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THOUGHTS AT CHRISTMAS

On the eve of Christmas, I'm re-posting this short poem in the spirit of remembrance. and the wonder of life's glorious renewal.

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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 h...

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WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND

Posted again - a carol to help the festive mood.

 

"Lift up your voice - let all rejoice

And make a joyful sound

Cast off the care Mankind must bear...

When Christmas comes around"

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Happy Christmas!

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Christmascarol

THOUGHTS AT CHRISTMAS (2)

As we look back upon

The passing of the years,

All the hopes and dreams we had - 

And all the crushing fears;

May we now look forward

To improve on thought and deed,

No matter what religion,

Status, caste or creed.

Tis said we only pass this way

But once - and if that's true,

What better than to seek what's right

In all we say and do?

If Earth...

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SPARE US

Give us the pleasure of a cheerful song

And spare us the measure of the tearful wrong;

Give us the words that are warming and witty

And spare us the whining of spite and self-pity.

Give us the heart to go forward with hope

And spare us the warning that we just can't cope;

Give us the memory of the best that we had

And spare us the thought that the rest is all bad;

...

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LITTLE OLD LADY

Little old lady sternly stands,

Son and daughter lending hands;

So many memories, so much done,

Battles lost and battles won.

An English girl from a country town

Who rose to power beneath the Crown.

For - or against - there's few to match her,

Happy Birthday, Lady Thatcher!

N.B.

Carp if you must but try to be witty,

Whining's depressing - and so is self-p...

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GET HAPPY!

Each time I log on I find a succession

Of poems that serve to bring on depression;

Please excuse this online equivalent of an "earful" -

But for sanity's sake, can we have something cheerful?!

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I PROTEST!!

I am a protesting poet

With an all-purpose axe quick to grind;

If it's unjust I'm ready to show it

Using whatever words I can find.

 

I will not be limited by brevity,

And sometimes get carried away;

And I've no time for frivolous levity

Making light of what I have to say.

 

Don't try to woo me with good humour,

I can never be influenced by that;

...

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DEAD RECKONING

Considering poetical recitation,

A thought came into my head:

Wouldn't there be more appreciation

 If the poets themselves were dead?

 

Better to be read when gone ahead,

And earn undying gratitude;

Better to be extinct than extant instead,

Than a slam-bam "I am" with attitude.

 

All too often the scribbler today

Posing as some meaningful poet

See...

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WALTZING MATILDA or A BOLD FUSILIER?

The famous Australian song "Waltzing Matilda" reputedly has its origins much closer to home - in Rochester, Kent as it happens,...the time of The War of the Spanish Succcession 1701. 

The Royal East Kent Regt. (aka The Buffs") performed duty as escorts to Botany Bay.  Read on...and you'll

see how these old words fit the tune.  The Duke of Marlborough was John Churchill - WSC's ancestor...

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WHERE IS THE THANKS?

I can understand the jobless man

Who resents being called a shirker,

But I look in vain for thanks for the brain

Whose brilliance gives work to the worker!

 

(N.B.  Three cheers for National Poetry Day!)

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SETTLING ACCOUNTS

The passing years are debit slips

In the bank of all our days;

We make withdrawals as life goes on,

When accounts close each man pays.

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THE RIGHT ROAD - sing gospel!

CHORUS >

O Lord lead me to the right road!  O Lord lead me to the right road

O Lord lead me to the right road...that's where I long to be

...................

I was a sinner man - yes sir-ee... I loved sin and sin loved me

We were thicker than flies could be - be wise and heed this warning

 

REPEAT CHORUS

The easy life was what I sought - everything that could be bought

A...

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ROCHDALE AHOY!

The current online letter from the Cyclists Touring Club refers to  www.tellusanotherone.org which has a link to Connect2Poetry and a theme devoted to Rochdale and its environs.  For info. of those of you "oop north".

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HEARTBREAK ETCHED IN STONE

I was visiting a memorial to my late father's first cousin killed in Ireland nearly a century ago.  

Next to it was a headstone that told a desperately sad tale of another's loss. 

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Hear...

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Wargrief

GRAVE WORDS

The following was spotted on an old gravestone in a London cemetery.  I liked its brevity and the sentiment.

