New Beginnings
New Beginnings
The very roots of my inner being tingle with anticipation
as we make our preparations for the New Year celebration
I possess a renewed sense of profound optimism
as I discard the forlorn cares of past pessimism
My mind is overwhelmed with new and inspired ideas
which look forward to new and fertile fields
I shall cast away the clouds of despair and depressi...
Thursday 30th December 2021 10:12 pm
A Glimmer of Hope
A Glimmer of Hope
Yesterday I trampled autumn underfoot
those dry brown and red leaves
some crisp others damp and flattened by a drizzzle
The trees now stand disarmed, naked and
vulnerable before icy winds
A grey blanket has been cast over
a dormant landscape
Life has withdrawn its clamour from nature's fray
A stillness of inaudible quietude
has enfolded the la...
Thursday 23rd December 2021 7:19 am
Poets
Poets
Poets are drunks, the loquacious and disillussioned
Those whose energy is breathing its last gasp
We think before we say, as memories lay dormant
We have loved, cheated and manipulated
no strangers to this corrupt world
Poets ponder and meditate but fail in any conclusions
But through the joy of life they speak clear cut truth
Listen to our poets as they speak f...
Monday 20th December 2021 1:15 am
A Peculiar Inheritance
A Peculiar Inheritance
There is a strain which runs through
every family
Passed on by a mysterious grace from one
generation to another
It does not consider gender or prediliction
but becomes self evident
Often not readily discernible but apparent
to those who can perceive
A trait of intellect that sets some apart
from their bretheren
It is bequeathed by a na...
Saturday 18th December 2021 9:34 pm
A Decent Folk
A Decent Folk
We must not allow ourselves to be corrupted by the
age we live in
Nor to be the victims of fear and the words
of endless discouragement
We are a decent and compassionate people
often misled
But we remain who we are, a people who recognise
what is good and right
A people prepared to defend freedom and justice
against tyranny and oppression
An isl...
Friday 17th December 2021 6:12 pm
The Soul
The Soul
The soul is the power house of our very being
it is the essential kernel of our true identity
It is who we are and who we could be
a unique creation placed in us to bear
It is invisible and often incomprehensible
from it emanates our character and personality
It is a permanent feature, a transplant
of an origin mysterious and unseen
The soul guide...
Monday 13th December 2021 11:06 pm
A Tangle of Tinsel
A Tangle of Tinsel
Christmas is here
be of good cheer
A tangle of tinsel
and a boys silver whistle
A Christmas Tree
for all to see
Christmas Carols
and chocolate barrels
Party games
and paper chains
Golden balls
and sausage rolls
Balloons to burst
a beer for a thirst
Tangerines, nuts and dates
altogether on silver plates
Party hats
and ta...
Monday 13th December 2021 6:21 pm
There is still hope
There is still hope
In this wild west gold rush of the present age
Hidden within the folds of duplicity is a jungle of accomplished liars
Where governments are corrupt and the rich by stealth cheat the poor
I came acorss a cameo of hope, it was a blessed moment
From thoughts shrouded in darkness I was invited into a glimmer of hope
A dozen young men sat in the front pew of a...
Sunday 12th December 2021 3:10 pm
The Conundrum of Life
The Conundrum of Life
I want to know why I am here and what for
to discover what drives and motivates me each day
Why hope is forever present even in darkness
and love consumes my very being with such desire
We live a shiftless and seemingly hopeless life
only to repeat past mistakes and behave foolishly
Why was I born into this conundrum of being
of which I can f...
Sunday 12th December 2021 12:26 am
Encirclement
Encirclement
No visible or discernible change
of an old familiar landscape
Shapes and scenes the same
spires, stiles and hedgerows
Winding rivers with swans and ducks
bridges over which to peer
On rusted tracks once filled
with steam and whistles
New sounds bring new echoes
reverberating engines
Aeroplanes, fly high and low
calls are unfamiliar and invasiv...
