Friendship

21/11/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation



I have never been good at friendships

Or relationships with any substance

I seem to always expect too much

Because I give my everything



I’ve had to learn not to give so much

Of myself to other people

Because it’s never returned in equal measure

And I feel myself being drained



I look at people who have friends

Who can drop everything to help each other

And I wonder what that’s really like

To have lives so intertwined



I have grown increasingly accustomed

To doing things on my own

That I have forgotten how to ask, I think

But I also never feel disappointed



I used to keep things bottled up

Because I thought people would think

I am not as strong as I should be

And I never wanted to be seen as weak



Now I do the very same thing

but for very different reasons

I don’t trust people to care enough

To go out of their way for me



I want a friendship of shared experiences

Not of managing expectations

The bar for which drops ever lower

With every day that passes

Tea and Biscuits

07/11/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation



Won’t you come round for tea and biscuits?

We’ll sit on the balcony

And while away the hours

Of this glorious autumn day,

Watching the world go by

As we discuss world affairs

In every increasing detail

Until we have solved all the problems

If only we had the available resources.



Won’t you come round for tea and biscuits?

I’ll put the kettle on as we sit

Snuggled by the wood burner in the kitchen

As winter draws in around us

Swapping gossip from the shopping queue

Or school pick-ups at the gates

While the cats weave delicately

Between our feet under the table

Looking for attention and treats.



Won’t you come round for tea and biscuits?

The smell for the garden in just divine

As all the flowers burst into life

Heralding spring has arrived

And, if we’re extraordinarily lucky,

We’ll hear the baby birds chirping in the nest

At the bottom of the garden

While their mum picks worms and bugs

From the veggie patch I haven’t managed to kill.



Won’t you come round for tea and biscuits?

We might make it an iced tea this time

As the summer sun is beating down

And these temperatures are just too much

For hot drinks in the afternoon

But we can sit in the shade on my new umbrella

That the kids bought me for my birthday

So I could enjoy the space with you

Whatever time of year it happened to be.

The Engagement

27/10/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation



You proposed on the Friday night.

It was perfect, as I knew it would be.

The restaurant filled with family and friends,

Everyone excited in anticipation.



We’d known each other a while,

Were as close as any two could be –

Finished each other’s sentences

And stole each other’s food.



You’d booked the place out that night,

The staff were all aware what was at stake.

The service was impeccable,

The meal a masterpiece.



I thought back to when we’d met,

How we’d clicked right from the start,

The best of friends instantly

With so many interests shared.



You had to pick your moment,

Not too early, in case of rejection,

Not too late, in case of drunken uncles,

But just the right time, and you nailed it.



You always had perfect timing,

Always where you were meant to be

To share the good times when they happened

And support anyone through the bad.



Everyone finished their mains

And complimented the chef wholeheartedly,

Chatting animatedly amongst themselves

Smiling, laughing and enjoying the night.



I’d almost not been there, if I’m honest,

I’d had such a lot of work to do at home

But you’d convinced me you needed me

And it wouldn’t be the same without me there.



You tapped your glass delicately with your spoon,

And a hush fell over the room.

Faces turned towards you

And the manager adjusted the lighting.



You knew how to hold attention

And could attract it seemingly at will,

A mix of confidence and charm

That never wandered into arrogance.



Out of your pocket you drew a small box

And knelt down on one knee,

As a gasp arose from those gathered

And hands covered mouths in shock.



“It’s been five glorious years since we met

On that over-crowded bus,

In the middle of nowhere,

Heading to the back of beyond.



I knew the moment I set eyes on you

That I needed you in my life –

I am so glad that you thought the same

And that we have spent so much time together.



I couldn’t imagine anyone I’d want by my side,

Through any adventure life throws at us,

And it would do me the utmost honour

If you would agree to be my wife.”



Tears rolled down my cheeks

As cheers erupted all around

But I could not manage a smile just then,

When you were asking some other girl.

March Poetry Challenge (2nd March, 2013)

The Best of Friends

When I was wee –

Much smaller than now –
With a mind innocent
And full of wonder
The best friends I had
Were buried deep in my mind
With names so fabulous
That no-one could believe
A child such as I
Could have ever thought
To give them names such as that.

As I grew up –

In mind and in body –
Mi mejor amigo was flesh and blood,
But they all eventually disappeared
Into the ether, never to return,
Just as if I had simply
Unimagined those beautiful people
As I had done all those years before,
Memories all that remains
Of the friendships we swore
Would never come to an end.

Now, as I sit here –
A little older than I was
But somehow so much wiser –
I have found some sort of answer
To a question I never really asked
Yet has hung over me all my life:
Mon meilleur ami has always been
Closer than I ever thought
Buried deep in an overgrown mind
Yet always just under the surface,

Keeping me company until the day I die.