We live in an age that can be called "risk averse"

When "couldn't be better" is now "couldn't be worse".

So, as we head on towards 2024

It would be nice to try to even up the score,

And reply with "Oh fine" when asked how we feel

Instead of a moan and some self-pitying spiel;

And maybe even get the response of a smile

For seeking to make other folks' feelings worthwhile.

An...

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This seems the right sort of song message as we arrive at the Festive Season.  Something with a

happy ending!

MC  

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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 knew who had to go

Christmas hours are briefly bright,

Their spark is spent in winter's pay

And soon surrenders to each night

When light retreats and fades away.

But O how wonderful this living!

How magical this life we own,

That we are given t...

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Once again - a thought for those who can't make it home for Christmas but who are always there

in their minds.  This version is from the crystal clear tones of the late lamented Marcie Summers.

1.

At home the Christmas snow is falling

I see it clear across the miles

I hear the happy voices calling

See the dear familiar smiles.

2.

Every Yuletide brings its reason

To celeb...

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Some more seasonal fun, with modern techy kids in mind giving their long-suffering parents a hard time.

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DAD

We get these questions from our kids...they won't leave us alone

When they jump out of bed on Christmas Day

Each time they ask their M...

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Lift up your voice

Let all rejoice

And make a joyful sound

Cast off the care

Most folk must bear

When Christmas comes around

Look to your hearts

That's where love starts

Where life itself begins

And you shall know

That Faith will show

Forgiveness for your sins

Look to His truth

In Age and Youth

Salvation shall be found

As One they stand 

Be...

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Winter trees are spindly spare -

Like old men in their show;

Shivering in the brittle air,

Bespoke in coats of snow.

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Poetry has a history of being involved with notable events, usually in celebratory vein but just as

effectively in critical mode.  Wit always works better than basic vulgarity, but has to be applied with

care (or courageous disregard depending on your mindset!).  A superior example of rhyme and

clever association is to be found in the couplet by William Collingbourne (Colynbourne), a Wilt...

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If anyone knows who took this charming photograph, I'd be happy to insert an acknowledgement/credit.

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See them knelt beside the bed,

Paws and hands before each head.

A sight to give us innocent joy...

Two friends together - dog and boy.

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A musical re-run along romantic lines!

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Darlin' now I'm miles away

From where I long to be

Now there's too much distance

Keepin' you from me

I lie awake most every night

To the locomotive's wail

And my heart heads back

Down the waiiting track

To ride that lonesome rail

I see your face before me

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Here are some ongoing words of wisdom from Dale Carnegie.

SUCCESS is getting what you want.

HAPPINESS is wanting what you get.

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Where are the marches of many thanks that old Blighty might expect?

Where are the banners of gratitude...where, the displays of respect?

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Wood smoke, the good smoke,

Drifting through the trees,

Brings the haze of distant days

And childhood memories.

Wood scent, the good scent,

Pungent and sublime,

Brings to mind the yearning kind

Of youth than envies time.

Flame glow, the same glow

As passion's rich red rose,

Sight and scent by Nature meant

When youth to adult grows.

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Some years ago now, I took a walk one November Sunday afternoon from my Torbay   

residence to the village of Galmpton beside the River Dart.  There, among trees devoid

of leaves, a lone robin sang out in the autumn air.  At that moment it seemed that he

was singing just for me. NOTE.:The word "quay" is pronounced "kee" here in the UK.

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Just a short diversion from poetry itself but using the content of words to entertain, 

with some connecting identities in the letters.  For example -

DESPERATION = The rope ends it

THE MORSE CODE = Here come the dots

SNOOZE ALARMS = Alas no more z's

SLOT MACHINES = cash lost in me

A DECIMAL POINT = I'm a dot in place

ELEVEN PLUS TWO = Twelve plus one

DORMITORY = Dirty room

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Something for the ever-hopeful in romance.  

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Nearly never made it to that dance the other night

Nearly stayed at home again - alone and out of sight

So glad I went and found you there

And found again that I could care

This loser's heart was still so sore

From all the hurt it had before

REFRAIN

You looked at...

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Autumn trees are brash and bold,

In royal majesty they stand,

Wearing robes of red and gold,

They decorate the land.

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Mental acuity wears a well-cut suit, you see,

Whereas stupidity is akin to mental nudity!

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They tell us...