Wednesday 8th December 2021 11:34 pm
An Illusion
An Illusion
When will they stop bleeding us dry
Assaulting the walls of our very being
Laying us out to dry in rain sodden earth
Squeezing our hand with an eye on our pocket
I search for light, a glimmer of a reward
Only to dwell in an abyss of inner turmoil
Fantasies of past joys visit my mind
These memories I invite into my slumber
Weary of endless days of entrenc...
Saturday 4th December 2021 11:06 pm
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day
The Gay Plague soon came our way
justly so the prejudiced would say
A punishment from God on the perverted few
as a friend said to me......especially for you
Gay and plague soon became synonymous
they brought it upon themselves said those
who were not one of us
What can you expect from a bunch of deviants
who live and fornicate like dirty rodent...
Wednesday 1st December 2021 7:03 pm
In my element
In my element
I cocoon myself in a creative cave
where I luxuriate and fondly bathe
It is my demi paradise and retreat
where I take my fill of drink and meat
Books and more books precariously stored
surround the wall to prevent me from being bored
Pens, paper and ink with many a blot
is my sofa my warm cradling cot
One lamp is all the light I need
as I ...
Wednesday 1st December 2021 12:06 am
The Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean
It seemed like a huge variance between a pallid blue into a grand azure
with a lean slither of sunbaked saffron sand
shimmering and slicing its way along an indeterminable edge
Pristine beauty barely defiled by human interruption
the sun hovered aloft in an aura of majesty above its pleasure
The air was fresh and a balmy breeze caressed one's flesh
Did on...
Saturday 27th November 2021 8:31 pm
The Village Hall
The Village Hall
In a remote corner of England's pleasant land
a village lay hidden off the beaten track
Down a country lane a church spire could be seen
a church at the heart of an English village
This is the land our ancestors cultivated and defended
here the people, good and hard working folk
Their homes radiate away from the church
modest dwellings lovingly cared f...
Saturday 27th November 2021 3:14 pm
A Blinding Flash
A Blinding Flash
I want to die in a blinding flash
catapulted into the blue yonder
Where many have already gone and wander
I do not want to linger here in pain
as I have already had too much of the same
I have had enough of this hopeless confusion
and firmly believe it is all a mere illusion
Take me here and now for I am ready to depart
this cry comes from a yearnin...
Friday 26th November 2021 12:31 pm
A Ghostly Forest
A Ghostly Forest
Saplings now grow where men once stood
in trenches on duck boards of wood and blood
Beneath the uneven surface of moss and grass
lie shells of high explosives and deadly gas
The silence is eerie, past events are still palpable
where men clad in uniforms did once stumble
Driven in a frenzy of fear they fought their way
because there seemed to be no...
Thursday 25th November 2021 12:11 pm
The Eve of Winter
The Eve of Winter
A bleary sun hovers above the horizon
to illuminate a forest bereft of any foliage
I shade my eyes from a sun that stings
as it makes its final departure of the year
The land is tired and has fallen asleep
it is dormant in anticipation of Spring's resurrection
The birds have flown south to warmer climes
leaving a landscape abandoned and forlorn
The...
Tuesday 23rd November 2021 5:55 pm
What Remains
What Remains
Cigarettes, navy rum and some smoked a pipe
young ready and eager for the coming fight
Volunteered for their country only to find a grave
yet in their heroism they did their nation save
Now long forgotten they lie six feet below
their sacrifice freely given and this we know
How our hearts break and tears run dry
as we look heaven ward and ask why
...
Sunday 21st November 2021 6:32 pm
Into the Stars
Into the Stars
The soul soars high above the firmament
leaving in its wake a frail bodily sediment
In time and space it is caught in a swirling haze of golden dust
Or perhaps destined for the dust of ashes if justice is a must
Here and there the soul is cast
with no destination that will last
A never ending journey in a trail of bliss
with all the blessings of a c...
