Black and White Dreaming

30/09/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



Sometimes I dream in black and white,

Stripped of all its colour and its hue,

Just shades of grey and nothing more,

A dull and dreary view.



I see a rose that should be red

But is instead a washed out grey;

I yearn for its vibrancy

But it’s not for me today.



I pass by a field of corn

But no yellow can I see

As if the world has been drained

Of all the colours that there be.



The rainbow is an imitation

Of its brilliant best;

Not even muted tones shine through,

No technicolour vest.



Though they are not permanent,

They still haunt me when I wake;

And I wish to be rid of them

With every breath I take.

Wasting Time

29/09/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation



I stare at the screen

And know I should be working

But my mind wanders –

Still, I should not be shirking.

The Newspaper of Imagination

28/09/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



Imagine a world

Where you could

Open the paper

And see only good news,

With stunning pictures

Of your favourite animal

Or a scenic view.



Imagine the feeling

Of utter exuberance

Turning the pages

And all the stories

About your sports team

Were fair written

By unbiased commentators.



Imagine a day

When any old rag

Reported the weather

And it was accurate

A week in advance,

So you could plan

Outings without worrying.



Imagine the society

That was so reflected

In its media

That politicians knew

They could not lie

And get away with

Scams and scandals.



Imagine a newspaper

With such integrity

That it was revered

By the public

And unceremoniously held

As the prevailing standard

By all other publications.



Imagine not having to

Imagine such a thing.

Insecure

27/09/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



She smiled but she tried to hide it.

It drew attention to her.

Attention she didn’t want.

Attention that made her feel uneasy.



She smiled, but fleetingly,

As if it might draw someone’s eye

And they might see her,

The her she didn’t want people to see.



She smiled though it pained her.

She feared the stares that followed.

They didn’t mean to do it.

They couldn’t help themselves.



She smiled through the awkwardness

Because people only saw the outside,

The scars that were surface deep,

The scars made others uncomfortable.



She smiled despite the insecurity.

It wasn’t those scars that bothered her.

It was the scars on the inside

That people would inevitably see.

The Tech Turnover

26/09/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



Technology comes and goes –

At once heralded as the greatest thing

Then an outdated relic of a forgotten past

All in the blink of an eye.



But sometimes I miss those relics,

Those tangible ties to our own history

And the history of the world around us

That grounds our knowledge.



The one object that holds my heart

Is the old fashioned rotary phone,

With its elaborately handled earpiece

And beautifully ornate cradle and dial.



I don’t even like calling people

But I’d happily admire it as it sat

Proudly atop a plinth delicately carved

As to have pride of place in the hall.

Waking Up in a Strange Room

25/09/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



I threw my feet over the edge of the bed

And felt the cold of the boards on my toes.

I stretched and stood,

Then sat back down again.



It was way too early for me to be awake

And my eyes were still adjusting to the dark.

I stood up once more,

This time finding my feet.



I was not ready for the day ahead of me

And my bleary eyes searched the room.

What was I looking for?

Oh, that’s right – light switch.



The light made me recoil and shade my eyes

Like some kind of spaced out vampire.

I wasn’t even hungry,

It was too early for food.



I opened the suitcase and stared at the contents,

Hoping for a flash of inspiration for what to wear.

Anything would do.

But not that. Or that.



I was sure I’d packed the only comfy bra I owned,

The one where the underwire didn’t dig in,

The straps didn’t slide,

And just hinted at cleavage.



I tossed the whole bag looking for it

Throwing aside the entire wardrobe

Previously ironed

And packed so neatly.



And hadn’t I packed that black top as well,

The one with the gold and bronze squiggly lines

That went with the black skirt

That I also couldn’t see.



Maybe I just needed to have a shower

And perhaps it would wake me up a bit.

So, I grabbed my toiletries

And the provided towel.



The warm water flowed deliciously over me,

And I closed my eyes as the bubbles ran away.

This was heaven;

Worth getting up for.



I wrapped the giant, fluffy towel around me.

It wasn’t like the scratchy ones at home.

Like a big hug

From an old friend.



As I walked out of the bathroom I saw it,

Hanging on the back of the door,

My skirt and top,

And my comfy bra. 

And all was good with the world.

Stuck

24/09/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



I am stuck.

