The snow has fallen deeply overnight

to form a pristine carpet all around.

It rimes the trees with pure unblemished white,

and gently floats a dusting to the ground.

Outside the world is silent, not a sound

disturbs the deadened echoing of peace.

So tranquil is the morning, so profound,

until a passing robin’s shrill caprice

attracts our notice to his darting flight,

and...

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The Christmas sound of children as they wake
to stockings filled with many wondrous things.
A thrill to hear that joyful noise they make
unwrapping all the gifts that Santa brings.
And listening, their parents’ hearts will ache
with love that soars as if on angels’ wings.
A day to crown a season of goodwill
with peace and warmth amid the winter chill.

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She tries to be discrete but you still see her curtains twitch

when you’re walking down the street and you can feel that tell-tale itch,

then you know your nosey neighbour’s watching everything you do

for some gossip she can savour just to dish the dirt on you.

She’ll chinwag with her cronies when she meets them at the shop,

and there’s no use in your moaning ‘cause you know sh...

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I was checking my Christmas card list

Just to make sure that no one got missed

It was no good at all

Couldn’t read my own scrawl

When I wrote this I must have been… suffering the effects of Mad Friday down the pub

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In

the

few

days

remaining

before we all

gather together,

in ordered bubbles,

to celebrate a much

simpler Christmas than

in previous years, we can

contemplate that difference

and still be truly appreciative of

being able to enjoy this holiday time

despite the problems posed by Covid 19.

It has been a not insignificant obstacle to our

quintessentially ...

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He’s hummed and he’s ha’ed and he’s hedged

With calumnies falsely alleged

But it’s time I believe

He should pack up and leave

His legacy surely guilt-edged

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These days it’s hard to watch the news,

for every day there’s new taboos

that only bring on lockdown blues

on everyone;

and still we shop in distanced queues;

it’s just no fun.

This year the future’s looking grey,

and greetings cards can only say

a happy Covid Christmas Day

to me and you;

if it will all just go away,

we’ll start anew.

Yet even when the...

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You think you know me.

You think you have me pegged.

Pigeonholed and classified

within the limits of your shallow mind.

Just a glance is all it took.

Well I’ve seen you too,

and believe me, you’re not even close.

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The year has been hard,

and harder still to avoid news of it;

pandemic and polemic

vying for gruesomeness.

I have dodged some,

by not watching,

moving that dial

when bulletins break in.

But still it seeps in,

sneaking round the edges

and creeping past defences,

evading studied ignorance.

So I have made a Christmas list,

And on it, right at the ...

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Sundays, Mondays

none of them are fun days

got us on the run days

every flippin’ day.

This week, next week

outlook’s getting so bleak

lockdown gets a new tweak

seems it’s here to stay.

Month in, month out

isolation - good shout

businesses need bail-out

but who’s gonna pay?

This year, piss year,

edge of the abyss year,

want to give a miss yea...

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She sits in the gloom of the caff on the corner,

Alone at the table since seven o’clock.

The hours that have passed have not muted her anger,

Nor lessened the sorrowful sting of the shock.

With eyes that are downcast and seeping with sadness,

The coffee she clutches is tasteless and cold.

Her face lacks expression, so pallid and bloodless,

Her thoughts on the one who will...

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Now Pfizer the Covid crusader

Have vaccine to tackle this raider

While it’s not a blue pill

It will stiffen our will

To see off the viral invader

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Where would we be without the humble bee?

A question it is timely to pursue,

for it would be the end for you and me;

if they became extinct, we’d die out too.

Our lives depend on what they pollinate,

so treat them well, ensure that they survive,

that we in turn continue to exist.

There should be no debate;

we need to nurture them and see they thrive,

removed from the end...

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It’s true that love is just a little word,

and yet they say it makes the world go round;

I really find that statement quite absurd,

‘cause physics tells it better I have found.

They say if you’re in love, this much is true,

you needn’t say you’re sorry; what a laugh!

Whoever said it doesn’t have a clue

‘cause I’d be murdered by my other half!

We’re often told we m...

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Midnight eyes wide awake.

Curtains flicker in time with my fluttering heartbeat as

menacing wind moans round the window frame.

Floor creaks to nobody’s tread, and

There’s nothing under the bed

If I don’t look……

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I long for spring in 2021,

with new beginnings and a brand new start,

‘cause that will mean that 2020’s done.