Saturday 20th November 2021 11:57 pm
Toothpaste
Toothpaste
I noticed on closer inspection
that it had been squeezed at the neck
I have told him several times
to start at the bottom and press it upwards
I talk to myself, ignored at best
My intensity has no impact
as every morning it is the same
I press from the bottom
and he from the top
Two diametrically opposed forces
why do I bother?
Saturday 20th November 2021 12:54 pm
November's Soul
November's Soul
It is no coincidence that November is a month of solemnity
as we remember those lost in enmity
As trees shed their leaves and morning mists envelop the land
do we hear the distant drums of a military band
As the nights draw in our thoughts grow dim
when requiems are sung to a sombre hymn
Those long since gone from sight seem to come to life
as memo...
Friday 19th November 2021 9:24 pm
A Strange Farewell
A Strange Farewell
As life draws to its weary close
that final horizon begins to unfold
It is as if I am elated and elevated
as I glance back with no scales on my eyes
or clouded vision but sheer clarity
My part in life's theatre has now taken shape
but no sense can be gleaned from this earthly tenure
With experience wisdom has been born
in a soul which is about to ...
Wednesday 17th November 2021 10:45 pm
Headlong
Headlong
The whistle blew a sound we all knew
it signalled the call for me and you
We scarmbled up and over laden with ammo and rifles
with fearful courage we did not trifle
Headlong we charged into the waiting gloom
there seemed to be very little space or room
We formed a jagged line of humanity
gay and straight, black and white, who gave a shite
in this one great ...
Saturday 13th November 2021 10:32 pm
Those Early Hours
Those Early Hours
When the depths of slumber draw us down
into a darkened well of another realm
We wander along unmarked passages
assailed by ghostly images which frighten our souls
Behind this veil we are temporarily trapped
subjected to fantasies, enticed into chaos
Seduced into salacious desires
which burn deep into our longing loins
Fragments, images of others ...
Saturday 13th November 2021 11:35 am
A Distant Field
A Distant Field
It lies like a furrow in a distant field
an anniversary of events long since passed.
The wind blows over this foreign landscape
rustling the autumn leaves about a myriad of graves.
Valleys and hillsides stand in uniformity
with regimented lines of white headstones.
To step across this furrow or to by pass it
this our conscience will never permit.
For...
Monday 8th November 2021 10:31 pm
November
November
A month of shadowy figures and forgotten memories
All Souls Day we recall past family and friends
Those who we loved and influenced our lives
Remembrance Sunday we lament insufferable loss
The nights have already out manouvered the days
Windy wet weather sends us scurrying to the hearth of home
As cloud laden skies fly passed with menacing ease
a twig raps ag...
Wednesday 3rd November 2021 6:51 pm
Come down from the Hill
Come Down from the Hill
Come down from the hill and speak to us
you will find us in a queue waiting for a bus
We see you from afar with money to spend
when we don't even have enough to lend
We voted you into power to speak for us
but the whole process seems quite useless
Once in power you enjoy expenses and wealth
often this is obtained through corruption and stealth
...Wednesday 20th October 2021 11:40 am
Cut it all away
Cut it all away
I lacked the strength due to my years
but I was possessed of a fury unleashed
With what sharp instrument should I use
as the task ahead was great indeed
I took hold of a kukri and strapped it to my belt
then a wieldy sickle firmly gripped in my hand
I had been misled, cheated and used through life
with clarity of heart and purpose I strode forward
I ...
Tuesday 19th October 2021 4:49 pm
Removal
Removal
It was the last night with everything packed
most of the furniture had gone and the rest was stacked
Only the solitary piano remained in the room
and little else could be seen in the evening gloom
Nostalgia touched the strings of a reluctant heart
as our days of making love did here with passion start
Memories flooded from wiley crevices and corners
with a...
Sunday 17th October 2021 10:57 pm
Moments only.....
Moments only.....
