You can't hear birdsong if you tweet too much
You can still be liked without Facebook's crutch
You can't find EVERYTHING on Wikipedia
You can still be fulfilled without social media
You can't be an individual and a clone
You can view the world without a phone
You can't sail through life with a holed boat
You can enjoy the rain with a decent coat
You can't trust politicians and their lies
You can seek the truth, integrity, the wise
You can't change the world and all it's strife
You can take a righteous path and enrich your life
You can't lose when you find a way to unwind
You can meditate, breathe, open up your mind
You can't find true love if you close your heart
You can be caring and considerate...at least that's a start
Thursday, 30 October 2014
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
Two Hour Chihuahua
A diminutive dog ran away
During torrential Manchester showers
He was later found cowering
Amongst pretty spring flowers
120 minutes later his owner showed up
A local resident with a face so sour
The evening news later ran the headline
"The Troublesome Tiny Two Hour Chihuahua"
During torrential Manchester showers
He was later found cowering
Amongst pretty spring flowers
120 minutes later his owner showed up
A local resident with a face so sour
The evening news later ran the headline
"The Troublesome Tiny Two Hour Chihuahua"
Monday, 13 October 2014
Destination Unknown
Which of life's metaphorical roads are you traversing?
Stopping and starting like the M25?
Fast, then slow, then slower, then stop
Maybe, the undulating streets of San Francisco?
Gradually ascending to highs
Then descending sharply back to new lows
Could it be Route 66?
Passing through deserts then unexpected attractions
In an ever-changing climate
Others are negotiating the bustle of New Delhi
Pushed into perpetual motion
Avoiding collisions at every turn
Some are on a "B" road in Norfolk
Flat and featureless
But with wide horizons
When you pass your final traffic cone
Believe you can leave a positive legacy
When you finally arrive at destination unknown
Stopping and starting like the M25?
Fast, then slow, then slower, then stop
Maybe, the undulating streets of San Francisco?
Gradually ascending to highs
Then descending sharply back to new lows
Could it be Route 66?
Passing through deserts then unexpected attractions
In an ever-changing climate
Others are negotiating the bustle of New Delhi
Pushed into perpetual motion
Avoiding collisions at every turn
Some are on a "B" road in Norfolk
Flat and featureless
But with wide horizons
When you pass your final traffic cone
Believe you can leave a positive legacy
When you finally arrive at destination unknown
Genuine Fake
Whether days are short
or days are long
our most difficult task
is to admit we were wrong
We're all prone to human error
we can all make a mistake
better to accept our honest shortcomings
than strive to be a genuine fake
or days are long
our most difficult task
is to admit we were wrong
We're all prone to human error
we can all make a mistake
better to accept our honest shortcomings
than strive to be a genuine fake
Tuesday, 30 September 2014
Share Your Dream
If you share your dream
I'll lend you my thoughts
I'll mark my crosses
Against your naughts
I'll give you half
Of my quarter of sweets
I'll watch with you a sunrise
When night and day meets
Give me poetic licence
I'll pay you with amour
Shame we don't speak French
Like Frances de la Tour
If you give me a break
I'll put you back together
When you have nothing to say
I'll talk about the weather
There may be only two of us
But we can make a great team
Glad to have lent you my thoughts
Thanks for sharing your dream
I'll lend you my thoughts
I'll mark my crosses
Against your naughts
I'll give you half
Of my quarter of sweets
I'll watch with you a sunrise
When night and day meets
Give me poetic licence
I'll pay you with amour
Shame we don't speak French
Like Frances de la Tour
If you give me a break
I'll put you back together
When you have nothing to say
I'll talk about the weather
There may be only two of us
But we can make a great team
Glad to have lent you my thoughts
Thanks for sharing your dream
Monday, 29 September 2014
Dead Poets Walking
Too many poets' stars rise
After their earthly demise
Planted words dormant
Waiting and waiting
Waiting for history to nourish their legacy
Flowery language of redundant words and phrases
Blooming into view
An exotic edge alluring
To the ear of modern parlance
Love and marriage
Body and soul
War and peace
Timeless material for the creative scribe
In spirit, dead poets' words live on
Many living poets' recognition
Will only come to fruition
When they too are long gone
After their earthly demise
Planted words dormant
Waiting and waiting
Waiting for history to nourish their legacy
Flowery language of redundant words and phrases
Blooming into view
An exotic edge alluring
To the ear of modern parlance
Love and marriage
Body and soul
War and peace
Timeless material for the creative scribe
In spirit, dead poets' words live on
Many living poets' recognition
Will only come to fruition
When they too are long gone
An Unlovely Bunch
Racing white Audi's with black leather seats
Overpriced apartments and penthouse suites
A sickly smell of success mixing with ill-gotten gains
Steroidal meat-heads mixing with talented brains
In the south of the city runs a shallow stream of consciousness
Eating and bleating with an air of pretentiousness
Using both barrels of their double-barrelled name
Patronising, condescending and lacking in shame
The clamour of materialism, I want, I get, i-Pad
Swaggering past the homeless, a sight so sad
Many are privileged sons and daughters of the rich
I'm sure he's a bastard and she's definitely a bitch
A low paid workers week's food spent on a throwaway lunch
They may have the money but they're an unlovely bunch
Overpriced apartments and penthouse suites
A sickly smell of success mixing with ill-gotten gains
Steroidal meat-heads mixing with talented brains
In the south of the city runs a shallow stream of consciousness
Eating and bleating with an air of pretentiousness
Using both barrels of their double-barrelled name
Patronising, condescending and lacking in shame
The clamour of materialism, I want, I get, i-Pad
Swaggering past the homeless, a sight so sad
Many are privileged sons and daughters of the rich
I'm sure he's a bastard and she's definitely a bitch
A low paid workers week's food spent on a throwaway lunch
They may have the money but they're an unlovely bunch
Thursday, 25 September 2014
Homelessness
Today I spoke to Michael.
