Great British Numpties,

Snouts in troughs of ignorance.

Sweet summer of bliss!

Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh June 2nd 2025

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The cool wind soothes an over-heated heart

Like snow on a melting glacier

As sticks bloom with green

The dark fades into light

Winters' chill brings blankets and cosy times

Films stretch long like a lazy rhyme

Bereft of qaulity like a poorly planned crime 

But, more to the point, is the 'family time'

Daffodils warm in sunlight

Animals venture as Birds' fly

T...

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Sunset Over Lupset (August 1968)

Lupset sunsets smelled of bonfires,

undercut with new mown grass,

wild mint by the kitchen window,

treasures in the strawberry patch.

Father sat with pint of shandy,

The mower cooling in the shade,

the rake stowed by the garden shed,

the kids with sparkling lemonade.

Sunset over Lupset

August nineteen sixty eight

Sunset ov...

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the plumes of a caldera,
and the dark clouds,
sun overshadowed,
at its core a scalding heat turned colder
because of similarities
shared this simile
for the changing of seasons, anew
an unforgiven embrace

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attempts
online attachments
“Hooks & Worm” viruses
hosted— a parasite

on the web
spider crabs
In their net

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Across the forest summer sings

Whilst brother autumn waits in its wings

Winter fluffs its snowy fleece

Whilst snoozy spring gets some well earned peace.

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The sky’s serenity

The sun’s strength

Mother Nature’s pride and poise

Earth’s balance

A bouquet of beauty in every way

The stillness between the trees

The calmness of the wind’s whispers

The modesty of mother nature; sacred and serene

The breathtaking beaches

The comfort of a campfire

The boisterous BBQ gatherings

The coziness of a cabin

With sun-kissed skin

...

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It’s said that one alone don’t make a Summer

but when there’s none at all, is that when Summer’s gone?

And when there’s nothing up there but a shimmer

of dust from the desert superheated by the sun;

and when the sheds and barns remain in silence

from April to October; when radiance that shone 

on midge-full fields no longer flicks on mindless 

scything wings and sideslippings ...

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The scorching heat of Sun,

children playing in ponds and having fun.

The temperature may rise,

and if you are enjoying it.

You are also wise.

That is Summer!

The feel of blowing wind,

And because of the sweat,

our bodies get thinned.

and my sister’s flying hair.

And if we go out too much,

our skin gets dark from fair.

That is Summer!

In deserts it i...

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Two stones banged together 
To create a misplaced spark
Forget about the weather
Never mind the dark
Harnessing that fire
Gave Neanderthals a thrill
They could build a funeral pyre
And keep out the Ice Age chill

Down countless generations 
The flame remained intact
As in various locations 
Wood was splintered, split and stacked
By Maasai on the Kenyan Plains
In Uluru’s mystic glow
...

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Night has descended on the fields

but a summer night never darkens, only shields               

dreamers from the day's dull hold

as I am wakeful, bedded cold;

                and the trees stretch into the faded sky  

Night has alighted on my mind

but a wakened wraith can only stray, its kind

vanish as summer's dusky night flies on

as I am lost beyond my dream horizo...

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I found my bliss 

Heading south on the A23

She’s a rollerskate

He’s a magnet 

Like the easy way 

Water slides down your throat. 

Me, a pearl of existence 

Gently cooking in this black car 

Heat. From July. Discomfort 

In the way my baths

Are always stifling. 

A glissando of tyres 

Droning down to the coast 

Under a weatherless sheet 

Of baby blue...

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Humble humidity 

fills the air

as a song drifts in

from

your

neighbor’s

garden

Crickets

create

a cadence

for the breeze

to flirt with

Spanish moss 

and oak leaves 

A tiny spider 

tickles

your skin

as your lover 

across the lawn

shoots you

a wink

A crossbow

rests

in her hand

and you

hear familiar

thund...