I write this to you in a great hurry
they are on their way to get me
I am trembling with fear, unable to think
I want to cry but the tears wont come
The evidence against us is destroyed
From that we are free I suppose
My mind reels in a whirl of chaos
I want to run away with you
Please, if only you could hold me now
Be so careful as you are know...
Sunday 17th October 2021 10:10 pm
Silent Witness
Silent Witness
I am a silent witness which cannot speak
I am a silent witness which cannot see
for words and sights are not mine to own
But I have senses unknown to you
I feel, perceive, remember and bear many scars
I am inanimate but clearly visible
I stand above other structures in the city
I am concious of time and its consequences
I was new once but now old and ...
Wednesday 13th October 2021 9:37 pm
Vast Horizons
Vast Horizons
We climb snow capped mountains of glistening pristine love
meander along country lanes dripping with the lethargy of hanging boughs
We gaze serenely at lakes of shimmering indolent beauty
to see the every growing ripples of an entangled world
Skies that sail by with clouds of wool and doves aloft in flight
to the interminable profundity of azure in life's upwar...
Monday 11th October 2021 9:21 pm
Shifting Sands
Shifting Sands
The Shifting Sands of a Christian Faith
Denominations cut adrift from the source of truth
People now create their own God giving themselves authority
Christ prayed that we should all be one
But now we are many and dispersed
The keys to the Kingdom were handed to Peter
The keys to the Kingdom of Heaven
Now we have a key ring with many keys
but only one...
Saturday 9th October 2021 12:26 pm
Look but do not Touch
Look but do not Touch
To seek for love, to touch, to hold, to cherish
natural feelings to express who we are and feel
But in a guilt ridden and fearful society
sex simmers beneath the surface to pollute
what is naturally a wonderful instinct
Eye contact, a glance of admiration or desire
is immediately misconstrued
A hug is seen as a prelude to something
dirty and si...
Thursday 7th October 2021 12:03 pm
A Fountain of Eternal Hope
A Fountain of Eternal Hope
Compassion emerges from the ashes of hatred
The ruins of destruction provide stones to rebuild
From the graves of those who have died flowers grow
Out of war the seeds of peace sprout forth
Nothing really dies or is lost, only absent for a while
Discord, animosity and violence sow reconciliation
The innocent perish to flourish again as the star ...
Friday 1st October 2021 11:00 pm
The Library of Silence
The Library of Silence
I lived in a silent library full of no books
it was a hollow echo chamber of nothingness
The shelves were bare and covered with dust
few visitors bothered to enter as there was no reason
Learning was basic as it depended on spoken words
only one's memory was able to retain and store
Conversation and dialogue were certainly not encouraged
oft...
Wednesday 29th September 2021 5:19 pm
An Autumnal Stepping Stone
An Autumnal Stepping Stone
The leaves have already fallen
crisp and curled they lay beneath their summer home
Acorns ready to be harvested by the famished squirrel
cover the branches of the sturdy oak
The gardens give forth their ultimate bloom
a red rose lingers as a farewell to summer's fading sun
The lawns sing their lament as the mower
sweeps once more over their v...
Wednesday 22nd September 2021 10:05 pm
Overwhelmed
Overwhelmed
As chubby pink flesh yields to dry wrinkled skin
I peer back through the mystical swirling mists of lost time
Intoxicated I reel at the wonder and incredulity of it all
Joy causes my heart to ache for forgotten moments
Where passion heightened my senses to a searing flame
Then I wiped away my tears of regret and abandonment
I see faces as cameos emerge from th...
Tuesday 21st September 2021 11:36 pm
An Open Prison
An Open Prison
There are no bars or barriers of confinement
no striped uniform or alarms which sound an escape
There is not even a building to enclose its prisoners
no chapel or exercise yard to be present to oneself and others
The Open Prison can be for a life time sentence
for the place of incarceration is in the mind
Deep inside the cerebral cavity the prisoner dw...
