the end of the world as we know it
New World
Morning dawning
Emerge, embark, proceed
Life prospers only furtively
Evolves
Nature,
Peaceful, serene,
Complex doting mother
Beautiful, a world harmonised.
Nurtures
Climate,
Changing, warming
Heatwaves, fires, freezing, droughts,
Nature's response to inaction.
Flash floods
Humans
Raging, burning
Denied self-indulgence
...Saturday 10th June 2023 4:13 pm
If They Can, Then So Can You
In those moments of doubt, when challenges arise,
You're facing tasks seemingly too vast, or unwise,
Remember, my friend, that ambition's not lost,
Impossible is not out of reach, or aloft
Should your dreams feel distant, beyond your scope or touch,
Yield not disheartened to your inner-self too much.
For possibility knows no bounds, there's no wall,
You crucially possess ...
Thursday 8th June 2023 4:57 pm
There’s no revenge in imitation
You have hurt me, and yet,
I search not for retribution.
Seeking a distinct vantage point
I do not find revenge in imitation.
Harsh words once cruelly spoken,
An opportunity for easy repetition.
Yet substance is my pride
I do not find revenge in imitation,
There is no detail I must explain
I’m in no need of vindication.
I’m unlike you; I’m therefore sure,
...Thursday 8th June 2023 11:26 am
I forgot how to love you
Regrets linger heavily,
There are long shadows cast,
Love’s flame extinguished,
There’s no chance we’ll last.
In fervent haste,
I bade us a final adieu.
Hopelessly, passionlessly
I forgot how to love you
There was an absence of heart,
a chasm so wide,
We stood naked and adrift,
In love's ebbing tide.
Our love slipped away,
Like the timers...
Monday 5th June 2023 5:55 pm
Ode to a Dragonfly
Oh, Dragonfly, ephemeral creature of the skies,
With wings that glisten and mesmerize.
Through nature's patchwork world, take flight,
Reflected opalescence belittles light.
With grace, you dance the summer breeze.
Aerial acrobat, netless trapeze.
A lissom body, set on a delicate frame,
An inner strength puts most to shame
With emerald and sapphire hues...
Saturday 3rd June 2023 1:47 pm
Time
A curious thought about the sands of time
How two distant places appear in rhyme
Existing as a pair in a fleeting embrace,
Two places, one world, in time and space.
In one hemisphere, sunrise paints the morning sky,
Awakening slumberers with a new day's sigh,
Whilst westward, a Turneresque sunset glows,
Bidding a farewell to light, long shadows grow.
Across ...
Thursday 1st June 2023 1:18 pm
Returning home on the Flying Scotsman 1983
Wrapped securely within your liveried green
Refined golden-arched nameplate highlights your pedigree,
London North Eastern returning home
Non-stop, Kings Cross to Diesel City
Clackety Click, Clackety Click, Clackety Click
Passing by Highbury, the Arsenal
through the long Potters Bar tunnel
Where pressure causes your ears to pop
Travelling quicker northward, abandoning the ‘...
Tuesday 30th May 2023 4:17 pm
Bliss
Strolling wooded fen and green pasture,
Stimulated by Spring's splendour,
Yellow Rattle, Red Poppy,
Cowslip, Purple Clover.
sown abundantly
by divine hand,
highlighting
this place
Home
Sunday 28th May 2023 12:27 pm
Wendy K
Friends told Wendy Kincaid to seize the day
Live her life, live life her way.
The attached rope, alas, had one fatal flaw:
She'll never go bungee anymore.
A long drop to eternity for Wendy K
Thursday 18th May 2023 7:42 am
Accept me as I am
Will you accept me as I am?
Though sometimes weak, I'm sometimes strong,
Appreciate, I may have faults
I'm sometimes right, though sometimes wrong
On this, our special day of days,
Let's pledge avid adoration,
Joyously betrothed, we'll vow to
make true love our declaration
All gathered on this solemn day.
You dressed in fine white lace and pearls,
Cosseted by family warmth,
Our wond...
Tuesday 16th May 2023 2:01 pm
The Green Man and Jenny Greenteeth Get Married
Their love was warm and bright
Shining forth from virescent eyes
Wrapped within their strength of passion,
They held each other close
Muscular solid arms entwined her
His demure lass of fashion
Courting, walking out, blinded by love
Oblivious to others within their view,
Unintentional disregard, no dispassion
A calendar date for their union settled
Fi...
