Twelve days of xmas

Tis the season bla bla bla........

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me.......
....a jumper that didn't fit.
On the second day of Christmas my true love and me........
............had a row over it.
On the third day of Christmas my true love said to me........
...."why are you so miserable?"
On the forth day of Christmas my true love went for me......
...............with a kitchen stool.
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love couldn't see........
...any reason to stay.
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love packed her things
........and went away.
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me......
......her wedding ring.
On the eight day of Christmas my true love gave to me..........
.....absolutely nothing.
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love wrote to me.........
......asking for a divorce
On the tenth day of Christmas I sent her my reply...................
..........it said "of course"
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love came back........
.......but only to get some more things
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love isn't here.............

And the telephone never rings

Way to go

Based on a true story:

Way to go

Some guy on the news today
Paid half a million quid
For a personalised number plate
I swear that’s what he did
Half a million for a plate
That’s numbered twenty five zero
Way to go
Way to go
Way to go

And earlier on today
He'd bought another one as well
Over a hundred and thirty thousand
For the plate two fifty L
He said “I was determined”
It’s a “privilege” don’t you know
Way to go
Way to go
Way to go

Futureshock

Looking through my folder containing my old poems: Here's one I wrote around 1990. I think it's rather prophetic in its way.

Where did that building go?
You know the one I mean
It used to be a chip shop
Now it's nowhere to be seen
It just took off in the night
Disappeared to outer space
And a two-storey office block's
Been put there in it's place

And is it my imagination?
I really cannot say
If that car park standing opposite
Was there before today
It's so big and domineering
Cars are parked on every floor
And I wonder why I've never even noticed it before

Where did all the shops go?
You know the ones I mean
The Butchers and the Greengrocers
Are nowhere to be seen
And the Bakeries, the Market stalls,
The sweet shops, all have gone;
No Off-licence, no Tobacconist
There must be something wrong
The Cinema, The swimming pool
The cafe and the bar
The Bike shop and the Clothes shop
And the shop that sells guitars
And the record shop, The Furniture shop
All much to my dismay
Have packed their cases over-night
And simply moved away

Where did that precinct come from?
You know the one I mean
With its endless special offers
And its shops so new and clean
And that great big Supermarket
That wasn't there yesterday
And neither was that Jewelers
Or that Fast-food take-away

Strange new buildings everywhere
As if by magic they appear
And when I come back tomorrow I wonder,
Will they still be here?
Or will they, too, be replaced
By different buildings large and small
Knocked down without a trace
Like they were never there at all

Renewable energy

This is part of a collection I am putting together under the mother title of "Fruit of the epiphany tree" which is the name I've given to the large oak tree at the back of my garden, that drops its leaves from now until January, giving me time to think about things whilst raking them up from my lawn. The first verse stands alone as a haiku, but I've added a second, sticking to the same amount of syllables to create a poem.

Renewable energy (hidden in plain view)

The sun sustains life

And its power can be harnessed

As long as it shines

But

Hidden in plain view

From those who would choose blindness

It cannot be seen

Verse two can be changed into a singular haiku by changing one word in the last line.

Hidden in plain view
From those who would choose blindness
Truth cannot be seen

The great adventure (re-visited)

Another old song, written with a friend, a lifetime ago

The great adventure (re-visited)

I wish that I could find a place

Where no one’s ever been before

A land of sun and open space

With palm trees lined along the shore

I’d watch the seabirds in the sky

And travel round the tropic land

And maybe one day I would find

A stranger’s footprints in the sand

We’ve sailed across the seven seas

Through stormy waters to a gentle breeze

Anticipation’s in the air

The sky is clear

The weather fair

There’s a look of pleasure on your face

As you hold the telescope in place

You can see the land

Underneath the sun

The great adventure has begun

I wish that I could drift away

To some oasis in my brain

A land that is so far away

I never would come back again

In a bottle I would send

A message to my friends at home

An invitation to attend

I would not care to be alone

We’ve sailed across the seven seas

Through stormy waters to a gentle breeze

Anticipation’s in the air

The sky is clear

The weather fair

There’s a look of pleasure on your face

As you hold the telescope in place

You can see the land

Underneath the sun

The great adventure has begun

The wickedness of Iain Duncan Smith

At last. My "May 2015" trilogy is complete!
Now perhaps, I can get down to some proper prose

