The Salubrious Mr Stevens
THE SALUBRIOUS MR STEVENS
By the Urban Poet
He’s moral, ethical,
good, clean and nice
Virtuous, pure
Innocent and chaste,
He’s encouraging, edifying
righteous and upright
Upstanding, high minded
But never gets uptight
Non violent, not erratic
Honest, just and noble
Respectable and decent
Chivalrous and honourable
He’s proper, correct, simp...
Friday 29th November 2024 12:17 pm
The Miller
THE MILLER
By the Urban Poet
Children and women with child awake from flee infested beds of rags on putrid floor
As they struggle to scrub out sleep from itchy eyes, the loud shriek of the foreman echoes and resonates through waxed ear as they gather in packs of trembling fear
Not a sentence of death but a daily trek down mud track eroded by torrential rain at six o'clock on the d...
Wednesday 27th November 2024 4:24 pm
The boy in short trousers
THE BOY IN SHORT TROUSERS
By the Urban Poet
Boy stands in a rowdy frantic playground
Feeling the cold in more ways than one
Shoes letting in water, nose dripping
Wiping dew away on the back of coat sleeves, too long for his skinny wiry arms
Mind wondering, cravings for recognition
will fall again on closed ears, as others have already categorised him as poor, pale and i...
Tuesday 26th November 2024 4:38 pm
Fantasy Football
FANTASY FOOTBALL
By the Urban Poet
Red and white, blue and green
What colour represents your football team?
Is it the colour they actually play in?
Or is it the one that they play away in?
These days of course,
some teams have three strips
To make you shell out more money
when you’re on your away trips
How long will the new manager last?
Longer than those...
Saturday 23rd November 2024 8:24 pm
Sweet Memories
SWEET MEMORIES
By the Urban Poet
A little sweetshop on every street corner
in every parade, as if part of the order,
of life and time, so within this rhyme we can reminisce, of the tastes, delight, and sheer bliss, the humble sweet has given us.
Like a kiss of life that soothes and calms, excites and tempts.
Like pick and mix, Lucky bags of tricks
and treats, surprises to be...
Wednesday 20th November 2024 1:30 pm
Ode to The Soaps
ODE TO THE SOAPS
By the Urban Poet
A walk on the cobbles, a trip down the Arches
Diverted via Emmerdale before we got started
A pint in the Rovers, then in the Queen Vic
Got drunk in the Woolpack through drinking too quick. As characters go you couldn’t beat Seth or Amos, or Shadrach, but now they’re all dead. The Mitchell’s, Den Watts and Roly the dog. Just look for Kat if you fa...
Monday 18th November 2024 11:19 am
Needles and Pins
NEEDLES AND PINS
By the Urban Poet
Pine needles
Fine needles
Sewing needles
Knitting needles
Hat pins
Straight pins
Ten pins
And tie pins
Syringe needles
Thread needles
Record needles
Haystack needles
Ear pins
Nose pins
Hair pins
And rolling pins
My needles
You...
Sunday 17th November 2024 2:03 pm
Music Lovers
MUSIC LOVERS
By the Urban Poet
Rock music
Pop music
Old music
New music
Classical music
Jazz music
Soul music
Sad music
Punk bands
Glam bands
Garage bands
Brass bands
Plastic Ono Band
Gastric bands
Elastic bands
Radio wave bands
Metal bands
Grunge bands
New age bands
Brit pop bands
Boy bands
Girl...
Friday 15th November 2024 10:50 am
Lady Penelope
LADY PENELOPE
By the Urban Poet
Thunderbirds are go!
I used to love that bloody show
Many years ago when I was a kid
Watching that programme was all I did
The main character was Jeff Tracy
But the one I liked was quite a bit racey
She had long blonde hair
and deep blue eyes
So beautiful that I just used to cry
Every time she came on my TV screen
Even when ...
