Try to imagine this with me
Quiet your mind, let it roam free
Looking out over a calm blue sea
At a foreign shore where you could be
Drift across that peaceful scene
To wave kissed beaches, still pristine
Edged by tall trees in verdant green
No sound but bird song, so serene
There, just there, pause and wait
Relish the moment and aspirate
Here where time is more sedate
Open your soul to a higher state
If my tomato plants could speak
They would surely sing with praise
About the tidy greenhouse
As they enjoy summer days
Grow bags lined up precisely
Canes readied for support
Windows open for fresh air
A perfect life in short
Why, then, do they bear so little
Of the round and deep red fruit
It offends me and seems selfish
Of that there’s no dispute
Each evening I check in on them
Down the winding garden path
But their offerings are so paltry
I think they’re having a laugh
My neighbour says they’re dying
But how can he be sure
He says they must need feeding
But, like watering, at that I’m poor
A caller rang the doorbell
Straight way my heartbeat skipped
Who can this be a-ringing
With no visitors on the script
The house is so untidy
I haven’t combed my hair
Fish smells linger from the kitchen
The timing’s so unfair
No chance to try addressing
The mad jumble of concerns
Again the bell rings threatening
To open my can of worms
A moment’s hesitation
Safe this side of the door
Jumping with surprise as
A note flutters to the floor
Then footsteps gate-ward tread
As I guiltily scan the card
‘We tried to deliver a parcel today
You must collect it from our yard’
I’ve sailed a vast dark ocean
With other random souls
Aboard a metal vessel
Ticking one more of my goals
Sea swells fell and lifted slowly
Countless waves rolling past the boat
Blue depths below a mystery
Bright skies beneath we float
Time slowed and hid its passing
Flowing gently as a tide
Groundhog day repeated
Date line across our ride
Thump-thud the beat of life
In engine room and chest
Moving to the future
Ship sailing from the west
Dappled conversations
Confusing to the ear
Brightly tinkling chatter
Dull, no longer clear
Silent slippery sentences
Using lips to lend a clue
Shattered to staccato
Once they’re not in view
Sorry, I didn’t catch that
Say it once more, please
I’m deaf not daft, but sadly
Words are like Swiss cheese
Mark the crashing silence
That fills the pregnant pause
Once unkind words are spoken
Unjustified by cause
Might that said be unsaid
With laughter in its place
If time were more forgiving
Regretting not the case
A sage would counsel caution
Just sorry words to use
Least said, soonest mended;
A worthy phrase to muse
Despite the fuss on the national news
Last week’s earthquake brought hardly a bruise
Barely enough to make walls shake
But ‘quakes elsewhere, leave deaths in their wake
Classed as ‘light’; Richter 4.4
Even more slight than in ’84
When we swept up the kids and ran outside
If the earth moves, there’s nowhere to hide
Now, it seems, we’ve another ‘grave’ threat
The ‘beast from the east’, a new cause to fret
A Siberian blast, bringing snow and ice
At -5C, the Beeb says it won’t be nice
But some can recall the freeze of ’82
When staying outdoors wasn’t good for you
At -26C, that really was cold
It killed by degrees, especially the old.
With spirit soaring on virtual wings
And laughter in his throat
A man in love extols in kind
The girl who has him smote
No bitter tongue or poison pen
Can change the heart now set
The fairest lass in all the land
Was his the day they met
Gifts have no price that can’t be paid
Nor want that may be spoke
When love’s sure token given free
Casts off the lonesome yoke
No path of cinders glowing red
Or dragon to be slayed
Can slow the cause of being wed
To his true virtuous maid
She’s such a little darling
He is as good as gold
When asked to look at the TV
They do as they are told
Out shopping they’re so helpful
As they run around the store
Bringing things they think I’ll need
Like chocolates, toys and more
Dodging round the trolleys
They’re so nimble on their feet
Trying out the pick and mix
And other things to eat
Selfish people can be grumpy
When standing in their way
And nasty managers even moan
About their precious display
But they don’t see them with their pals
Outside, when I’m not there
They seem to get along just fine
And injuries are rare
At school they are so popular
The teachers know them well
They soon would learn their ABC
If they just sit still for a spell
I do my best to help them
Like shopping for their clothes
I get the best designer shoes
And piercings for their nose
I think that I’m so lucky
Compared to some I know
My kids are independent
And I love to watch them grow.
What is it with some Mums and buggies
That makes them behave like crazed thuggies?
They charge down the street, aimed at pensioners’ feet
On mobiles, chatting with their buddies
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