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"Forgive O Lord, this tribute of a tear,

Forgive O Lord, the wish they were still here"

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DARK AND LIGHT

Humanity harbours dark and light

As the world itself heralds day and night;

The honest sun in outrageous burst

Can kindle drought, disease and thirst,

While the darkest moon can bring relief

Stealing the sun's rays like a thief.

In Nature and Man they both abide

The day and night live side by side.

Disciples of the dark and light,

We strive without an end in ...

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THE MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES

They were once "Conservative and Unionist"

But now it's "Con" - you get the gist:

Con-ning us all about the EU,

Con-creting the countryside we once knew,

Unlike the land they won't be missed.

 

They called themselves "New" Labour,

As if it was a new flavour,

But the "Guilty Party" is what they are

For what they did both near and far,

And I no longer know ...

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SUDS 'n DUDS

Thinking about Lynn Dye's "Oblivious" on WOL......

 

What happiness to live alone

And all the washing up's your own

To do - or leave for just a while

For later on - and then I smile

At the thought of flushing soap

From dish to sink - no time to mope;

And after that - my dirty duds

Waiting for the cleansing suds;

Domestic chores I tend to see

As inexpe...

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THE WRONG SONG

Just stay where you are and say where you are

And I'll come running to you

Forget what I said - I was out of my head

When I accused you of being untrue

 

Don't hang up on me - I was wrong I agree

Forgive me and say you'll be there

Just give me the word -  I'll take wing like a bird

With nothing between us but air

 

But you have to agree it wasn't just me

...

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TELL HIM - a lyric for all those Women in Country!

Tell him -

When you're feeling sad

Tell him -

When you're feeling bad

Tell him -

When you need his arms around you

 

Tell him -

That you need his love

Tell him -

You thank the stars above

For that precious day...

The day he found you

 

Never let the chance go by

To hold him close and tell him why

You need for him to stay

Every ...

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OLYMPIAN ASPIRATIONS AND DREAMS

Today marks the opening of a great time in UK sporting history and the opportunity to welcome the world to

our shores - and, in particular - to the world's most famous city.  There are "lies, damned lies and statistics"

and the politics of envy and disbelief.   But let us put them all aside for a few weeks while we marvel and

rejoice at the elevation of human aspiration in its fines...

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Olympics

DREAMS CAN COME TRUE

The victory of Bradley Wiggins in this year's Tour de France puts any coming Olympic

success somewhat in the shade, so great are the demands made on participants in that

famous 100-year old cycle road race.  Imagine a Frenchman scoring a century at Lords...

each day for weeks on end!   Here is my personal tribute to True Brit. Grit! 

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Tour de France

TALKIN' THE WALK

Thanks to bobevansmusic.com for the tune and the version you will hear!

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Go on - walk away!

Should I beg you to stay

When you say

You're leaving for good?

 

You've told me before...

Many times - and what's more -

I don't think you will

Or you would.

 

Go on - if you dar...

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OLYMPIC DREAMS

The Olympic Torch - so I am told - won't be coming my way

No chance of a fine white tracksuit:  perhaps another day?

I play at how it might have been - with my own Olympic flame -

But  a cigarette lighter waved aloft  just doesn't seem the same!

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WOL Olympic Competition

ENGLAND EXPECTS - or maybe not!

Ashley Young and Ashley Cole

Between them couldn't find the goal

We would love  - but seldom get

Kicks high and wide into the net.

 

Charlie Mitten of old Man. United

Was their penalty king - superbly sighted,

With a penalty hat-trick against Aston Villa,

He showed how to be a killer-driller!

 

No 'keeper can ever hope to  leap

And reach the ball - le...

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BACK STREETS - inspired by a line in another WOL post

I've travelled  down the major highways

To self-important places;

And I've spent my time in minor byways,

Meeting much-loved faces,

 

But no matter where I choose to roam,

I end up at the start,

Always finding my way home

To the back streets of my heart.

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GOLDEN BOY - a memory of schooldays hero-worship

O sun tanned youth

Who fired my heart,

Never meant to meet or part,

How many times you'd pass me by,

And leave me wishing I could die.