I slipped over,

I fell down,

And now I’m stuck.



My toes are jammed.

They cannot move an inch –

Not wriggle or jiggle or squirm –

They are all jammed.



My foot is trapped.

It’s wedged in

Tight as it can go

And I’m definitely trapped.



My ankle is wedged.

It’s unable to be extracted

From this encasement;

It couldn’t be more wedged.



My calf is caught.

Held tight by the vice

That cannot let go,

And it’s certainly very caught.



My knee is pinned.

I cannot bend not straight it

To make loose this grip

That has it well and truly pinned.



My thigh is held.

I must wait

Until help arrives

And my thigh is not held,

My knee is not pinned,

My calf is not caught,

My ankle is not wedged,

My foot is not trapped,

My toes are not jammed

And I am not stuck anymore.

Liar, Liar: The lies we tell ourselves

23/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



I know I’m not even close to perfect

But I somehow have to be that

Or my life is a waste

And there’s no point.



I struggle so much with my lot in life

I don’t understand why I do

When everyone else seems to have it so easy

And my life seems so much harder.



If I ignore this feeling that haunts me

It will fade away into nothing;

All will be good with the world

And all will be good with me.



I’m too old to believe these fairy tales

That good things come to those who wait

When time waits for no man,

And no woman either, by that token.



But I’m too young to be this cynical –

Jaded by my meagre years upon this earth.

When I should be full of hope and optimism

And an overwhelming sense of self.



I guess I’m just not the happy type.

I don’t know whether I never learned to be

Or I’ve forgotten how to be

Or it’s just something I’m fundamentally not.



But I don’t judge other people.

They can exist in their happy world

And live their lives however they want

And it doesn’t matter to me at all.



If I follow my heart, my heart of hearts

Then everything will work out,

I just know it will because it has to,

Or what’s the point of it all?

Lunchtime

22/09/2020 -  Poem A Day Compilation



She sat on her own at first.

A whole bench,

A whole table

All to herself.



Then there was no one near.

Not at the next bench,

The next table,

No one close.



At first, she didn’t notice the quiet.

It was peaceful,

And unburdened

By the petty squabbles.



But after a while it was silent.

An uneasy stillness,

A pained disquiet

Clung in the air.



And so, it continued each day.

Branded an outcast

Shunned by her peers

And alone in the world.

Shelter

21/09/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation



Grief is an infinite maze

With blind alleys

And dead ends

And seemingly endless paths

That lead on and on

Without end or pause.



Grief is a moment

Replayed ‘til the end of time

Sometimes at full volume

Sometimes on a scratched record

And sometimes so low

It’s barely audible.



Grief is my shelter

Where I go to hide from the pain

Of not having you here

Of not seeing your face, and

Where I let my emotions leak from eyes

To be refilled as I dream.

By George

20/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



“By George,” she said

And I waited for the inevitable

I’ve got it, or done it,

Or whatever the stupid phrase is.



She was smart and I hated her for it.

And to make it even worse,

She was really humble about it,

Didn’t shove it in your face every moment.



I didn’t want her to fail but sometimes,

Against every rational fibre of my being,

I wished she wasn’t quite so successful

And I was a little more of that.



I know it’s a pathetic way to be.

Jealous of someone for being themselves.

If she’d been pompous or snobby

I could almost forgive myself.



Maybe it was because she wasn’t just smart,

She was the whole package:

Brains, beauty, wit, compassion.

How could I possibly compete?



The way she looked at me,

As if I were the only man in the room

Even if there were a hundred others

All her equal and above me.



Her half-asleep smile in the middle of the night

When I’d pull the blanket over her

As she dozed on the couch

Trying to finish just one more page.



Her joy when I got the promotion at work

Because she knew how hard I’d worked for it

And she was genuinely proud of me

Even if it was nothing compared to her.



All the insecurities were mine and mine alone,

Wrestling for control when she shone –

So brilliantly and gloriously bright –

And it took all I had not to let it show.



“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

And all that animosity melted away.

Because she was smarter than me.

And she loved me anyway.

You Cannot: A Haiku

19/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



You cannot fire me

I have too much dignity

And I quit this job.

Sleepless Nights

18/09/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation



I’m so tired of it all.

The tears are welling in my eyes.