Monday 20th September 2021 10:24 pm
Come and See
Come and See
Then there was a faint light
A glimmer of hope in a vault of cloud
No brightness was emitted
Not even shadows could be formed
It seemed to remain still, unmovable
I pondered on its presence
Did it signify new hope or a beginning?
It would not go away
My attention was transfixed
A gradual movement dispersed the remaining darkness
I saw the sun in i...
Friday 27th August 2021 11:40 am
I never cried
I never cried
I persevered often in the darkest rooms of despair
Alone I drew upon an unknown resilience of strength
Determined to overcome and survive against all odds
Yet the abyss crept into view as a temptress of seduction
I sat without emotion on the edge of emptiness
In a sea of misery I fell forward into the chasm
Which waited like an open grave to engulf me
Con...
Thursday 26th August 2021 9:05 pm
The Good Old Days
The Good Old Days
Those were the good old days
but were they really halcyon days
Perhaps our memories are distorted
as my parents faces became contorted
The good old days had their problems too
not unlike those suffered by me and you
They were not spent in sunny meadows
but in the darkness of wartime shadows
Those were the good old days
but people exper...
Wednesday 18th August 2021 12:06 pm
A Smile
A Smile
Sometimes I catch myself smiling
it reflects an innocent joy of heart
I brim with a wonder and gladness
at these passing moments, each a blessing
The smile comes from my inner self
prompted by some thought or feeling
Often it is in response to the joy of others
a shared sense of wholesome goodness
God can be seen in these actions
and in the word...
Thursday 5th August 2021 12:47 am
It lay open
It lay open
The portal had no barrier
no key, no lock, no door
Inside was partly obscured
against the light outside
I moved forward but
not with trepidation
Rather a silent invitation spoke
with encouragement
There was an absence of fear
as I crossed the threshold
Into a dark warmth
a womb of familiar welcome
Inside passages formed a web
around an inn...
Monday 26th July 2021 12:30 pm
The Cowl
The Cowl
For centuries their head was covered by the cowl
as the brothers heard the cry of a distant owl
Compline's last verse prayed in whispers
by those who wore sandals and slippers
The dawn brought light and the bell of Lauds
as the devout put on their habit and tied cords
To chapel and psalm in gregorian continuity
they began the day in true fraternal community
...Saturday 24th July 2021 9:36 am
Life is not here
Life is not here
I had searched for justice
But it was nowhere to be found
Reason had escaped me completely
So I went after trust but it came to nought
My wanderings were futile
As also seemed my very existence
Perfection and order lay crumpled
In the ruins of desolation and destruction
Yet I could see beauty everyday
In an abundance all about me
Landscapes cr...
Thursday 15th July 2021 7:08 pm
A Battle Fought
A Battle Fought
Sadness lies in its beauty
a splendour lost to tears of despair
Abused and disfigured of no recognition
by its custodians
Groups of vandals and thugs tarnish
our land with vile smears
Their desire to wage wars
long since already fought
to acquire wealth at all costs
Sea beds littered with the
skeletons of sunken warships
Oil thick black sl...
Monday 12th July 2021 9:38 pm
Utterances of Wisdom
Utterances of Wisdom
It can arrive unexpected
unannounced , around the corner
of daily life
Words often spoken softly by another
or a sign open to interpretation
Or in a darkened room in
the depths of slumber
A voice quietly spoken
with no apparent identity
of its own
But distinctive and with words of
brevity and relevance
The soul and senses need to
...
Monday 5th July 2021 10:28 am
By Which we are Known
By Which we are Known
The face expresses our identity
windows of who we are
The smile a signature unwritten
the eyes the mirror of the soul
The eyes betray sadness
and lighten with joy
They flicker in surprise
and stare in amazement
An itchy nose twitches
the eyebrows rise in wonder
The mouth agape is awestruck
a forehead with furrows of consterna...
