BE GRATEFUL
This is repeated - now with the correct tag shown.
...........................................................................................
Be grateful for the dark days,
And when one comes in sight
Don't waste your time in wondering
When life will turn out right.
Be grateful for the dark days,
And when one comes along,
Forget about despairing
Over h...
Wednesday 28th December 2011 5:08 pm
CHRISTMAS TREE
Is anything sadder than a Christmas tree
Abandoned by the bin bags?
Rejected with the empty cans
Discarded on cold stone flags.
Is anything sadder than a Christmas tree
Alone on a NewYear pavement?
It seems to say "Remember me -
And all the joy I once meant".
Is anything sadder than a Christmas tree
In a dust-cart - lost to sight?
It seems to...
Tuesday 27th December 2011 3:08 pm
THOUGHTS AT CHRISTMAS
This verse is on my profile page but I make no apologies for repeating it here at this time.
.................................................................................................................................................
How fitting now in deep December,
When days are short and life is low,
That in our hearts we will remember
Those we loved who had to go.
...
Friday 23rd December 2011 12:39 am
DAMBUSTER - dedicated to Sqdn Ldr G.L.Johnson DFC
Some years ago, I was priviliged to be in an upstairs room of a small Torquay pub to hear the
tale of the Dambusters' raid - "straight from the horse's mouth". "Johnny" Johnson was the
sgt. bomb aimer who took his Lancaster around 10 ten times before being satisfied about his
bomb drop on the Sorpe dam. The dam was damaged but not breached due to the failure
of planning to tak...
Sunday 18th December 2011 1:36 am
I SAW HER WALK IN - Country Love
I was feeling so low...didn't know which way to go
When I saw her walk in through the door
She looked straight at me like I was all she could see
And I floated clear up from the floor
Her gaze held my eyes like the stars in the skies
I've never felt anything so strong
The other guys stared and I was feeling so scared
Could it be I was reading things wrong?
...
Wednesday 14th December 2011 11:19 pm
A CHRISTMAS DAY WALK IN DURLEY
Down Heathen Street I set my course
And onward past the inn;
My breast contained a happy heart,
My face a happy grin.
Gregory Lane came soon enough
And at a farmyard gate
A mongrel pup barked "hurry up",
Protecting his estate.
A pheasant blustered from the brush
And rose high in the air,
And in its rush a startled thrush
Made up a flustere...
Sunday 11th December 2011 8:53 pm
BE GRATEFUL
Be grateful for the dark days
And when one comes in sight
Don't waste your time in wondering
When life will turn out right.
Be grateful for the dark days
And when one comes along
Forget about despairing
Over how it all went wrong
Be grateful for the dark days
They're made to make you glad
When everything about them
Makes you think you shou...
Tuesday 6th December 2011 3:23 pm
WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND - a carol
This carol is dedicated to Peter Fender and his Philharmonia-Britannica Symphony Orchestra
(www.ph-br.co.uk) - a worthy charity that champions neglected British classical music and the
arts - often combining poetry and music..
........................................................................................................................................................
L...
Sunday 4th December 2011 3:34 pm
I LOVE YOU TODAY
Lucky it's me -
So glad it's you,
Enchantment in all of the things that we do,
My feelings are many, my words but a few,
Remember - I love you today.
Sometimes it's right -
Sometimes it's wrong,
Sometimes our tune is a now and then song,
But we know our refrain and we know when it's wrong,
Remember - I love you today.
Maybe we could -
May...
Friday 2nd December 2011 4:20 pm
APART
I've always stood apart, you know,
It's something that I do;
I stood apart from those I loved
As I stand apart from you.
Just like the solitary copper
Out on a busy street,
Every day I've stood apart
From those that I might meet.
I've stood apart from life itself,
From all its highs and lows;
I've stood apart too often
To see how fast it g...
Thursday 1st December 2011 1:30 pm
IN L.A.CALIFORN'YA
From muscled Mister Olympia to massive movie star,
When he wasn't pumping iron, he puffed on a big cigar;
Then Arnie took to motoring in the governor's own car,
They do these things in L.A. Californ'ya!