I cannot fathom a smile

Nor force a laugh

As I sit

All alone –

Not lonely;

Not unloved;

Just unwanted.



I am left upon the shelf,

An old maid made more redundant,

Gathering dust on my soul,

A wall around my heart,

My mind no longer a-buzz

But the softly clunking whir

Of a dying clock

Giving up its last tock.



I have no energy left

To make sense of this life,

Such that it is,

With hope slipping

Tediously away from me

Into a well I cannot reach

And whose bottom I cannot see

To be drowned in a soup

Of my emotional frailty

When perhaps, maybe, possibly

It is me that is drowning,

Dragged under by interminable currents

That wrap around me

In cold comfort

Like the hands of long forgotten ghosts

There, but not there,

Until I cannot go on,

My strength deserting me

In my hour of need

And I hear that pale horse riding by

The shoes and hooves

Clipping merrily as it goes on its way

Calling the forgotten

And the abandoned

And the forlorn

Like superfluous prizes

From a game no one desired to play.



I am so tired of it all

Yet I cannot sleep –

My eyes refuse to close against the darkness

And my thoughts refuse to quiet

As I search for that which I have lost

Or never had

And find myself wanting,

In so many ways

And by so many means,

Though I cannot hold onto that train

For more than a moment

As it vanishes into the night

And I crash in its wake

Upon the broken tracks of a life

I cannot control

Or fix

Or even walk.



I do not understand,

And the tears fall

Relentless reminders

Cascading upon the rocks

Like dreams I used to have,

Shattered before me

Into a thousand shards

That cut me and pain me

And torture me

Though no one sees

The blood that seeps

From every self-inflicted wound

And poisons the ground

Upon which I walk,

Nor do they hear my screams

Hurled into the void

And piercing my ears

Deafening me to all else

Except the pitiful whimpers

That accompany them.



I’m so tired of it all

But if I sleep

I may never wake

And that,

Somehow,

Might be worse.

A Sign of the Times

17/09/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation



I have stopped listening to the media.

        It is far too much.



Week after week

And year after year

I see the good stripped away

And the awful celebrated

As if I’d stepped through a mirror

And no one had told me.



Double standards run rife

And exemptions applied

To protect those who make money

For those higher up the ladder

While those with no power

Are thrown to the wolves.



I can’t abide the commentary.

        It hurts my heart.



Minorities strive to be heard

Over the injustices they face,

Yet the harassment and abuse

Rains down upon them all

As we struggle to remember

That we are all human.



We fight for equalities

That should have already been given

But, still, we bear the burden

Of inequity and injustice

Because some see the balance

As an oppression of themselves.



I don’t read the comments.

        It’s not worth it.



The wilfully ignorant

Proudly spew their bile

While the more considered response

Is swamped by the mob

That shouts louder in its hatred

And won’t listen to reason.



Those who know are derided

By the uneducated and illogical,

And those who have bought into

The conspiracy of the deluded

Who believe their right to speak

Eclipses the knowledge of experts.



I won’t watch the news broadcasts.

        It’s a sign of the times.

Defying Gravity

16/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



I want to float on a cloud,

The world far below,

With my heart free and

No cares to weigh me down.



I was to drift through space,

Untethered and at one,

Where nothing matters

And nobody minds.



I want to escape this black hole

And burn brighter than a star

So that all who see me

Are released from what bind them.



I want to fly away

To some distant planet

To be alone with my thoughts

And never return.

Productivity

15/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



Your efficiency has been down.

I don’t know what to say.



It’s not like you to be like this.

Your output is normally top-notch.



The effectiveness of your strategies

Has been lacking recently.



Your performance is not what is was

And I feel like something is wrong.



We need your product to be deliverable

So we’re going to work on that.



There’s been a huge paradigm shift

Over the last two financial quarters.



It’s a real game changer in our sector

And we need to jump on board.



We’ve suffered a few pain points recently

And now we’re really looking to you.



The company has a vision statement

We want you to step up to.



The resonance of this new direction

Will see us disrupt our previous thinking.



Sometimes you have to fall forward

And completely change your tack.



I’m positive about the seamless integration

Of the fresh approach we’ve outlined.



We’re pushing the envelope, here,

As I’m certain you’re aware.



