HE DID THE REST

(For Barry John - Rugby Legend)

Never a man

To overcomplicate matters

"Chuck me the ball

And I'll do the rest"

His simple philosophy

Retiring before the age of 28

Because he'd had enough

Already a lifetime's worth

Of achievements to contemplate

In the decades that followed.

In New Zealand

They called him 'The King'

Back in Wales

A g...

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WAITING FOR MACCA

'Long tall Sally she's built for speed'

We're waiting for Macca

'She's got everything'

At Glastonbury

'That uncle John needs'

Oldest performer to top the bill

'O babee'

Not long now

'Yeaaaaah babeee'

We just can't wait

'Havin' some fun

Tonight’ !

@David Subacchi

June 2022.

June 2022.

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THE SONGS WERE GOOD

(For Les McKeown - Bay City Roller)

There's not much in Wiki

Just the basics

Edinburgh born of Irish parents

Lead singer of the Bay City Rollers

During their most successful period

The hits and money made

The disputes and addictions

That go with the territory

Stuff like that

In 1974 we looked up

As the band waved

From ...

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EQUAL IN GREATNESS

(For Michael Collins – Astronaut 1930-2021)

The fourth person to spacewalk

And the second

To orbit the moon alone

While fellow crew members

Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong

Walked on the lunar surface

Sometimes glory is shared unevenly

But greatness often depends

On those backstage

Silently pulling levers

And watching instruments

Al...

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LOVE IN A LOCKDOWN

Love in a lockdown intense and obsessed

Anxious at first then gradually stronger,

Fighting back fear, wondering how much longer,

Love in a lockdown unstable, undressed.

Love in a lockdown longs to be released

Makes resolutions, wants to try harder,

Yearning for freedom to travel further,

Love in a lockdown confined and compressed.

Love i...

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KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE

(For John Lewis 1940-2020)

When Dr King led the March on Washington in 1963

You were the youngest leader to address the crowd

And you died the last remaining speaker,

Eighty years old with strength and individuality

Acquired slowly and painfully;

The still visible baton scars

From freedom bus rides

And other peaceful protests

Prove it.

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THAT SOUND

(For Little Richard)

You liked to make a noise

Banging pots and pans

To accompany

Your boyhood singing

And always raising the key

Until they threw you

Out of the church choir

For making ’that sound’.

Later it made you great

A wop bap a loop bop

Tutti Frutti

Good Golly Miss Molly!

In and out of religion

And of confusing sex...

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A ROUGH DIAMOND
(For Norman Hunter 1943-2020)

His name always evokes a smile
On the faces of footballers
Schooled on the uneven battlefields
Of a different era.

Days of the enthusiastic header,
Demolition shoulder,
Iron obstruction
And scything tackle.

Even those who carry no torch
For Leeds United or England
Today nod in respect
For a player who did as asked

And fulfilled hi...

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INSIDE A CHRISTMAS CARD

Inside a Christmas card
From prisoners afraid,
In a factory in China
Where nothing much is paid,
A handwritten message
From poor souls enslaved,
In oppressive conditions
Where festive things are made.

Telł somebody beg the authors
The truth about this trade,
That those who make big money
Our wretched lives degrade
So in this season of goodwill
When joy sho...

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 ALPINE CLIMBERS

 (Painting by Elijah Walton 1832-1880

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery).

 I am not sure whether

 They are ascending

 Or descending,

 Steps cut in snow

 Might indicate the latter

 But I am no expert.

 What I do know, is that

 This was the infancy

 Of Alpine climbing,

 Their big hats

 And long ice picks

 Prove it.

 Four...

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THE COLLECTOR

Thou shalt pass the plate of brass

With felt to deaden the ring of coins

Or take the collection

In bag of leather or bowl of wood

Remembering to avert thine eyes

At the widows mite

And the rich man’s notes.

Thou shalt wear a smile

Of indifference

Even unto those who turn their heads

Or pass the parcel quickly to their neighbour

Or over th...

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 JUST ABOUT

  After the performance

 As grease paint

 Is wiped off,

 You can just about

 Smile into the mirror.

 When your costume

 Falls to the floor

 Uncared for,

 You can just about

 Step out of it.

 And later outside

 A closed theatre

 In the cool night air,

 You can just about

 Get over it.

(c) David Subacchi

From his collection 'Wh...

