THE TURNING OF THE YEAR
Now Two Zero One Four winds down to its close
I wonder once more where the time of my life goes.
As we welcome the onset of Two Zero One Five
There's comfort in knowing the spirit will strive
Through life's hurly-burly...the push and the shove -
For the prospect of giving and getting some love.
.....................................................................................
...Tuesday 30th December 2014 5:20 pm
WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND
A seasonal re-post of my attempt at a Christmas carol - now that Christmas Eve is upon us.
I'll let the content speak for itself and trust you can follow the words in the absence of a
displayed lyric.
Happy Christmas to all on WOL !
MC
..........................................
Wednesday 24th December 2014 4:09 pm
CONSIDER THIS
We're each of us given the Earthly choice
Of going for good or bad,
And for that there's reason to rejoice,
Make the right choice and be glad!
Christian, Muslim and all the rest
Should realise that life's a test,
Each deed a mark - against or for
When Death sees us at Heaven's Door.
...........................................................................
Monday 22nd December 2014 4:42 pm
CHRISTMAS IN PAKISTAN
Do they know about Christmas in Pakistan?
Has anyone told the Taliban?
Those callous corrupters of the Koran
Who slaughter kids because they can.
"Suffer little children to come unto me" -
Christ's words resonate with minds that are free
But not with Hate on a killing spree
"Suffer...little children!" is Hate's decree.
Do they understand Christmas in Pakistan?
...
Wednesday 17th December 2014 6:58 pm
THOUGHTS AT CHRISTMAS - a re-post
Christmas is a time for remembering the past, especially family and friends who are no longer with us.
But humanity is blessed with eternal hope and optimism that serve to keep us going towards.....?????
.......................................................
How fitting now in deep December
When days are short and spirits low
That in our hearts we will remember
Those we knew who...
Tuesday 16th December 2014 1:50 pm
BLUE REMEMBERED LIGHTS
The following - with a big nod to A.E. Houseman - came to me after reading Steve Rudd's poem "Christmas Lights" here on WOL.
........................................
Into my world nightmarish frights
Yon far carriageway shows
What are those blue remembered lights
What sights, what sounds are those?
That is the land of a fatal crash
I see it painfully plain
The tragic e...
Wednesday 10th December 2014 3:28 pm
EMBRACEABLE US!
People come in various sizes
As do life's brickbats and prizes
Be sure to make your journey fun
No matter what is lost or won
Fame and failure have their place
In everybody's personal race
Enjoy the good...accept the bad
Embrace existence - and be glad!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Tuesday 9th December 2014 3:11 pm
BEGGAR ME!
It hurts when you want to help and believe...
Realising the reality of "practice to deceive"...
The person with a dog and proffered cup -
The ingratiating smile that says "cough up".
Not quite sure of what is true,
Or whether the need is in them or you?
.......................................................
Saturday 22nd November 2014 1:19 pm
THE BERLIN WALL - REMEMBERED
It was an obscene reminder that Mankind could divide its very soul
A terrible thing - yet kinder in its parts than the reasons for its whole
A fortress wall of fear - across the furrowed brow of its creators it lay
So that if they dared lift their eyes to heaven it stood there in the way
No Jericho trumpets to bring it crashing down in its blood-soaked shame
Instead, freedom's call ...
Tuesday 11th November 2014 12:03 pm
NOVEMBER
Each November we are reminded, watching poppies fall...
Each represents a life surrendered answering duty's call.
And later, in the weeks that follow, when snowflakes fill the sky,
The mind is filled with thoughts of those whose lives had soon passed by.
Each fleeting flake a forfeited future deprived of its true worth -
And like the poppies - sent to fall and fade back in the earth...
Saturday 1st November 2014 3:03 pm
Halloween
I think I must be due for a reminder to subscribe to "Witch" magazine!
Friday 31st October 2014 11:16 am
RELATIVE VALUES
When you think you're so poor you've no pot to piss in
Turn back to days past - log on and put this in!
There was a time - and glad lives were led
That needed a piss pot under the bed
Rich was the life that owned its plain china
Or a Spode commode...was anything finer?