It’s important to be fully cognisant

Of every aspect of this deal.



It is a real hot button we have

And we have to move with speed.



I feel a real synergy with your team

That I’d love to see continue.



I’d hate for anyone to fall victim

To this decruiting strategy from above.



So, let’s take a granular perspective

On the road ahead of us here.



I couldn’t think of anyone else

More unlikely to boil the oceans.



You’re perfect to uptake this ideation,

I know you’ll give 110 percent.



Of course, I’d have run with this myself

But I just don’t have the bandwidth.

Coming Home to Secrets

14/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



I was suspicious for a long time.

Weeks, maybe even months.

I didn’t want to ask you.

I didn’t want to know the truth.



You’d been hanging up the phone

When I walked into the room,

Chatting at odd hours

With I don’t even know who.



Life carried on as normal.

I got up and went to work.

I couldn’t put my finger on it.

It was just something off.



You’d have to stay back at work

More often that was usual,

But you were always home with me

Before I went to bed.



I wondered what you were doing.

The thought that crossed my mind!

I didn’t dare confront you.

The not knowing sent me mad.



You’d go out with your mates

But not tell me where you were

And when I asked their partners

I’d get answers that were evasive.



I steeled myself for the inevitable.

I opened the door to darkness.

I guessed you weren’t home again.

The eerie silence surrounded me.



You’d not told me you weren’t coming home

And I never imagined you’d be so cruel

As to simply forget what the date was

So this stung a little more.



I threw my bag on the sideboard.

I wondered if you’d be home for dinner.

Stepping into the lounge room,

I flicked the light on and gasped.



“Surprise!” said the gathered crowd

And tears started to fall.

How could I have ever doubted you?

You’re my treasure ever more.

For What It’s Worth

13/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



When we met,

I fell in love with your eyes,

Soft blue like melted ice –

A window to your soul.



Then I fell in love with your smile,

The way one corner of your mouth

Would pull up before the other,

And my whole world lit up.



Soon enough, I fell for your mind.

The way it worked through problems

And opened up new solutions

While I sat and watched in awe.



I fell in love with your humour

And the way you could make me laugh;

The tales you could spin

That would keep me enthralled.



What I didn’t know back then,

In the very early days,

Was that you were falling in love

With little, old me.



I never thought you’d stay,

Not forever, anyway.

But, for what it’s worth,

I hoped that you would.

Secret Word

12/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



Is there a secret word

That unlocks the world for me?

There must be some magic

That I simply cannot see.



When I ask a question

It feels lost unto the void

Because nothing comes back to me

And my voice feels unemployed.



I don’t need to be famous,

I don’t even need to be rich,

But I’d like to be recognised

For the ideas that I pitch.

Human

11/09/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



Today is the eleventh day of the ninth month.

There are no words to adequately describe

The effect the events of this day,

So far away from my little home

And all those years ago now,

Have had on the world.



The lessons we take from this day,

They’re mostly harsh.

Trust no one. Suspect everyone.

    But maybe,

        Just maybe,

We can also take the biggest lesson of all –

If people work together

    Stand together

        Support each other

In times of need, anything is possible.



We can, and will, get through it all,

Even the darkest hours in our lives:

    On a personal level,

        On a social level,

            On a political level,

                On a global level.



All we need to do is stand up

And be counted as someone

Who stands up for the little guy,

    Who will not allow the bullies to win,

        And who will fight the violence

With the most powerful of words:



I am human.



Above the all the divisions we create

    Of race or religion,

        Of colour or creed,

            Of socio-economic standing

                Or of political allegiance,

You have a bond with every other person

Who shares this planet with you:



You are human.



We are all born free from hate and fear.

We are taught to separate ourselves

Into enclaves and classes

Instead of embracing all that makes us one.



None of us are better that anyone else,

    Not the person next to you,

        Not the CEO on their private jet,

            Not the beggar living on the streets,

                Not the family man, 

                    Not the single mother,

                        Not the career-driven,

                            Not the holiday-taker.



We are human.



Our actions reveal our own humanity.

Reveal yourself time and time again

To be the kind,

    To be the tolerant,

        To be the accepting,

            To be the welcoming,


To be the supportive,

    To be the warm,

        To be the loving,

            To be the generous,



To be the gracious,

    To be the humble,

        To be the proud,

            To be the selfless,



And to be the magnanimous.



