Men-Talk

27/01/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



The men folk meet at the local pub

Tired from a long day at the office

And looking forward to a few drinks

With their mates and colleagues

To celebrate making it through

Another week in the rat race.



They talk about sports they follow

Whose team is set to win or lose

And whether they’ll get to the game

Or watch it on their new flat screen TV

While they eat too many chips

And drink too many beers.



Someone asks how the kids are

And they brag about their achievements,

Or how much they’ve grown

Then, in the very next breath,

Complain about how messy they are

And that they won’t do as they’re told.



What no one talked about that night

Was Daniel’s two-week-old test results

That told him he had cancer

And would have been caught earlier

If only Matthew had mentioned

His father had the same symptoms years ago.



Christopher didn’t bring up the promotion

He thought he was going to get

But found out he missed out on

And now he doesn’t know how

To tell his wife they can’t afford the wedding

She’d had her heart set on.



No one asked Andrew and James

How the meeting with the adoption agency went

Because they haven’t brought it up

And everyone is worried that it’s bad news

So they don’t want to spoil the night

By bringing everyone down.



There’s an awkward silence in the group

When the news comes on because

That paedophile Ben used to work with

Is the only thing any of the stations

Seem to be talking about

And it makes him really upset to see it.



Luke told everyone he broke up with his girlfriend

When really she broke up with him

And he is heartbroken beyond belief

But guys don’t talk about that

They don’t show emotions

And they don’t share feelings.



Next week they’re going to Tim’s funeral

Because he bottled up what was happening,

And that black dog took over

Eating at him from the inside out

Until all that was left was a pile of clothes

And a note tucked into one of his shoes.



Mark can’t take it anymore,

He wishes he could have seen the signs

Or asked the right questions

Because his best mate is gone

And he’s lost and alone

In this sea of people smiling through their pain.



Paul sees the first tear fall

And then another and another.

He puts his arm around his mate’s shoulder

And doesn’t ask him if he’s ok,

He doesn’t need to hear that I’m fine lie again

Because he’s heard it too many times before.



He knows that just today

Eight people took their own lives,

Over one hundred more attempted,

And seventy five percent of those deaths

Were men just like the ones he’s sitting with

Who are less afraid of dying than speaking.



There’s not much he can do or say

To take away the pain anyone feels

But he is intimately aware of the need

For his friends to be open and honest

With themselves and with each other

So they can see the light at the end of the tunnel.



He reaches into his pocket for his wallet,

Removing a card that’s seen better days –

Its corners torn from months of indecision

But the number still bright at the centre –

“Just in case,” he says as he hands it over,

Wishing it didn’t have to be like this.



It didn’t have to be like this

And all it took was a small gesture –

No one could have foreseen in the next months

The changes that would come about

Because of a mate who understood

And a conversation three words long.



At Tim’s funeral, Mark made a promise

To every man that he knew

That he would not just ask if they were ok

But really listen to the answer

And to be there not just for Friday night drinks

But for those despairing 3am calls.



Luke confided in Mark how he was feeling

And they both realised they weren’t alone –

They worked through things together

And it came upon them like a revelation

That being mates was more than “how are you?”

And more than saying you’re not ok.



The boys rallied around Ben,

Because that’s what mates should do –

No matter what, friends are there to remind you

That it’s ok to be upset when you’re betrayed

By someone you should have been able to trust

And there is no time limit for feeling how you feel.



Andrew and James decided to tell the group

They had been approved for adoption

Yet hadn’t told anyone because

Of the fear of failure

That they wouldn’t get their child

That they wouldn’t be good parents.



Sometimes a vote of confidence

Or a practical helping hand

Can uplift a spirit when it’s down

Which Christopher soon found to be true

When he explained his distress

To be met with assistance all round.



And instead of going paintballing

The mates got check-ups instead

And made a roster for Daniel’s care

When the chemo took its toll

Of who was bringing meals to him

And driving him to his appointments.



But it took the loss of one of their own

To make these men take heed

Of the need to be more trusting

And to have those hard conversations

So, don’t learn the lesson the hard way,

Take notice of these words



Your mates will not think less of you

For being broken by circumstance –

They’ve probably felt the same as you

Or can empathise with you pain –

They are there to help you to rebuild

And forge a new and shining path.

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 Road

02/11/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation



We walk this road together,

You and I,

But we see it very differently.

It’s all rainbows and butterflies

When you walk along it

While I see nothing of the sort.

All I see ahead of me

Are potholes and speed bumps

That I have to navigate around.

You see the flowers that grow

By the side of the road

When I see only weeds.

I want to see the world

Through your rose-tinted eyes

But it is faded and frayed.

I walk the road with you

Because I know I’ll see someday

The rainbows

The butterflies

The flowers

Not through your eyes

But through my own.

Backseat Driver

14/08/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



Do you know where you’re going?

    Yes, I’ve driven there lots.

But do you know the quickest way?

    I’m going the easiest way.



Don’t forget there’s that speed camera.

    Which one?

The one after that bend. You know.

    OK.



Slow down, you trying to kill us?

    It’s a 70 zone, I’m doing 68.

Red light. Red light! RED LIGHT!

    Mate, it’s a hundred metres away.



Can you put Britney on?

    My car, my tunes.

I can Bluetooth it.