Love makes this old world go around

Love can make us sound or unsound

Love is always waiting to be found

Love is the theme in all art that's renowned

Love is the diadem with which life is crowned

And -

Love will attend when we're placed in the ground.

(But Love delay I hear say, when that time comes round!!)

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The Romans could probably tell us of what is still in the news

Of their own time spent in history with the Arabs and the Jews.

Two thousand years later history seems in fast forward repeat

Of age-old animosities that time and tide seem unable to defeat.

Imagine here in these islands if that had been the case

Between the different peoples inhabiting their own place.

It seem imposs...

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I am currently watching a HBO mini-series about WW2 called "The Pacific", featuring the exploits of the U.S.

1st Marine Division who fought their way across that great ocean's islands against a deadly enemy and

deadly jungle conditions.  With the threat of death at every rustle of the all-enveloping tropical growth

and the disease-laden conditions that were with them every weary rain-aodd...

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The hand and mind that would fell a tree

That has stood for so long for all to see

Like a beacon of enduring hope so that we

Might marvel at something so fine and free

Could never be worth a damn to me

The heart and hand that took a saw

And did the deed makes me sick and more!

(Written in response to the timely poem by Stephen W Atkinson)

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Those of you on WOL who remember my seasonal song/words for "Christmas Snow", might enjoy the

attached orchestral version, especially if you recall the style of the James Last Orchestra.   I will

probably upload a repeat of the vocal version at a more appropriate time closer to Christmas itself,.

In the meantime, I hope this might help lift some spirits out there!  :-))

MC

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As I'm not in the business of courting popularity,

My contributions display a certain disparity,

Ask no questions, told no lies

Never ever struck me as being too wise.

Poetry is for me the great literary game

Never shying away from praise or blame,

Seeking to please OR provoke debate,

Seem perfectly suited to poetry's state.

Write what you please but be pleased wi...

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When it comes to our turn to face the hereafter

What better way to be remembered than by the sound of laughter?.

Show after show, the very best of his profession

Mike Yarwood showed us all the way to go,

At least - that's my impression!  

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Time's passing is marked by days that are past,

Reminders that nothing in life's meant to last;

Memory, our deposit account of things been and gone

Can be emptied by depletion too cruel to dwell on.

So...carpe diem!. Let those words guide your way

Live life to the full -  each and every new day.

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Is the transient ease and beauty of youth

Our consolation for the essential truth -

That we are all of us bound for the waiting grave?

Unavoidable age exacts its hard cost

For the carefree years that are soon lost.......

That bid us farewell with their time-ordered wave.

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We are now in the age of Saint Sanctimonious,

Preaching pious sermons emotively erroneous,

Accentuated by adjectives aggressively acrimonious,

Supporting acts and policies fundamentally felonious.

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I know I'll always think of when

We knew he wouldn't be here again

And how it tore me up inside.

I know I've not heard tougher men

And I heard that awful news and then

I sat there with his songs - and softly sighed.

Johnny Cash - you had to leave us

Johnny Cash - you had to go

Your going was always going to grieve us

Man in Black...we miss you so.

I hea...

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At the well of poetry stop and drink,

It refreshes the mind and make you think!

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Let me begin by stating that to reach the final was a great achievement in itself.

To win in sport you need an appropriate level of competition.  England hit the bar.  Spain didn't.

Kipling knew about success and failure and included the theme in his famous poem "IF" to great effect.

"If you can meet triumph and disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same..."

I love his use...

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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,

And what is p...

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Smiling lad,

I am so glad

You smiled at me

So readily

And made me see

What happiness can be.

Smiling lass

You gaily pass

And made me feel

That I could steal 

A heart and find that love is real.

Lads and lasses

In your masses

Smile at me

As you go on your way

And leave that smile to say

A look can make our day..

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You can say what you like about Farage

But he's achieved more in his life

Than any MP now in Parliament

Or the World and its trouble and strife.

Farage reminds me of Gilbert's Dick Deadeye

From the perennially popular "Pinafore"

Created to utter disquieting realities

That more fanciful minds would deplore.

Gilbert knew much about human nature

Targeted in his To...

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A young roving reporter of considerable experience

Who was employed widely showing reliable resilience.

In later years, he brought news with consistent connectivity

A model of calm courtesy and admired objectivity.

Now he's gone ahead, making the news on his way,

Goodbye George Alagiah - and many thanks for your stay.