 

O brown faced lad

Were you aware

Of this admirer's silent stare?

Were there times when you were near

To saying something I might hear?

 

O golden boy

Now old like me,

Do you perhaps look back and see

...

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heroworship

RICHIE BENAUD - on his retirement to Australia

One of the great cricketers and cricket commentators, his decision to retire from UK cricket

commentary was a sad occasion for all who love the game - and his inimitable "delivery".

This short tribute was written at the time.

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With a tone...

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cricket

A BLUR OF GREY FUR

A tiny grey mouse likes to visit my flat

No doubt aware that I don't keep a cat;

The landlord's long lease puts a block on all pets -

For my timorous guest that's as good as it gets.

 

The woman occupying the studio above

Complained of a rat (try Specsavers, love!);

She went to the agents and gave them what for -

And "Pest Control" followed, to knock on the door.

...

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PASSING ROYALTY

Young boy and old duffer

Looking on;

A shout...a cheer...

Where's time gone?

 

Young girl and old lady

Passing by;

A smile...a wave...

The blink of an eye.

 

 

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Royalty

JUBILEE JOY - welcoming our guests

Re-posted from 31/5/2012 to salute the Jubilee June holiday week-end.

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Dear valued visitor...

So glad to see you here;

The warmest of warm welcomes

In this very special year -

 

When we celebrate a diamond Queen

Upon an ancient throne,

While Olympic jewels strive to ...

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JUBILEE JOY - welcoming our guests

Dear valued visitor...

So glad to see you here,

The warmest of warm welcomes

In this very special year -

 

When we celebrate a diamond Queen

Upon an ancient throne,

While Olympic gems will have a sheen

With royalty of their own.

 

Our land is proudly on parade,

Its capital playing host,

With traditions that will never fade

(Though it's not our...

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Jubileejoy

GEORGE LLOYD - composer

The happiest discoveries are often made in pubs - and one of the happiest for me was

an introduction to the music of George Lloyd.  A true prodigy, his youthful career was to be

blighted by WW 2 service with the Royal Marines on Arctic Convoy duty when his ship was

torpedoed and he narrowly escaped death.  His post-war career was overtaken by the

fashion for atonal music and ne...

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UNTIL I SAW YOUR FACE - song

Recently, I posted the words, now here's the song...a breezy alternative to the admirable profundity often found on WOL.  Recording/vocal credit goes to Pete Dymond in Bristol.

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WHEN YOU WALKED INTO MY LIFE

I thought I'd post this as a gentle antidote to the harsher world.  The tune (a personal favourite)

is adapted from the music of Kingsley Mellanby, a composer from Hampshire, UK.

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The sun shone out all around me

When you walked int...

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UNTIL I SAW YOUR FACE - a love song lyric

I never gave much thought to love

It was a stranger to my heart

I never knew what life could be

And I thought I was smart!

 

I didn't care that love wasn't there

What you don't have you don't miss

I didn't know what it was to share

The commitment in a kiss

 

I never gave love the time of day

Or the things that lovers do

I never learnt how to act t...

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SAILING DAYS

For Jack Lytton - brother-in-law - who has just signed off this life to chart the great unknown.

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It's the tang of the spray

On a bright summer's day

When you're carried along by the breeze.

It's the bite of the wind

When your face feels skinned,

Salted by cold winter seas.

 

It's th...

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NELSON WAS A NORFOLK BOY

Greg Freeman's "Duty" reminded me of some old lines I penned about Lord Nelson.

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Lord Nelson was a Norfolk boy,

A Norfolk boy was he,

And he sailed into our English hearts

Aboard the "Vic-tor-ee"!

 

Lord Nelson was a parson's son,

A p...

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LIVE AND LET DYE - A cyclist's riposte to dear Lynn Dye

I was cycling along carefully, mentally flossing,

When I saw straight ahead a pedestrian crossing.

But if you are uncertain what I am about,

Let me remove any shadow of doubt.

 

I refer to the facility supplied by the law,

That's meant to give sensible foot passengers the floor;

But by chance as it happened - and looking at a loss,

At that moment a pedestrian see...