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NOT REALLY A STRANGER

I don't know what the right term is

For this kind of tide

It is high but not stormy

Grey flecked with white

Slightly misty, bad tempered

I get the feeling it would like

To burst through the walls

And drown me quietly

I stare through the windows

Of a seafront bistro

Designed to show the bay

At its best to visitors

But the waves ...

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    A MAN HOLDING HIS HORSE

    Poor Dai never got the hang of it,

    At school in our first lesson

    On art appreciation

    We studied

    'A Man Holding His Horse'

    By George Stubbs.

    The teacher issued us

    With notebooks

    In which to record

    Feelings and impressions

    Arising from the painting.

    Dai wrote...

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 ILLUSION

 Just for a while

 The feel of summer,

 Fields of sunflowers,

 Light dazzling,

 Heat caressing,

 France not Cheshire

 Kind of summer.

 Smell of lusty earth,

 Taste of young wine

 That won't travel,

 Freshness of fruit

 And vegetables,

 Proudly displayed

 On market stalls.

 Just for a while

 The illusion of summer,

 Ou...

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A TIDAL RELATIONSHIP

Ours was a tidal relationship,

It ebbed and flowed

Over hidden shipwrecks,

Sometimes calm,

Sometimes smashing defences,

Opening cuts on beaches

Then healing them

With the soothing sand

That fills each wound.

Ours was an unsteady relationship,

Seaweed covered driftwood

Slid beneath our feet

As we slipped and stumbled

Over the flots...

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BANER GLYNDWR

Steel the gauntlet

Sharp the blade

Hot the conflict

Fierce the raid.

From the mountains

We came down

Barred their passage

To each town.

Fired our arrows

Flung our spears

Red their faces

Bloody tears.

Drove them far

From our land

We fought bravely

Hand to hand.

Baner Glyndwr

Owain’s flag

Flying now

Fr...

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EVACUATING HEREFORD

From Fir Tree Lane junction and the Straight Mile

Near where World War Two hand grenades were found,

They shut roads and placed a cordon around

So they could make things safe army style;

People were moved out of homes for a while

Taking all their pets, every cat and hound;

As warning cones were put down on the ground,

A real nuisance there was hardl...

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 BETWEEN TWO STONES

 Horses raced here

 Until the railway

 Cut the field in half

 Between two stones

 And a third

 No longer standing.

 The first excavation

 Proved this to be true

 From the clay pipes

 And wine bottles

 Now cleaned

 And catalogued.

 More recent surveys

 Using methods

 Geophysical

 Indicated the presence

 Of se...

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ANOLINI

Anolini – pasta shells stuffed with meat

And cooked in broth, is what we’re eating;

Steam rises from plates but there’s no speaking,

We sip Chianti to moderate the heat

The first to break silence admits defeat;

Parmesan a generous sprinkling,

Grated black pepper our noses crinkling;

Each Christmas a ritual we repeat.

This dish from the mountains of Ital...

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  PALM TREES

 The palm trees at Alghero

 Are of impressive height and girth

 Their solidity demonstrates confidence;

 Sometimes we touch them

 Hoping to be made strong too.

 In their shade we shelter

 From baking sun,

 Under their protection

 Friendships are made

 On sultry August evenings.

 Nearby in an ornate church

 Time ticks away in marb...

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  SONNET FOR ROONEY

 So I gets this call from Gareth Southgate

 And he's laying it on like marmalade,

 Saying come back Rooney you've got it made

 Playing for Everton, O what a state!

 I thought your ambition was to be great!

 England's not a problem don't be afraid,

 At Goodison you'll always make the grade,

 So get those three lions back on you mate.

 But I though...

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  BASS GUITAR

 The bass guitar is not loud enough

 He explained solemnly

 Unless it rattles your cufflinks

 In the back row

 It's not concerned with melody

 Just there to add some body.

 That was a long time ago

 In our long hair days

 The next time we met

 His locks had disappeared

 Mine were slowly thinning

 I reminded him of his saying.

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A PIECE OF IRON

Here in accordance with Italian tradition

A piece of iron, a vintage bottle opener;

How easily it slips into the hand,

How hard it worked and for so long

Removing numerous crown tops,

How often thrown across bar or café

From one sweating palm to another,

Then how long redundant, abandoned

In a drawer or some dark corner.

May your marriag...