Sunday 4th July 2021 10:01 pm
Passing Time
Passing Time
May angels bring me a chalice
of the finest wine
By the hour may I sip
of an ephemeral elixir
To guide me into the realms
of soporific ecsatsy
May the sun shine as I slumber
in the shade of tranquil contentment
As bees pollinate the luscious
hibiscus and oleander
May I close my eyes to this
beauty and retreat
Into the cave of memorablia
w...
Thursday 24th June 2021 12:14 pm
Identity
Identity
At my baptism I received the name Keith
given to me, but not by me
My gender was also predetermined
not by me, but for me
My sexuality was chosen for me
not by me, but for me
In the Army I was given an identity disc
by the authorities, not by me
I was dressed in clothes made for me
not chosen by me
How much of who I am is really me?
Am I the const...
Friday 4th June 2021 3:42 pm
In Sharp Contrast
In Sharp Contrast
It burst forth like a rapturous applause
to see the field by the river which had been
sprinkled with a saffron down
as buttercups claimed their righful ground
The month of May had arrived
to rejuvenate the landscape which had
lain dormant and bare
Trees once darkened silhouettes against
a grey heavily laden sky
now held a vista of verdant pastur...
Monday 31st May 2021 1:14 pm
Drenched in Duplicity
Drenched in Duplicity
Despair falls like the waters of a cataract on all humanity
in which life seems to offer very little certainty
With the best of intentions we struggle to survive
in a world in which few are able to thrive
Those who rule the roost of immense power
live divorced from reality in their Ivory Tower
To acquire power and wealth they deceive
all of u...
Saturday 22nd May 2021 5:18 pm
Another Condition
Another Condition
With the white ring of confidence
around his neck
With a dog collar dressed
in a black suit
He said that homosexuality
was a condition
High blood pressure is a condition
Alopecia is a condition
Psoriasis is a condition
Water retention is a condition
Tinitus is a condition
According to the man in a dog collar
I have a condition
My co...
Wednesday 5th May 2021 2:48 pm
An Outlook
An Outlook
Who do we think we are?
I cannot prevent a wave from reaching the shore
Nor can I alter the colour of my eyes
I may sit aloft in a theatre box with opera glasses
With an incomparable view before me
But understand little of what I see
I cannot start or stop the eruption of a volcano
Or decide where a bird will lay her eggs
The elements of wind, rain, sunsh...
Thursday 22nd April 2021 9:36 am
A Mask
A Mask
Unlike the people of today
I have always worn a mask
Not to protect myself from a plague
But to prevent a too closer scrutiny of who I am
My mask is not detachable or disposable
It is a part of the identity I conceal
Most of the time I am not concious of it
I have grown accustomed to its cover
People are still able to recognise me
My mask is to hide my inn...
Saturday 17th April 2021 11:45 am
Aleppo
Aleppo
The bombs kept falling
they rained a fury upon us
These bombs killed us
They fell with a hideous
screaming sound
They killed us a second time
burnt wreckage and torn limbs
Tiled floors smeared with our blood
We had died three times
before they picked up what was left of us
Wrapped in bed sheets and curtains
we were flung like sacks of potatoes
int...
Thursday 15th April 2021 9:01 pm
Forced to Like
Forced to Like
People cannot be forced to like each other
I bear the scars of this truth
Their scorn is visible in their eyes
No longer do they need to shout abuse
or throw stones
They still deny me employment
Another tactic in the arsenal of prejudice
Which is now veiled
They even smile in an attmept to affirm me
But this cloak conceals a loathing
I cannot he...
Wednesday 14th April 2021 12:47 pm
A Mortal Moment
A Mortal Moment
My eyes still see clearly now
despite my advanced years
Beauty I see and gaze upon
but no longer touch or embrace
Desire has taken its course
its energy has slowly abated
My joys and interests remain
which I savour and partake of
The past has a haunting quality
at which I glance or wince
Drops of embarrassment fall
on salacious appetites of ...
