poetry (Remove filter)
WAITING FOR MACCA
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.
Monday 27th June 2022 5:49 pm
EQUAL IN GREATNESS
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...
Thursday 6th May 2021 11:36 am
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE
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.
...Thursday 17th September 2020 11:46 am
INSIDE A CHRISTMAS CARD
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...
Thursday 26th December 2019 1:24 pm
JUST ABOUT
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...
Thursday 7th February 2019 5:33 pm
NOT REALLY A STRANGER
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 ...
Monday 3rd December 2018 6:26 pm
A MAN HOLDING HIS HORSE
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...
Wednesday 24th October 2018 10:06 pm
ILLUSION
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...
Monday 27th August 2018 10:18 pm
A TIDAL RELATIONSHIP
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...
Friday 29th June 2018 9:03 pm
EVACUATING HEREFORD
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...
Wednesday 7th March 2018 11:26 pm
BETWEEN TWO STONES
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...
Friday 5th January 2018 4:48 pm
PALM TREES
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...
Sunday 1st October 2017 4:06 pm
SONNET FOR ROONEY
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...
Thursday 24th August 2017 8:37 pm
BASS GUITAR
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.
...
Thursday 29th June 2017 4:37 pm
A PIECE OF IRON
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...
Sunday 7th May 2017 10:23 pm
GEORGE MARTIN
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...
Friday 10th March 2017 10:47 pm
SIDOLO
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
...Sunday 7th August 2016 10:50 am
PAUL KANTNER
PAUL KANTNER
(1941-2016. Jefferson Airplane)
Don’t you want…
Something different from those straight singers,
Fresh faced kids in suits or beach wear;
Something better than a Willy Loman future,
War in Vietnam and conscription;
Soldiers with guns on campus
And the politicians
The ones you wouldn’t…
Somebody to love…
Yeah she was a banker’s daughter
Oh man, but her voice
Wa...
Monday 1st February 2016 9:55 pm
CROSSWORDS IN THE PUB
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...
Thursday 17th September 2015 11:09 pm
FIELD GUNS
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...
Friday 3rd April 2015 6:00 pm
THE DAY BEFORE VALENTINE'S
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...
Friday 13th February 2015 3:06 pm
JANUARY
When January wind its fist doth shake
And wooden fences tear from their places
When horses start, when cattle shelter take
To the hearth...
Sunday 18th January 2015 8:15 pm
LOVE
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...
Friday 26th December 2014 3:18 pm
PLASCRUG
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...
Friday 21st November 2014 6:57 pm
BERSHAM
BERSHAM
We wonder amongst the ruins
Rusting trucks and cutting gear
Severed cables protruding
From weathered walls
And the pit head wheel
Still proud above us
Preserved temporarily
By municipal crumbs
And volunteer labour
Only open occasionally
For public inspection
We whisper questions
Reverentially
Here the miners lamps
Here the cramped cage
...Sunday 20th April 2014 3:36 pm
THE BOMB THAT DIDN'T EXPLODE
THE BOMB THAT DIDN'T EXPLODE
It’s still remembered today
The bomb that didn’t explode
That crashed through the church ceiling
During the Second World War
Sparing some three hundred lives
A replica may be seen
Here in the vestry corner
At St Mary’s in Mosta
With photos of the soldiers
Called to make the real bomb safe
And despite votive candles
...Tuesday 24th December 2013 8:06 pm
HIDING IN SHADOWS
HIDING IN SHADOWS
When I don’t call
It doesn’t mean
That you’re not there
In my thoughts
When I don’t write
It doesn’t mean
I have no words
In my heart
When I don’t answer
It doesn’t mean
You have no place
In my soul
When I keep silent
It doesn’t mean
I have nothing
To impart
When I don’t pra...
Thursday 13th December 2012 11:19 pm
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