Appreciation is due to Pete Dymond of Bristol for his recording of my carol.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

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When I witness this restriction

With its defensive deleting screech,

I sadly see its depiction 

Of a wave to departing free speech.

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I watch the snow flakes falling fast

They drift like memories from the past

On wayward wandering winds they're cast

To melt - whereas the memories last.

Each dancing flake a crystalline... 

Snow white poppy in seasonal shine,

To give us pause to re-align

The hope and faith of eternal design.

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Sudden snow hit our streets last night

To greet our waking words

And for me, the sudden thought:

"What about the birds?"

As I watched a lone black crow

(it might have been a rook)

Picking its patient way to go

Peck-pecking what it took

From sparse offerings on the street

Weaving its wandering path

Making sure it dodged the feet

And the few passing peoples...

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Remembering a "Dam Buster" - the last of his kind.  I had the privilege of meeting him and hearing  

his account of that famous WW2 exploit in which he was the bomb-aimer who took his Lancaster 

nine times to the Sorpe dam before he was ready to release the bomb-load that it carried. 

DAM BUSTER

Whippet-lean and dry of tone,

With manner self-effacing, 

He conjured up the distant ...

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At home the Christmas snow is falling,

i see it clear,so far away

I hear the happy voices calling

See the children at their play

Every Yuletide brings its reason

To celebrate old days before

Family gathered for the Season

Friends and neighbours at the door

Whatever in my life forakes me

Wherever in the world I go

I bless this heart that always takes me

Ho...

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Beware of short men in positions of power

Looking for ways to make their mean weeds flower.

Hurrying and harrying the gullible that we see go.....

Following the long legs of a monstrous ego.

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It is reported that President Putin has been telling the mothers of Russian soldiers that he feels their pain!

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Two-faced evil, we hear what you did'

Dispatcher of death, we know where you hid;

An FSB brain is the place you took root in....

And it lives in the head of Vladimir Putin.

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Just for a change - something to listen to!

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You are the music in my heart

With every beat I feel a part

Of some romantic symphony

Written just for you and me.

You are the prelude bringing joy

The magic touch that you employ

Never ever out of tune

And never will I be immune

And so I see it'...

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Can there ever be real consolation

For those who see "Discrimination"

As a selective accusation?

Elsewhere called choice or preference

To pay the language deference

Without resort to false pretence.

It;s what we say and what we do

Every day, living our lives through

To the time we bid the world adieu.

The stuff of life we select to eat,

The situations w...

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Come each and every new November

It is our duty to remember

Those whose lives were doomed to lack

The time to put their own clocks back

To mark the days they would never see

As they took their turn in eternity,

Their own time cruelly rendered short

By the wars in which they fought.

No chance for them to look ahead

And savour that extra hour in bed;

Instead, they lie w...

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Today's BBC is not for me,

Its newsreaders barely able to contain their glee

At reporting stuff they prefer to see

All paid for by the license fee.

"And Nation shall speak unto Nation" -

Such a shame about the deterioration

In the method of communication.

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...

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It's goodbye to the Conservative Party,

Recalling two fingers from the start we

Watch them heading for the electoral exit -

Serves 'em right for neglecting Brexit!

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I've been a fan of Westerns since my early 1950s cinema-going childhood.  Whilst they have fallen out of

fashion in recent decades, they still retain their ability to tell a tale that entertains us in all sorts of ways,

and there have been occasional fine reminders of their original popularity in productions like "Missing"

(Tommy Lee Jones), "Unforgiven" (Clint Eastwood); "Open Range" (Ke...

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Father, mother, sister, brother

 Prized and protected above any other;

We love and defend the familiar face

And that applies to the familiar race.

Nature sees the strategem

Of species consorting and preserving them

That share the traits that keep them safe

Against the dangers that would chafe

Against their futures and their aims

Their achievements and assorted claims.

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During my need to check my late brother's stuff after his passing, I found the following words he had

copied on to a piece of scrap paper - attributed to one "Etiennce de Grellet".  They are worth our time

and I quote them here..

"I expect to pass through this world but once;  any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness

that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it n...

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The ultimate inanity =

Too much humanity.

The ultimate folly

That demands our lolly

Make way...make room

For more doom and gloom

Exercise exaggeration

And inventive imagination

The end is nigh

Says those on high

The fol-de-rol

Of intended control

As if going global

Was essentially noble

Comparing pollution

In uncaring contribution

The giants of the E...

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More bombast from President Puking

Along with real bombs and threats of nuking.