If you think you're poor now with much that is missing,
You won't be regretting you've no pot for pissing!
...Monday 27th October 2014 3:31 pm
'ERE YOU...IN THE EU!
The UK's just had a visit from the EU's Jose Barroso
A left of centre politico who's rated less than "so-so"
They want more money - vast amounts
At his Brussels HQ of lost accounts
We don't just suspect they'll waste our dosh
Cos under their cosh - we KNOW SO!
..................................................................................
Sunday 26th October 2014 3:16 pm
SCAN THE MAN!
I had an MRI scan just the other day
They wanted a look at my pelvis
But there's one thing that I have to say
They wouldn't let me wriggle like Elvis.
They put me on a moving tray
And fed me into a tube
Once inside there was no getting away
So snug I thought they'd need lube!
I lay there reciting while all around
Came hums and screeches and clicks
You never...
Wednesday 22nd October 2014 5:11 pm
LOVE'S CONFUSION
When desire burns us like a fire
With threats of damnation from above
I wonder if the holy prophets
Got in a tizzy about love.
The detached mind murmurs "Is it ego"?
As down the road to release we go.
Why equate love with desire?
Is there a driven need to inspire
Something deeper than just sex?
That thought will always surely vex.
........................................
Sunday 5th October 2014 1:19 pm
TONY AND DAVE
There are folk who will compare
Tory Dave with Tony Blair
But Tone gave what he thought he could
While Dave saves what he thinks he should.
Politicians are foolish if they hope for gratitude
So what we must expect - and get -
Is platitude after platitude.
Trained in speaking endless tosh
Without any real meaning
Each speech scanned and vetted
Via very careful scree...
Thursday 2nd October 2014 12:59 am
TYRANNY
When tyrants and their bile emerge
The rest of us must face the scourge
And neutralise the bitter gall
That threatens to engulf us all
When a body is ill-treated
Prompt action sees disease defeated
We have to help ourselves at times
To confront Mother Nature's crimes
The same with tyrants' base infections:
Attack them hard from all directions
Until disease departs fro...
Saturday 27th September 2014 3:37 pm
YOU SMILED - a song of renewed love
Nearly never made it to that dance the other night
Nearly stayed at home again - alone and out of sight
So glad I went and found you there
And found again that I could care
This loser's heart was stil so sore from all the hurt it had before
You looked at me and in your eyes I saw a stare of wild surprise
Everything stood still and then - you smiled and love began again
...
Wednesday 17th September 2014 4:33 pm
SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE - an English perspective
Never in the field of human conflicted views
Have so many been bored
By so much about so few!
Friday 12th September 2014 12:56 am
BLESS!
If the Scots (fooled by Salmond) put a tick beside "Yes"
I for one will just murmur "Bless"!
They may see themselves free of sad me and you -
But they'll be prisoners (new) - held by the EU.
See the money flow south
And the trust and jobs too
When the Scots kiss goodbye
To the three centuries we knew.
Wednesday 10th September 2014 11:20 pm
SERVES ME RIGHT - country lament
I get memories of our melody before I lost the song
I get dreams at night that hurt me right
Where your heart should belong
I get letters from your lawyer and your Ma and Papa too
But I never get a letter from you
Serves me right for trusting love the way a sucker can
And thinking that was all I had to do
Serves me right for being such a trusting kind of man
And thinki...
Sunday 7th September 2014 1:27 pm
THE SNP
Historically, there have been moves to secure "independence" for Scotland by those who
seem to see a vision of a sovereign country - notwithstanding the alliance that has bound it to
the rest of the U.K. for centuries. There was the ill-fated alliance with France to place "Bonnie
Prince" Charlie on the throne - and this has surely been the prime example of the determination
...Saturday 6th September 2014 3:44 pm
LONELINESS
They say you can be lonely in a crowd
(Probably more so if the noise is loud).
Perhaps the trick is being at ease
With having just yourself to please
It's wrongly thought that being alone
Means being lonely on your own.
For some perhaps this may be true
And I sympathise with you.
Look inward - take some comfort there
And if you're fortunate to share
With som...