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 DEATH OF NELSON

 (Benjamin West 1738-1820 – Walker Gallery, Liverpool)

 Some think victory complete

 Raising hats celebrating,

 But others huddled solemnly

 Around the pale figure

 Know death is waiting,

 That he only lingers awhile

 To say farewell and to savour

 A little of the triumph.

 In the background a confusion

 Of sails and streaming signal...

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GEORGE MARTIN

 Some of us never get to feel it

 That magical moment

 When you hit the ball just right

 Or that high note

 The one that shatters glass.

 And we never experience

 The thrill of discovery

 As Lord Carnarvon

 Staring into history

 At the tomb of Tutankhamun.

 But you had more than your share

 Though you never looked for it

 They say...

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 1916

 What moved them to throw caution to the wind

 To break out of committee room and bar

 Ignoring those who warned this was too far

 Those who later condemned and said they'd sinned

 What fearsome lightning their resolve confirmed

 To face artillery and armoured car

 What deafening thunder what shooting star

 Incited rebellion, what fire that burned

 In bra...

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 A QUIET ANCHORAGE

 Out there she floats where usually

 Only small craft are seen

 And the odd dolphin.

 A monster of a merchant ship

 Modern, business like

 No sign of a mast

 Carrying cars to Dublin

 According to the local paper

 Waiting for a berth.

 Meanwhile she has found

 A quiet anchorage;

 We stare through binoculars.

 He...

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  ALEPPO

 Experts say if the stones remain

 What was within can be restored,

 But they make bombs now

 That can penetrate

 The strongest cover;

 Expensive but occasionally

 They use them.

 And lives destroyed

 Cannot be recreated

 By mechanical diggers,

 Architects or builders;

 Only silent museums

 Filled with the debris

 Of destruction.

 The...

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                                                     SIDOLO

Spent shell casings everywhere

gleaming in the July sun

bodies of three martyrs lie

victims of a German gun

Italy is crying now

see how fast the tears run.

Three priests in nineteen forty four

slaughtered by the devil’s hand

innocent of all misdeeds

outrage sweeps throughout the land

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A WELSHMAN IN CROATIA

In Croatian the word for three is tri

Just as it is in the Welsh language.

It is tre in Italian and trois in French

And in Spanish it is tres,

But the Croatians have got it right

Although all their other numbers

Are quite different in Welsh.

Here in the summer Dubrovnik sunshine

There is time to wonder about such things

Seated...

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 A55

 Wet windscreen

 High up

 Near Holywell,

 Relentless rain

 Pounding glass

 Obscuring

 Merseyside's

 Distant landmarks,

 Eyes focussed

 On tail lights.

 Soon we descend

 Heading eastwards

 Leaving behind

 Welsh hills

 Veiled in mist,

 Wipers waving,

 Overtaking,

 Still listening

 To Liverpool

 On the radio.

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THE ROYAL CHARTER

(Wrecked off Moelfre, Anglesey 1859)

From Melbourne to Liverpool bound

in less than fifty eight days, by sail

and steam the Royal Charter comes

via Queenstown in Ireland and around

the Skerries with cargo of wool and hides

weighted with golden dust and coins

from fortunes made in a far off land.

To Moelfre’s razor rocks on Anglesey coast

a total...

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 WHERE IS WALES

 Where is Wales in this library

 Between wooden shelves

 Or sitting obediently

 With more confident

 Bulkier neighbours

 Is she leather bound

 Or plastic covered.

 Is she hiding quietly

 In the reference section

 Grimacing silently

 At teenagers

 Playing with phones

 Holding chewing gum

 Conversations.

 Or is she at the de...

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After Mass                                                                                                    

you would walk us

to the newsagent

in your Sunday best

with waistcoat,

watch chain

and monogrammed

umbrella.

As you chatted

over the papers

Sunday Times

with News of the World

hidden inside

we each chose a gift.

I reme...

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TOMORROW

 Tomorrow is Remembrance Day

 The sea rises and falls

 A great abdomen

 Gasping for breath.

 We enjoy 'winter sun'

 Freakish for November

 But we don't complain

 They didn't either.

 Outside on the promenade

 Soldiers paraded

 Before leaving for France

 We have the old photos.

 Here too a salute was taken

 Near where ice c...