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THE BEST AND WORST OF THINGS

I once knew a guy you would never call shy

From the way that he acted and dressed;

He'd say "It's no shock when the world wants to mock...

I've been called the worst things by the best".

 

Then there was this gal - she was more than a pal,

By nature most generously blessed.

I'd buy her a drink and she'd say with a wink -

"I've been called the worst things by the ...

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BROTHERS

Railway station platforms bring partings back to me,

The traces of the those lonely places locked in memory.

 

How many times we stood together, awkward, you and I,

Each entrapped in misery's web of how to say goodbye.

 

Now those days are long ago, the platforms owned by others,

In their turn seeking out the words that brothers need for brothers. 

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RENEWAL - some thoughts at Easter

 

Put away those negative thoughts, it's always best you should,

Don't let them creep into each new found day;

Like germs, they can infect you and never do you good,

And left untreated, find a way to stay.

 

Ac-cen-tu-ate the pos-i-tive - so the old song goes...

And push aside those nagging doubts and fears;

The thoughts that bring you happiness will wipe away yo...

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KEEPING WATCH

The preacher's eyes had a fire that seemed to burn right through,

"The dead are all around us - watching what we do"!

I must confess

To a degree of stress

When I recall his words

In the loo.

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FREEHOLD OR VACANT

Consider the guy

Whose prize

Is the size

Of his freehold

That draws many eyes..

 

Whilst he seems

Free from cares

About who would

Go shares

In the vacant space

He owns upstairs!

 

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HAWK

Keen-eyed keeper of the skies,

Lord of everything that flies,

There's no way your watchful prey

Will wait to pass the time of day.

 

Patrolling country, cliff and city,

You were not designed for pity;

Not for you the hurting heart,

You were born a deadly dart.

 

Nature fashioned hawk and prey

To keep the balance in her way;

Not for you to reason w...

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hawk

LOVE'S NOT A WORD I CARE ABOUT

How can love cover the distance?

How can love manage the space?

The memory's a miracle worker

But it doesn't make up for your face.

 

For a lifetime you lived close by me

I saw you most every day

And I thought that you'd always be there

But suddenly you went away

 

You can't put a price on the life we knew

But when you left that life was through

E...

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MERCHANT BANKERS

In olden days, those golden days,

When trust was the public watchword,

Lubricating work-worn wheels

And not just some hotchpotch word,

 

As safe as the Bank of England, sir!

Were words you could rely on,

And those safeguarding public wealth

We never dreamt to spy on.

 

But times can change - my, how they change,

And beyond banking's portals

Those ...

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WATERBOARDING

(or what if he really doesn't know the answer?!)

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"O say, do you see..." were the proud words composed

When America's great journey to freedom began.

O say, do you see the hooded head hosed

Now America feels free to ill-treat when it can?

 

O say, do you see when a president declares

It's OK to half-drown...

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LAST RESORT

If you're in line for a change of scene

With others of like mind

With attentive staff and lots to do

But no need to unwind

A break in sunny Cuba...

It's hot on any day

Rendition Flights are offering

A trip to Guantanamo Bay.

 

No hassle with your booking

They'll take you right away

You can even go via other lands

To maximise your stay

Sampling...

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THEY SAY - a vocal version - thanks Alan Hill!

As spring approaches, here's a ballad for all who may have been unlucky in love.

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Winter days are drifting by

Each one passing with a sigh

How cold the days have grown

The love you thought was here to stay

Has somehow sadly slipped away

And ...

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HAVING IT ON HIS TOES

Recalling a memorable day when an unfancied 16/1 outsider won the £100,000 Redcar Trophy for 2 yr olds.  The name of the winner has been abridged to suit the poem!

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The day was bright...without a frown,

At the Redcar seaside trac...

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HOT STUFF

The Harum-Scarum and the Lickety-Split

Were hot stuff fast, no doubt of it!

In a land of legendary creatures,

Their speed burned through its fabled features.

 

Around the country each was spied

Leaving scorch marks far and wide.

Though often invited out for dinner,

Neither got fatter...only thinner.

 

Until some soul was heard to say

"Those fellows j...