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Sunshine concealed

Her darkness within

A summer so long

Whilst waiting for him

She bathes in his rays

His passion so hot

Today's just a burn

His tomorrow forgot

But she never moves on

Till still

Turns to stone

A cinder filled heart

On a solstice alone

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Some people have a favourite season

The beautiful bright sunny days of Summer

perhaps the subtle colours of Autumn

Maybe the endless smells of Spring

or the cosiness that only Winter can bring.

Me… I fell in love with the changes in seasons

they are like my children

Everyone with their own mystique

changing before my eyes while growing up to be unique.

I ...

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Beyond this tree is another tree

like a desert highway

in the middle of a field

logged in the summertime

running in tandem with the powerlines.

Beyond this tree is another story

churning towards the coastline

and another adventure

in another day across this land

rubbed across this car window

Beyond this tree during dawn

the breeze is writing

a love let...

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The sun was supposed to save me
Erase the dark
Outside and inside

I waited patiently
and I was determined
Trusting my everlasting assumtion
That that thing will come
Take the pain away

It would just take time

The time of waiting
Biding in the dark
The aching anticipation in the cold
All of a sudden
Seems oh so sweet

Once the alleged change appears

But nothing changes

...

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summer days filled 
with dragonfly dreams 

our love, like beach vacationers 
passing by 

retreated 
deep in the night 

we'll remember 
what summer love has done 

in this jaded seaside town 
after the blazing sun has gone down 
nothing remains but tumultuous sea sounds 

like a discarded napkin 
left by a shattered dish, 
love was swept away with the rubbish

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Winter fades as spring melts

Distant snow like gleaming candles

Waiting feverishly for

Golden flames of sunlight

Dancing in the summer sun

Racing clouds nod to

Gleeful birds gliding naked and mating

Straddled to wet and swooning trees

Delirious with laughter and primal need

While butterflies fly sweetly

Soft as breath on stone

Cool ice melting fingers

...

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the approval has been granted, 
the lift of the travel ban, 
the ticket longed for is now in hand 

three days scheduled 
in glorious summer heat 
with a lover’s heart in waiting 

greeted at the airport 
a loving embrace 
and staring deep into each other’s face 
before a long evening at an outdoor cafe 

between smiles exchanged 
we smooth out spaces 
between places that haven’t 
...

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Originally published in Clay Literary’s RAVEN: https://www.clayliterary.com/post/raven-issue-seven-08-30-2020

eyes squeeze shut all at once with 
wishes whispered under breaths to be 
anywhere else, anywhere cooler than 

the constant heatwave of near 100 degrees. 
Toes dip into makeshift sandy beaches 
along the city’s river while children 

play in water fountains next to erected sand...

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Dog Day

The day was hot

Hot and humid

Stretching out

Into a dog day afternoon

The boy was young

Young and stupid

Stretching out

Beneath the furnace sun

The tarn was cold

Cold and ruthless

Stretching out

Along the sunny banks

The swim was exhilarating

Exhilarating and cooling

Stretching out

And heading for the shore

The tar...

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Raindrops are laughing,      

Falling,

Like cherry

Blossoms,

Onto the garden                   

Pond 

​I am alone                             

Floating on,

A little cooling the warmth                       

Of summer morning; 

As if flying

Big sky balloons

Of birthday party   ...

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It was a long summer afternoon
a crackling fire lit the yard
the southern sun was setting
while I strummed my old guitar

It was her way of moving to the music
she captured the glowing cinders in her eyes
she danced with the slightest sway in her hips
and her heavenly body torched my skies

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It’s hot as the hinges of Hell, they say. 
Maybe so, but I’ve never been there.
Yet.
Those hinges must be made 
of very hard stuff not to melt.

Best not to sweat in this heat. 
Water on Hell’s hinges would turn to steam.
and scald us like boiled owls.

But we’re tough old birds too.
We’ll sweat it out and try not to drip on the hinges.