Wednesday 13th November 2024 11:13 am
Evelyn and Amelia
Evelyn and Amelia were very important people
On guy Fawkes night they were responsible
for the fireworks, pumpkin cake and treacle
When bangers went off they got frightened
Its as if their sensitivity was heightened
by the loud bangs when they exploded
Into the dark night their naivety eroded
Unlike their peers they had responsibilities even at such a very young age
...Monday 11th November 2024 9:00 pm
Mystery Girl
Glides through the streets sporting long black hair, it’s as if she’s travelled almost everywhere
Heads turn, people stepping out of the way
Not something you experience every day
Mystery girl, she’s in a whirl, she’s here,
she’s there, she’s gone.
Only she knows the ways of the world
and how to tell right from wrong.
An age old story since time began, the one about ...
Monday 11th November 2024 2:01 pm
I Wish
I wish that things were like they were before
When we pulled together with an open door
When people conversed face to face, even when dashing all over the place.
I wish that there were no mobile phones
Computers, tablets and flying drones
Like when we called round to see our friends
Or chatted to neighbours over the fence
We joined together when things got rough
A...
Saturday 9th November 2024 12:52 pm
Families At War
Sit tight, keep quiet
keep still, no lights
No emotions, no tears
no rows, no fights
Avoid confrontations
in a tin pot shelter
As hearts are beating helter-skelter
A belief in the mask
around necks to protect
but in reality a token
of advice misguided
and broken with instructions
to lessen the panic
amid all the destruction
Blacked out, sirens ...
Wednesday 6th November 2024 11:12 am
They want whats best
When you’re a baby they want you
to grow, when you grow they want you
to show, the traits and habits of someone who’s good, and behaves in a way
that everyone should
They want the best for you
The best for you, what’s best for you
you see, what’s good for them is right
for them, so it’s right for you and me
You start to walk and they want you to run
And learn t...
Tuesday 5th November 2024 1:23 pm
Divisions of Joy
Raw sounds of electrified emotion
Driving an arrow straight at the heart
Of those who listen and observe the motion
of he with deep souled voice
A haunting yet so captivating a beat
Sets the tone again to dance hall feet
That try to emulate the quirky moves
Of a struggling genius in giants shoes
Bass lines throb with treble up high
With beats and rolls from sk...
Saturday 2nd November 2024 11:44 am
Beyond Sunderland
Shades of the North East past
dwarf the uninviting landscape,
in the form of charcoal clouds,
the consequence of industrial fallout
Those who once worked
the glass factory floors
ship yards and coal mines,
sit forlornly in terraced house rows
feeling void of self worth and purpose.
Where lives once filled with laughter,
at smutty workplace banter,
now lie...
Wednesday 30th October 2024 12:17 pm
Tony the Tortoise
I’m Tony the Tortoise, how do you do?
I always go missing, but how about you?
My owners go crazy when I disappear
I’m Tony the tortoise and I like a glass of beer
I walk very slowly, that is no lie
Humans are always in a hurry
I don’t know why
What time I get to where, I want to be
I’m Tony the tortoise
And It doesn’t matter much to me
I sleep for half the y...
Saturday 26th October 2024 10:23 pm
Sugar is sweet
Sugar Dumpling dozed as usual in the dark corner of the pantry, where some dried spaghetti acted as a gantry to a world of food.
He often wondered how and why he got his name and who could actually be to blame
for the fact he'd never been eaten.
However, SD wouldn't be beaten and asked himself was it his wrapping?, his long sell by date? or was it simply too late to end his days in the bl...
Thursday 24th October 2024 10:46 am
Mumbo Jumbo Land
In furthest Mumbo Jumbo land
Where dragons take you by the hand
and show you fiery pits of fear
that burn and scar blood sweat and tear
In Whatever, Forever, Never land
Where stoic figures stalk the night
to horrify, take great delight
Bringing, angst, pain, terror, and fright
The very thought of what they do
Is enough to shred the nerves of you
and me, and ...
Wednesday 23rd October 2024 5:13 pm
Fairies, Elves, and Goblins
If Fairies knew what Elves knew
What would they become?