To suffer defeat must be very vexing

But can be relieved with some annexing

Of parts of a land you've chosen to invade

In the hope you've got it made

By a "special military operation"

Designed to achieve quick domination.

But aiming high can bring you low

And Puking has some way to ...

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Being British is as much a state of heart and mind

As was ever by any official term defined.

Understand this simple truth and you may feel affined...

To take your place with this island race and the ties that bind

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I was in two minds about androgenous

(i had to check its leaning)

But I knew about misogynous

And how it was demeaning.

But the word had been created

And that fact got me thinking

What had seen it often stated

With no hint of nudge or winking?

What had brought about the name

And the accusing finger

That is very quick to blame

With cries of "Shame" that li...

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She united us in life

She unites us now in death.

What greater legacy

Could there be

From our great Queen Elizabeth?

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In the midst of the poignant pageantry one lingering thought comes hard

That Her Majesty will never send herself a 100th Birthday Card.

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In all the world there's nowhere quite

Like London in her mournful plight

As history tearfully turns the page

To close our Elizabeth's golden Age

While all around the very air

Resonates with time - as if aware

That this great city sets the scene

For the farewell to a much loved Queen.

So much history...so much done,

So much lost...yet so much won.

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

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Who will have slept easy in their bed,

Thoughts teeming endlessly in the head;

Senses numbed by the lingering pain

From a September Thursday in the rain.

The mournful sun hid all the while

Outshone by the radiance of that farewell smile.

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On YouTube i saw someone displayng

A T-shirt with a very relevant saying.

Perfect in the way it hit the right spot:-

Abnormal is fine

Stupid is not ! 

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I reject the intention to implicate

Hyperbole into hate;

To complicate and exaggerate,....

In short - to mendaciously overstate

And knowingly distort "dislike" each time

This abuse of English should be THE crime!.

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It is reported that the term "woke" originated in the USA  (quelle surprise!!) as a term for an attitude that

seeks out injustice and discriminisation.  The problem arises from the absence of that all-important

word "perceived" which throws a wholly different perspective on what is happening or intended.  Perception is

irredeemably linked with self-deception and is apparent in a woke fram...

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There;s something eerie and impossible to  explain

And no use trying - so little to gain

About the darkness that can't be defied

And soft voices heard from the other side..

The sensation of being caught between

Something unknown, mysterious, unseen,

When the lights go out and a hush descends

On life itself and all that it lends.

While disbeiief creates a departing...

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A recent clear-out in the flat revealed an old press cutting displaying my favourite example of "gallows

humour" (albeit deliciously uinintentional).

The content was a widely syndicated news photo from New York showing the aftermath of the shooting

of mafia boss and aspiring "boss of bosses", one Carmine Galante - in an Italian restaurant,  and the

scene as the deceased's corpse was be...

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If I needed any reminder how modern technology has made blindly obedient servants of us all, it was

watching the YouTube video of Her Majesty The Queen - in her 96th year - visiting a hospice near her

Windsor Castle residence in the company of her daughter HRH The Princess Royal.

Her Majesty had barely shaken hands when meeting the male carer of a patient when his mobile

'phone rang.  ...

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Over taught...over wrought

Today's university hero

Common sense scoring nought

And maturity stuck at zero.

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I liked to peruse travel brochures

Wishing I was there.......

Fine sand dribbling through my toes

And the tang of Ambre Solaire.

.

But now I prefer the online sights

Provided by race horses

Digging in their well-shod hooves

Around assorted courses..

With the aroma of instant coffee

And a list of runners to scan;

A contemplative sip...a considered "tip".

Occ...

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I've these notions

That emotions

Resemble potent potions

Either stimulating sensation

Or offering soothing lotions!

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Unconstrained by the weary body, the spirit flies.....

Like a caged bird finding joyful freedom in the skies.

We can only imagine the wonders it knows

As on its eternal journey it goes.

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Throughout a life of royal majesty ordained

Always true in our lives she has remained

To the responsibilities of majesty grievously unexpected

None of which her royal role neglected..

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My posting about this apt and ascerbic gem was badly timed at the end of May so I'll remind WOL readers

to check it out.  Apparently the author is a well known Twitter(er). and has a substantial following on that

social media platform.  

MC

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My attention has been drawn to a wonderfully apt and ascerbic version of Kipling's famous poem - framed to

describe what is going on in our lives at this time.  I strongly recommend any WOL reader to seek it out...with

the attributed writer's popularity on Twitter a good start.  I have had a copy sent to me and it really is a work of

satirical excellence that Kipling himself would probabl...

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I'm as happy as I can be

And why not when I'm in love with me?

