Rhymes or Reason

"I 'Look' from my window, and what can I say?
The weather like people, - shades of various Grey,
But nevertheless, life is what it'll be,
And Hippiness everywhere. - if one takes time to… -'See'"

 

I do love this thread
The words get in my head
They swirl around when I go to bed. xxxx

 

Early one again today. I had nothing to do, so I watched the snow falling and penned today's ditty. I don't think it's one of my best, but I think it's appropriate given the weather conditions.

----------------------------------------------------------------

White flakes flurry outside the door
they're getting thicker, more and more
they fill the sky and hide the floor
they wash upon the distant shore

the cold they bring can't be denied
small animals all rush to hide
they burrow nests and there abide
don't venture out but stay inside

for this is winter's kingdom now
or thus it would seem anyhow
no warmth or pity it doeth allow
all we can do is nod and bow

to our new monarch seated there
above our lives on sacred chair
a throne for season's kings to share
floating in the purest air

it shimmers in the coldest light
it's there in darkness through the night
and though we tremble at its might
against its will we try to fight

with fire and water, earth and air
burning wood we watch the flare
of sparks as they rise bright and fair
into the skies for all to share

to spread both heat and love around
although to this cold earth we're bound
we try our monarch to confound
earth's atmosphere's a battleground

we use our wits to overcome
the season's wrath that's come upon
us using snow that leaches from
us our life's joy till we succumb

to give in to the winter's will
surrender to the cold and chill
accept our fate this bitter pill
and wait with lives on hold until

the king of spring has ousted winter
tipping the weather out of kilter
watching as the ice doeth splinter
snow melts till the sunlight glitters

on the thawed and running water
ever onward over under
ground and rocks we see it blunder
till it's gone and we can gather

in the sun that warms the ground
we rise and spread our seed around
nature's charms can then abound
to give us sustenance profound

so after winter's work's completed
by the spring we've been depleted
then by spring the winter's defeated
and we can live our lives undaunted

----------------------------------------------------------------

It's predicted to stay this cold all week so I'll have to find something else to moan about tomorrow. See you then...!

 

Here's today's offering. It has a name. It's called "The Heron" and is largely imaginary, although I do remember looking out of my bedroom window one morning to see a heron stood in the back garden of my neighbour who has a fish pond. As I watched, he saw me open the curtains, and quickly spread his enormous wings to fly over my garden and off up the hill. It was quite an amazing sight seeing such a large bird take off and lazily flap his way into the distance.

Anyway, here's today's poem.

The Heron

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The heron and I stand perfectly still
he in the water and me on the hill
like a reed he's planted his feet in the water
but even in breezes he never falters
watching his meal as it continues unknowing
never a movement do I see him showing

what is he thinking this predator fair
tall thin grey presence looming above
the surface of lakes and of slow flowing rivers
even though I am cold and cosily wrapped
he never moves, he never shivers
he knows that his food is forever trapped
under the surface of bodies of water
it's a resource he's learned to efficiently tap
a lifetime of waiting to catch what he's after

his eyes see me there as I watch from the bank
silken grey plumage I can only admire
then I open my mouth and in seconds he's gone
along to the next one, the next garden pond
to stand and to wait like a tall granite statue
that adorns water features as though cast from a mould
and enhances the scene as we glance from our windows
a grey silhouette to add height and give shadow
if you'd only just seen him you'd think he's not real
but if you leave him alone your fish he will steal

so how to engage with the heron I wonder
I'd like to converse with this majestic bird
he's lord of his kingdom, of all he surveys
an opportunist who knows all the watery ways
but I stand and admire him and study his form
he's something unusual, away from the norm
of what I expect to see from my window
as I gaze out each morning when first I arise

---------------------------------------------------------------------

See you tomorrow! Oh, by the way, it's snowing outside, did I mention that? No? Well it is, so I'll stay here in the warm, in my dressing gown with my cup of hot coffee, and dream of summer.