        July, 2010 (A record hot summer

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~The hot summers that make my skin sizzle
With the sun that exposes the melanin under the melanin
Windows down, AC on, an ice cold sweet tea
these are the only weapons available to me
the tools that wage war against the heat
It's only in this battle that I feel alive~

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Darkest days

Be my brightest night

When I felt that sun glow touch

Emanate from your soft smile

Coldest wind be the

Torture of my skin

While your love seals me in

The violet of the dawning sky

The scarlet of the new sunrise

Is all I feel when you’re nearby…

Wait no…

This is but a memory…

Grab my heart and never let go

Do you remember that ...

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We may all love the summer weather,
And some may be obsessive
But we have such heat right now
That it is incredibly oppressive.

And while it should be nice and pleasant
Right now the heat is too extreme,
And the boiling hot Sun we suffer here
Is one of the greatest we have seen.

We puff and pant and are soaked with sweat,
Thinking: 'How much hotter can this get?'
Or 'if only I could ...

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Summertime

This summer season must be the best,

For it is when with the world I am most impressed.

It is time to be out and to have constant fun,

To be under blue skies and the endless Sun.

Time for scorching hot days and muggy nights,

To see smiling faces all filled with delight.

It is time to relax and time to unwind,

While all about you there is joy to find.

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....

The Summer Tree.

You missed your niece decorating the Summer Tree
with strings of butterflies and flowers we bought
in Kelsall at the festival.
… then here she encircled small white stones
around dark flat slate and pointing at a
photograph softly asked, “who’s he ?” …

You missed your nephew skipping through
the hall and dripping choc ice onto a shoe
whilst bala...

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Glorious was that day:

Star rich the summer sky

Amongst the sun warm hay

We stole a sack on which to lie

Warm was that night:

Grass framed the starry gems

Below the hov'ring kite

We kissed amongst the tall grass stems

Heavenly was that tryst:

Grass rough the bed we made

Below a dusky mist

We took our love as grasses swayed

Fierce was that lust:

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The Autumn chill blows between

the seasons hardened trees

The leaves may turn

a beautiful shade of gold

but my hue will always

be a summer's green

only to be seen when the sun

hangs high in the sky

and the clouds are

nowhere to be seen

I lie down on the fresh

verdant pasture

waiting for a soft breeze

to fan my sun blushed cheeks

and the soft wings of

a ...

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You see the chavs unveiling torsos
Which fashion hair that always grows
The shorts his distant cousin wears
Showing us sights that only scare
The ice cream man appears once more
Serving melting ice cream through his door
You hear the neighbours having a Barbie
An hour or two later they sound rather barmy
The neighbourhood drunk stumbles as usual
And vain young girls become rather delusion...

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16th July 2018

In places the grass is brown and dry

The garden is a desert of cracked peat

Plants dead and trees about to die

Only my sunflower loves the heat

But this is Wales, yet

nearly all of my bees

have never known these

 raindrops

until

today

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I sit outside the door

on a slate bench

my back against the cottage wall

in the evening sun

listening to a blackbird sing

the most astonishing sweet notes

In front of me

there is elderflower

honeysuckle

buttercups spangle the uncut grass

and the old larch looms in its corner

beyond the ancient stones of Hafod

which mark my plot

The sun has not long returned

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Thirty-nine bodies

                lay on the ground

                in the summer sun

As I watched

                workers carried two more away

Around me

                life continued as usual

                a hum of activity

                oblivious

Thirty-nine bodies

                on that square of concrete

                that summer afternoon

As ...

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Riots in another Eden, Eve’s tearful funeral,

Her truth was a lie and was all about Eve

Caged across anonymous affairs

Over poetic contexts in fragmented narratives

Through expectant open-mouthed pockets where paradise

Would never be the same again

Eve has escaped the serpent

But not its bite, she chases the dragon now

The blackened souls will always rule,

But not i...

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Sunset Over Lupset (August 1968)

Lupset sunsets smelled of bonfires,

undercut with new mown grass,

wild mint by the kitchen window,

treasures in the strawberry patch.

Father sat with pint of shandy,

The mower cooling in the shade,

the rake stowed by the garden shed,

the kids with sparkling lemonade.

Summer sun dips on the estate

dragging shadows from th...