Olde-worldy English actor relaxing on a trip,
Puts on a lead-performance that was seen on Sunset Strip,
But his co-star couldn't stop herself from giving him some l...
Wednesday 30th November 2011 8:49 pm
ARROMANCHES - 1994 - D-Day plus 50
The Queen attended the 50th anniversary of D-Day and took the salute at the march past.
.............................................................................................................................................
On the beach at Arromanches then,
Young men saw friends die;
Bracing the sands of Arromanches now,
Old men softly cry.
There, by the sea ...
Monday 28th November 2011 2:08 pm
ABROAD
I've been abroad
And it's all right,
But here at home is finer;
I'd rather go to the Isle of Wight
Than I would go to China!
I've been abroad
And it's OK,
But here at home is better;
Far away is warm, they say,
But I bet they'd like it wetter!
I've been abroad
And it's not bad,
But here at home is heaven;
I'd rather leave abroad a...
Sunday 27th November 2011 1:12 pm
STILL THE FLOWERS GROW
When nights are long and spirits low,
Remember - still the flowers grow.
When days are short and full of woe,
Remember - still the flowers grow.
When health and wealth ebb to and fro,
Remember - still the flowers grow.
When friends and family come and go,
Remember - still the flowers grow.
When life has little left to show,
Remember - ...
Friday 25th November 2011 10:06 pm
SANTA'S SATNAV
Here's a bit of fun as we approach the Christmas month - some sympathy for all those Mums &
Dads left behind by their technically-savvy kids! All credit to Pete Dymond and Marcie Summers
(who does a great job as "the kids" on the audio).
.....................................................................................................................................................
Wednesday 23rd November 2011 2:41 pm
I AM TODAY'S NEW WOMAN
I am today's new woman
I only care for me;
I'd quite like kids but then again
I'd rather have them without men.
I am the free-range female,
I think that men are fools;
I use them, then supply the shove
Before they think that they're in love.
Why can't they understand it?
I only want it all;
Cash, sex and kids - but they must know
I want t...
Tuesday 22nd November 2011 4:28 pm
A FESTIVE SEASON SUGGESTION
I have completed a Christmas carol and it occurs to me that it would be a fun thing if others
who contribute to WOL blogs could come up with their own. After all, it's coming up to THAT
time of year and perhaps we can add to the list of carols currently known and loved. I will
post my own - with a modest audio track - shortly. So...how about it, fellow weavers of
words - any ...
Monday 21st November 2011 3:06 pm
THE IMPATIENT YEAR
Why do I sigh for autumn
When summer's sun is here?
For autumn mist cannot resist
The turning of the year.
And Yuletide's barely over
When fancy finds the spring
Then how I sigh for sapphire sky
And songbirds on the wing.
When days are lengthening lightly
With evenings moonlit clear
Why do I sigh for autumn
Now summer's ...
Monday 21st November 2011 1:32 pm
DRUGS COME FROM A PLANT
The following originates from a piece of scurrilous libel carefully scrawled on a docklands
wall in 1960's east London.
..................................................................................................................................................
Excuse me, son, the sergeant said, we'd like to have a word
About some information the lads and I have heard.
...
Sunday 20th November 2011 3:04 pm
STREAPS BOTHY - a memory of hiking in Scotland
Misty, come the memories
Of long departed days,
Reminding me of happy times
Spent walking Highland ways.
Distant mountain silhouettes
Like giants stand and stare,
To tell me that I've long since left
But they're still waiting there.
The images of those I knew
I see in my mind's eye.
They pass before me even now
As then they passed me by;
Gho...
Saturday 19th November 2011 3:27 pm
NO ONE LOVES A DENTIST
No one loves a dentist, friend,
Like surgeons and the knife;
No one means it personally,
It's just a fact of life.
No one likes reminding, friend,
About their rotten teeth;
The dee-cay on the surface
And who knows what beneath.
No one likes the visits, friend,
The waiting in that queue;
The numbness when the treatment ends
And your mouth w...
Friday 18th November 2011 3:10 pm
BELIEVING THAT I LIED
I know that it always hurts
When I think of you,
And I know it always will
Every time I do.
The memory of what we had
Just won't go away,
And knowing that it turned out bad
Darkens each new day.
| know when we said goodbye
Something in me died;
You seemed to be so very sure
When you said I lied.