But most of all,

Reveal yourself to be that

Which defines us all.



Reveal yourself to be human.

Paranoia

10/09/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation



You wound me with your words,

They bite and scratch and claw,

The offend my sensibilities

And you do not offer to withdraw.



Though many may just let them slide,

You insult me with your remarks

That flow freely from your face

Without regard for the ire it sparks



I do not trust a word you say

And your actions betray your thoughts.

I have cracked the code you use,

I see through your ones and noughts.



You tell me you hold my secrets

But your eyes tell me you lie;

I hear my fears repeated back to me

And I wish for you to die.



Don’t you dare tell me I’m wrong

When I am nothing of the sort

Your criticism will not provoke me

When your arguments are fraught.



You say I’m overreacting

When I don’t take to your ugly declarations

But should my tears not flow freely

When you’ve turned against me whole nations.



You try to tear me down at each turn,

Spreading rumours like grist to the mill,

You want to destroy everything I have –

My art, my passion, my will.



You don’t want me to be happy,

Rather see me suffer your lies,

Treating me like a leper

Until there’s nothing around me but flies.



I always need to defend myself

When you hurl accusations at me

Or imply that something is all my fault

When it couldn’t possibly be.



You don’t listen to my explanations –

I repeat them ‘til I’m blue in the face –

But You tell me I’m wrong every time

When you know that’s not the case.



I don’t want to argue with you

But you won’t see things from my perspective.

You make me want to shake you

Until you aren’t as defective.



I yell, and I scream, and I shout,

And I punch holes in the lounge room wall

Because whatever I do isn’t good enough

And we must defer to your call.







But I don’t want to bend to your will,

I want to make decisions without compromise,

To take action based on my own choices

And for there to be no reprise.



I am the master of my own domain,

The king of my own castle.

You will not bring me undone

Or placate me with a shiny parcel



I cannot forgive the wrong you have done

And I will never forget them;

They haunt my every waking thought

And my dreams they do condemn.



They stain my opinion of you,

And scar every memory I hold

You damage me beyond all recognition

And leave me feeling cold.



I know you talk about me

When I am not in the room,

The whispers hidden behind hands

Are louder than a sonic boom.



I see all the deceit that you spread

When you think that I’m not around,

Fooling yourself that I don’t know

That your lies are not bound.







I’ve never liked the way you act,

Sneaking around like you’ve something to hide

And never giving me all the answers –

Even when I’ve caught you out, you’ve lied.



Your friends are not who they say they are –

They’re two faced and devious –

And I know you’ve told them my secrets

Going beyond mere mischievous.



I can’t trust anyone anymore,

All because of you.

I have no one to confide in

And you won’t get your due.



Once they hear your treacherous lies

They don’t believe a word I say.

But I will take my revenge

And you will rue the day.



I can’t be with anyone

In any romantic fashion.

They all leave me in the end

And I am bereft of passion.



They say I’m not the person

With whom they fell in love.

All I want is to find someone

Who fits me like a glove.



But that person isn’t real, you know,

Because you’ve turned them all away,

You take, you pinch, you steal from me,

But they’re just silly games you play.



It becomes harder to face the world outside

When danger lurks at every turn,

When people are against me

And want to see me burn.



I see their true intentions

But they hide their malevolence towards me.

They wear a mask of innocence

So the rest of the world won’t see.



My bosses will not promote me,

They keep me stuck in this dead-end job

It’s all designed to wear me down

So they can feed me to the ravenous mob.



They are afraid of my intellect,

That I will outshine them, every one.

Their small minds can’t see my vision

And they won’t stop ‘til I am done.



They listen in to my conversations,

They probably trace my calls.

Stealing my ideas and thoughts

My protest on deaf ears falls.



Each day they try to bring me down –

They conspire to see me fail.

Everyone is against me,

Their plot is beyond the pale.

They will not get the best of me.

They will not drag me down.

I see through their diversions.

I will wear the crown.

Always on my Mind

09/09/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation



It’s always on my mind:

The unrelenting fear

Of not being enough

In this world so predicated

On the successful of everyone

And failure not being an option,

When I just want to exist,

To be at peace with myself

And the world around me,

Without the constant pressure

To be more than I am

On any given day.