 

Today I thought about fish again, just like I did yesterday when I wrote the poem about the heron. Only this time I was thinking of sea fish like Cod and Haddock, and wrote a poem about them as we know of them.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The light shines out to split the darkness
the white light sways from side to side
it lets all others know of someone
making way across the waves
the trusting souls aboard the vessel
hope that others see the glow
and move aside to let them through
bringing their precious cargo home

the masthead light shines out for all
to see the trawler as she sails
to port from where she's caught her haul
through heavy seas and squalls and gales
with fish to feed the hungry mouths
that wait upon the far flung quays
they count the hours till she's arriving
as she ploughs through unforgiving
cold and ever changing seas

at last the harbour light is seen
from bridge and fo'c'sle as she rises
breaching horses white with spray
to forge her slow but steady way
until the harbour wall is passed
and underfoot the deck grows still
gulls above them wheel and dive
hoping for some scraps to steal

the crew are busy now with hatches
preparing to offload the catch
to sell and tag and then to load them
soon they'll all be on their way
to far off towns and other places
speeding down the motorway
there to fill our waiting tums
with chips and sausage
here they come

all battered up and fried with love
steam rises to the flues above
and into paper bags they're scooped
with salt and vinegar, then wrapped
dripping oil from their deep frying
happy smiles, there's no denying
the tradition that we all hold dear

in olden times the preacher told us
no meat on Fridays could we relish
can you imagine such a thing
but from that came our favourite dish
of chipped potatos fried with fish

it's filling and it's nourishing
and through it all the price is right
now there's competition from such as chicken
to fill our bellies overnight
but still it's common for us to wish
to fry then eat our chips with fish

-----------------------------------------------------------

I wonder what my mind will catch tomorrow? I'll have to spread my nets far and wide to catch something interesting to write about.

 

One for the history buffs today. I don't know why, but Covid put me in mind of what happened all across Asia in the 14th century, when Gengis Khan swept across the steppes to conquer all of Asia and Eastern Europe, massacring untold numbers along the way.

The Mongol Hordes

---------------------------------------------------------

The thunder of hooves from over the hill
sounded the immediate warning
"The Mongols are coming!" some shouted in fear
it seemed that a new age was dawning
so we sat and we waited and pondered our fate
as we knew they were nearly upon us
for though we have walls and a big iron gate
we can't fight these invaders so callous

the little men riding their war equipped ponies
eventually hove into view
we looked at them then as they swept down the hill
and hoped that they'd pass right on through
for these little men dressed in their furs and their boots
could sweep all before them we'd heard
they could kill you and eat you right out from inside
but I thought that such claims were absurd
so our leaders went out there on foot for to talk
and engage with these strange little men
but they killed them with arrows then rode them all down
and came at us causing such mayhem

the battle was lost before it began
we never stood even the remotest of chances
of winning against such devils as these
who were armed with both bows and with lances
so those of us left at the end of the day
were all rounded up into the square
though we could not make out a word they did say
they started to execute most of us there
but while they were at it they asked of the captives
what living they made in the town
and those who were actors were spared from the sword
the cruel Khan likes his fun in the round
so the actors all acted out plays that they knew
hoping to live one more day
and those of us working to keep the show going
have been spared in a similar way

but these monsters of men have now killed us all
by sealing our underground streams
that watered our crops for the past thousand years
making farming a successful routine
these devils don't understand farming at all
they're herders by nature at home
so they devastate all that they don't understand
and then pass on forever to roam

those of us left here to rot in our fields
will all starve as we watch our crops die
there's no point in trying to rebuild our farms
so instead we all pray to the sky
for God has deserted us, why we don't know
perhaps we displeased him some way
so he's punished us now as he's brought us all low
and our future is what we must pay
by next year there'll be no-one alive here at all
the land can't support us you see
so we'll all waste away and our villages fall
and our people will no longer be
the farmers and keepers and the fruit of this land
a blessing that keeps us all shackled
and in years to come writers will not understand
our plight at the hands of these devils

---------------------------------------------------------

So that's today's offering. Let's hope I find something a little more lighthearted to write about tomorrow. By the way, don't forget tomorrow is palindrome day, when the date will be 12022021.

 

And here we are folks! It's Palindrome Day!! 12022021

As far as I know the next one will be 22022022, in just over a year's time. So these don't come around very often. The one after that will be the 03022030, which will be eight years after the previous one. Essentially, for this century only people born in February will have palindrome birthdays, and only those born between the tenth and nineteenth of the month for years ending with a one. After that the date becomes 20/02/ and the year would have had to be 2002 for it to be a palindrome. So some of those dates in the 20's have already gone. Here's a not very exhaustive list of the one's I've worked out so far. I've marked the ones that have already passed in red and the ones yet to come in green and today's date in blue.