It wasn't just the words you used
...Wednesday 16th November 2011 2:16 pm
TWO SIDES OF A COIN
Heroism has always intrigued me. But I often wonder whether it is but "one side of the coin".
................................................................................................................................................
Hero and coward,
Two sides of a coin;
How hard you may look,
You won't see the join.
A flick of the fingers -
The hero's in...
Monday 14th November 2011 4:03 pm
WINTER GALLOPS
Jack Frost silvering the grass,
Crunching underfoot like glass,
Adding to a rider's woes,
Freezing fingers, numbing toes.
Steaming horses tread with care,
Warm breath misting in the air;
In line across a windswept hill
Where their master waits until -
In the gloom they surge and fade,
Strengths and weaknesses displayed,
Ghosts beneath a leade...
Sunday 13th November 2011 3:05 pm
THE BERLIN WALL REMEMBERED
One of the great events of my lifetime was the removal of the hated Berlin Wall.
....................................................................................................................................................
It was an obscene reminder
That Man could divide his very soul,
A terrible thing...yet kinder in its parts
Than the reasons for its whole.
...
Saturday 12th November 2011 4:29 pm
BEGGAR MY NEIGHBOUR
I saw him appear from the door of the shop;
"Excuse me," he muttered, believing I'd stop.
But I knew what was next and ignored what he said,
Silent, unseeing, I walked straight ahead.
I hurried on by to a brief pause and then
"Excuse me," he called, vainly trying again.
Entering the shop, I felt I had sinned
As another "excuse me" was lost on the wind.
Friday 11th November 2011 1:50 pm
LOVE TAUGHT ME
This was recorded by the excellent Pete Dymond and Marcie down in Bristol.
O.K. folks...read - or sing along!
.....................................................................................................................................................
I was the one who knew everything,
Had a "Bachelor of Loving" Degree;
But love taught me and now I know nothing
...Thursday 10th November 2011 3:46 pm
OLD SOLDIERS - a poem for Remembrance Day
Young man - mark them marching by,
Their medals catch the light.
Look and hold your head up high,
You'll see no finer sight.
Old men passing in their pride
Were once as young as you.
Now - as then - they're side by side,
But now they're growing few.
And should one chance to catch your eye,
Young man, don't look away;
In far-off fields their co...
Tuesday 8th November 2011 4:07 pm
WORDSWORTH WOULD UNDERSTAND!
My heart leaps up when I behold
The Concorde in the sky:
So was it when my youth began;
So is it now I am a man;
So let it be when I grow old,
Or let me die.
This 'plane flies faster than a bullet can;
And I would wish its days to be
Boundless - each graced with that high-flying "V".
Monday 7th November 2011 3:34 pm
DO YOU REMEMBER MY ENGLAND?
Do you remember my England?
When people said "How do you do?"
And most of them were folk you knew,
And everybody joined a queue...
I do.
Do you remember my England?
When neighbours seemed to care and share,
And it was just not done to stare,
And "barbers" used to cut your hair...
I do.
Do you remember my England?
When "addict" meant a pin-...
Sunday 6th November 2011 3:54 pm
POETIC JUSTICE
The knocks came loud at half past four;
The wife woke from her sleep.
"You give that noisy pest what-for,
I hate the little creep"!
Her husband squinted at the clock
And rubbed his tired eyes;
He'd give that yob a nasty shock,
An unforseen surprise.
"What's your problem, son?" he cried,
Flinging back the door,
And quickly stopped in verbal str...
Saturday 5th November 2011 5:21 pm
RACE DAY
Sunrise creeping, daylight peeping,
All is silent, all are sleeping.
Alarm clocks whirring, stables stirring,
Dogs start scratching, cats lie purring,
Voices rising (some surmising),
Smell of coffee - appetising.
Harness jingling, senses tingling,
Sweat and horse-breath intermingling.
Race day thrilling, people milling,
Horses happy, k...
Friday 4th November 2011 5:37 pm
MAKE YOUR MIND UP = a lyric
The audio version is in song form by the excellent Bob Evans of www.bobevansmusic.com -
I do hope you enjoy it. I did, but I'm biased!!