I kiss the mirror every morn

And bless the day that I was born..

I see no worrying imperfection

In my day to day reflection

My words to me provide elation

In self-regarding conversation.

When I die I'll regret that its terms

Offer the unwanted company of worms

But underground in ashes I'll be

...

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I was delighted to read of the acknowledgement received by Julie Callaghan to her commendable

effort to communicate her feelings to Her Majesty The Queen for this Platinum Jubilee Year and 

how it brought back a memory of my own effort when The Queen Mother endured the need for  

an operation and a donor's blood very late in her long life over twenty years ago.  Here it is.

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

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Consider two city swellers

Both strugging to survive

One is feted; one is hated,,

Both desperate to stay alive.

What lottery of life prevails

That sees their fates allot?

One might be fondly coddled

The other poisoned or shot.

When you happen to see either

Scurrying off, each to its lair

Just be grateful you are neither

And reflect how life's not fair

...

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It's the age of the humour-free ditty,

The depressing dirge of self-pity.

Why make others feel low

When you;re just too slow;

To run with the chance to be witty?.

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With acknowledgement to the photographer of this charming image.

We're two best friends on bended knee

Side by side in harmony

Offering up a silent plea 

That HE will care for you and me

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Shakespeare would have us believe that all the world is a stage and we are but players.  i vary that 

concept  here..  All life is but a joke and we are its jokers.  Let's pursue that possibility for a moment!.

My ex-wife still misses me, but her aim is getting better.

When the past, present and future go camping, they always argue.  It's intense tense in tents.

Q: What's the differenc...

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I've a sneaking suspicion that in other days there was a certain vogue

That favoured a politician who was fancied a bit of a rogue.

"It takes a thief to catch a thief" vying with "Thou shalt not steal"

Was a fact of life for people then and considered no big deal.

Ivory towers might be suitable for cultivating innocent flowers

But you need to get hands dirty when dealing with devili...

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I wonder if Bojo saw himself back at school

Secure in his higher class

Out of sight, out of mind - and just so cool

Disregardiing the difference, bold as brass.

Seeing his staff like the fags that he knew

Who came running to his imperious drawl 

Feeling privileged  if they heard him murmur  "Yes...you"

And eagerly answering his call.

Old habits - like old boys - t...

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I'm partial to impartiality

It signifies a mentality

That dispenses with emotion

And indicates the notion

Of how to employ reason.......

Something never out of season !

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It might be thought that becoming enlightened

Would give us courage on our side

So how have we become so frightened

With every worry magnified?

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Here is a word for those not seeing ---

Loneliness is a state of mind, not being.

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It is reported that Lincoln City Football Club has suspended the playing of its theme "The  

Dambusters March" at its matches, offering the conflict in Ukraine as the reason.  

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The City of Lincoln in its pride has boasted the Lincoln Imp

But now it seems that civic pride has gone a little limp!

Citing ...

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I tried to submit my meter reading

For my electric supply today

You'll probably guess where this is leading -

There was just no way! 

Despite my efforts across the hours

The message on view was the same

Sorry but failed systemic powers

Are the things that are to blame.

No matter that much time was had

To get their systems working,

How could the timing  be so...

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It's not enough to think it,

You have to tell me that you care;

Tell me every livelong day

And love will find me there.

It's not enough to tell me,

You have to show me that you're mine;

Show me that it's no cliche

And love will surely shine.

It's not enough to show me,,

You have to be with me to stay

Be with me for evermore

And love will light the way.

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When a man goes off the rails

Like some nutter with a knife

It makes me contemplate what fails

With the women in his life?

Every man born has a mother

And many have a wife

So where is their restraining touch

When he submits himself to strife?

'It's said behind successsful men

A woman may be found

But what about the dangerous sort -....

The violent and uns...

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All politicians walk with lies!

With events like melitng snow

Treading warily if they're wise,

Watching where they go.

All politicians work with lies!

Melting snow or shifting sands.

Must see them vigilant and wise

.When shaking ruthless hands..

All politicians live with lies!

The essence of their trade - 

To detect deceit and avoid defeat

In the game tha...

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Almost by accident whilst browsing among films available on Amazon, I discovered the DVD of the 

film "A Quiet Passion", featuring the story of the American poet Emily Dickinson.  The writer/direcfor

Terence Davies was known to me from other films he'd completed and that was enough to persuade

me to buy a copy.  That - and, of course, the subject and content.  It is a moving, finely writt...

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I confess to thinking it odd

That so many are in seach of a "god".

