Welcome to From The Heart a selection of poetry from my collection...
The FIFA World Cup 2010 - England v Germany
They should have used technology
Not relied on rough biology, perhaps
Even animal psychology
For that fateful match last Sunday
To determine whether it was actually
A bona goal, or no
Because now everyone concerned is up the pole.
If they had used cameras and telly
As any fool could see
It would have shown without a doubt
That "the ball was Definitely In, ref!
What the hell are you talking about?"
But Sepp doesn't like technology
He's a Beautiful Game traditionalist
A 21st century non-conformist
And technology was definitely
Not on his A list.
So
Mauricio Espinosa
Failed to spot that vital first-half goal, sah
Was unable to define
The ball, one clear yard over the line
And we didn't go in equal at half-time.
But, would it have helped?
People are saying
Would it have helped with
The way they were playing?
I doubt it.
an observation
Scattered
on the pavement
after the rain
red rose petals lie
flattened
like discarded hearts.
Poet
Privileged am I
to meander this existence
monad, if truth be told
in spite of
hindered
aided or in the company of others
from time to time
to observe and experience ubiquarian ontology
perchance aspiring through artistic imagery
to record, and
tell it like it is.
...thought for the day
dumb
sword
twist
sore
worn
blame
cut and shame
Wedding Plans (working title) for Keri-anne
Oh my goodness
We're getting married in a week!
Are all the details covered?
Anything left to tweek?
Dependable Dad is guarding the dress;
The boys' suits have all been sorted.
Stilettos broken-in to save my feet from stress;
Flowers, tables, chairs; hair, face, body, all comported...
Invitations R-S-V-P'd
Honeymoon destination decided and agreed.
And - if the weather refuses to conform,
I'll have my love to keep me warm :)
Village Life (A nod to Dylan Thomas and his Under Milk Wood)
Bumbling across the viaduct
the train
shares its rumblings
with every household in the village
where every closetted skeleton
is communal property.
A Poem for our time
Obediah Tourniquet was what you might call tight
He'd pile his money in neat high stacks
And count it every night.
It made him drool to see it there
Glinting in the candle light.
Obediah Tourniquet didn't have a wife.
He said he didn't need one
His cash was the love of his life.
It never nagged or answered back
It never caused him strife.
Obediah Tourniquet was skinny and mean and wan
His diet was meagre, due to the cost.
Charity collectors he told to get lost
And he didn't want friends to drag him
Out for a drink in The Swan.
Obediah Tourniquet watched his piles grow taller
And as the years passed him by
His mind grew smaller and smaller
So he could nolonger keep account
And the whole town heard him holler.
Obediah Tourniquet was bitter and twisted and bony
And on the day Obediah died
They buried him with his money.
Mist
When first we rise
All is clear and bright
But in a little while
Wisps of mist rise from the river
Steam from the dragon's smile
Clouded, mysterious clarity
Engorging sight and sense
Confusing perspicacity.
Peace of Mind
This is what I look out on
the view from my house
this is what I look out on
the view from my house
Gives me a moment
to stop me
from thinking
about stuff
To stop me
this is enough
This is what I look out on
cows grazing
in uncomplicated fields
cows grazing
in uncluttered fields
Stops me
from thinking
about stuff.
(this poem is illustrated and appears in my Picture Gallery)
Elusive
The nineteenth of Tuesday
Such a perfect muse-day
Lead me into the sunlight.
Hold my hand, say you'll stay.
Bouy me up in that spirited way,
Reveal heart and soul in clarity.
Eternally extend, imbue
The remains of this Ruby Tuesday,
Before you change
And I miss you.
Whale Tale
I wish I was a massive whale
So I could have a huge wide tail
That I could splash down on the ocean
Or raise it as a sail.
Shiny Taxi Drivers
White shirts
Silver hair
Black strides
Shiny red faces
Shiny black shoes
Hunt in packs
Commune in scrums
Move in Caravans
Thick necks
Broad shoulders
Belted trousers
Shiny triangular
Red white and black men
In shiny black Taxis.
Hindsight
...and she would regularly say
"I am losing my mind."
She said it in a no-nonsense, everyday
kind of way, that we all
simply got used to it.
It was one of her 'little ways',
her foibles.
We all unconsciously passed it over.
It was part of every day;
part of who she was.
It wasn't until she was no longer
there to say it
that the realisation hit home.
The enormity of her words.
When did she start saying it?
Had she always said it?
Did she know; was it a premonition?
Why hadn't any of us pursued it with her?
Did that mean we were uncaring?
Selfish? Or that we subconsciously knew
but were consciously in denial?
So many questions...
The doubt could drive one insane.
Religion
Religion came in a black suit,
with a black bag under it's arm;
up the steps with a keen recruit.
Realisation hit.
Palpitating retreat filled with alarm.
See the face,
ready painted with beguiling charm.