................................................................................................................................................
Make your mind up if you want me
Tell me now or let me go
Can't you show what's in your heart
...
Wednesday 2nd November 2011 9:09 pm
WHAT'S THE USE?
Some folk covet honours,
Others wealth and fame;
But what's the use?
When life cuts loose
We all end up the same!
Tuesday 1st November 2011 2:15 pm
PERSIAN PUNCH - the death of a great race horse
Persian Punch found a secure place in the affections of the racing public - always trying his
best. And when he collapsed and died in the final stages of a race at Ascot the sorrow was immediate and heart-felt.
..............................................................................
Brave eyes wept at the Ascot course
When he came to the end of his run;
For the going ...
Monday 31st October 2011 4:23 pm
CRAZY WORLD - a song lyric
When livin's hard I'm on my guard
Against the hurt and pain
But with you near fears disappear
Your lovin' keep me sane.
Health and wealth can go their way
Like showers of summer rain
But I need you around each day
Your lovin' keeps me sane.
It's a crazy world we live in
We're all in need of more forgivin'
For things we say and do
Hoping th...
Sunday 30th October 2011 12:48 am
QUESTION
Is it not the way of Man
To look upon each day,
And do the very best he can,
And do it while he may?
Thursday 27th October 2011 8:27 pm
DOWN BY THE MEWSTONE
Recalling the metalled track from Higher Brownstone to the old WW2 gun emplacements
opposite the Mewstone rock at the estuary of the beautiful River Dart in South Devon.
................................................................................................................................................
Near Kingswear Town, there stands a tree
That stands alone and wa...
Tuesday 25th October 2011 5:12 pm
TWO GIGGLING GIRLS
Out along a snow-flecked street,
Two giggling girls I chanced to meet;
In play that saw them free from care,
Their breath like smoke upon the air.
Face to face with hands locked fast
They jumped for joy as I walked past.
Bobbing to a silent rhyme,
Taking turns in perfect time.
I've said goodbye to sixty five,
But the youth within me came alive,
...
Monday 24th October 2011 3:26 pm
SUNDAY SONG
Sunday always seems to be
The day my thoughts go flying free,
And times gone by return to me,
From yesterday.
A Sunday street's a bygone street
That echoes someone else's feet,
And other voices, soft and sweet,
From yesterday.
A Sunday bell's a timeless knell
That tolling has a tale to tell,
Reminding me when all was well,
From yesterday.
...Friday 21st October 2011 10:23 pm
TURNING BACK THE CLOCK
I just wish that sometimes we English were left to do things in our own time. I'd be quite
happy to re-set my watch when crossing the border.r.r.r.r.
....................................................................................................................
Turning back our English clocks
By now should be a crime.
Let backward winders join the Jocks
For ...
Thursday 20th October 2011 12:50 pm
THE PROPERTY DEVELOPER
The intention of the present government to "relax" planning laws is hardly reassuring.
.....................................................................................................................................
What care I for gate or fence?
Come let us talk of pounds and pence.
What care I for trees and fields?
Pray tell me what the profit yields.
...
Tuesday 18th October 2011 2:28 pm
THE GAY DOG
This is a nod to the Elizabethan poets.
..............................................................
I like a handsome hound for sport,
But a pretty pup's my treasure;
The hound will stretch and not be caught,
My pup will stretch with pleasure.
The hound will bare his teeth at me
If I should dare to scold him;
My pup will bare his soul to me
When I re...
Sunday 16th October 2011 11:58 pm
LAST POST
There's this to say for getting old:
You take more care against the cold,
And value each new day.
And this to say for getting old:
You want to keep and not to scold
The children at their play.
And this to say for getting old:
It's always welcome to be told
To take a seat and stay.
And this to say for getting old:
You may not be so brash ...
Saturday 15th October 2011 5:40 pm
WHAT DO I KNOW?
She said it was over between us,
She told me that I had to go;
Her ideal affair didn't mean us -
I asked myself: "What do I know?"
She said she'd found love with another,
She told me she couldn't say no;
That I was just like a big brother -
I asked myself: "What do I know?"
She said she was brimming with pity,
She told me she knew I was low;
T...
