I tried to submit my meter reading

For my electric supply today

You'll probably guess where this is leading -

There was just no way! 

Despite my efforts across the hours

The message on view was the same

Sorry but failed systemic powers

Are the things that are to blame.

No matter that much time was had

To get their systems working,

How could the timing  be so...

Read and leave comments (0)

With a flip of the wrist 
there’s a song 
directing you on a time warp, 
back to the time you fell in love 
with the girl of your dreams, 
or so she was at the time.

With every turn of the dial 
there she is 
and yet, there you are 
years apart.

It only lasts 3 minutes 
but it’s the one  
that crawls under your skin 
late at night  
when you’re all alone, 
when thoughts run in c...

Read and leave comments (4)

To see you at the Westminster service warmed my heart,

Admiring your determination to be there and take part.

A cup I was presented with at school  in 1953 ,

Which began your dedication,which was set to be.

Your leadership qualities we celebrate always in your song,

"God save the Queen,"thankfully having been there for so long.

You served us while suffering the effects of th...

Read and leave comments (0)

More money for our Nurses, you couldn't afford.
But to show our thanks, you asked us to applaud.
So when the next round of MP pay talks are due.
Would you be offended if we do the same for you?
Into the sky we could even launch rocket and flare.
To show Members of Parliament how much we care.
Most of you have second jobs, in some cases three.
Do you need more money...seems like greed to me.
...

Read and leave comments (0)

When my dad passed away,

I began to wish for

A number I could call,

To check he was all right.

‘All right’ is relative, of course,

But the purpose of this hot line

Would be to spread out and discuss,

To ask the unanswered questions,

To say the things we had not said,

And to speak to one that I knew,

Not the wizened, angry, lost soul

I had sat with that la...

Read and leave comments (6)

The snow and ice melted long ago, already the grass returns to fields of gold.  
So why am I shivering? 
Seas and rivers change course and  flow awry.
So why do I turn to stone? 
Faeries and elves stir up their sisters into dance.
So why cannot I move? 
Immortality seizes this man's imagination.
So can I live another day? 
And why do I carry all the hours of all the days of all the years w...

Read and leave comments (0)

The last day of March brings us
a mix of snow, sleet and sun
The day before April fools 
seems to be having some fun

We put our warm coats on
and then take them off again 
Take a seat outdoors 
only to be caught out by the rain

This time of year, the weather
constantly changes it’s mind 
There’s no sure way of knowing 
what elements you may find

Temperatures fall below freezing 
...

Read and leave comments (1)

screaming at the cold 
the mold of a mind so 
useless like a body in
a dark river

eyes crystal blue glaring up
amid the lapping scum
the corpse of who you thought 
you'd become like a future

things will get better 
things will get better

observers shocked back away 
this bloated meat can speak afraid 
too weird to interact with it
easier to laugh tribal simian

the differences...

Read and leave comments (0)

A seed falls.

It lands, barely audible

it falls from a tree, a 50 year old tree

50 summers

50 winters

50 times around the sun.

Rain and Wind.

Its roots working their way through the soil

spreading

         growing

     anchoring

            for 50 years.

To create a seed to fall one day

to be heard.

That moment.

Unique

And I was there.

Read and leave comments (0)

Young mums of all shapes and sizes,

Stood outside the little school gates,

Superciliously smiling,

At other young mums, as they wait.

Some of them come on bicycles,

Others arriving in flash SUVs,

Walkers with prams or other tots,

There's even one with a taxi.

There are some Nannies, not Nannys,

Mind you, there could be one or two,

There are granddads an...

Read and leave comments (3)

Swirling the darkness like a smoothie 

Hovering just out of reach

Pricking your attention-what’s it doing

Filling you with a vague sense of fear 

You grasp for it with both hands

As it starts to materialize 

Should you run fuck it or eat

This can’t be decided

Until you can name it 

Understand its taxonomy

You can’t frame it 

Can’t round it completely 

...

Read and leave comments (0)

GRANDPA IS MY BESTIE

Is emblazoned across this shirt

Which you used to own.

It looks so tiny in my hands!

A visual manifestation

Of how incredibly tall you have grown

In such a very short time!

It makes me sad, yet happy,

To see it lying there.

A token of the special bond

We shared.