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Sir Tom is clearly not having one bit

Of attempts to stop rugby fans singing his hit.

Stories have always been related in song -

Love, lust and loss - and who done who wrong.

Sultry Lena Horne, as if somehow in the know,

Sings "Frankie and Johnny" - and why Johnny had to go!

While Johnny Cash brings dark tones to linger upon

The terminal tidings of why "Delia's Gone"

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There's a tendency for "experts" to admonish and scold

Any view that queries the things we are told.

As if we are mere sheep being led to the fold

To be passively sheared, our brains bought and sold.

But I recall it was Voltaire, an intellect without equal,

Who was up to responding to such challenging tasks 

And dependably provides the time-honoured sequel -

Don't judge a man ...

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I've always liked the words "fancy free",

They mean lightness of heart to me

Whatever your fancy, let it be

The way to happiness you seek to see.

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Written in response to JC's poem "COLLIERS AND KIDS"..

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When you work deep underground

You want men with you who are sound....

Men with whom you can trust your life.

You have no need of pretend saints

Nor the likes of them that faints

at danger - or not trusted near your wife!

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Refusing to face the unwelcome won't see it go away

No victory is ever gained by declining to enter the fray.

So let us go tilting at windmills - waving our lances aloft

There's often scant difference between cheers and jeers,

Or what is applauded and what is scoffed.

There's this to be said for well meant passion

Whether it be sourced in gladness or sorrow

It rarely if ever g...

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When the night wind softly moans like some poor lost soul dying,

When perceived past sins torment the spirit like hideous spectres multiplying;

When nightmares haunt the soul and trap you in the darkest deep

That sees you force yourself awake to escape its smothering sleep,

How glad you are to witness the dawning and the light of welcoming day

As the arrival of a new born morning bi...

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To be recited to the tune of that old Sinatra standard...a personal favourite.

Tiime after time

i note reports of crime

Committed by names alien to mine

So worrying to see

Their increased frequency

That indicates a much loved land's decline

I only know what I know

That what is now on show

Is a nightmare future I've no wish to see

As time after time

I...

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This was inspired by the latest WOL poem "Night Sight" from Stephen Gospage.

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The sniper is like a hidden viper

A striking snake in the grass,

The bite of its disguised fang

Like the Reaper's scythe can pass

Leaving sudden death in its wake,

Amid nerve-wracking fright

...

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It is reported that the Parole Board system is permitting the release of a rapist/murderer of  

two young girls.  This follows other very concerning decisions that beggar belief.

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The Parole Board system is the law's own whore,

A fetid festering running sore;

Creeping corruption of its lifeblood flow

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Of national pride, there are none so bereft

As those who inhabit the political left;

Driven disciples of global orders

In their neglect of protecting a nation's borders

Identified by their excess of hyperbole -

Certainly, in language alone they're free..

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The human spirit is a wonderful entity

Embodying the best of what we're meant to be,

Knowing no boundaries of time or place

With its multi-faceted face.

But its crowning jewel all else above

Is found in the four letters that spell "love".

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Don't cry for what is lost.

Smile for what has been.

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These words came back to me while watching the online stream of the celebration of my late

sister's life, lovingly organised by her son; both of them long term happy residents across the Channel.

The advice always seems the best choice in this life.

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Carpe diem - seize the day!

For when today has slipped away

And time has taken its wilful pleasure,

Today will be tomorrow's treasure.

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Witnessing the fluttering turning of life's pages

Flickering ever faster as life itself ages,

How comforting that the narrative noted on them

Reflects the rich joy of a sister's life seen upon them;.

To give vital meaning to the precious word "achieve"

And add more reason for mourners' need to grieve.

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Young, now old;  Near, now far,

I still remember Roger Starr.

Close companion of my school day youth

Whose friendship gave love its hidden truth,

Until that oh-so-painful day

When parents chose to move away.

Young, now old;  Near, now far,

I think, with thanks, of Roger Starr.

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Do you hate me?

Do I hate you?

Has hate's true meaning now become untrue?

Do I like you?

Do you like me?

Or does that rely on the word "agree"?

We live in a world that seems too keen

To manipulate words to what we want them to mean.

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There's too much dawdlin'

With poetical stuff that's maudlin!

Lift literary fists and fight

In pursuit of what's right!