Saturday 13th May 2023 4:46 pm
The Unexpected Ballad of Laura and Ben
Laura and Ben were toddler friends
Born less than a year apart
Kindergarten playground buddies
Inseparable, right from the start
We watched them grow into teenagers
The two spoke as if one, of love and romance
they wanted to take their relationship further,
Give their young adult dalliance a chance
Each family wished them well.
Their friends were overjoyed.
...Thursday 11th May 2023 9:49 am
YOU MUST READ THIS
Everyone should read 'The Hurt' by a young lady poet called Jamia, find her in the profile section, I think it is one of the best things I've read for a while, so moving, it deserves engagement.
Thank you and goodnight
Sunday 7th May 2023 3:26 pm
Through the Abbey’s great doors
I received an official letter; they posted it through my door.
I noticed, On His Majesty's Service, as it lay there on the floor
Surprised that the London postmark wasn't special, in fact, it wasn't flash
Surprised that it had arrived, my invitation to King Charlie's bash,
Interested in what others considered attire at its best
I viewed the coronation of our late lamented ...
Saturday 6th May 2023 8:10 pm
Last breath
A culmination of my mortal wealth
The final veto of this body’s health
On this concluding course, I’ll steer the helm,
Towards divine perfection in heaven's realm.
Pleasures once played forcibly reduced in speed.
Aches and pains scream, “You fool, take heed.”
Sat alone at ease, awaiting death’s forecast.
Whilst silently reminiscing about a time long past.
No time now for re...
Thursday 4th May 2023 8:05 am
Eleven thousand fourth century British Virgins
The London church of St Mary Axe
Famous for just one little-unknown fact
It once held the bloodied broadaxe
Used to poleaxe
Eleven thousand British virgins
Meriadoc, fabled Celtic commander
All conquering, just like the great Alexander
Friend to Maximus, hopeful Roman emperor
Now he needs to pander
To eleven thousand British virgins
Recreating his beloved Br...
Monday 1st May 2023 8:50 pm
Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba, by Claude Lorrain 1648
A thin shaft of majestic sunlight
dances across the harbours contained waves
As if highlighting each crest in gold leaf
Men with muscled arms and sturdier backs
load small boats, transporting large chests of fine silks
Precious stone, spices, and polished gold
Others stand motionless on the fine-marbled quay,
ready to glimpse the regal retinue
Overhead, dawn clouds s...
Wednesday 26th April 2023 7:18 pm
Love you? Love my dog.
Her four paws
could conquer Everest.
Yet your two legs
continue to stagger,
tripping over our love,
As if peppered with stumbling blocks.
Her brown eyes
Emote a tender love.
Yet your shiny blues,
reflect less than nothing,
gazing critically at others
As if weakness demeans them
Her demeanour
Conveys contentment.
Yet your stolidity.
Viewed ne...
Tuesday 25th April 2023 8:05 pm
The waiting lists
Shallow breath.
newborn, near death.
Essential that I'm on this,
the neonatal incubation waiting list.
Fallow care,
pitiful pair.
Shouldn't be missing out on this,
placed on the parental-affection waiting list.
Lie low, lay
stressed every day.
Unsure of the cause for this,
joined the rid-me-of-anxiety waiting list.
Youthfulness
it's ludicrous,
...Friday 21st April 2023 5:40 pm
The Wail of Two Cities
It was a champion side; it was an almost ran side,
It was the age of flair; it was the age of dullness,
It was the era of conviction; it was the era of disbelief,
It was the season of greatness; it was the season to forget,
It was the winter to hope; it was the winter of disillusion,
We had the future before us; we had no hope within us,
Don Revie’s knights in Persil Whi...
Tuesday 18th April 2023 2:21 pm
What happens when the sex stops?
I really should give up on this life,
Not this living kind
but this loving kind.
It's self-evident that we two together,
Won’t make love last forever.
I really should give up on this life,
Not our once harmonious kind
but this blaming whoever, whenever kind.
Paraphrasing Sir Issac, our actions
create opposite and unenviable reactions
I really should give up...
Thursday 13th April 2023 10:48 am
Just a few questions before departure
Would I still be able to dream in colour when I'm dead?
My life revealed in vivid hues replayed inside my head,
Or restricted to shadowy visions in black and white?