Michael is currently homeless and was sitting sheltering from the rain in my local shopping precinct. I had never seen or spoken to him before. He was just another "beggar", "druggie", "alcy" or whatever other derogatory term the populace may wish to use for him as they walk by. The thing is, Michael is none of those. I stopped and told him I was getting a hot drink and would he like one too. In a pleasant tone he said he would be very grateful. I returned a few minutes later to hand him the drink and to ask if he was getting help and support.
He told me a bit about his life (he's around 40) and explained he spent some of his youth backpacking and has held jobs in the past but due to unforeseen circumstances he is now without a home of his own and is waiting for the local authority to find him accommodation. He has recently been sleeping on friend's floors and occasionally on the street. He was clear-eyed, articulate and sober. He was not begging as he was not asking passers-by for change and had no receptacle or sign asking for money.
Michael went on to tell me how in recent weeks in this same spot, he has had youths spitting at him and other members of the public verbally abusing him. He said that ultimately he understood that it was his responsibility to get himself out of the mess he is in but didn't deserve this abuse. He explained how what happened to him could happen to almost anyone which most people are unaware of.
I wished him all the best and returned home. A home my wife and I have worked hard for but one in which I also count my blessings every day. This brief conversation re-focused my mind and puts the daily petty annoyances we all encounter into perspective. This may sound trite but it's also a truism. The next time you see a "Michael", be grateful it's not you.
Michael is currently homeless and was sitting sheltering from the rain in my local shopping precinct. I had never seen or spoken to him before. He was just another "beggar", "druggie", "alcy" or whatever other derogatory term the populace may wish to use for him as they walk by. The thing is, Michael is none of those. I stopped and told him I was getting a hot drink and would he like one too. In a pleasant tone he said he would be very grateful. I returned a few minutes later to hand him the drink and to ask if he was getting help and support.
He told me a bit about his life (he's around 40) and explained he spent some of his youth backpacking and has held jobs in the past but due to unforeseen circumstances he is now without a home of his own and is waiting for the local authority to find him accommodation. He has recently been sleeping on friend's floors and occasionally on the street. He was clear-eyed, articulate and sober. He was not begging as he was not asking passers-by for change and had no receptacle or sign asking for money.
Michael went on to tell me how in recent weeks in this same spot, he has had youths spitting at him and other members of the public verbally abusing him. He said that ultimately he understood that it was his responsibility to get himself out of the mess he is in but didn't deserve this abuse. He explained how what happened to him could happen to almost anyone which most people are unaware of.
I wished him all the best and returned home. A home my wife and I have worked hard for but one in which I also count my blessings every day. This brief conversation re-focused my mind and puts the daily petty annoyances we all encounter into perspective. This may sound trite but it's also a truism. The next time you see a "Michael", be grateful it's not you.
Wednesday, 24 September 2014
Missing "U"
Don't you spell colour with a "u"?
Maybe you could do
Don't you spell labour with a "u"?
Without the "u", there's a letter too few
Don't you spell neighbour with a "u"?
Without the "u", the 'hood seems bl(u)e
Don't you spell flavour with a "u"?
It tastes much better, between me and you
Don't you spell harbour with a "u"
The extra letter calms the storm
Don't you spell saviour with a "u"?
To some it's just the norm
Don't you spell valour with a "u"
Go on, try it! "oh you are" so brave
Could you savour writing English English?
Or does it belong in a language grave?!
Maybe you could do
Don't you spell labour with a "u"?
Without the "u", there's a letter too few
Don't you spell neighbour with a "u"?
Without the "u", the 'hood seems bl(u)e
Don't you spell flavour with a "u"?
It tastes much better, between me and you
Don't you spell harbour with a "u"
The extra letter calms the storm
Don't you spell saviour with a "u"?
To some it's just the norm
Don't you spell valour with a "u"
Go on, try it! "oh you are" so brave
Could you savour writing English English?
Or does it belong in a language grave?!
Friday, 29 August 2014
Contrary Escapee
To create a stir took many years
From a bashful youth to a chattering box
From sheltering in shadows and shrinking from conflict
To a contrary escapee from society's herd
Reticence washed away by bitter experience
The silent voice erupted from it's inner sanctum
Suppressed thoughts, ideas, creativity and vision
Found oxygen to breathe, to grow, to articulate
The faces of friends ever-changing
A list of jobs never-ending
Relationship troubles and fateful decisions
Reaching an epiphany on his path through life
From careless to carefree
Abandoning his reluctance to express his mind
A divisive, complex, unpredictable individual
He no longer tows lines, he writes them
From a bashful youth to a chattering box
From sheltering in shadows and shrinking from conflict
To a contrary escapee from society's herd
Reticence washed away by bitter experience
The silent voice erupted from it's inner sanctum
Suppressed thoughts, ideas, creativity and vision
Found oxygen to breathe, to grow, to articulate
The faces of friends ever-changing
A list of jobs never-ending
Relationship troubles and fateful decisions
Reaching an epiphany on his path through life
From careless to carefree
Abandoning his reluctance to express his mind
A divisive, complex, unpredictable individual
He no longer tows lines, he writes them
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