And share still.

Time has moved on, Will,

Your shirts are double that si...

Read and leave comments (10)

Teacher means  friend 

And father,

Even classmate

Again tiger.

Teacher means honest

Good man's maker.

they are our guide 

And life's backer.

They are greatest

In this earth,

It honorable occupation

All day, year and month.

Read and leave comments (1)

Its mid 70s the families of liverpool they struggle 

Born babies the products of scandal and trouble 

A woman in love at the time with a drinker 

mentality destructive disturbed man dark thinker

He cared not a lot for his sons wife or health 

Inside relives torture he's suffered himself 

The wife didn't know this she cant understand 

This was not what the vows read when gave h...

Read and leave comments (2)

Sometimes you have to push the bully love aside,
out of the way, elbow and shoulder,
so necessity can see through what love fears most,
loss and the damage of absence.

To see what needs to be done
no matter love’s protests,
though they are not unheard.

Love and necessity, formidable forces,
will eventually reunite
as confederates in purpose,
but gently and in time

Read and leave comments (3)

Two ageing musicians recount stories

of an inglorious episode shared,

drink does the talking.

They are merely bystanders in a vivid tapestry

strewn like shroud over a past

almost forgotten by the masses -

radio broadcasts, theatre pits,

sleazy nightclubs, outdoor events

where clouds bent their heads in curiosity. 

:Lights in the pub reflect off glasses, rose tinted,

Read and leave comments (3)

And in the beginning, I remember how your hand,

Had reached out to help me,

As you promised me that you would love me,

That you would care for me.

And those promises were not the only things broken,

When you used that same hand to hold me down, to use me, to hurt me;

And bruise my vunerability that I had given to you.

And you left my skin in a state that made my mum sob;

An...

Read and leave comments (1)

There's a lot

Overlaying

of our

Understanding

Read and leave comments (0)

When the time is right

It shall shower again

The blessings of love and hope 

As we go on and on in life's throes

Relax and let things happen

In not yours but God's divine timing 

If you have faith within 

Then waiting turns out to be a big blessing

Bring me all your sorrows and griefs

All your worries and dreams 

Lay them all on a platter for me 

For I, y...

Read and leave comments (2)

I'm grateful for flares, sparkles, occasions... 
For colourful heart's and mind's expectations... 
For feelings' diversity and changeability - 
Taking up to cloud nine...
 Or plunging into gloom's hostility.... 

I'm grateful for tears - of pain or of joy... 
For errors, experience, sadness, delight...
For dreams and for failures that struggle deploys... 
For shame and disgrace, and victo...

Read and leave comments (2)

The trees stand silent

But they are watching

The earth welcomes

Your feet

But she rumbles

Ready to make her

Retreat

The sun shines gladly

Don’t take her smile

For granted

She feeds all

That you have planted

The moonlight shines

Tugs at time

But she is ready

To pull the lifeline

The flowers bloom

The wheat doth grow

But, they know...

Read and leave comments (3)

Tonight I’d like to write about how lovely it is to hear birds chirping

Or even newfound hope making its way from the distance

However, no matter how hard I try

I’m afraid I’d fail a thousand times

There’s a small voice inside spitting toxic rhymes

I may lack an abundance of qualities

What I ought to be is far from who I am

I underachieve where the average effortlessly exceeds

Read and leave comments (0)

The more I see beyond
your reckoning words
and their sweet ache,
I realize you won
You always did
I gave,
You hid.

And this boyish want
has walked its way,
away from you
and despite my stay
and turning look
I was leaving by weighted
line and flying hook.

And this turning to your
wished for face
has piled the wanting
piled the weight
like stones not counted
but hurtful t...

Read and leave comments (2)

Harrogate 21/3/22

It’s when I see the kites

a family are flying on the Stray

and notice how they glint in blue and gold

belatedly I catch on, how today

the bichrome of the flag of the Ukraine

has never been completely out of sight:

I’ve seen its vivid tones unrolled

not just where you’d expect:

flourished on the apex of a pole;

sellotaped to windows or on do...

Read and leave comments (1)

Silence is so peaceful and tranquil
like the air at the top of the hill;
you can have the complacency of life
if you cut the head of arguments with a knife;
emotion is there
where the heart is free and without fear;
if the mild petal is the heart of a flower,
controversy is a huge body except power;

be the clouds in the open air
and feel the gifted life in each hour,
be the flowers hea...