May 2015 part 3

The wickedness of Iain Duncan Smith

The dispossessed

The depressed

Whose homes have been

Re-possessed

The disabled

The mentally ill

The long term unemployed

Raised from the ashes

Of the scrap heap

To be demonized and ridiculed

And labelled

And subjected to the

Meanest of means testing

By jobsworths on the minimum wage

The countless casualties

Of the callous calamity

Born apparently from the necessity

Of austerity

The incompetence of the department

That sends letters declaring

Dying cancer victims

“Fit for work”

Diabetics unable to chill

Their insulin

No electricity = no refrigeration

That’s what you get

For being late for your appointment

The thirteen year old kid

Whose dad had a stroke

Was treated like the punchline

Of a sick joke

Only it’s not a fucking joke

His dad died

ATOS killed him

YOU killed him

And those who voted for you

And support you

And attempt to justify your crusade

Just take a minute to reflect

PEOPLE ARE DEAD!

Who otherwise would still be alive

And whilst you remain rigorous

And rigid in your determination

To ultimately destroy

The concept of the welfare state

They will

KEEP ON DYING

Until in the end all that’s left

Are the fit and healthy

Perfect fodder

For a lifetime of enforced

Low paid labour

Is that your plan?

You wicked

Wicked man!

  

  

An agnostic's prayer

Part 2 of the trilogy begun with "Born again".

This poem is very much influenced by Dostoevsky's "The brothers Karamasov", which I'm labouring through at the moment. Father Zossima, I salute you sir and God bless you.

And hardly a rhyme to be seen.

May 2015 part 2

An agnostic’s Hymn

God bless you all

All you fascists

All you communists

All you dictators

All you torturers

Of innocents

Open your cells now

Feed the hungry

God bless you all

All you chauvinists

All you misogynists

All you misandrists

All suppressors    

Of gender equality

Open your hearts now

Feed the hungry

God bless you all

All you closed minded

All you racists

All you sexists

All you haters

Of diversity

Open your minds now

Feed the hungry

God bless you all

All you nationalists

All you monarchists

All you patriots

All of you proud

Flag wavers

Open your borders

Feed the hungry

God bless you all

All you fanatics

All you crusaders

All you Salafists

All instigators

Of holy war

Open your eyes now

Feed the hungry

God bless you all

All you wealth creators

All you corporatists  

All you tax evaders

All manufacturers 

Of cheap labour

Open your banks now

Feed the hungry

God bless you all

All you consumerists

All you materialists

All you narcissists

All ignorers

Of deprivation

Open your doors now

Feed the hungry. 

 

 

Since the twins came down

There are just too many cliches to ignore at the moment. And they're all legit targets.

Since the twins came down

ISIS the Taliban Boko Haram Al Qaeda

Jihad Mujahedin Holy Quran Mosque Sharia

Intolerance to burkas in western town

Everything’s changed since the twins came down

The rise of the nationalist the right wing agenda the media

The misinformation hypocrisy Islamophobia

The propagated hatred of the racist clown

Everything’s changed since the twins came down

Iraq Afghanistan Guantanamo Bay Rendition

Hostages exchanged the war machine supplies ammunition

Hospitals schools villages burnt to the ground

Everything’s changed since the twins came down

Jihadi John Islamic State cutting off heads in Syria

Murderous regime school girls kidnapped in Nigeria

Scared asylum seekers and refugees drown

Everything’s changed since the twins came down

Depiction of the prophet, psychopath AK Forty Seven

White supremacists preparing for the next Nine Eleven

Marine Le Pen will one day be wearing a crown

Everything’s changed since the twins came down

Palestinians slaughtered yet no western condemnation

Leaders cross the line between free speech and provocation

The sacred and forbidden is no longer bound

Everything’s changed since the twins came down

Fat cat weapons dealers wealthy royals generous donations

Revenge for dead children hatred passed to future generations

A peaceable solution will not be found

Everything’s changed since the twins came down

Elected politicians make treaties with misogynist’s and sadists

Profits run to trillions more riches for elitist corporatists

The Euro the Riyal the Dollar the Pound

Everything’s changed since the twins came down.

ISIS the Taliban Boko Haram Al Qaeda

Assad the CIA Mossad SAVAK Abu Rida

Perpetual terror going round and round

Everything’s changed since the twins came down