Years, like decades, may end up dishonest.

This year has been the most dishonest of years;

A year of old men who wallow in hate.

They get their stupid kicks from war and death,

And wield their pudgy pens like howitzers.

Not much to recommend it, you might think,

 

Yet, somewhere, a woman helps her neighbour,

A girl gives succour to a wounded boy,

And suddenly, we see can...

Read and leave comments (2)

Inspired by the nonet challenge I've played with form and come up with a combination of reverse word and forward word (is that the nomenclature?) nonets with a seasonal thoiught and CVhristmas, and Chanukah, wishes for everyone...

 

 

 

Peace

always

our desire

despite the world

all that is evil

the hatred and the greed

against which we lack power

things which we w...

Read and leave comments (0)

"Cling on, be strong" they said as the wind swirled them away

Now everyone's gone and left me, there's no defense my way

 

The wind hisses at me, "let go, be free"

There's not many of us left now clinging to this tree

 

The summer was bright, inviting and calm

Warm breezes filled with harmless hope

But now, I'm not sure if I can cope

 

These days are as dark as night

...

Read and leave comments (0)

Dip your phone in boiling oil
Set fire to the Internet
Walk to the edge of town
That boundary 
Of grey and green
Take no headphones
No books
No camera
Let the Autumn air fill your lungs
Go deep into the woods
Talk to the squirrels
Study branches
Search for hidden meaning
In a cloud-splattered sky
You need to be 
Bored awhile...

Turn off the news
Push the paper 
Back through the...

Read and leave comments (2)

The aftermath? Sounds promising, but wait -

It’s far too messy, a lot like hard work.

A non-stop, glamour-light slog:

There’s the rubble, the charred remains,

The peacekeeping, the building back.

Keep clear, if you know what’s good for you.

And the time – months, years. No one cares.

No more kudos here; the news moves on.

 

The aftermyth is a better bet:

A slick turn ...

Read and leave comments (5)

Slumber remains in restlessness, come east or west

Come rising, falling chest, come worst or best

 

Mindlessness parallels the weight of the world

That never ceases to spin when Armageddon unfurls

 

A mothers heart shatters by the blowing of candles

She’s 5, he’s 8 by ruinous shambles

 

Ribcages protrude at the foot of the table

Not a scrap to be offered come frail, c...

Read and leave comments (0)

Until sweet sleep washes over you

And you allow it to carry you away

Peacefully surrendering to the tide

Abandoning your body...

You drift from the bay

Falling under the lapping waves

Deeper and deeper into calming darkness

Letting go and forgetting

At the very same time

Until eyes open like the shore

Crashing onto the rocks

And sun expands across you

Placing yo...

Read and leave comments (3)

She doesn’t cry—her throat forgot the sound. No food. No water. Just a mother’s stare. Her child’s bones knock like glass beneath her skin. They wait for death. No doctor’s hands, no light. A school is shelled. The chalkboard bursts in blood. The maths is simple: one bomb kills a class. The lies are printed fresh on every screen— "We target threats." But infants make no war. A surgeo...

Read and leave comments (6)

If you would lead, then lead not for your glory, Not for the flags that flutter with your face. But hold your silence when the crowd roars warlike, And speak for peace – though it may bring disgrace. If you can hear your critics without fury, And learn from truth, though whispered in dissent; If you can hold your power with no trembling, Yet know it’s not your gift, but something lent. ...

Read and leave comments (5)

You almost bleed your smiles these days,

Like acting out a tiny death;

Though your pinched faces still resist,

You have to measure every breath.

 

I notice, each time that you cry,

Your tears no longer flow, they spill.

Do those inflicting this foul mess

Consider what they really kill?

 

I see you trying to join in fun,

Whenever someone makes a joke,

But laughte...

Read and leave comments (3)

Branches curl their gnarled fingers
Sprouting leaves as thick as hair
I’m older, but drifting alone again
Through the botanic gardens
Roaming the hot houses
I taste that chewable air
Holy loneliness
I hold you dear to me…

The roughness of weathered bark
contrasts the delicacy of fresh stems
Poking from fractured seeds
I feel the world breathe
I’m taking part, I made my peace
I don’t...

Read and leave comments (0)

At the recent meeting with the German chancellor, dumb Donny Trump didn't know what D-Day was and is. Perhaps someone will inform him about history outside the USA, especially if the USA once played a decisive role in the victory over Nazi Germany.

One day past eighty years, the beaches breathe The grit of those who stormed the world awake. Steel met the tide; beneath the cliff and heat...

Read and leave comments (3)

The ongoing conflicts in Palestine and the Gaza Strip reflect a tragic cycle of violence fuelled by deep-rooted injustices and external political interference. Faith, often exploited and weaponised, becomes a source of division rather than unity, amplifying wounds rather than healing them. Powerful nations backing one side or the other frequently escalate tensions, prolonging suffering and...

Read and leave comments (3)

Bury me in the sand

Of my favorite beach

Let the ocean breeze

Carry me to a place

Where I feel at peace

 

I don't know

The exact point

Where things went South

But it was not my intention

To hurt you

I love you

I wish you could see that

 

One day

We will meet again

And we will be happy

And there will be no end

 

My dad asked me

To come hom...

Read and leave comments (2)

N.B. I suppose I should make allowances for the Tommy Ten Names of this world, and admit that in the white heat of fascistic fervour, it is possible to confuse hamas with hummus…and gooodness knows what horrors might be inflicted by a beardy, muesli- eating sandal-wearing, Guardian-reading pacifist waving a bread stick around!

The Arabic يُكافِح means to struggle, and حُمُّص means hummus - not ...

Read and leave comments (1)

Floating on my back
weightless in the turquoise water
off the shores of Koh Phi Phi
Been living hard, too long
All these years without a break
Now, I watch the crust of duty
gently peeled from damp eyelashes
Invisible hands, unburdening me
O, never let me go…

The water’s warm against my wrists
joyous tears kissing the brine
caught upon the tide of living
gratefully tangled in this un...

Read and leave comments (0)

talking is protecting
talking is defining,talking is to protect
the protector is a defining moment
talking is a defining moment
talk a talk is a tooth for a tooth
walk a walk is a nail for a nail
a battle for a tooth is a battle for a nail

talk is talking a tooth
battle is battling a nail
the enemy is a battle of the enemy
the enemy is a battle of a tooth
the protector is the battle o...

Read and leave comments (0)

Sandstorm churning in my mind tonight,

driven by the wind of change.

And I know… it’s not that easy.

Drove a million miles and it is all the same,

spinning through the circles of my mind.

And it’s cold… it’s not that easy.

 

But there’s a feeling unlike any other thing I know -

on the deserts of New Mexico,

I see forever but it’s not… not as far as I can see.

Yeah, th...

Read and leave comments (1)

There’s a corner of eternity

where I’ve built a simple home.

A place that I can go to

when I want to be alone.

 

A place where winds of

time and space glide gently

through the air.

 

A place each time I leave,

I’m longing,

wishing I were there.

 

We deal with many things in life,

so much that brings us down.

We swim through burdens, paddling,

hop...

Read and leave comments (1)

A time will come when we forgive,

Though that time is not yet;

But even when forgiveness comes,

None of us will forget.

 

We won’t forget the agony,

The sadness and the waste;

We won’t forget the insults hurled

With puerile lack of taste.

 

We won’t forget our cities wrecked,

Our soldiers blown to bits;

We won’t forget the fearful nights,

The lethal missile h...

Read and leave comments (6)

Seek truth and justice.

Absence of war’s mere pretence!

True peace, not pieces.

Read and leave comments (1)