Read and leave comments (0)

The green man is at my gate conjuring up like magic those that sleep in the earth in winters dark days.

The larks again have found their voice and soar up in the crisp dawn air , to find favour with a mate so fair

Frantic is the air and ground as hoof and claw alert with hearts beating , eyes wide and nostrils flared sense the forthcoming battles ahead , to ensure their line is k...

Read and leave comments (3)

It was my dad’s invention; leastways he never told me he’d heard of it some place else.

Picture a load of lousy rotten kids around a cake. 

How to cut it up so no-one complained they’d got a small piece?

Answer?  Fred’s Formula.

Kid No.1 is about to cut the first slice.

“Aha” you say, “the greedy little git will cut himself a big one”.

He might.

But enter Fred’s Formula.

“...

Read and leave comments (4)

Cradled kindness

motherhood in abundance

Open mind

whatever the wrongdoing

Gentle touch

our hearts connect

Without you

life becomes non-essential

Recognizable voice

abrupt harsh tone

Stop snivelling

pull yourself together

Just because I

have moved upstairs

Does not mean

I have stopped  - - -

Loving you son x x ...

Read and leave comments (4)

Peace and serenity surround me 
As I feel her arms around me
Amid mist, her countenance is light
My eyes well up with delight
"You didn't betray me! I knew you'd never ..."
"I live in you; I am with yours forever."
"I want to smell you in real too.
O' Mom, but this vision will end soon.
Hold my hand tight, stay with me.
I seek refuge in your sheltering tree."
The light fades and air gets...

Read and leave comments (0)

What’s left of me?

When I die?

Or when I’ve 

forgotten 

what to do

with my time?

A form of death 

of the heart 

and other 

appendages.

What’s left of me?

Not politically 

but physically,

personally,

philosophically?

And what 

are these 

meandering 

shadows 

on the tiled floors 

with their simple 

patterns of leaves?

Who are these

Read and leave comments (0)

It strode across a century, enduring wars,

The shifts of fashion and the scorns of time,

A post-war enclave of a simpler age; but

Not the gulf of Covid, short but absolute.

Once, summer evenings in this noon-cool hall

Filled hours with ice-cream, raffles and applause

As year-worn boards upheld performances

And eager actors tried their ways with words

And chill Oct...

Read and leave comments (3)

This far down the road, a cloud of dust 
raised and stirred by writhing dragons
is his history, should he care to look back.
Today he will focus on frozen explosions 
flowers, solely for the beauty. 
Truly enthralled thus, the old man 
is not yet so foolish to imagine
he grows to understand them, or himself
any better. A certainty is
the power of good taken to heart
wilderness kept ...

Read and leave comments (2)

Imagine when scientists find the center of the universe 

And how does all this space and time fit

Watch for the surprise of the politicians when they realize 

That they are not the center of it 

Read and leave comments (0)

I adore our Sun for it brings me cheer.
It takes my angst and takes my fear.
It makes me happy and it sends me peace,
I then believe this feeling shall not cease.

I relish the great, green rolling hills,
And with so much joy - my heart it fills.
And I love the sky when it is blue -
I then rejoice at this delightful view

With wildlife one sees all around,
Such beauty it must to us asto...

Read and leave comments (0)

 I used to believe that it was me.

That I was broken.

I used to believe that I was the reason you left; that I was too dark to be loved.

That I deserved to be left behind.

I used to believe it was me!

I looked in the mirror everyday and I cried praying to God that he fix me.

Thinking that there was something wrong.

Praying to God that he would make me worthy of your love.

I...

Read and leave comments (4)

She said,

It's all for free: 

The air 

The trees

The drifting breeze

The luscious grass

The hidden pass

The moonlit sand

And sun drenched land

The cooling rain

To cleanse the pain

Of never seeing you again.

Read and leave comments (1)

Not arrogant

Thursday,10th Mar 2022

Not arrogant

but present

yourself as humble

and noble too

the achievement is the final goal

we can't call it temporary

one should strive hard to maintain

and retain with the passage of time

if you fail to digest

and not deliver the best

the world shall leave you behind

and land you in the miserable condition

Read and leave comments (0)

Will you be the ferryman?