If Goblins sang like Fairies
Would they all sing along?
About stories, tales and fables
Bound in glossy books
With feasts laid out on tables
That command a second look
If Goblins did what Fairies do
Would enchantment be diminished?
The Elves may need to get involved
To ensure the work gets finished
The...
Tuesday 22nd October 2024 11:54 am
Colours
Bright colours on pastel shades
Telling black and white stories
Of purple tinted jelly beans
And brown and greenish flora
Indigo banners are now unfurled
Showing yellow violet and green
Rainbow trout with purple mouths
Swimming in a colourless stream
Oh show me the colours of life
To see it's light and shade
Through God's own kaleidoscope
Observing how t...
Monday 21st October 2024 3:02 pm
Tell Me
Tell me you love me, tell me you care
Tell me I look good, my clothes, my hair
Tell me the truth but no more lies
Tell me the secrets shown in your eyes
Tell me a story, one that’s not true
Tell me it’s not about me and you
Tell me it’s finished, the affair you had
Tell me you’ll come back…
I’m really sad
From ‘100 More Reasons for Rhyme’
By ‘Rick Varden, 2023
Sunday 20th October 2024 2:52 pm
Talking Eyes
Each time those sparkling emeralds are observed a different story
unfolds before me
A tale of intrigue today perhaps
or mystery tomorrow?
Brow furled or unfurled, eyeliner or eye
shadow, to disguise truths.
There are days when the real personality peeps through eyes so beautiful
But on other occasions proffering sadness and sympathy, but without asking or giving indicatio...
Saturday 19th October 2024 10:59 am
Since You've been Gone
Since you’ve been gone
I’ve not written a single line
without thoughts of you in my head
It’s been hard to express my feelings
Since you’ve been gone
It’s been very strange
But also quite familiar
Returning to our memories
Since you’ve been gone
What has been the point?
The point seems to be
That I need to carry on
Since you’ve been gone
I need to carry on
Thursday 17th October 2024 10:40 am
Ristaurante di Cassandra
RISTORANTE Di CASSANDRA
Dearest and talented Cassandra
I remember your sister Alexandria
But never will I forget the day we met
When I fell in love with you
and your lasagne
Italian cuisine is the absolute best
Sophisticated, with flavour
and loaded with zest
Pasta, pizza, calzones or risotto
Italy e' fantastica is my brand new motto
Since That...
Sunday 6th October 2024 12:13 pm
Maybe?
Maybe I’m mistaken but I think.she cares?
Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me?
Maybe I’m deluded?
Maybe I’m scared*
Well maybe, but I don’t think so
Maybe I’m mistaken but maybe she’s still hurting? Maybe my mind is working overtime?
Well perhaps, but I don’t think so
Maybe I am definitely deluded?
Well maybe I am, as I do feel old at times
Maybe there’s no m...
Thursday 3rd October 2024 4:41 pm
Love Hate Relationship
You say you love me
So why do you hate me
For being everything
That’s not like you
You want me to change
My life, my friends
Estrange my family
Where will this end?
Will I still be allowed
to be me?
Or be controlled like
a gadget with a PCB?
I guess I know where
this is heading
My world is like water
and I’m just treading
Until I ...
Wednesday 2nd October 2024 9:30 pm
Lady Desiree
The object of my innermost desires
are neither abstract, theoretical,
hypothetical, or borne out of delusion
No confusion exists in my thoughts at all
just Lady Desiree
At first sight, in a glint of morning light
I observed her flowing form, at which point
I think I was reborn, because my life became transformed for the better
Although I'd not had a tryst, I started
...Tuesday 1st October 2024 8:24 pm
Intrigue
What is more fascinating than the close study of the created being?
In her own way she laughs and then scoffs
and scolds in tormenting fun to the point where she searches your own eyes and coyly tries to look for answers about you in response to your teasing nature.
Even though it's early days there is a soul searching feeling of her fascinating ways that will not leave me.
I am ...