Wednesday 3rd September 2014 11:42 am
AWARENESS
You suddenly said you had to go;
That was when I came to know
That hello sometimes means goodbye.
Now I know enough to not ask why.
Sunday 31st August 2014 12:38 pm
THE LATE DEPARTED
If the Scots become the late departed
Will we English be downhearted,
Knowing they're gone beyond recall
On the darker side of Hadrian's Wall?
Or willl we sing aloud in praise
For leaving us our longer days
And New Years free from haggis and Burns
With wailing pipers taking turns
To make us deaf to proper tune
And gentle voices born to croon.
Let English foo...
Wednesday 27th August 2014 5:48 pm
THERE'S NO KNOWING
There's no knowing when death will come
Not even in a hospital bed
So be sure to add to life's grand sum
While there's time for what can be said.
Speak out and let the world take note
Do not go through life dumb
Grab existence by the throat
There's no knowing when death will come.
............................................................
Monday 11th August 2014 3:42 pm
THE HOLE - remembering WW1
In a blood spilled mud filled hole
Lies a body - but no soul.
What was once a hopeful life
Blown to bits in savage strife.
A parody of human form
A thing that had been loving...warm,
Face down - obscured from the curious eye
And the mind that silently wonders why.
Jutting past the deathly rim
Stands a foot of what remains of him
Like a lonely last salute...
...Tuesday 5th August 2014 2:36 pm
FOOT IN MOUTH
The summer is barely over
And here we go again.
The gum-chewers and their gangs return
Putting "pro" into profane.
Shouting this - waving that,
Too busy with their hands
That if they're not too careful
They'll end up in the stands.
Out on the freshly mown grass
Over paid prima-donnas
Remembering their acting skills
Crash to the turf like goners.
F...
Monday 4th August 2014 3:00 pm
HAVING YOUR CAKE
This poem was written with the Waitrose food poems in mind. I thought I'd invite WOL to tea!!!
......................................................................
When Rock Bun first saw Cherry Tart
It was plain she sweetened his hard heart
The other cakes upon their shelves
Decided to amuse themselves
Competing with him for their fun
Made poor Rock a hot cross bun!
......
Tuesday 29th July 2014 2:53 pm
LAST POST
This is the closing (21st) poem on my new CD of verse with music settings: "POETRY TO PLEASE".
....................................................
There's this to say for getting old,
You take more care against the cold
And value each new day.
And this to say for getting old:
You want to keep and not to scold
The children at their play.
And this to say for gettin...
Thursday 24th July 2014 12:40 pm
TAXING THOUGHTS
You can only be taxed on what you earn
And so with that in mind, I turn
To politicians - lazy and lax
Who talk about a bedroom tax.
I live long-term in a one-bed flat:
I'm taxed on what I pay for that.
Should I expect a refund made
On the basis that if I will downgrade
To a studio - (bedsit if the word suits you)
And hand my flat to someone new?
Of course not - but I'...
Friday 4th July 2014 2:00 pm
LE TOUR
Le Tour is coming to Yorkshire,
With sculptures in fields and on hills;
So much devotion in praise of hard graft
From the descendants of those dark satanic mills.
Wednesday 2nd July 2014 10:15 am
SHAFTED
Uruguay 2 England 1
...............................
Out-thought
Out-fought
Out-passed
Out-classed!
........................
England shafted twice over: by Uruguay and Liverpool - ouch!
Friday 20th June 2014 3:51 pm
COMFORT
When the thought of sex torments and teases
Take comfort in the thought you're spared its diseases!
Thursday 19th June 2014 10:06 pm
WOL makes the SUNDAY EXPRESS letters page
My last post described an article by its resident poet in last Sunday's "Sunday Express" - and I
emailed a considered reply.
Those at WOL and its supporters - but especially the excellent John Coopey - may be pleased to
know that today's edition of that national paper carried my letter (only slightly edited) - with references
to WOL and JC's wickedly funny "Ode To Roy" included..
...Sunday 15th June 2014 5:57 pm
"HARSH WORDS FOR DIRE POETS"
Last Sunday I was entertained by an article in the Sunday Express written by its resident poet Martin
Newell under the above title and taking up the remarks by Jeremy Paxman about modern poetry.