The Cat
When the rain stops
And the sun dries the ground
The cat goes out
For a look around.
He lifts his head and sniffs the air
Making sure there's nobody there.
Then he drops on his side
Rolls on to his back
He wriggles about
Enjoying the warmth
In an enviable display of abandon
Goldfish
Fallen eucalyptus leaves
lie like flattened red gold fish
in the puddles.
My Body
My body is my body
And I just mustn't care
About the attributes I miss
Because they just aren't there.
And I know the game is up
Because when we are a bit hardup
We discuss selling my body parts
When yesterday my body would have done.
My Daughter
My daughter
My very first daughter
You allowed me
You gave me back
My femininity
Thank you
You showed me how to
Reclaim me
Allowed to acknowledge me
To be free
Thank you
For loving me
Back
(for Keri)
Comfy Pants
I never thought I'd say this
But
You know where you are with
Big comfy pants.
They are the very
Foundation
To feelings of
Mature contentment.
None of that tight
Up-your-bum
Resentment.
Comfort Zone
I spent so many years being someone else
because it wasn't all right being me
and now you tell me I must break free, to be me;
I just don't know who that person can be.
Shall I make it up and see if I'd like to be
Somebody very different, not like this me?
I'm afraid to change: to experience the range
Of difference relaxing might invite
Into this comfort zone that constitutes my life.
Being
i
When I was young
I'd just begun.
Well, now I'm old
And sometimes bold
But mostly I'm not bold at all
I often feel quite lonely
And small.
ii
I want to be
I want to belong
I'm only five foot two
I want to be long
How does it feel
To belong?
Blue and Orange Haiku (i)
Cornflowers, marigolds
My absolute favourite
Conversation.
(ii)
Cornflowers, marigolds
My absolute favourite
Combination.
Cry
Cry, cry to me
Plaintive plea
Ululating primordial voice
Stir emotions deep within
Keening, unrelenting
Until I can endure no more
Finding you is all
Feral Music
Across the plains
Soul deep
Call of the lion
Shimmering heat
Blurring the vista
Flamingos on the wing
Silence engulfing, until
Low and plaintive
The lion calls again
My heart aches
Empathising his need.
Huge Pants
I've got some huge pants
I don't know why I bought them
They must have met a need once
Or I'm sure I'd not have sought them
Now I wear them to relax in
When I need some garment
not too taxin'
At other times, they shock me
Due in part to their vastness
And gross voluminosity.
ABC
A has an Angle At its Apex
A is the Anchor of the Alphabet
A is Active As the indefinite Article
A Appears Auspicious As we Access the dictionary
A is Adventurous And Assiduous with Alacrity in
Adjectives, Antonyms, Adverbs, Adjuncts, Arts,
Allegories, Annuals, Annals, Announcements, Appeals,
Addendums, Amendments, Appendices,
Also Appelations and Assonance
A is Aristocratic
A is An Aardvark.
B is Big Bumptious and Bulbous
B is Bumpy and Blown
B can Be Boring, Bawdy or Beautiful
B may Be a Boy, a Baby or a Bird
B might Be Bungling, Broken or Bad
B Bangs Brashly in Bunkers, Bullies and Bombs
B Breathes Benignly in Books and Buffets
B Begins and Bisects Bibles and Bibliography
B Bifurcates Boughs
B Burbles Busily through Boisterous Banter
B can Be.
C Commences and Constitutes Chattering Conversations
C Continues to Conspire in Charts Catalogues and Cyclopaedias
C is Civil and Chummy, Cohabitating in Community
C Confronts and Coerces on Committees
C Cares, Cuddles and Caresses with Close-ones, Children and Cats
C Chastises, Cautions and Cuffs Contenders
C Can be Cool, Chilly or Cold
C Crops up in Countries and Cities
C Calls, Chants and Cries
C Constructs, Catches, Crawls and Crumbles
C is both Critical and Compassionate
C Chivvies Ceaselessly among Compendiums of Chaotic Cacophonies and Cadences
C Communicates...
Dampened Spirits
Rain, driven on wind
through eucalyptus, rattles.
Voluptuously verdant garden, overgrown
Anarchically dishevelled grass remains unmown
Unruly vagrant slugs indescriminately feeding
with unfettered insistence on all that we should be eating
Driving rain in the wind
through the eucalyptus, rankles.
Why?
What miasmic turbulence
engulfed your mind?
Did you crave oblivion
over the thick
cloying mud of your days?
It was full moon
In Aries.
Did that push you
over the edge?
Haiku for Keri
Witnessing daily
your metamorphosis makes
my heart sing with joy.
Winter Walking
I love to walk at the opening of the day
When it is bright and the trees stretch out
Their arms in salutation to the sun
I love to squint
At the sun-spangled gems, that fall
Drip and dangle
As I crunch my way along.