Is death considered a more everlasting pitch-black night?
Those dreams? Could I possibly stroll the byways of my youth?
Righting many wrongs whilst cementing fundamental truths,
Would it be possible to ascend hig...
Saturday 8th April 2023 5:09 pm
Manifesto
Whether it is a war of personal attrition,
Detrimentally involuntary
Or a war of hatred with their neighbour
Muscle flexing showing national pride and anxiety
Whether it’s climate change, wearing thin our planet,
Many single voices spouting climatic rhetoric
heckled and shackled by those likely to lose livelihoods
Not thinking that eventually, we all lose our lives
Wat...
Friday 31st March 2023 11:43 am
We’ve been there.
Conwy Castle, Stonehenge and the Jurassic coast
Aberdeen, Newquay and Scarborough fair
Dover, Holyhead and the City of Lincoln
We’ve been there
Not sleeping after we’ve quarrelled
Shouting at each other without a care
Walking away when we should have been closer
We’ve been there
Pompeii, Herculaneum and Rome
Caves of Drach, Pollenca and Port de Soller
...
Monday 27th March 2023 12:06 pm
It was, and always will be, 1969
The fluorescent screen in our lounge,
Mirrored the bridge’s onboard viewer
Gaining a look into unfamiliar fictitious worlds.
We encountered both friendly and unfriendly aliens.
Pointed ears, blue faces, or lizard-like Gorn
Occasionally, it was all just too much
After all, I was only nine
It wasn’t Dr Who scary, but it was close
They whisked us weekly across the cosmos
“...
Thursday 23rd March 2023 7:28 pm
Unsure in love
My darling, never will I abandon you,
You'll always be my one and only,
We’ll be together forever, side by side
Counting our blessings.
Our blessings counted
Will we be forever together, side by side?
Will I always be your one and only?
My darling, will you ever abandon me?
Monday 20th March 2023 4:51 pm
The mind of a bomber
I’m here, with you all, for just one purpose
I’m loathed to abandon that purpose now.
I promise that tomorrow we’ll all be immortal
There is no other scenario I can allow
You’ll never understand just how I'm feeling
You’re indifferent both to mine and your own beliefs
Asleep, I dream my descendants are weeping,
Each morning, I wake, yearning quiet relief.
I understand...
Friday 10th March 2023 10:57 am
Does anyone care?
Old-world women gossip
Disgorging air and candy floss,
Talking, talking, talking.
Just trumpery coming across,
Irrational chatter
Mindless natter,
Suffrage, forgotten, such a loss.
Old-world men jabber
As they prop up the local bar,
Bullshit bullshit bullshit.
Taking ignorance far too far.
Incoherent prattle
Constant cackle.
Franchised rights, or an...
Wednesday 8th March 2023 9:36 am
How many?
Two hundred sextillion stars
In our universe
Thirty-five trillion blood cells
Bodily dispersed
Seventy-thousand decimal places
Someone memorised for Pi
Five thousand visible suns
Light the night sky
Two and a half billion seconds
The extent of one person's life
Thirty-three percent truly believe
After death, there’s an afterlife
Forty million sperm
In one e...
Friday 3rd March 2023 11:21 am
Winter has passed and with it, love.
Repeatedly Spring thwarts Winter,
We rejoice in the vernal equinox
When light eclipses the dire outlook,
Rebirth replaces the seasonal mourning
But this new year moves us further away
from our own once passionate youthful love
Thursday 2nd March 2023 10:02 am
The road to oblivion
I was not alive during World War two
Even dad was a mere lad in the blitz.
Living a stone's throw from Grimsby docks
Bombed nightly by 'The Luftwaffes Herr Fritz.'
I remember reading about the Yangtze incident,
In an old National Geographic edition
As well as the wars in Kenya and Korea
The horrors of the Indian Partition
Little more than just a toddler
Back in...
Wednesday 22nd February 2023 8:47 am
One road to success
Rising like a proverbial phoenix from her despair,
Flying high with coloured wings outstretched.
Comes the chambered secrets of literary success
Precious firstborn to be parented alone.
A happy by-product of an abusive marital union
Arantes, her half-blood prince, quick hands, slow regret,
A broken marriage, jobless, and a single parent
Seven years after graduating, ...
Thursday 16th February 2023 4:13 pm
Cliches
I thought that I’d grab the bull by the horns
Yet dieting is hard. Every rose has its thorns.