Tuesday 6th April 2021 7:39 pm
Only a Week
Only a Week
The microcosm of one week's events
stand out in all the events of history
A glimspe of a few days in time
echo their sounds to the present day
a rapturous welcome of a King
as joyful souls sing their praises
The same souls who within a week
shouted Crucify Him! Crucify Him!
Was such caprice so well condensed
so human as to mood and moment
The preva...
Wednesday 31st March 2021 9:32 pm
Today
Today
The flush of the ego
From the summit of arrogance
Drenched in an armour of pride
Voices clamour in obseqious response
Deceit ascends to its throne of grandeur
Surrounded by a court of snivelling liars
The cohorts of the inadequate media assemble
Slaves acclaim their idols
The ignorant chase each other
A web of confused entanglement captures all
People in...
Friday 26th March 2021 10:31 pm
The Lap of Luxury
The Lap of Luxury
They live in the lap of luxury
with wealth and comfort unlimited
For them money is no problem
as it imposes no restrictions
There is nothing they cannot afford
no obstacles lay in their path
They become isolated and alienated
in their thinking and values
Privilege unearned comes their way
status is of their essence
They inhabit mansions ...
Friday 19th March 2021 11:11 pm
A Changing Landscape
A Changing Landscape
A foul smell, a stench permeates our nation
Society and communities have become fragmented
People close their doors and withdraw from the streets
They have become introspective and self seeking
No eye contact is made for fear of rebuke
Communal activities and gatherings belong to former times
The smell has caused people to insulate their homes
It a...
Monday 15th March 2021 4:27 pm
Desolation
Desolation
I have reached a desert plateau
a high place of rocks and sand
Not one single shoot of green can be seen
the horizon offers no break
A bleak inhospitable place
where the heat of the sun is relentless
I am completely alone in this terrain
as there is no evidence of others
No buildings or trees are here
which give any sense of direction
I stop and sit...
Wednesday 10th March 2021 10:37 pm
The Life of a Cenobite
The Life of a Cenobite
I was called to the monastic life
to a place of meditation and contemplation
The way out of this mortal coil to true inner freedom
Far from the material and into the spiritual realm
I had no one to counsel my wandering soul
lost, I became caught up in youthful desires
I had conciously waylaid myself
The world about me I began to discover anew
...
Thursday 4th March 2021 12:20 pm
Day Dreaming
Day Dreaming
To be held in suspension by nought
To stare blankly as the eyes freeze
Not to see what is in one's vision
To be in the projection room of a cinema
Unaware of what appears on the screen
The mind soars up into the clouds
Where dimmed thoughts accumulate
Refusing to be arranged in order
To ponder without comment or resolution
Walking through a summer's ...
Sunday 28th February 2021 11:20 am
Never Enough
Never Enough
There is no ultimate height to be reached
No passion that can be fully satiated
We fly high once in a while then plunge
Down to the nest from which we flew
Satisfaction is a mediocre expression
It barely describes ambition least of all desire
Our arduous searching becomes circular
Round and round we go chasing our own tails
We seek sublime happenings in...
Saturday 27th February 2021 9:56 am
Incipient Signs
Incipient Signs
Crocuses appeared on the lawn
an overnight surprise
in the shade of an ash tree
which still slumbered
in the belly of winter
I opened a small window to welcome
the incipient signs of Spring
A gentle breeze blew the curtains
to and fro
as the billowing sails of a
bygone galleon
A watery sun illuminated the room
exposing windows...
Thursday 25th February 2021 2:23 pm
Reunion
Reunion
I had not seen him for over fifty years
we had planned a reunion after years of letters
In the past, soldiers together, comrades in arms
we were a part of each other's history
Our reunion had been arranged
I arrived early to be greeted by his daughter
Dad has taken the dog for a walk, she said
In the distance I saw him, immediately I knew it was he
I walked ...