Will you take the helm?

Will you steer the cautious?

To an unknown land

When the sea grows wild

When a harsh wind roars

When the boat is rocking

Will you take the oars?

When a fragile cargo

Fearful of their journey

Grows both tired and weary

Will you give them cheer?

On that final journey

When alone I stand

Will you...

Read and leave comments (2)

I

Goodbye 

The way the lightning taunts me

makes me cower in my home

folded paper walls surround

as the rain falls on and on

Here I'm warm

with comforts near

More than enough

so safe and dear 

Still, I can't evade the storm

as it pours

it pelts

it blows

into my pillow

quiet grief

spirals from within my soul

II

Tuesday E...

Read and leave comments (5)

Jump in puddles and make a mess 

This life is to be lived at its best

Play in the sunshine and dance in the rain

Share in the joy and guide them through pain

We teach them to listen, we teach them to talk

We carry and hold them and teach them to walk

For all the manners we teach them use 

We must remember to use them too

We must stop and listen and see through their eyes

Read and leave comments (0)

They are sometimes my friend sometimes my foe sometimes they are just living next door

Read and leave comments (1)

I am lost 
Lost in the fact that I no longer know what the future holds
Lost in my ability to be good partner
Lost in my ability to perform at work
Lost in my thoughts 
I have crashed my ship into rocks 
Stranded on this figment of reality we call life
Drawn between comfort and risk 
Will I ever find a way to mend this sickness
 

Read and leave comments (0)

Since you’ve been gone

I’ve not written a single line

How could I pick up a pen?

What would I express?

Since you’ve been gone

It’s been very strange

But also quite familiar

Returning to our memories

Since you’ve been gone

What has been the point?

The point seems to be

That I need to carry on

Since you’ve been gone

I need to carry on

Read and leave comments (1)

A bronze, winged man holding an olive branch

emerges from his fountain and war-torn stance

Deco fence reflects St. Johns River ripples

Cotton tops reveal taut nipples

Weary jogger sucks the air

Bluejay announces his high-n-mighty affair

Golden Pup sniffs the grass for savory gems 

His human on her phone fights for amends 

River sparkles do a dance m...

Read and leave comments (2)

https://youtu.be/uJLSaE-RNJU

O Dear, be what you are 

For this is what you should be

There isn't  any perfect recipe 

Be what you are meant to be

O dear let people think what they need to

Your life is yours to live through

Be happy with your skin and colour

For no one will ever know what's best for others

O dear find a lesson and a Moral in everything...

Read and leave comments (3)

Looming housework: dust, dirt, grime
Attack my eyes each
Day I peer here, there.
Get broom, mop, soap, dust rag more
Worry is tiring. Postpone.

Read and leave comments (0)

Where have you been?

   Around and about.

Where did you go?

  Here and there. 

What did you?

  This and that. 

Did you have a good time?

  Yes and no. 

Are you glad to be back?

  Maybe, I’m not sure. 

Will you be leaving again?

  Probably. 

Soon?

  Perhaps. 

Do you have time for lunch?

   Ok. 

Ok.

Read and leave comments (0)

I have felt insincerity breath out of every pore and

The wind blows in on cue

As seagulls wing and float askew

Bending the air to suit their mood

The perfect patterns of history burst in upon the day

With all the predictability of unseen coves of hidden gestures

And secret codes waiting on the tip of a tongue

Never really explored until it’s too late

And I begin to wonder...

Read and leave comments (4)

The morrow after genesis, 

marrow infused with

mysticism imbibed at Eleusis,

Demeter's blessing granting

a novel softness of tread, 

antidote to dread, yet

sharpness of spirit 

that might look upon

every sunrise as analgesic, 

and will no longer delimit

in accordance with cowardice, 

nor the convention of artifice, 

but will allow the sheer 

cheer of being to...

Read and leave comments (6)

What was in the deal that Zelinsky turned down?

What was even worse than they bomb his home town?

What was in the deal What was on the table?

When they killed the deal they killed a new world fable

I read in the news how all the chaos ensues

Fire fired madness lit by his refuse

Would people on the streets of Kyiv really be in pain

To bare some Russian oversight yet keep a...

Read and leave comments (5)