As a kid in a candy store, I encountered a hitch,
Hell's paved road of good intention. Fruit bowl or fridge?
“What goes around comes around,” said my therapist
Whose ignorance is bliss, policy, was limitless
“It’s as rare as unicorn shit.” He mocks.
“For dieters to think outside ...
Sunday 12th February 2023 2:12 pm
Unfrosted
The green expanse of grass
Where Lacey and I stroll
Is cold-whitened in the chill overnight
It scrunches underfoot,
resembling
Chinese crisped seaweed
specially bleached
Above, across the morning blue
White clouds stretched taut
Like varicose veins pulled thin in a late winter sky.
We’re icy cold and missing you
So we’re returning
homeward bound, both dog and...
Thursday 9th February 2023 4:26 pm
The Kinfgisher
The Kingfisher
Iridescent, his metallic-like sheen, spikes and flashes
against summer’s lightest blue
Aquamarine-tailed jacket
accessorised by a ruffed chinstrap of white
Speeds low level, like a pre-programmed cruise missile
Hurtling, single-minded,
Along the valleys, meanderingly slow river
Desperate, he seeks to support his mate.
This Halcyon’s golden yellow br...
Saturday 4th February 2023 11:21 am
Blue eyes through black mascara
No longer coming soon, it's out
Amazon: https://www.amazon.in/dp/9395174129?ref=myi_title_dp
Kindle: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BTQ2S6NY
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=53SrEAAAQBAJ
Manda: https://mandapublishers.com/product/blue-eyes-through-black-mascara/?v=56b5fbba0fe8
Friday 3rd February 2023 12:53 pm
Lacey Dog
Our beautiful Romanian rescue
travels life in a new direction.
Her shiny damp nose nestles deep
Pursuing our love and affection
Previously on the streets of Bucharest
possessing sharp wits to survive
Food so scarce for those on the streets
She must stay sharp, to stay alive.
Unborn puppies wouldn't be easy to carry
She must find food, somewhere safe to lie
...Monday 30th January 2023 4:22 pm
At the local butchers aged 10 & 3/4
Mr Brown, the butcher, was sawing through a large beef bone.
Hard white bone chips and sinew flew up and out,
hitting the underneath of the curved glass screen,
it sounded like the machine gun noise I heard
when watching the Daffy Duck cartoons
at the Odean’s Saturday morning pictures.
As he strained to cut,
the large muscle at the top of his arm bulged.
I’ll have musc...
Thursday 26th January 2023 12:49 pm
We moved house but left the tree behind
Winter came and death stole her shapely form
She was just wooden bones; I mourned.
We separated; love-torn,
We could no longer be together
Did I have a hand in her death?
I had created steps with nails large enough
to crucify any unwanted messiahs.
That previous summer I had sat with her, high then still higher
looking down upon the world far below that held nothing for m...
Monday 23rd January 2023 10:25 am
Swiss Roll Family Robinson
Not astonished by the lack of surprise,
The day the Robinson family died
Morbidly obese.
Devoured their last feast,
Committing dietary suicide
Their buffet table laid sumptuously,
Intending to indulge in gluttony,
They wouldn't be the first
To eat till they burst
Avidly scoffed and gouged rapaciously,
A vivid green leaf salad, though not much
Lay limp i...
Monday 16th January 2023 5:18 pm
The Spare
A green-eyed prince, with reddened hair.
Writing Royal scandal for public glare,
His coronet lost all shine and sparkle
Since he became Mister Harry Markle
Ultimately, he's still just a SPARE for the heir
Wednesday 11th January 2023 12:59 pm
Greatest Gift
A child-shaped void in our lives
This woman, my wife, unable to carry life
Unable to bear the fruits of our love.
Not her fault
Mine,
Seedless as a Naval orange.
Brokenhearted, we parted.
Roll forward several years
This woman hereof became my ladylove,
Already a mum, could I think of
These boys as
Mine,
We considered our future.
Hand in hand, we planned.
...Monday 9th January 2023 10:57 am
The Siberian Tiger
Hushed black foot pad sinks,
Submerged beneath crisp deep snow
White pugmarks remain
Siberia no Tora
burakku futto paddo shinku,
fukai yukinoshita ni shimu nda,
shiroi pagu maku ga zan tte i masu.
Monday 2nd January 2023 5:08 pm
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