Saturday 28th September 2024 1:54 pm
House of Cards
Did we ever stand a chance in a paper world
Where every fold, every tear really hurts
Creased and crumpled, a throw away line
Ripped and torn we limped over to mine
A tempestuous relationship, cruel and hard
We unravelled, fell apart, in my house of cards
A paper plane, an origami creation
Travelling light in a floating paper sensation
Tripping the light fantastic...
Thursday 26th September 2024 11:16 am
Strings
So you wanted a relationship
With no strings attached
Well they say love is like a violin
So don’t expect to play me
From ‘100 More Reasons for Rhyme’
By ‘Rick Varden 2023
Wednesday 25th September 2024 7:27 pm
Football
Football can be loved or hated
It has caused wars and even executions
It also brings joy and passion to hundreds
of millions of people
Wednesday 25th September 2024 7:25 pm
Friends Prominent
Stevie, Gary, Peter and me
Simon, Jude and John times three
Mike, Geoff, Dave and friends
Frank and Denis never did made amends
These are all me mates you see
At least that's what they pretended to be
The reality is that they gave me strife
I'm convinced they all fancied me wife
Always planning, plotting, being prudent
Trying to cop off with university student...
Monday 23rd September 2024 11:04 am
Fanny Arlington
In slow stately ballroom style
she dances in triple time
A stylistically refined minuet
with her partner but not in step.
He being mesmerised
with her beguiling beauty
and electric personality
as the orchestra plays
in ambiguous tempo or so he says
Not tiring, Fanny looks to refresh
her performance by swapping
dance partners, and so I move swiftly in
...
Sunday 22nd September 2024 9:18 pm
Can’t Get Close
Dancing, prancing across the floor
I lap it up and want some more
The tempo increases as does the heat
We glide around gyrating to its beat
The music, famous in the sixties
Excites us, drives us, now it’s the remixes
I’m thinking why I like you the most
But somehow I just can’t get close
We talk, I listen, you seem mysterious
Either that or your cautious, more ...
Saturday 21st September 2024 10:51 am
A Means To An End
A reason to be part of you
Is knowing you are true
It’s better this way
At least for today
I want to be with you
You know what I’m like
I know you so well
But only time will tell
Let’s face up to the change
Just rearrange
All things that seemed so strange
A house that’s built
On solid ground
Has no subsidence found
But if you build a house on s...
Friday 20th September 2024 3:13 pm
Alive to your Feelings
A very long time ago
you thought you were alive
Did everything you could
In order to survive
That may have meant
doing the right thing
Even wearing a wedding ring
You were very much in love
so it didn’t really matter
Securing a steady job
Earning more than a few bob
The usual things follow
Like children, responsibility
All the highs and lows of life
c...
Thursday 19th September 2024 10:36 am
This Silent Landscape
A beach, calm seas, blue sky
Seagulls gliding in the morning mist
Migrant starlings circle overhead in groups
As fish swim naively in the shallow waters
Early morning walkers tread the sand dunes
A circuit they’ve walked many times before
Health and fitness being top of their agenda’s
No stiff sea breeze to deal with this new day
Volunteer litter pickers share fr...
Wednesday 18th September 2024 11:02 am
Ode to a Pig
Another tribute most deserving
In keeping with a previous serving
Of insight, knowledge and understanding
About various creatures and their standing
This time, the humble pig:
Yes your piggy may have gone to market
Or stayed at home for a change
But that was only in a nursery rhyme
Just fiction in the main
For the pig is a thing of great beauty
Although ma...
Tuesday 17th September 2024 9:58 am
Ode to a Toad
To you oh amphibious one do I write
this tribute most deserving
To he who is either frog or toad,
depending on exactly what mode
A human being classifies your
mysterious and bulbous eyes
Depending on the shape or size
The scaly skin you wear like a mink coat
You are the aristocracy of the moat
The pond or lake with green and slimy frill
Where your peers and serv...
Monday 16th September 2024 2:41 pm
Far Beacon Sound
Storm clouds form and fall towards
the ocean spray, emitting salt to season
rocks of black and those of grey.