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Back To The Park

It’s mid July,

a summer’s day.

School is just

a memory away.

We lay on grass

and watch the sky

and count the clouds

as they pass by.

We talk of bands

we’d like to see -

Led Zeppelin, Quo,

Sabbath and Free.

Insects buzz,

a distant bark,

children playing

In the park.

You turn to me

and kiss my lips

and move in close,

h...

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Spring and summer

Butterflies flutter

Today may be hot

Like boiling water in a pot,

But I will play outside anyway….

….because today is a special day.

The sun rays are glistening beams of light

With beautiful birds in flight

This is the reason,

Why I love the season.

How about spring?

You might never know what it will bring.

Now the winter is over...

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forgotten are the times

our laughs filled the air 

gone are the times

we wished would never leave 

time passes

memories fade

in blistering august 

i shiver 

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I recently assembled these thoughts on coming across the poem's quotation from John Steinbeck while reading The Grapes of Wrath. I often suggested to my students the advantage to be gained by attempting an argument in opposition to what the student wished to argue. In other words, the good old Light and Dark strategy. The "Terrace" setting is Perth's main city thoroughfare, St. George's Terrace. I...

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Shall I compare thee to a Manchester summer’s day?

You’re a bit damp and soggy

I’d love to sit in your company

But the ground seems a little boggy

Outwardly bright, but temperamental

Presently fine, so I’ll risk it

As Carpe Diem is essential          

Blink and you’ve missed it

But thou art as bright as a summer’s day

Through skies laden with smog

From Ancoats, Droysl...

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The lake is still in the evening sun

A little breeze make the longer grass sway on the bank

and a ripple disturb the surface:

A mayfly lands

A swallow drinks and is gone before I see

With a rattle, a duck takes off from behind the island

Then it is still again

Beneath the reflections are fish

Sometimes - but not yet tonight -

A circle of ripples flows out from a rise

...

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Spell-binding hammer-pounded sunlight retina-

flinches squint-eyed revel-faces.  Crowd folk lost in

head clouds slow-revolve whilst time is on leave, passing

without fail – stopping to tell me not to hurry,

moving on unnoticed, startling late-crowds with

midnights and an early, well spent sun rise.  Band-lulled

we join a synchronised gyro-walk, pacing the

flow-gyratory past fo...

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There's nothing that can beat
Walking along the beach
With the waves hitting your feet
In the scorching heat

Miles of soft, golden sand
I run some through my hand
Waves splashing against the shore
Is a sound that I adore

Feeling the warm breeze
Puts me at such ease
I tilt my head up towards the sun and smile
And close my eyes for a while

This beach is my paradise
Its tranquility...

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There are homes and then there's children's homes

There are children's homes and then there are children's homes 

The one I knew was a home from home

Age four mum and her sister set one up 

With hard work, love and courage 

The biggest house my young eye's had seen

A large dappled wooden rocking horse to gallop and whoop for good

A magic garden with its own small wood

Falle...

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The end of the season

Brought to a close

Even when there’s a reason

Summer comes and goes

Do you know your summer’s a-fading,

Do you remember?

The hot sun, the warm cooled nights waning

Into September.

School was gone, and I — carefree all along

Oh! Now my old school worries are back

As that sun sets, I’m in sad song

Those shining days, soon to lack

The air beco...

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the concrete road

still dark and darkening night, the dead cold of dying winter,

rain against the windscreen, speed in easy, selfish solitude.

my shirt gives up the scent of soap.

(i have no other dream.)

noise surrounds me, the oil-ribbed sounds of a lost summer,

the meaningless bypass between here and some other place.

yet hands formed this path.

(i have no othe...

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English summers, often damp, can invoke long stifling twilights

Nothing landbound needlessly moves

Contrails crayon across the sky

So many, this close to London’s hub

Distantly, the buzz of a low plane, pleasure rider reaching up

Into the realm of the starlings as they sussurate

A car comes past in the lane droning away round the curves

Here the runway cross remains

The old...

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