01022010 Feb 1st, 2010
02022020 Feb 2nd, 2020
03022030 Feb 3rd, 2030
04022040 Feb 4th, 2040
05022050 Feb 5th, 2050
06022060 Feb 6th, 2060
07022070 Feb 7th, 2070
08022080 Feb 8th, 2080
09022090 Feb 9th, 2090
10022001 Feb 10th, 2001
11022011 Feb 11th, 2011
12022021 Feb 12th, 2021
13022031 Feb 13th, 2031
14022041 Feb 14th, 2041
15022051 Feb 15th, 2051
16022061 Feb 16th, 2061
17022071 Feb 17th, 2071
18022081 Feb 18th, 2081
19022091 Feb 19th, 2091
20022002 Feb 20th, 2002
21022012 Feb 21st, 2012
22022022 Feb 22nd, 2022
23022032 Feb 23rd, 2032
24022042 Feb 24th, 2042
25022052 Feb 25th, 2052
26022062 Feb 26th, 2062
27022072 Feb 27th, 2072
28022082 Feb 28th, 2082
29022092 Feb 29th, 2092 (if there is a leap year in 2092 that is!)

After this century, in the next century (2100) only those born in December will have palindromic birthdays. For example, 01/12/2110 and so on. After that the next palindromic dates will be in March in the year 3001 i.e (10033001). So none for nearly 900 years after this century.

As for people like me, born in the last century, there weren't any previously because there were only three numbers in the first till the tenth century (001 - 999). So someone like me born in 1950 wouuld have to wait for a while, e.g. 10099001, 11099011, 12099021, etc. But that won't be till the ninetieth century! So rather a long wait.

Is it anyone's birthday today? If so then don't forget to remind them that just this once in their lives, their birthday is a palindrome. Can anyone knock up a quick rhyme for that? I can't think of one off hand, but give me a couple of hours and I'll see what I can do.

 

Oh now I am confused.

 

Okay, so it's late and I'm tired, and I almost dried up while trying to write today's ode, but I managed to get a few lines together. They're not brilliant, but they'll do for now. At least that's my excuse, what's yours?

----------------------------------------------------------

The huge wings swept across the sky
the dark shape shadow'd all below
and as the monster passed me by
I wondered if I'd live to know
what it was it sought there
as it flew across the blue
I was angry at its passing
seething as its trail it blazed
the black eyes seeking out things
larger than me as I stood there
a tiny dot beneath its gaze

the dragon's eye passed over me as though I wasn't there
it teetered on the cusp of seeing everything so clear
the day was just beginning but for me it nearly ended
as the darkness brought a shiver from my toes up to my head

the dragon had come back again to terrorise the people
who'd known of its existence, but never met before
those innocents who'd lived their lives free from such a threat
now knew that all the tales they'd heard no longer were obscure
for now the dragon took it's flight to look for living food
it needed to regain its strength and foul was its mood
so on it flew across the land until it found its goal
a herd of cattle grazing peacefully poor unsuspecting souls

the dragon landed near the meadow where they grazed in peace
then took the cattle one by one, a veritable feast
and when its hunger was assuaged it leapt aloft once more
to terrorise the populace and enter into lore
but meanwhile as I watched him turn and fly toward the hill
where I stood and waited for him anger burning still
the dragon didn't notice me as I notched up an arrow
then as he drew near I took aim at his chest strong but narrow
until he was there right above me
as I loosed my string
and as I watched the arrow crossed the space twixt me and him

I saw the sharp point as it touched his scales and went straight in
to skewer his heart into knots and burst his lungs therein
with thunder from his throat he fell onto the land below
and shook it like an earthquake as his dying breath he bellowed
then lying on the wide green sward he writhed there in great pain
until his life had ebbed away and I was sure I'd slain
the dragon now he's gone forever into story land
towering monster though he was I think I understand
his reasons for the terror that he caused for everyone
but now that he's passed into legend
there'll never be another one

and though he was a mortal beast his story lingered on
and generations of small children, wide eyed every one
listened as their parents told of such a beast of old
and those who heard the tales went pale
their blood was running cold

but into bed they soon were put to dream of better things
like unicorns and fairies
and mermaids wearing golden rings
who combed their hair on shining rocks
risen from the deep blue sea
sirens charming sailors
on passing galleons sailing free
laden down with gold and jewels bound for the Spanish Main
adventures to engage them all as in their beds they lay
stories to divert their dreams until the brand new day

----------------------------------------------------------

See you tomorrow, when it won't be a palindrome, but just another day. Night night!

 

Sorry it's a bit late, but below is the poem for the 13th, even though it's now the early hours of the 14th. Happy Valentine's Day!