Surely much better

To be a go-getter

Than endlessly bemoan

Being "lost" and "alone"..

Render them less visible

Or risk being risible;

Even worse - self-pitying,

Inviting deft ditty-ing.

It's too tempting to parody

Misery and malady.

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Socialism seems a worthy concept

And I'm usually slow to knock it

I think kindly of its arm around my shoulder

But concern for its hand in my pocket.

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You held out your hand to me

As  I floundered through emotional snow;

You showed the place I needed to be

But then your hand let go..

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Do not attend my grave to mourn;

Why waste time with death when I'm reborn?

Instead, show persistence in loving and giving

To enrich the existence of those yet living.

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Let us consider political manipulation

Intended to obtain our collective capitulation;

With its ever-extending global media range...

There's conflict, disease and, oh yes -

climate change!.

And in case you think it's habit forming,

We've had conflict, disease and, oh yes,... 

global warming.

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With a smile and a nod to Wendy Cope and her poem "Bloody Men"

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Women are an admirable sex

Somehow possessed of a need to vex.

Why else would they annoy a sofa-sleeper

By the invasive use of a carpet sweeper?.

And see how they drag some sap out shopping

When spendi...

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As I wend my unhurried English way in the direction of the personal marker of my 80th birthday, 

the words of my fellow countryfolk come to mind with increasing relevance and resonance.

The lament from Charles Lamb leads the way:

"Where are they gone, the old familiar faces?"

How readily those words bring to mind family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances who are no

longer with u...

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In a world which now politically "global"

We hear little enough of that old word "noble".

Somehow lost in communication

Between individuals and any given nation..

But its meaning should never be lost to time,

To allow that to happen would be a crime

Against the best of what we can be

Throughout the pages of history.

So, let us aspire - each in our way

And celebrate this ...

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With a nod to their origins whoever and wherever they may be

Don't just know things, any fool can do that.

The point is to understand them.

Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult,

And difficult tasks as if they were easy.

Don't cry because it is over;

Smile because it happened.

Win without boasting,

Lose without excuses.

Spend your life lif...

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Those who deserve respect seldom demand it;

Those who demand respect seldom deserve it.

Those who merit reward rarely expect it;

Those who seek reward rarely reject it.

Those who choose to preen and preach

Can frequently miss the chance to teach.

Better by far to debate and discuss -

And be of far more use to us!

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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 year

I sadly think upon

Those quiet words I still hear:

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

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When you're alone in the early hours and life seems to offer no gain

And the night wind hurls heaven's teardrops against the window pane;

When your only consolation is the memory of times long past

That seem to seek to remind you that nothing you know will last;

Then seize hold of what you knew and take your comfort there

Remembering all the good things that gave you the chance to c...

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Interesting how the words you least wish to hear

Are the ones that readily grate on the ear.

Like medical terms ending "oma" and "osis"

You pray are in error in any diagnosis

And that welcome nightly refuge you seek in your bed

Assumes a sinister permanent entity instead!

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Convenience is the password when ordering stuff online

Not least when various factors seem to create the word "malign"..

And night owls discover drawbacks (the downside if you will)

Of going to bed in the early hours but unsure when the trill

Of the door bell will be interrupting sleep's enfolding embrace

With its imperious demands to answer before there is no trace

Of the consta...

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How glad I am to have known the joy

Of knowing the England I knew as a boy.

Of youthful freedom unconfined

That saw stretched limb and questing mind

Down lanes and byways beckoning me

To be part of all I could hear and see;

That was so alive following so much death,

As a land and its people drew new breath;

With those who took their part in war

Torn by relief and guilt t...

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On British Royalty and American women, your indulgence now I beg;

Edward the Seventh couldn't wed Lily Langtry yet Harry can marry his Meg.

In terms of royal importance, it's worth remembering

We are losing an irrelevant ginger whinger, when once we lost a KING!

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Back in those old Victorian days

Of draped piano legs and corset stays,

HRH Prince Eddy was reported to meet

Post boys for pleasure in Cleveland Street

And very quickly disappeared abroad

To escape judgement for conduct untoward

And ensure the public was unsuspecting

Of revelations that would see them disaffecting

The Institution that is British Royalty 

Demanding above ...

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As I look forward to this year through time's present prism

I take comfort in my personal preference for optimism!

Shrugging off the pessimist's perennial curse

That things will turn from better to worse!

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