Poetry Blogs (Childhood)

Starting Blocks

I was born in nineteen forty four

When black and white films were the norm

And the black and white bloody world war

Was in the last bloody phase of its storm.

But what does a babe know of such things?

A mother's breast is all that it cares.

Her steady gaze to bask in,

Her voice to soothe its tears.

As child I saw the bomb torn sites,

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You neglected me, 

didn’t protect me, 

abandoned me,

chose an abusive man 

over your children... 

I forgive you. 

I give you the

unconditional affection

never afforded me,

because I love you 

despite everything 

and I don’t want 

the past having 

power over me.

https://youtu.be/KtNYA4pAGjI

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On her mother’s stone step, she sits and dreams

The same step she cleaned and crossed so often

Her dress, crisp and clean in the sunshine gleams

This backstreet beauty, rare rose in blossom

What whims flicker through her wandering mind

Perchance what prospect does life hold in store

Will her journey be gentle not unkind?

Shall her story be one of less not more?

In...

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They never changed that room.
Dolls, teddy bears, trains,
And transformers all hold space,
Lock time in perpetual stasis.
When death comes life stops.

Family said they should pack
Things away. It’s too hard
To be reminded day after day
Of a future lost in the past,
But a room can be a memorial.

It’s a museum of childhood,
Until a child of a later
Generation discovers it with
Glee....

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There were borders everywhere

Borders of water, of steel, of brick, of money and of mind

Borders that were meant for defining, for declaring lines you and others could not cross

Over the sandstone brick wall, across the railway line lived the park people

Snotty, scabby looking folk – they feared to tread on our turf; most did

They had the club and the park, we invaded them at w...

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When you’re born in the shadow of a mountain

You know the warmth of the darkest of shade

You know nothing will ever rise above that mountain

In whose image and shadow you were made

When cast in the shadow of a mountain

Your caste can feel defined before birth

Your path may seem predestined and written

As your feet struggle to impress in the earth

But there’s a com...

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heatwave

it were cracking’t pavements

the sky were chelsea blue

you were sucking cider

from an ice lolly

cos they said it made yer drunk

and we pretended it did

when yer scored a goal

on’t hay coloured pitch

yer mates were hot ‘n sweaty

and their celebrations

trickled down yer back

and salted yer lips

there were standpipes

at end’er sherwood...

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One of my favorite games 
to play as a child 
was seeing shapes 
in the clouds: 

Dogs, cats, 
elephants, giraffes, 
airplanes, unicorns... 

It was one of the 
few pleasures 
of my childhood. 

As I grew up, 
I began to see 
scarier things:
 
Dragons, demons, 
torn hearts,
flaming arrows... 

Now in the archway 
of my golden years, 
I see beauty that 
brings me to tears:

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Ive seen the smiling beautiful faces of precious youth

Taking fear and horror by its loathsome breath

Who washed themselves clean of its stain

With nothing more then countless courage

And disdainful acts of random kindness.

Ive seen the happy gentle porcelain faces of our very best

The ordinary made extraordinary by the casually vile

Who stared into the face of blackened ...

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