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nonsense comp

THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE

The malevolent heed what the malignant say,

And send their converts out to prey;

And like the donkeys, how they bray!

Is THAT your idea of a hero?

 

Love, compassion, common sense,

Mean nought to them, it's "self-defence",

Disciples of a pious pretence -

Is THAT your idea of a hero?

 

Maim you, bomb you, shoot you dead,

In your heart or in your head,

...

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terrorist

THE PRIMROSE

Peeping from beneath the tree,

The lemon primrose spoke to me.

Winter's done, I heard it say,

Warmer days are on their way.

 

Mother Nature waits on me

(The First Rose is my name you see)

While other flowers stay in bed,

I welcome spring and show my head.

 

Then, with the golden daffodil,

I gild the countryside until

In turn, the other blooms appe...

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primrose

STEAM DAYS

A romantic affection for the past.  Which begs the question: "Why don't girls go train-spotting?"

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The diesel train is cleaner

And glides on silken rails,

But give me the age

Of the steam pressure gauge

And those desolate whistle-wails.

 

The electric train is quieter,

Driven by hi...

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steam

KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE

It certainly helps if the right word fits -

So let us look at "its" and "it's".

When using "its"  - and this I stress...

You have in mind the word "possess",

Whereas "it's"  (and IT'S a whiz!!)...

Informs the world that something IS!

 

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SUE - REMEMBERING A MUCH LOVED DOG

Sometimes, alone, I see her face,

I hear her on the stair;

I hold my arms out to embrace my Sue

And she is there.

 

The loving laughing eyes I knew

Look back into my own,

And all the warmth and giving too

Are all that I have known.

 

I hold her tight within my mind

And stroke her gentle face,

But all too soon she's gone I find,

And I hold empt...

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WORDS

"Words are what men live by",

My father used to say;

"A man need never question why,

There's just no other way".

 

"Words are what men live by,

Since words themselves began",

And then he'd look me in the eye

As if I were a man.

 

"Women take a different view,

They parley with a kiss,

Don't ask me why but they just do,

That's just the way it is...

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I COULDN'T CARE TUPPENCE

Nippity-pippity, flippity-gibbity,

I couldn't care tuppence about serendipity!

Life is a craps game, a stage-play, a dance;

Life is a sap's game fate plans in advance!

Nippity-pippity, flippity-gibbity

I couldn't care tuppence about serendipity!

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serendipity

PAYING THE PRICE

Life is like a treasure hunt

Until love comes along,

With people searching high and low,

Hoping they're not wrong.

 

Love is like an auction house

Where nothing's ever free;

I bid high - my heart knew why -

To take you home with me.

 

When love's a must, you go for bust

And pay the auction fee.

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FLOODS

Easy to rage at the torrents

And seek to levy blame;

Wiser surely to look to the springs

From whence the rivers came.

 

Easy to view all immigration

As the source of contemporary strain;

Wiser surely as irrigation

Come to water an arid plain.

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WHEN YOU WERE BORN

When you were born

Let it be said

That angels gathered by the bed

And kissed your head.

 

When you were born

Let it be told

That Lucifer dared not be too bold

And hell was cold.

 

When you were born

Let it be known

That God descended from His throne

For you alone.

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NIGHTMARE DEPARTURE

As we come at last to death,

Short of time and short of breath,

Is going quietly not what it seems?

Do we depart to nightmare dreams?

 

From which in life we would awaken,

Shivering, sweating, badly shaken;

Could it be as we meet death

We dream of dying for want of breath?

 

And what is worse as we are taken,

How hard we try, we can't awaken!

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SWEET ALICE

Does anyone hereabouts remember sweet Alice?

Poor dreamer...how she longed to live in a palace.

But - sad to tell - it was her tragic fate

To be held back by her lowly estate.

 

She vanished without warning one cold afternoon,

Some say that it wasn't a moment too soon;

Her lofty ambitions gave others the vapours

When they much preferred to be in watching "Neighbo...

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OLD MAY

Old May was a local terror

And the emergency services knew it

Quite sure if they were called to her

They'd more than likely rue it.

 

A woman of uncertain age

And well beyond "spring chicken"

She'd long since left behind that stage

When arteries start to thicken.

