Standing on death

by Martin Elder

Sunday 4th March 2018 3:52 pm

We stood on death

Bending it

Holding it down

Thinking it didn’t matter to us

We had plenty of time

And we were always there

All of us

Ready to run around

Laugh and play

Drive to places that didn’t really matter

A car filled with joss stick smoke filled smiles

Sweet smooth and sickly

Bongos and nonsense conversations

No sense of time place or anyone else

All flares and dares

Parking in a multi-storey in Portsmouth

The car wedged under a concrete roof

When we got out

And then back again before dark

We were high on life

Because we could

Because we owned the day

Whether sun or rain

Life was ours

In great bucketsful to do with as we pleased

We sat on death

Squashing it

Commanding it to stay still

Two gallons and a pint of best

For no less than a quid

What happened

We got old

But inside we are still nineteen

And still we sit on death

Until who knows when

Who cares….

Comments

Martin Elder

Wed 7th Mar 2018 19:36

Hi Colin
I apologise if I got the wrong end of the stick. I understand where you are coming from. No worries my friend
Cheers
Martin

<Deleted User> (13762)

Wed 7th Mar 2018 08:17

Hi Martin, I just wanted to elaborate further on my comment as I didn't want it to sound like I was talking about people with diagnosed mental health issues in regards to alcohol consumption. I hope it didn't come across that way. What I was trying to say was that I have known a number of people who continue(d) to drink quite heavily in social situations and indeed at home to unwind well into their mid and later life. But as I said, each to their own, it was just an observation in relation to your poem. All the best, Colin.

Martin Elder

Tue 6th Mar 2018 22:58

Thanks to Ruby, Pat and Charlotte for liking and to Colin, Hannah, Suki and Stu for commenting

Colin I always appreciate what you describe as waffle, you are right about people who sadly resort to alcohol to find help with their mental health

hey Hannah thank you that you find it so uplifting I remember 19 as being a real devil may care time for me and what I describe here was my friend and I going out for a day showing a couple of French girls the delights of Portsmouth

Suki you have quoted one of my favourite poets. I intend to live as long as possible in order to make my children's life as much as a misery for as long as I can. Well that's what I tell them. I'm not really that miserable

Thanks Stu for your encouragement. There is always the danger that I can make some of my poems a bit to sugary., so I have to work at it.
Hope to see you again sometime this year
Cheers mate

Blessings to all
and thank you all again

Martin

Stu Buck

Tue 6th Mar 2018 08:48

nostalgic without becoming sickly. excellent as usual martin, i look forward to seeing you at some point this year

suki spangles

Tue 6th Mar 2018 05:24

Hi Martin,

Do not go gentle into that good night..

Suki

<Deleted User> (18118)

Mon 5th Mar 2018 19:16

Brilliant ! Full of zest, energy, capturing a great time.
It a poem to remember and smile about. Love it.

Hannah

<Deleted User> (13762)

Mon 5th Mar 2018 08:58

I like this lots Martin. There's the inevitable looking at the past through rose tinted spectacles element but then why not remember the good times and forget the bad? Yep, I'm still nineteen inside myself and hope I always will be. It just gets harder as each year passes to be as carefree as a nineteen year old - the weight of years is hard to shrug off. I guess finding mental freedom gets harder too as we grow older. I know plenty of people who continue to find some sense of it with the aid of alcohol. I prefer to find it on a long hike or road trip. Each to their own. A good poem makes me waffle. Thanks for posting. Colin.

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Standing on death

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