    You’re not pairing to my car.



You’re going the wrong way.

    No, I’m not.

You should have turned there.

    I know where I’m going.



I need to go to the toilet.

    Why didn’t you go before we left?

I didn’t need to go then.

    How old are you? Like three?



It’s easier if you take the motorway.

    I know, that’s why I’m going that way.

You need to speed up.

    You know there’s a limit, right?



Watch that truck.

    What truck?

The one over there.

    You mean in the breakdown bay?



I thought it was going to pull out.

    It didn’t even have the engine on.

Still, you never know.

    Mate, it’s fine.



Are we nearly there?

    I thought you knew the way?

But I’m hungry.

    You’ll just have to wait.



Can we change the radio station?

    No, I like this music.

But Metallica sucks.

    Get out!

People You Have Known

19/07/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



I’ve met a lot of people

But how many have I really known?

I don’t know that I ever have

Actually known anyone fully.



I’ve known their likes and dislikes,

Their loves and their hates,

Even their pet peeves

And things that make the squeal for joy.



Yet, people keep surprising me

With the things they do,

The words that come out of their mouth,

The ideas that rattle around their brains.



Often times it’s a pleasant surprise,

A love of a particular artist,

Or a passion for a game you play,

Maybe a mutual friend you both adore.



Sometimes it’s not so nice,

A difference of opinion,

A deeply held belief you didn’t know of

To which you are completely opposed.



But whatever you are discovering about them

They are also discovering something about you

And that is the beauty of friendships,

That they continue to grow and develop.

Stranger Conversations

19/06/2020 – Iso Well-Being Compilation

 

If you want conversations with strangers

You need go no further than twitter.

You’ll find the strangest of people

Lurking about in its depths.

 

You’ll come across every opinion,

From the fanciful to the insane,

All jumbled up higgledy-piggledy

And jumping from thought to thought.

 

But in amongst the absolute crazies

Are the joyous friendships you find,

Snuggled in between the throw downs

Are the laughs and the emotional bonds.

 

I’ve cooed over new born babies,

Birthed by parents I’ve never met

Sharing the joys of new parenthood

Ans wishing them the best of luck.

 

I’ve cracked jokes with folks I don’t know,

Many of the mad as a hatter,

But never a cross word have we imparted

Though sometimes we disagree.

 

I’ve commiserated with fellow fans of my team

Who live on the other side of the world,

And though time zones and miles separate us,

We are a family born of blood.

 

I’ve flirted with anyone willing

And made a cheek blush on the way,

Even though we know it won’t go further

Than the end of fingers on keyboards.

 

And I have grieved with bereft people,

Shed many more than the odd tear,

Because, in the end, we aren’t really strangers

But fellow humans in need of love.

 

Though you’ll never meet a stranger community

Than that which lives in your phone,

You’ll surprise yourself over and over

With how real the loss is when they leave.

Wrong

11/06/2020 – Iso Well-Being Compilation

 

I thought maybe I was in the wrong,

But I wasn’t.

Well, not for the reason I imagined.

 

You treated me like shit

All along

And I thought that was my fault.

 

I didn’t want to see the bad in you,

Blinded myself,

But you showed your true colours tonight.

 

Your fragile little ego couldn’t handle it

When I said,

“Fuck off with your false equivalence.”

 

Afterall, you’d just brought up the Nazi’s –

Godwin’s law –

In a conversation about slavery in a movie.

 

I suppose I did open the door for it, though,

When I said,

“History is mostly written by the victors”

 

And you came back with the inevitable line,

So predictable,

“Oh, so the Nazi’s weren’t so bad.”

 

Your underlying racism had been bothering me.

I knew.

The friendship was always going to run aground.

 

I should have listened to my gut from the start

But I didn’t,

I told myself that I imagined all that stuff.

 

The ten plus years that you pursued me,

Despite protestations,

Should have told me not to trust you.

 

I wanted to be with you so much but

Not like that,

Not while you were still married.

 

When you divorced you spun your story,

Narcissistic lies,

And I bought it hook, line and sinker.

 

But you couldn’t give me what I wanted

And never would,

And the romance that never was faded.

 

I should have ended it then and there,

But I didn’t,

Because I thought you needed my friendship.

 

You made me believe your sob story

(Shame one me)

Because it was my own sob story, too.

 

I wanted to save you and change you,

And myself,

But you don’t have anything worth saving.

 

I also didn’t want to be alone in life,

Forever,

And I’d have settled for less than mediocre.

 

But then I met someone who filled the void,

Who wasn’t you,

And the light started to dawn on me.

 

You weren’t nearly good enough for me

And I saw

In him everything that you were not.

 

I saw a caring, compassionate person,

Considerate,

And comfortable in their own skin.

 

Sure, they weren’t perfect by any means –

No one is –

But they didn’t need to be when by my side.

 

I wonder how long it will be until you fold,

Come crawling back

Full of false apologies and fake remorse.

 

I’m not sorry for anything I said to you,

Not one bit,

And I have finally woken up to myself.

 

All those times you pressed my buttons

Just to see

What kind of reaction you’d get out of me.

 

Did no one ever tell you not to poke a bear?

Not once?

Well, you poked this bear one too many times.

 

One day I will learn to forgive myself –

Not today –

But I will never forget the lesson you taught me.