Monday 15th February 2021 5:41 pm
Retreat to Natrun
Retreat to Natrun
Along a gravel road into the desert
wavering dunes cast over vast tracts of land
covered by endless shifting sand
Up to where sit the modest hermitages
on the precipices of the wadi's edges
In seclusion, no illusion and no intrusion
a solitary life without any confusion
A foresaken place more silent than the grave
from where only the...
Friday 12th February 2021 11:07 am
The Earth Sleeps
The Earth Sleeps
One layer of snow is impacted by another
As one flurry folllows to enhance a pristine scene
The night is as black as ink and so very still
A fox tip toes about a line of waste bins in search of scraps
Only the occasional street light reflects a snowy landscape
Beneath each snowflake a somniferous earth lies hidden
The heart of winter has reached its death...
Monday 8th February 2021 11:21 pm
Grandpa
Grandpa
He had fought in the Boer War
and later in the Great War
When I came to know him after
the Second World War
he was a man I sat with and
held in awe
He lived alone in an isolated hamlet
not many miles from where Shakespeare
wrote Hamlet
Advanced in years with wrinkles which
betrayed his age
he smoked black twist in his pipe
like an old sage
...Wednesday 3rd February 2021 12:39 pm
Borrowed Time
Borrowed Time
Two skirmishes with death came many years apart
I remain here as I did at the very start
Older yes and wiser I may be
Yet here I am for all to see
Life could have turned the other way
But modern surgery held sway
Is the span of life based on luck
Or is it written above in a special book
Some are born dead and others die young
And into old age we are...
Monday 1st February 2021 6:32 pm
The Echo Chamber
The Echo Chamber
We live in an echo chamber
often in a quandary of despair
A place where the doors of gas chambers
are slammed shut
To the sound of screams as mothers hug
their young
Dark days and times remain with us
unabated
Past evils are reincarnated with prejudice
a destructive force
Souls damaged by viol...
Monday 1st February 2021 1:33 pm
A Snowy Landscape
A Snowy Landscape
A white blanket has been laid on
My home, inert with a bedded silence
The stark silhouette of a winter's eve
Are beneath nature's membrane serene
A moment of suspended reality
In a place which yearned for respite
It came in the night with a relentless flurry
A hazy syndrome of swirling majesty
Settled now in a frozen mould
Caught by a warm whisp...
Monday 25th January 2021 7:13 pm
First Signs
First Signs
A shoot of green nudges itself
Upwards and forwards
In a glade of snowdrops
They sit in dampened dew
The sky unfolds and reveals
That azure which perennially allures
Daffodils and tulips wait in the wings
Blue bells in a copse do sing
A smidgin of spring opens its pores
As windows are ajar and stay paused
Only a keen eye sees the change
As the c...
Saturday 23rd January 2021 2:43 pm
An ill Wind Blows
An ill Wind Blows
Across the face of the earth an ill wind blows
a wind which las lain dormant in time
A wind fermenting to reach fever pitch
with a power about to be unleashed
Its strength will be without restraint
as in its wake many will cry and shout
Unrest and conflict will break forth
setting one against another with a fury untold
Thunder and lightning will be...
Monday 18th January 2021 2:25 pm
Memories of Austerity
Memories of Austerity
Married in the late summer of nineteen forty six
in a time of austerity and post war ruin
With little money to sustain them
they trusted in their love for each other
Rented rooms in the house of another
was all they could afford
An undamaged building in a sea of rubble
The scars and signs of war were prevalent
rationing of food a daily dif...
Tuesday 12th January 2021 11:39 pm
The Predicament
The Predicament
Lava cascades as skyscrapers raise
Bears in pristine white with claws do cling
Plastic gunge digested into mutant fish
Dictators play games with beautiful lives
News breeds an urgency of panic and doom
Depression reeks its vile smell in every room
Corruption gnaws at the soul of the poor
Factories pour out refined metal into the Ruhr
Africa liberated...
Sunday 10th January 2021 10:15 pm
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