Glistening in partial sun, their shiny
slippery surface flatters to deceive
in a cool but strengthening autumn breeze
Howling winds are commonplace and profound
with nature having stories,
secrets and mysteries to reveal, but not conceal
about Far Beaco...
Sunday 15th September 2024 5:16 pm
Ebb and Flow
Cool ripples of grey water
with tints of azure and jade
flowing freely like gazelles
gliding through arid and sterile plain
Ironic descriptor
but one that relates
the mystery, unpredictability
and power
of the liquid of life and death
Streams and rivers
soothing yet cruel
...
Saturday 14th September 2024 8:52 pm
Autumn through my Window
I’m looking through my window
And what I can see I like
Golden brown leaves fallen
In the wind during the night
Autumn leaves
Autumn breeze
Autumn colours
Autumn seas
Once summertime’s adjusted
Put our clocks back by an hour
It’s as if the sun has disappeared
And been replaced by heavy showers
An extra hour in bed they sa...
Friday 13th September 2024 10:24 am
A Perfect World
In my infancy I only remember darkness
The stillness, a damp and murky existence
Only very occasionally feeling any movement
It seemed that this was it…my life
The strangest thing was the feeling of growth;
slowly forming in the black wilderness
Seemingly taking up more room than usual
and a sensation of not being alone in here?
Time passed very slowly in the endl...
Wednesday 11th September 2024 9:08 pm
Who Cares?
Ehh it’s good to have Carers coming to the house,
there’re all sorts of things to talk about
Like how many times some old folk went out
Without anyone knowing their whereabouts
Then there’s discussions on all sorts of stuff
Like who’s not well, and having it rough
Them as have money, and them that’s skint
Those who are generous, and who’s a skinflint
The houses th...
Tuesday 10th September 2024 10:33 am
Rumours
Have you heard the latest rumour
About the Vicar and his Wife?
They got stuck in the crypt
no one there to assist
And it changed their whole outlook on life
You see with no one there to help them
And Devine intervention not seen
The Vicar chose not to pray to God
But sought solace in a few G and Ts
Have you heard the latest rumour
About my neighbour and his...
Monday 9th September 2024 10:38 am
Replacement Therapy
I need to replace my phone
I need to replace my car
I need to replace my teeth
Or display them in a jar
I need to replace the batteries
In all my fancy gadgets
The things I do to fill my life
Make me look pretty tragic
I need to replace the locks
On all my doors and windows
Oh and on the drinks cabinet too
Where the whisky, rum and gin go
I need t...
Sunday 8th September 2024 10:10 am
Money
Money, money, isn’t funny
in a poor man’s world.
When your boric acid and lint, ‘skint’
You’ve not got any to compare to the many
who have a lot, yea the have’s and have nots
It’s always been this way they say
So deal with it in any which way, but how
Learn to say “how now brown cow”
Start to posh up, sip from your cup
or glass, don’t slurp, that’s crass
Tak...
Saturday 7th September 2024 11:46 am
Mothers Ruin
Trouble brewing
Mothers ruin
Gin and tonic
Supersonic
Filled with ice
Oh and a slice
of lemon in
and round the rim
to give it flavour
Just the one?
Do me a favour!
There’s pink gin
Orange gin
Elderflower too
Plum, vanilla, Rhubarb
To name but a few
Gordon’s, Greenall’s, Whitley Neil
Beefeater, Hendrick’s
Gin’s the real deal!
So when you go t...
Friday 6th September 2024 10:37 am
Is there a Nurse in the house?
I've been lyin' in bed since half past three
Cos I've landed me self in't Infirmary
I went and did summat daft you see
And they're 'avin to operate on me knee
I wouldn't mind I only came in to see
Any doctor or nurse int' A and E
I ended up in a cubicle on a sort of bunk
And next to me was the obligatory drunk
She must've consumed a gallon of gin
Cos s...
Thursday 5th September 2024 10:19 am
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