 

Armed with drink and a walking stick

She seemed a nice old dear

But woe betide the ...

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I LOVE HUMANITY, IT'S PEOPLE I CAN'T STAND

Nancy! Pansy! Poofter! Queer!

Abuse, accuse, and bruise the ear,

And feed on fear.

 

Nervous youth and frightened boy

Enduring spite that would destroy

Young chance of joy.

 

Older man and younger friend

Under pressure to pretend

And not offend.

 

Lifelong partners seek to gain

Acceptance others can obtain

Without pain.

 

Husband, ...

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OLD BEFORE HIS TIME

Somehow, it seemed, he'd always spent

His life living among

Those who were old as he was old

Or who were old when he was young.

 

In years he once had been a lad,

The mirror showed a boy;

But mentally he was old and sad,

Scarce knowing life's young joy.

 

Kith and kin a scarcity

When reckoning  up the years,

Left little room for levity

Or poin...

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YOU

When I, in solitude, sit and think,

And from your precious memory drink,

I wish my lonely loving cup

Was with your own sweet self filled up.

 

But many a prize with yearning sought

Is often better given than bought,

And wilful passion stays its hand

When pride takes such a stubborn stand.

 

So I think on with you in mind

And from your golden image fin...

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REMEMBERING RONNIE BARKER

The recent broadcasts of the repeats of "The Two Ronnies" encouraged this tribute to a

brilliant comic talent..

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Let's not feel sad

But warm and smiley

When we remember

"Gerald Wiley" *

 

In our lucky lives

He left his marker

So fond "fork handles"

To Ronnie Barker.

 

We had his gift

Of fun and ...

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NOISY NEW NEIGHBOURS

It's 3 - sometimes 4 in the morning,

When I wake to the terrible tread

As the elephants stamp by on the staircase

To lumber around overhead.

 

It's 3 - sometimes 4 in the morning,

When sleep leaves and I wake up instead;

At times even daylight is dawning 

When the elephants tramp home to their bed.

 

But real jumbos are famously quiet,

Their steps are...

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elephantsneighbours

SO BROKEN HEARTED - demo version

Following my post about linking my WOL page with my page on www.ukcountryradio.com, I was

asked by A.E. if the song in question could be on mp3.  The broadcast version isn't available on this site - BUT here

is the basic "demo" which led to that Nashville recording on CD.  Hope you wordsmiths and

songsmiths enjoy it and I will mention that the tune was a direct result of the lyric l...

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ANIMAL CRACKERS (aka "You Dirty Rat, Ewe!")

Can a cat be a rat -

Or a cockroach a louse?

Could a sheep get a name as a cow?

 

Can a dog be a swine,

Or an elephant a mouse?

Could a hen be a fowl-tempered sow?

 

Can a mare be a nag -

Or a carthorse an ass?

(This is getting a bit odd, I'll allow).

 

Can a hornet be fly -

Or a snake be a grass?

(To your better judgement, I'll bow).

...

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animalcrackers

MAKING DO WITH MISERY

Morning comes but once a day

And that's enough for me.

I face each day without you,

Making do with misery.

 

Morning comes but once a day,

My punishment goes on,

For all the ways I hurt you

In the dark times dead and gone.

 

Morning comes but once a day,

And with it comes the light,

To show me what I know so well

That there's no end in sight.

...

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morningmisery

LINKING UP

Having noted the number of souls who are pictured with a guitar - on/off stage - I wish it to be

known that I've linked my writeoutloud address with www.ukcountryradio.com and my recently

published/recorded country song "So Broken Hearted" is being played online daily by them

and its CD "Moments" by Women In Country is advertised via my page  on their site and at

their online st...

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FUTURE IMPERFECT

Does it help to be dead before you are read...

In your sodden grave with the sod overhead?

 

Is eternity the place to be

Before the world says that's for me?

 

Will it help fame to find your rhyme

If you're hauled to your tomb before your time?

 

In death to strike a deathless pose

While a newly-wise world admires your prose.

 

If that's the way i...

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MY MOTHER

It's a while now since she passed away

And time has hurried on,

But still I hear her softly say

"You'll miss me when I'm gone".