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HAMLET FROM THE FRONT ROW

In the front row ready to watch Hamlet

I stretch out my legs contentedly

“These are the best seats and the cheapest

You can see everything from here”

Says the guy next to me

“It’s like being part of the action”

I nod politely

The ghost doesn't appear

We have to imagine him

At the back of the theatre

So we swivel our heads

Unco...

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We’re doing crosswords in the pub

Because that’s what lovers do

When they fall out of love

Crosswords in the pub

We don’t speak much anymore

Except to discuss clues

Because that’s what lovers do

When disenchantment ensues

We’re doing crosswords in the pub

But at least we’re still together

Keeping each other company

Uncom...

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CILLA

Not the TV host with a brazen giggle
Winding up the gormless on ‘Blind Date’
Or tugging tears on ‘Surprise Surprise’
Nor the glittering star, clutching champagne
In morose interviews after Bobby’s death
Her grief bubbling up
Pressing behind aching eyes

But the fragile, stick thin girl
Trembling on stage
Warmed only by a single
And cruel spotlight
Picking out every contour
Of...

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   MY FATHER’S WATCH

Almost a year after he died
I’m wearing my father’s watch
Automatic, Swiss, 1947
I looked it up on line
The local old fashioned jeweller
Says it’s a very nice watch
Leave it alone, don’t mess with it
Just wear it all the time
It has old fashioned ways
A turn before bed, another
In the morning and one
Just about midday
Although automatic
It needs the attention
...

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HEART OF WALES

Early morning leisure centre
Fresh from the pool
Hospital doctors huddle
Discussing surgical problems
And financial investments

A receptionist smiles
Refusing politely
To disclose the code
For free Wi-Fi. She says
It is for staff only

I buy a cup of tea
After ringing a brass bell
To summon service
Feel time pumping slowly
Through the heart of Wales.

Da...

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 NOT REALLY A STRANGER

I don't know what the right term is
For this kind of tide
It is high but not stormy
Grey flecked with white
Slightly misty, bad tempered
I get the feeling it would like
To burst through the walls
And drown me quietly.

I stare through the windows
Of a seafront bistro
Designed to show the bay
At its best to visitors
But the waves are not playing
It is only ju...

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FIELD GUNS

A pair of field guns stand

Backs to the castle

Redundant barrels

Harmlessly aimed

At the high street

A sign reads

'Please do not

Climb on the guns'

As if children

Could pose a threat

To these two

Retired killers

Worn with age

Weary with boredom

Never to speak again.

We stare for a while

Examine them closely

Find nothin...

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TOOLS

This is a chisel of precise age unknown

With handle smoother than the skin

Of a child. I have sharpened the blade

By rubbing it on stone. Feel its bite.

This is a wood plane given to me

By an old man who had it

From his father. Their spirits guide

My hands. Feel its weight.

This is a machine I bought myself

Under its skin of shiny plastic

Is an...

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THE DAY BEFORE VALENTINE'S

Is this ritual or adventure

See how quickly

The words are written

No longer anonymous

Is this a box to check

A form to fill

A contract to renew

An essential procedure

The mind indifferent

Even irritated but....

The heart restless

Insistent that this

Is not an option

Ink on cardboard

Flesh on flesh

One forever...

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NUMBER 72

Once there were three offices here

One north, one south

And the regional one above

First time I visited

‘Chelsea Girl’ was below

A security guard stood on duty

Just inside our entrance

They say he sold fruit and veg

When the bosses weren’t looking

Later other shops

Occupied ground and first

If you didn’t take the lift

You could hear their ...

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                                    When January wind its fist doth shake

                                    And wooden fences tear from their places

                                    When horses start, when cattle shelter take

                                    To the hearth...

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LOVE

Love hides in the gap

Between sleep and dawn

In the space under stairs

The air above skies

And the void below ground

Love is neither left nor right

Up or down, in or out

It will not be confined

Like a ship in a bottle

Or restrained like a horse

With bit and bridle

Love keeps no appointment

If you ever meet love

It will spring out

Wit...

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PLASCRUG

There was a great ditch

And an avenue of trees

Leading directly

From the busy town

To the cemetery’s silence

Ornate gates sick with rust

Relics of grander times

When they marked the way

To ancient Plascrug

Back and forth we jumped

Across the weed choked water

There was a Scout Hut

Near a playground

A row of park benches

Where we sat i...

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