It’s always on my mind:

The deep-seated resentment

I carry around with me,

Like a weight on my shoulders

That I cannot put down,

Burning its way through my soul

With every expectation

Placed mercilessly at my door

By those who choose not to understand

And are then offended by

The anger and bitterness

That spills from my lips.



It’s always on my mind:

The haunting poeticism

Of an everyday life

That is filled with days

And weeks, months, years

Of extraordinary ordinariness

That leaves no mark

And betrays no deeper purpose

Than that which society feels

Should be my place within its confines

And allows no room for self-expression

Or mould-breaking experiences.



It’s always on my mind:

The plaintive melody sung softly

By a heart that yearns to be free

Of the shackles of normalcy

And escape the overarching shadows

That dim the light inside me

To a point where I cannot see

Where I end

And the rest of humanity begins

As we form an amorphous mass

Of pseudo-intellectualism

And rabid hatred of other.

Ladders in the Sky

08/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



I looked up and you weren’t there

No clouds or birds or even blue

No sound of your voice wafting by

Just those ladders in the sky



I tried to climb them but I could not reach

I planted a tree so it would grow and

I could use its branches to lift me higher

But it sprouted low and like a brier.



I moulded stairs from the finest clay

But before I could scale its height

The rain came and washed it down

Leaving a puddle of mud so brown



I piled stones as high as I was able

But they crumbled before me into dust

Under the weight of expectations

I’m unable to reach the constellations



I searched the sky for your face

But I didn’t know how to get to you

And wished I could fly so high

To grasp those ladders in the sky

All or Nothing

07/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



When we met

I gave you my smile –

It shone like diamonds

Lighting the room around me.



When we fell in love

I gave myself to you

And all that it entails

Without fear or hesitation.



When we married

I gave you my heart

To safeguard forever

As if it were your own.



When our child was born

I gave you my body

With my tiger stripes

And tired eyes.



When you left

You gave me nothing

You took the best of me

But now I start again without you.



When I found myself

I gave myself permission

To live again, to love again,

And be all that I can be.

Dear Reader

06/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



Dear Reader,



If I might have your attention

For a mere moment in time,

I have something important

That I must impart to you.



A writer’s job is not an easy one,

It is filled with dread and uncertainty

But is also the most fulfilling,

Bringing joy and a sense of success.



For myself, I do not write for money,

I do not write for fame and fortune.

I write because feeds my soul

And sets my spirit free.



I can communicate with my inner self

And discuss the world around me;

I pour out emotions onto the page

And am filled to the brim again.



There is no right way to write,

No perfect set of instructions.

There’s no time of day that one must use

Nor a style to which you must stick.



Be a novelist or write comic books;

Be a screenwriter or be a poet;

Be whatever writer you want to be

Or be all of them if you so choose.



Whatever you do, dear reader,

Just enjoy what is before you,

For it is a work of art, and heart,

Of which there will never be another like it.

Lucky Guess

05/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



Our first date was to a fancy restaurant.

I arrived before you and took the liberty

Of ordering a drink for you

        “Espresso Martini? How did you know?”

“Lucky guess,” I replied with a grin.



For our second date, I suggested a movie.

They were showing classics at the local cinema

And this week it was Labyrinth.

        “My favourite. How did you know?”

“Lucky guess,” I replied with a smile.



On our third date, I bought you flowers

From a stand in the park,

Red carnations tied with a bow.

        “My birth flower. How did you know?”

“Lucky guess,” I replied with a laugh.



During the fourth date, I dared propose

With a ring of gold studded with garnets,

And I wondered, out loud for all to hear,

“How did I end up with a woman like you?”

        “Just lucky, I guess,” you replied with a wink.

Basket Case

04/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



        I’M not crazy.



Your head tilted on a curious angle,

A look of befuddlement washing over you,

No one said you were but

Strange that’s where your mind went.



        I’m NOT crazy.



There was anger in your eyes and, also,

An abject terror at the thought

That anyone might think you weren’t

In full control of your mental faculties.



        I’m not CRAZY.



You physically recoiled at the word

As it came spitting out of your mouth

As if trying to escape a body

It definitely didn’t belong inside.