Of all the years I’ve lived, this is the one

that hurt us most, and broke all nations’ heart;

I long for spring in 2021.

Then maybe we can have a little fun,

enjoy a show, appreciate some art,

‘cause that will mean that 2020’s done.

This worst of y...

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The morning comes, and I look in your eyes

of sleepy blue, now freshly come awake.

The marvelling at every breath you take

each day just seems to take me by surprise.

Such tender feelings I cannot disguise

that fill my heart so full I almost shake,

yet I would not forego this gentle ache

that binds so closely with its subtle ties.

These days with you could never b...

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I guess it’s true we’re getting on in years,

with all the folderol that that entails;

the much-lamented passing of our peers;

the aches and pains as our own body fails.

More teeth are in a jar than in my mouth,

and nowadays I just don’t need a comb,

so by and large my life is heading south,

as my mortality is hammered home.

I hate to dwell on thoughts of my demise...

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It’s just a pudding, did you say,

a simple thing, not hard to make;

so how can I convey

the scale of your mistake?

It may be humble, kinda small,

and some will say its fame is weird;

but there’s no doubt at all,

in Yorkshire it’s revered.

It’s crisp and golden, tasty too,

with roast beef gravy it’s so good,

a legend through and through,

you can’t beat Yor...

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This

lockdown

malarkey

is wearing thin.

It’s got even worse

now we have to wear masks

whenever we go shopping.

And pubs are out of the question;

after a few drinks people get lax

and social distancing gets forgotten.

I think I’d rather just stay here at home,

do my shopping on the internet

and order in some takeaways.

Then maybe sometime next year

we’ll fi...

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A shadow dims the shimmer of sunshine

warming through my window.

I squint outside

to see a flurry of hawthorn blossom,

swirling on the breeze

in glorious affirmation of spring.

I am reminded of

snow globes of distant youth

except that now

I am the one

behind the glass.

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No one comes to see me now,

though social distance will allow

someone to visit now and then;

still… no one comes.

A friendly face would be a treat

if they would only come and meet,

and simply chat with me again;

still… no one comes.

It isn’t hard, I’m always here,

since I’ve been trapped so long in fear

I almost can’t remember when;

still…

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In the distance,

trees blossom.

I miss the scent,

and flutter of falling petals.

It’s too far to see bees,

but I must hope they are there,

collecting,

paying forward.

Cool breeze

chills watery sun

in unlooked for blue sky,

wasted on trapped townfolk.

Passing cars

disturb silence,

now commonplace

but once improbable.

The world wait...

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angels in soiled scrubs

doing battle for our lives

barely time for tears

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In times of such uncertainty and fear

nobody knows who next the scythe will reap,

and all the kith and kin that we hold dear

observe the quarantine that we must keep.

Forbidden work or contact with our friends,

no recreations once thought commonplace,

until the plague has run its course and ends,

and we can once again meet face to face.

So lock the doors against o...

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The world and his wife have been shopping

From Whitehaven right down to Wapping

They’ve been stockpiling stuff

So there isn’t enough

And shortages don’t look like stopping

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From Mozart to Metallica,

and Brahms to Barry White,

the gamut of Britannica,

I change it round each night.

I close my eyes in ecstasy

when Slowhand plays guitar,

and Louis Armstrong’s legacy

just proves he was a star.

Young Elton too, he wasn’t bad,

and he could even sing,

but he was only just a lad

when Elvis was The King.

Sometimes I’ll fancy r...

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The mint is rousing incandescent ire

to prompt a famous writer’s Twitter shout,

with grammar nazis fuelling the fire,

because an Oxford comma’s been left out.

They’ve struck a coin to honour Brexit day

and that’s what all the brouhaha’s about;

‘cause many of these angry people say

the Oxford comma shouldn’t be left out.

There’s just as many say there is no need,

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January is a bummer,

New Year’s done and no more Chrimbo;

still a long time until summer,

leaves us floating here in limbo.

Weather’s awful, really draining,

fog and drizzle never stopping;

had my fill of entertaining,

can’t afford to go out shopping.

TV isn’t what it could be;

all the movies dull and boring.

Even action thrillers leave me

lying on the so...

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A thousand native species dead

beneath the skies of flickering red;

their tears of anger and frustration

flood over us in accusation.

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