----------------------------------------------------------

The gentle breeze inflates the sails
the thirty footer rides the swell
the creaking of the deck beneath
the sailor's feet brings into mind
the movement of the sea as though
it were alive to those who know
the secrets of the rising tides
the hidden caves and gullies worn
into the rocks that hem the ocean
to the shapes we see on maps
those lines of coast some curved some straight
that we all see from on dry land

the interface between two worlds
where surf and breakers spray and swirl
and help us all become aware
of different rules that pertain there
beneath the surface in the depths
where fish and mammals share the space
they coexist in tense but equal
relevance both keeping pace
with undercurrents tides and waves
that help migrating shoals to save
on energy as they slowly swim
from reef to bay and there within
their nat'ral habitat they thrive

while up above the breezes drive
our vessels through the peaks and troughs
from port to port to load and drop
cargoes of many shapes and sizes
and all manner of things that man devises
crewed by sailors walking decks
that creak beneath them as they move
till into harbour where water's smooth
to moor their hulls to harbour walls
now safe from natures storms and squalls

----------------------------------------------------------

Let's hope I can put up the poem for the 14th on the 14th, and not on the 15th.

 

Hello all, I hope you're having a happy Valentine's Day? Today's ditty is a bit of a downer, as it reminds us that not everyone can join in with the celebrations.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The tramp

'It's Valentine's Day' the ad proudly announced
'So buy flowers and a card for your loved one!'
I looked in the window at the bright red display
then without looking back I walked slowly away
you see this day for me can be like no other
I have no friends and certainly no lover
I live on the streets of the cold hearted city
with no-one to turn to in my hour of need
I have nothing to cling to but don't want your pity
instead give me credence and reader take heed
for the world is a cold place with no-one to love
no warmth and no comfort do I see in this place
I cannot see friendship displayed on the face
of the people I meet
and pass on the street

I beg them for pennies their souls I entreat
to feed me and clothe me and give me some solace
but all I get back is the feeling I've no place
in this world of theirs as they walk arm in arm
their shield is the love that protects them from harm
it's what excludes me, I shuffle along
as I hum to myself a sad lonely song
of coldness and weariness and longing to feel
the warmth of soft skin, not the coldness of steel
for all that I have is a cot where I lay
and curse at the troubles that led me astray
to lose my conviction, to fall to despair
that the hope of redemption could help me repair
the damage that's done to my immortal soul
so I stay here and suffer as life takes it's toll
never more will I feel humanity's love
but will wait till I'm called to account from above

-----------------------------------------------------------

Sorry about the depressing tone of the pome, let's hope I can write something more uplifting tomorrow.

 

I love them all.

 

Early one today. I couldn't sleep so got up and came down for a coffee, and while I was at it decided to write a few lines.
Here they are, and I hope they're more positive than yesterday's offering.

-------------------------------------------------------

She snuggles beside me here on our bed
and I cuddle her back feeling love's beating heart
her long tresses brush at the side of my head
as they cascade and tumble about in the dark
I smell her aroma a heady cocktail
of perfume and pheromones mixed all as one
that she's warmed and exhuded from every pore
of her beautiful body as we dance till the dawn

for time's of the essence and fleeting for us
we never have long to enjoy our embrace
we hurry to reach for the heaven we seek
as we both must return to humanity's race
the race that we run every day of our lives
competition for places in God's own domain
the preacher exhorts us to toil and to strive
till we reach paradise where we all can remain

in peace and in love and the joining with others
to give thanks for our blessings
give thanks for our being
give thanks for the bodies we live all our lives in
for they are the vessels we must all inhabit
where all we experience will happen to us
where we can feel joy and loss, hatred and pain

a huge cosmic train we must ride till the end
to find out if we've won or must go back again
it's a seminal lottery that we don't control
and the tickets are handed to us when we're born
will we win plenty of talents with grace
or be condemned to exist both alone and forlorn
will we be judged to be born fair of face
or work to be pretty and our bodies adorn
with paint and with jewellery to garner attention
from those we would be with if only we could
thank goodness I've found one to share my affection
and love me the rest of my time here on earth

so we cuddle each other beneath the warm duvet
we feel through our bodies our love without shame
the heat of pure lust that fades back to just embers
that still can flare up to a bright glowing flame
when the passion of moments can lift us once more
and we dance to the music our bodies both feel
as we move to the rhythm way out on the dancefloor
of life as it turns on the great roulette wheel

-------------------------------------------------------

Have a good one!

 

Oh I love that romantic one. x

 

Happy Shrove Tuesday everyone! That's Pancake Day to you and me.

Today's pome isn't about pancakes, just thought I'd let you know that. Instead it's called Night Watch.

....................