        I’M NOT CRAZY.



You stood with such force that

The chair you’d been sitting in,

Seemingly in comfort,

Skidded back across the floor and toppled.



        I’m not crazy.



The silence was filled with resignation

And sadness at a battle not fought,

Let alone been close to winning,

As shoulders slumped forward and tears fell.

Up and Down the Stairs I Go

03/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



Up and down the stairs I go

With my bag of books in tow

From the bookshop to my door

Anticipating what’s in store

With Titus O’Reily’s sardonic style

And Darren Naish’s prehistoric crocodile.



I love the feel of a book in my hands

That can transport me to foreign lands

Or set my soul all a quiver

With words that trigger a nervous shiver –

Behold Jennifer Gunter’s intimate read

Or let Roald Dahl your imagination feed.



With all the pages I do turn

Soaking in what there is to learn,

From classics older than my gran

To the science of where life began,

I love the unknown of Stephen King

And the poetic musing of Rudyard Kipling.



Each cover that I do espy

Makes me want to prod and pry

Through words a plenty on each page

With knowledge forthright and sage

We travel through the stars with Alice Gorman

Or the history that Greg Jenner has form in.



I’ll sit for hours, absorbed in the detail;

To hold my attention, they cannot fail.

Come one and all, and read with me

(Like Alice under that magical tree)

The jaunty phrase of William Shakespeare

Or George Orwell’s words that strike such fear.



Whether words of facts or those of fiction

I do not have sufficient diction

To express the love I have for books

Despite the odd and confused looks

I often get when reading Geoffrey Chaucer

Or CG Jung’s words about a flying saucer.



Words can lift, amaze and brighten.

They can sadden, dismay and frighten.

There’s no limit to how we should feel

When those pages we begin to peel.

Perhaps, admire the talent of Henry Fraser

Or see HG Wells as a trail blazer.



There too many names to mention

Without causing a little tension

For leaving out an author justified

And I do not wish to comes across as snide

I must draw a line with Thomas Pynchon

And leave May Gibbs the name to finish on.

How to Drive Me Wild

02/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



Some people get a kick

Out of kinks and other things

That happen in the bedroom

Or outside on the swings.



But if you really want to know

How to drive a woman wild

You need to do just a couple of things

And your request will be duly filed.



Learn to cook a delicious breakfast

Or be able to clean a house;

Make laundry your priority

And don’t be such a louse.



Tell me that you love me

At any time of day

And listen without interruption

To every word I say.



See, it’s not so very hard, you know,

To get the woman you desire:

Just be perfect in every single way

And your love life won’t be so dire.



But if you can’t achieve perfection

A good and loving heart will do,

Be the man you always dreamed you’d be

And ecstasy will surely ensue.

Maybe They Had a Reason

01/09/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



Maybe they had a reason

Maybe they had a rhyme

Maybe they just didn’t think

And now they’re doing time



Their bad boy look was fake

Their gangster vibe a fraud

Their criminal credentials long expired –

It was more than they could afford



They’ve got no one else to blame

They’ve got to take it on the chin

They’ve got 25 to life to ponder

Why they threw their future in the bin



There’s a monotony in their future

There’s a shadow over their past

There’s an emptiness in their here and now –

Who knows how long it will last?



They could’ve been so much more

They could’ve used the brains in their head

They could’ve made something of themselves

But they may as well be dead



The gates that keep them locked inside

The walls that imprison them here

The guards that keep the peace each shift –

All feed a hate and terrible fear.



They wanted to be the big man

They wanted to be top dog

They wanted to be something they weren’t

Now they’re a name on a log



Someone tells them when to eat each day

Someone tells them what to do

Someone tells them who they’re bunking with

But they don’t dare say boo



They’re the small fish in a big pond

They’re just trying to stay alive

They’re in over their heads

And trouble could add five



Their lawyer did the best he could

Their record was less than sublime

Their life of freedom was at an end

The punishment fitted their crime



No one could dispute the facts

No one would disagree with the truth

No one fought the justice system

Because they screwed up their youth



Once they’re on the inside

Once reality settles in

Once the cold light of day shines down

They see the consequences of their sin



Maybe they had a reason

Maybe they had a rhyme

Maybe that doesn’t matter now

Because now they’re doing time