When all the world needs is a mind

That possesses the wish to be kind

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Pestilent Puking

With his hints of nuking

Is beyond rebuking

And, regrettably, "Chinook-ing".

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The paranoia persists!

The force of its fists

Always exists

And readily resists

Any view that enlists

Advice from centrists;

To oppose - it insists -

Bullying by fascists.

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"United we stand - divided we fall" -

Many times history has heard that call.

Now we hearken to it once again,

From the brave who fight to save Ukraine.

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Vlad the Mad has set the stage;

Like the ass he is, he brays his rage,

But the Russian people too will pay

As they watch a shocked World turn away. .

But Vlad the Mad - does he care

About the view that others share?

Does he hear the growing groans

Or heed the misery of anguished moans?

Hardly likely - for Vlad the Mad

Is like a brat who likes being  bad

With...

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In the Kremlin frets Vladimir Putin

Who had plans for some shootin' and lootin'

By invading Ukraine in the hope of some gain

But found pain when Ukraine put the boot in!

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Ukraine will rise again,

As healing subdues pain.

Its people are undaunted

As Russia's flag is flaunted

In futile fashion when it's plain

Ukraine will rise again.

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"Come into my parlour", said the spider to the fly,

"I cannot abide the freedom that finds you reaching for the sky.

It goes against my appetite for dominance and fear

To see freedom existing so bravely and so near.

You'll come into my parlour and that's the moment you 

Will be cocooned forever and see freedom lost to view.".

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Now that Putin has shown himself ready to attack a neighbouring country without

provocation or any believable reason, I consider that he has dishonoured the 

illustrious internationally recognised title of PRESIDENT that he currently enjoys. 

Therefore, it is suggested that forthwith all addresses to him or about him adopt

the more appropriate title of "PESTILENT"..

Pestilent Putin ...

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Putin - our pariah

Puts Ukraine under fire

The Gremlin 

In the Kremlin

Knows Biden's USA

Boasts NO JFK !!

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Vladimir Putin

Seems keen on lootin'

His neighbour Ukraine

With some haphazard shootin'.

This egomaniac defined the "crime" in Crimea

And now he's set on something similar here!

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We're now in the age of touchy-feely,

Moany-groany and whiny-squealy;

To which my response is....

"Oh come ON...really!!!

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Cressida Dick seemed to have missed the trick

Of knowing she had control of a very big stick:.

Insisting on the impartial enforcement of the law

Taking precedence over political 'hee-haw'..

For politicians are essentially "come and go"

In their aims and actions and tend to show

A changing face and a changing mind -

And WHAT politician ever readily resigned?!

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

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Woke is no joke,

A pig in a poke -

To fool the perceptions

Of well-meaning folk

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Once I was young

And now I grow old;

My fling has been flung

And hot blood runs cold.

Yet the mind 

Can still find

Its pleasures and treasures

To benefit old age

In pleasing measures.

And the refuge of bed

Provides for the head

And relaxing relief

From the body instead.

Old Age has its uses,

Aware of life's abuses,

Learn from its lessons ...

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In my long lifetime, I've witnessed the appearance of the self-contratulatory, virtue-signalling  mode 

of behaviour that would persuade us that "nowadays" is to be admired and emulated if we are to be

considered good and worthy human beings.  We are lectured and preached to about our obligations

and duties towards the world and its dog, while,closer to home, things occur that give the li...

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The poetry world can resemble attrition

When contemplated in "competition".

I try to free my mind from grudges,

But still I ask: who judges the judges?

It can seem odd - and kinda funny

When you see just what gets the money.

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We are assembled here today

For the closing act of a lifelong play,

With all its laughter, joy and woe,

The curtain descends on this one-man show.

But somehow, somewhere, out of sight

We know there'll be a new "first night",

For this soul re-born to take the stage

Returned to life in another age..

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"It's June in January"...so goes the old song -

And if written in 1661 wouldn't seem far wrong!

Love and Nature keep us spinning around

Or so old Samuel Pepys once found.

On January the twenty first of that year

That famous diarist of this earthly sphere

Dipped pen in ink in those days of yore

To record the startling things he saw.:

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When i observe the word "activist"

I tend instead to think of "pest",

Often wishing they would desist

And spare us the charge for their arrest!

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No thanks to yet another parking suspension affecting residents' cars in my local street to faciliate

private interest, I found myself having to re-locate my own vehicle a distance away last night.  It was

while making my way home that I noticed the number of discarded Covid face masks lying around along

the way.  Funny how the brain works but they took my own mind back to my youth and a ...

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We are told God loves a sinner

But why should we think He would?

If sin is such a winner,

What's the point of being good?

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