 

With each and every passing day

I sadly think upon

Those quiet words I heard her say:

"You'll miss me when I'm gone".

 

 

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MEMORY

Memory, sweet memory,

That dwells within the heart of me,

Why is it that the things I see

Are not the things that used to be.

 

Did I walk those wild wood ways

Of make believe and childhood plays

That once upon a time portrays?

Did I really live those days?

 

The faces that I used to know,

The places where I used to go,

Now like the tide ebb to an...

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Memory

PASSING BY

Passing by, you held my eye,

Now hours later I still sigh.

 

Instead of making sure we met

I'm made to live with this regret.

 

How many times on this old Earth

Is love condemned to this still-birth?

 

Love's own strangers passing by,

Left to wonder - left to sigh.

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passingLove

MY LONDON

In all the world, there's nowhere quite

Like London in the evening light,

When saffron sunset lends its grace

To linger on a much-loved face.

 

And all around the very air

Thrills with time as if aware

That my great city is the stage

For this and every other age.

 

So much history, so much done,

So much to tell the setting sun.

 

 

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London

SYMPATHY FOR A BROTHER-IN-LAW (and others!)

I ask you, men, isn't it great!

For a joke God gave men a prostate;

It lies down below,

Like a debt it can grow

To ensure that our sleep will come late.

 

No rest can a man get at night,

Up peeing till dawn's early light.

Exhausted to lie

As the sun finds the sky,

Even then there's no let-up in sight.

 

Doctor, dear doctor - please, please...

...

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LIVE ON!

I hold no brief for life's grand scheme,

Or what we're meant to be,

But one thing I am certain of,

And that, my friend, is me.

 

When all else is fading fast,

And love's a memory,

I find support from just one thought,

My friend, I still have me.

 

And if you pause and think a while,

I'm sure you will agree,

That if you lose all else besides,

Y...

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THE DEATH OF AN ELDER SISTER

Gone...to where the light is brighter

Gone...to where the load is lighter

Gone...to where no pain can smite her

Gone to meet her Maker.

 

Gone...to where there are no tears

Gone...to where there are no fears

Gone...to where death disappears

Gone to meet her Maker.

 

Gone...but always in the mind

Gone...to leave us far behind

Gone...to where she'll...

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death

POETRY AND SONG LYRICS

I often see the connection between poetry and song lyrics and whilst they are not always

compatible, the following lines from Edward "Eddie" Marsh to the lovely music of Ivor Novello's

"Land Of Might-Have-Been" serve my point of view well.  See what you think.

 

Sometimes on the rarest nights

Comes the vision calm and clear

Gleaming with unearthly lights

On our path ...

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IS THAT YOU?

I want someone

Who'll be here each day

Is that you?

I want someone

Who'll show me the way

Is that you?

I want someone

To lead me along

Who''ll whistle a tune

Or sing me a song

Who'll say it's all right

When I know it's all wrong

Is that you?

I want someone

Who'll hold me each night

Is that you?

I want someone

Who'll show me the...

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SOME POLITICIANS

Some politicians are like tarts,

No cash or cause refusable;

They'll fuck with anyone - hands on hearts,

No promise inexcusable.

 

Some politicians are like sluts,

Haggling near a station;

Hear them use those "ifs" and "buts"

To find accommodation.

 

Some politicians are like jades

Whose looks are going fast;

Making hay ere summer fades,

Its h...

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politicians

TREES

Springtime trees are newly born,

Their buds soon bursting through;

They wake at Nature's New Year morn

To bid the old adieu.

 

Summer trees are tall and green

And fill our hearts with love;

Responding to a force unseen

They praise the skies above.

 

Autumn trees are red and gold,

In majesty they stand,

And wear their colours bright and bold

To...

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trees

CROSSED LINES

I call you on the telephone

But you're not on the line

It looks as if I'm left alone

And you're no longer mine.

 

I'd send a telegram or two

On them I'd write upon

The words I'd like to say to you

But telegrams have gone.

 

I try to call again - contrite,

And hope you'll answer me

Or was last night our final fight

And love a memory?

 

...

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