father (Remove filter)
How Did It Get So Late So Soon? [song version]
How Did It Get So Late So Soon?
The man who scared the ghosts away,
The woman who healed wounds with a kiss,
I think of them more nowadays
In sad and troubled times like this.
No longer there to hug the pain
From tired bones and broken hearts,
To shield you from the winter rain
That permeates where old age starts.
Another day of fleeting tasks
From rising su...
Tuesday 5th November 2024 2:36 pm
The Bayonet In The Shed [REPOST with audio]
I'm reposting this poem with the audio I recorded of it (as a song) to commemorate my father and the other soldiers who fought during WW2 in Asia - The Forgotten Army of Burma - for the 75th Anniversary of VJ Day
The Bayonet In The Shed
He put it there in forty nine,
in a woodworm riddled drawer,
wrapped it in a greasy rag.
A remnant from the war.
On top of it he laid h...
Friday 14th August 2020 4:14 pm
Ye Tale Of Brave Sir Moppalot
Ye Tale Of Brave Sir Moppalot
I wasn’t quite there yet
So this story is told second hand
Of the bravest and noblest knight
To ever gallop over this land
He was sitting quietly at home
When a neighbour just down the street
Knocked on the castle door
To advise him to get on his feet
A princess in need of his help
Had called out his name in the night
Be...
Sunday 17th May 2020 12:26 pm
Son Of My Father
Son Of My Father
What did you do in the war dad?
I fought against Fascists, son.
And were you frightened there dad?
Did you want to turn around and run?
Yes, I was frightened there son
So, don’t believe the lies that are spun
About the death and the glory of war, boy.
There is death, but of glory there’s none.
Thanks for all that you did dad
A...
Friday 28th February 2020 12:07 am
The Father's Curse
The Father’s Curse
I am not the man you used to be
the acorn falling softly
in the shade of your tree
raising ungrateful sons
to their own prosperity
fighting a war
so that others could be free
the nurturing of potential
that you swore you couldn’t see
expected to take root
and share your ancient symmetry
being a loving father
when it wasn’t m...
Wednesday 19th April 2017 12:15 pm
Soldier's Box
Soldier’s Box
Wooden box
Lock
Key
Brass bullet casing
Spent
Flakes of tobacco
Unsmoked
Grains of sand
Sepia tinted photograph
Pyramids
And pith helmets
Soldiers Service
And Pay book
Will unwritten
Will not needed
Nib encrusted
Fountain pen
Brass button
Coloured ribbon
Yellowed letters
Ink a faded blue
S...
Monday 27th February 2017 5:04 pm
Blue Smoke Ghost
Blue Smoke Ghost
A matchbox scratch
A flare of light
The smell of sulphur
A yellow patch
Above his chair
On the ceiling
A row of pipes
Hung in a rack
Saliva drips
The suck
And suck
And suck on shank
Red glow
In the dusk
On a back step
The aroma
Of spices
In the ready-rub
Scratching
Grey ash
From the c...
Friday 15th July 2016 7:43 pm
The Bayonet In The Shed
The Bayonet In The Shed
He put it there in forty nine,
in a woodworm riddled drawer,
wrapped it in a greasy rag.
A remnant from the war.
On top of it he laid his medals,
nothing more was said
until the day my father
took the bayonet from the shed.
We had pestered many times
and he had said ‘perhaps’
when we asked him if he’d killed
any Krauts or any Ja...
Monday 16th May 2016 12:24 pm
Dexteram Patris
Dexteram Patris
Uncomfortable
seeing him that way,
and she,
ever supportive,
gently touching
his arm
for reassurance
but there is a failing,
something not the same,
although in looks
we are so similar.
The Prodigal returns
and sees his father,
straight of back
and stern of countenance,
falling to pieces.
The once proud frame -
busted
and she,
as beautiful as always,
...
Monday 2nd March 2015 7:12 pm
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