Poetry Blog by keith jeffries (Aug 2020)

An Ocean of Time

Memories reverberate across the ocean wave

you touch my heart on the crest of each nerve

I want to reach out but the mist of time says 'no'

yet for the sake of love I cannot let go

Time has not lessened my passion for you

despite all others my heart has remained true

I am blessed with good fortune yet sad

between us there was no room for anything ...

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Alone in a Pandemic

He sat alone looking interminably sad

his mask had fallen beneath his chin

In his mouth a pipe clenched between his teeth

a trickle of blue smoke grew into ascending rings

The wooden bench was in the village square

surrounded by the usual High Street shops

An unopened newspaper lay on his lap

mostly unread with the usual contents of dread

Deep in...

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I did not belong

The landscape of my childhood anaesthetized my soul

I had no vested interest in it for it was ugly and raw

An industrial scene the place of my exile was utterly foul

a sea of chimney stacks in grey fields of gloomy chaos

A simple glance was sufficient to avert my gaze elsewhere

and cast my mind back to memories refined in pastures green

I had been ta...

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I imagine....

To imagine is to conjure the mind

entering into the folds of desire and fantasy

To lie in a solitary darkened room

images flash to and fro at random

We construct our dreams to suit ourselves

others arrive unannounced to charm us

Journeys are undertaken and the past relived

faces and places return to haunt us

Intense sadness and the joy of exhileration

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Exactly the Same - 1939

They are exactly the same

as we peer into the past

 and absorb the present 

a new generation is brainwashed

The President for Life

in a one party state

A Fuehrer for Life

in a one party state

Jews, gypsies, gays and dissidents

segregated for extermination

Uighur Muslims and dissidents

selected for re education or eliminatio...

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Gangster Town

A giant gothic structure

where concrete blocks

keep democracy at bay

Gangster Town

a wind tunnel

an echo chamber

of futile banter

Gangster Town

the talking shop

of little earthly use

a cavern of deceit

Gangster Town

the casino of corruption

where nests are feathered

and plummage preened

Gangster Town

a Victor...

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Another Glut of Dictators

A new coven of dictators has emerged

an unholy alliance of tyrants

Grim handshakes are exchanged

in a darkened souless mutuality

Unwritten alliances are formed

as the oppressors of the masses

They threaten peace and stability

and delight in aggression and provocation

Together they are the champions of evil

fearful and ready to destroy de...

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Sozzled

Swarthy and bearded

a dominant brute

of salacious repute

exhaling blue smoke

betwixt whiskey and a joke

Propped up yet leaning

one eye seeing

with hat tossed back

a knotted tie is slack

Always here, never there

tight stained his attire

A lamp casts a shadow

as a curtain does a window

Stupified and nonchalant

the day's climax redundant

Th...

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A Portrait

The portrait caught my desultory attention

it stood out in an instant, a glance

Head and shoulders, a slight of the head

eyes focused on the instrument of capture

Features emanating an intensity of thought

a hand holding spectacles askance

The impression possessed a certain individuality

a face with a veiled sense of purpose

Pen and paper not visible but ...

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Be Yourself

Stand upright and alone

Reject conformity

Discard all your labels

Do not read newspapers

Read and educate yourself

Form your own opinions

Reject any form of prejudice

Learn to say no and mean it

Abhor all violence

Do not follow the herd

Choose friends carefully

Go where you please

Do not give in to fear

Don't identify with others

Refuse...

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Catapulted

Sensual and salacious desires arouse the senses

as they race to the fore leaving all else in their wake

As a stream cuts its route through virgin land

a coup has taken place as all control is lost

We kiss, fondle and run with our hands

our innards burn with a passionate ardour

Sinews break from their moorings

as the heart pulsates and reaches fever pitch

...

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A Smoky Cafe

It was bizarre if not exotic with an array of aspidistras

a delicate white wrought iron staircase curled above the dance floor

Where dancers were in perpetual flow as they tangoed to and fro

waiters wore white shirts and black bow ties with trousers of course

The strains of tango music permeated the entire cafe

as women sat with elongated cigarette holders gentl...

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The haves and have nots

Behind veils they are cloaked in disguise

their voices are inaudible and secretive with lies

They cooperate in order to manipulate for gain

egotistical they feather their nests with those they have slain

Fingers are pointed at others and away from themselves

they live in fear of blame and shame like frightened elves

Single minded in their pursuit o...

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It draws near

A sinister wind blows its evil dust of grey ashes

leaving a residue for the potential of evil to come and dwell

It swirls along narrow alleys close to home

made manifest in irritability and resentment

From outer space we see the angels in dread fear

as fish flinch and seek deeper water

Factories churn out what we can well do without

greed and the ambition...

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Are we going to do this again?

The nations of the world slowly re arm with missiles and tanks

New submarines are launched alongside aircraft carriers

Are we going to do this again?

Trades wars, border disputes and plagues beset us

More casualties and increased poverty and prejudice abound

Are we going to do this again?

Brinkmanship, threats and even mo...

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The Stone Tower

For many a year I lived alone in a tall stone tower

its walls were sturdy and strong with power

The door was locked with a drawbridge and moat

inside its cold interior by candle light I wrote

From its lofty windows I beheld magnificent views

I had never been out so was only able to muse

One day in the height of summer the door opened to beckon me

f...

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