Mr Newell wasn't taking any prisoners. I quote:
"As a working poet for almost a quarter of a century, if this matter ever goes to the barricades, I will be
with Paxman. The problem is that poe...
Tuesday 10th June 2014 3:28 pm
ARROMANCHES - a Re-post of Remembrance for 2014
On the beach at Arromanches then
Young men saw friends die;
Pacing the sands of Arromanches now
Old men softly sigh.
There by the sea at Arromanches
They cheer a much-loved Queen
But the Arromanches that their Sovereign knows
Is not the place they've seen
And the Arromanches where their Sovereign goes
Is not the place they've been.
On the beach at Arromanche...
Friday 6th June 2014 12:05 am
"SPOKES" review
Delighted to see that the Yorkshire anthology of bike poems has got a nice review in the current issue of
"CYCLE - the magazine of the famous Cyclists Touring Club - with many thousands of members.
Poetry reaching out again....and even more pleasing to this member and contributor from WOL.
Saturday 31st May 2014 3:23 pm
GRAFFITI - an age-old habit
Gradffiti has been around for thousands of years: some scurrilous, some deserved and some to
make us think...but most with the advantage of being entertaining.
How about the following (reportedly noted in a "ladies" in Kent)...
"I wish I were what I was when I wished I were what I am."
OR - one for us poets (in a university...where else?!):
"TS ELIOT is an anagram of toilets."
Tuesday 20th May 2014 3:45 pm
BILLY CONNOLLY
The series from Billy Connolly on the subject of death was both interesting and "laugh out loud"
entertaining - as only he can be.
I'm not into man-made religion. The teaching that Jesus was a simple man clad in the simplest
garments hardly goes hand in hand with the luxurious trappings of the "ranks" of the organised
church. And any religion with no joyous songs needn't bother knoc...
Thursday 15th May 2014 4:56 pm
BOWDEN HILL DAYS
Growing up in rural Wiltshire,
A racing bike was my pride and joy,
A Raleigh Lenton (Reg Harris approved!);
What's not to like for a fifties boy?
And I still recall with fondness,
It was British through and through...
Cyclo-Benelux, Brooks, and Dunlop -
All those famous names I knew.
I lived on top of Bowden Hill,
My very own Mont Ventoux,
It loomed abov...
Monday 12th May 2014 10:38 am
JEREMY CLARKSON
I grew up with the nursery rhyme that has got Jeremy Clarkson into trouble. I remember as a boy
wondering what it was about and it was pointed out that it probably had its origins in the historical
context of slavery in the USA and, in particular, escaped slaves in hiding.
Historically then, it has some relevance which has probably seen it pass down the years - and
successive gener...
Friday 2nd May 2014 4:24 pm
THE MENIN GATE -11 November 2013 (Music Setting)
Written following the ceremony on November 11, 2013, a copy has been received by the Adjutant,
Wellington Barracks SW1. The poem is especially relevant this year...the 100th anniversary of the
start of World War One - "the war to end all wars". This version is included in a forthcoming CD
of my work called "Poetry To Please".
...........................................................
Friday 18th April 2014 5:25 pm
MY LONDON - music setting
This is posted to herald the welcome signs of spring in this great city. Now put in a music setting,
intended for a currently produced CD of "poems to music" called "POETRY TO PLEASE".
...........................................................................
In all the world there's nowhere quite
Like London on a soft spring night
When saffron sunset sends its grace
To linger...
Thursday 20th March 2014 3:18 pm
GLOBAL WARMING-how long forming?
When the westerly winds and wet came storming
How come they said "It's global warming"?
On high ground in the snow and sleeting
Why so quick with "global heating"?
In January sixteen sixty one
Samuel Pepys (yes, that's the one)
Wrote of dusty lanes and flies
That seemed to fill the winter skies
No peep from Sam why flies were swarming
No word from him of global warming
...Sunday 9th March 2014 3:55 pm
STRANGE
It's strange but when we drift apart
You're never nearer to my heart,
And when life finds you far away
You're right here in my mind each day
Saturday 1st March 2014 11:04 am
PROSTRATE WITH A PROSTATE
The recent posting of "Male Health Issues -No1" saw me digging out some lines I wrote for my late brother-in-law who suffered and had to endure an emergency hospital admission to enable him to pee properly.