Friday 14th October 2011 8:37 pm
A DISTANT HAZE
Wood smoke, the good smoke,
Drifting through the trees,
Brings the haze of other days
And childhood memories.
Wood scent, the good scent,
Pungent and sublime,
Brings to mind the yearning kind
Of youth that envies time.
Flame glow, the same glow
As passion's rich red rose,
Sight and scent by nature meant
When youth to adult grows.
Thursday 13th October 2011 7:40 pm
TAKE ME BACK TO ROCK AND ROLL
Take me back to Rock and Roll,
To that music in my soul,
To the music that was ours
When we were young.
It hasn't left me yet,
Gee babe, how could I forget
Any Rock and Roll song
That was sung?
Take me back to Blueberry Hill,
Fats sure knew how to thrill,
To Buddy and the Crickets'
"Peggy Sue",
With Chuck and Jerry Lee,
Tha...
Wednesday 12th October 2011 9:25 pm
WHERE DO YOU GO WHEN YOU GO WHERE YOU DO?
Darling, when I hold your hand,
There's something I don't understand,
It's hard for me to say.
Though you may be close to me
Am I the person that you see
With your eyes so far away?
Where do you go when you go where you do?
Have I been fooling myself that you're true?
Behind your eyes do you see someone new?
Where do you go when you go where you do?
...
Tuesday 11th October 2011 4:44 pm
DADDY KNEW JOHNNY CASH
In all honesty, I wrote this originally as a Country lyric but it seems to work well enough as a stand-alone item
of verse. A fond Tribute to the late lamented "Man in Black".
...........................................................................................................
I put a lot of sweat into the songs I wrote,
Every last word and every last note,
So i...
Monday 10th October 2011 9:06 pm
SUNSET OVER START BAY
In 1944, in a night-time rehearsal for D-Day off the Devon coast - code named "Exercise Tiger" - U.S. forces were attacked and suffered more casualties than on Utah Beach.
This poem is in memory of those lives, the loss of which was kept secret for four decades.
..........................................................
Sunset slowly trims its lamp
Beyond the Start Bay Light
...Monday 10th October 2011 8:24 pm
YESTERDAY ONCE MORE
Pausing high above the beach,
I watch the children out of reach,
Racing down the golden sand,
Leaping...laughing...hand-in-hand.
Children dancing in the sea
Remind me how I used to be,
Free from care and full of fun,
A happy boy beneath the sun.
Time goes by, yet time stands still,
And moment follows moment till
What is now once went before
...
Monday 10th October 2011 8:00 pm
THE GALMPTON ROBIN
The robin sang his song to me,
When I walked out by Galmpton Quay.
Alone he sang at twilight's gleam
Beside the darkening Devon stream.
I am life, his sweet song said,
An angel's voice above my head,
Exulting in his melody,
The robin sang his song for me.
The tiny songbird touched my heart
That day beside the dreaming Dart.
My spirit soared as...
Monday 10th October 2011 7:45 pm
BE STILL
Be still, my heart, my breath, my mind,
Be still and leave all grief behind.
Be still beyond this mortal air,
Be still in God's immortal care.
Saturday 8th October 2011 10:25 pm
The Spider
Threadbare though his home may be,
The spider doesn't mind;
He takes to tea the passing flea
And others of his kind.
The spider can be found online,
A host beyond compare;
He's always having guests to dine,
His larder's seldom bare.
He likes to welcome company by
To watch his skill at weaving;
But when they think it's time to fly,
They fin...
Saturday 8th October 2011 1:44 pm
George Best - football legend
Fame is such a fickle dame,
That in her clasp who would dare claim
To stay the same?
Like love, Time holds fame in its hand
And cruelly pours away the strand
Of golden sand.
The wise man smiles and winks an eye,
And nods to bid his time goodbye,
Not asking why.
But skill, like art, survives the years,
Evoking joy and countless cheers,
...
Saturday 8th October 2011 1:32 pm
Bore
How odd there's no law
Against being a bore;
You're so sure in your core
That there could be.
When you're stuck with a bore
Exercising his jaw
Right next door; you're so sure
That there should be!
Saturday 8th October 2011 1:23 pm
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