This is a re-post from January 2012 - with sympathy offered to all those who know what it's about.
........................................................
I ask you guys, isn't it gre...
Sunday 23rd February 2014 2:53 pm
THE GALMPTON ROBIN - New Music Setting
The robin sang his song to me
When I walked out by Galmpton Quay.
Alone he sang at twilight's gleam
Beside the darkening Devon stream.
I am Life, his sweet song said,
An angel's voice above my head.
Exulting in his melody,
The robin sang his song for me.
The tiny songbird touched my heart
That day beside the dreaming Dart.
My spirit soared as I passed by
...Monday 17th February 2014 12:54 am
A CURIOUS COVE
Michael Gove...
A curious cove,
Looks and talks like a toff.
A socialist with half a mind
(I hope that doesn't sound unkind)
Would think that good reason to scoff.
Monday 10th February 2014 5:44 pm
IFFY SMIFFY
The Environmental Agency boss
Has made much of Somerset cross
Lord Smith likes wild land
Beyond human hand
Now they think he doesn't give a toss!
It seems he hasn't a clue
About just what he should do
Too little too late
From this minister of state
As for dredging - you can blame the EU!
NB Apparently some EU directive has interfered with the old procedure and p...
Saturday 8th February 2014 2:56 pm
OUT WITH THE "IN" CROWD-or IN WITH THE OUT CROWD
I'm intrigued by the correlation between the number of Russian political leaders whose names end with "in" - and the backward steps in human rights in that country. On the eve of the Sochi Winter Olympics....
..................................................................................
It seems that they would happily line up Gays
For fearful souls to beat or shoot in
Old Mother ...
Thursday 6th February 2014 7:53 pm
THE COUNTRY SINGER
I loved to drive to the old songs
On the radio each day
They said the things I felt myself
And sure wished I could say
One day I met a wise man
Who read me clear right through
He said "You gotta learn son...
That's what you gotta do!
Hear that radio when you ride
But listen to what I say -
You could sing of what's inside
If a guitar you could play".
...
Monday 3rd February 2014 12:34 am
BLACK BLOOD - a poem for the Great War
My father survived the Western Front and the Italian Front in the Great War, promoted from the ranks to
2nd lieutenant, 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, attached to the 5th Division. He was in
uniform again for WW2 and died aged 50 of TB when I was five. I have a book about the 5th Division left
by him, containing some handwritten recollections of that terrible conflict...
Wednesday 29th January 2014 4:37 pm
FALLEN ANGEL - a song
You sparkled like a shining star
When I first saw you from afar
You promised what I'd never known
And I sought you for my own
But love with you was not to be
You couldn't share your light with me
However hard you said you tried
The glow between us dimmed and died
Angel - you are my fallen Angel
All hope of love with you has flown
Angel - you are my fallen An...
Wednesday 22nd January 2014 1:00 am
SO - WHAT CHANGES?
The Poor are always with us
Jesus Christ said so.
And who are we to disagree?
The Son of God should know!
Tuesday 14th January 2014 4:42 pm
PAYING YOUR WAY
It's a truth in every business - the essence of all trade,
To come up with some thing or work for which you can be paid.
If in payment there's a lack...of cash return, a dearth -
There's the old way to recall - goods for money's worth.
If you have no gift for inventing, or creating from your mind,
Travel to look up those who have...seek and ye shall find!
Where family used t...
Friday 10th January 2014 5:49 pm
CON
Con-sider the Conservethemall Party
Con-cerned with all but us Brits true
Con-spiring with the rest of the turncoats
Con-tinuing rule by the EU.
Con-sulting none about our borders
Con-spicuous in their neglect
Con-sidering all others before us
Con-tempt for the concerns we expect.
Con-niving to despatch our billions
Con-tained in annual sums
Con-ceding a f...
Saturday 4th January 2014 4:23 pm
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