Night watch

------------------------------------------------------------

The dark sky like ink stains the heavens
with pin holes of light shining through
the silver grey moon hangs motionless
while the rippled glass lake reflects
bright diamond drip effects
pleasing delights
to push back the black night

meanwhile moonshadows dapple the darkness
pick out shapes marked by shade on the trees
that line the lake shore
a new place to explore
for small creatures that emerge at twilight

the dew slowly forms as the time marches on
black grass becomes grey to our sight
by morning it shines in the new light of day
as the tired moonlight
now a wearisome sight
fades away as it loses its fight

with the sun that's revealed in its glory
to carry the dew drops up on high
and form clouds that obscure
the pale sunlight and form
fluffy vapour that litters the sky

clouds that are scattered across the deep blue
of the vaulted abyss that's above
our hard working eyes
must strain if they rise
to admire such a glorious sight

for the hours count the toll that's been taken
and our eyelids grow heavy at last
we yawn and we sigh
now we must say goodbye
but we'll wake for our vigil tonight

to stand in the gathering darkness
as the sun dips below the world's edge
and take up our station
protecting our nation
from those who'd invade overnight

------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday tomorrow and half the week gone already. Just another three days and it'll be the weekend again.

 

I want to buy your book. xxx

 

Well! Today's the beginning of Lent. It's Ash Wednesday, when a priest somewhere is supposed to mark a cross on our foreheads with ashes (the biblical sign of death). And for the next 46 days we're supposed to go without food, drink, or any other earthly enjoyments, till Easter is upon us and our time of want is ended. However, this year I'm afraid that Lent has been overtaken by Lockdown, and that's likely to continue well after Easter, so batten down the hatches, don't go looking for matches, and only expect despatches for the next three months or so!

Anyway, here's today's lament from the heart of an old man.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning light hurts my dry rheumy eyes
the duvet lies hot and crumpled by my side
I sit up aware of the ache in my hip
then I turn to my glass and thirstily sip
some water that's sat there since late in the night
when I woke to my throat like dry sand on the plain
so I filled up a glass with Adam's cool ale
and slowly ascended the stairs once again

but now I am sitting and shitting astride
the white shiney bowl as I do every morn
as I unload I grab at the plastic fantastic
battery powered shaver, I'll soon be quite shorn
of my overnight growth
as I swear out an oath
for the spinning blade's caught a strong hair on my cheek
and it's jammed for a second
a very long second
till I can unjam it once more to proceed

and then I complete my morning ablutions
my morning devotions performed for the gods
so that they may look down on this poor decayed sinner
and give absolution for what I've done wrong
during life that I've lived for my three score and ten now
I've finished my sentence when will I be free
from the prison of life that now keeps me enslaved
to my body that's systematically destroying me

for I no longer can be the lover of old
who gathered the girls about me as needed
and shared with them pleasures
as we'd grapple and prance
now my shrinking old body that struggles and wheezes
can no longer manage the vigorous dance
the rhythm that gives life its ultimate meaning
the metronome beat of the whole human race

for now I've become an old biddy fiddler
who cannot perform even actions so base
or so virile as those whom I once was among
those thrusting young steeds and glittering fillies
who dance in the fields as they sing their new song
of love and of lust, the field of the lilies
who blossom then fade as cruel time passes on

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wonder what Thursday's called? Lent 2? Sounds like a sequel.

 

What s fantastic contribution. X

 

Today's Thursday, or Thrustday if your name's Candy Gal.

Anyway, here's today's tale.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The moon, dark water, a tree and an owl
all ingredients for a story but who does the telling
my mind's eye grows large as it thrashes around
looking for metaphors to pin it all down
into words and with meaning that some will find matter
as they traverse the chasm of time on their hands

a dark heady mix like a bowlful of batter
to pour into pancakes
just like your mum makes
but watch out for mistakes
as the mixture might splatter
when into the skillet of iron it's poured
to bubble and rise despite having no yeast

and in seconds the newly formed pancake needs tossing
make sure that you don't let it fly to the ceiling
but comes back to earth all inverted and reeling
to lie in the hot pan once more while it's frying
then on to the plate slid, for lemon and sugar
to sweeten the mixture and help it go down

but back to our story of darkness and intrigue
a suitable subject for stories of horror
a suspensful spoonful of tales of the night
that involve lakes and moonlight
and owls that take flight
and give the unwary reader a fright

as the story progresses
the reader it stresses
till they beg for release from the words that invite
them to panic and run
from the villain's great gun
that he fires just for fun
till the deed it is done
and the dark power that is
has now claimed what is his
and the tale at the crisis
has given us goosebumps

we shiver like Mugwumps
the earlier name for the Mamas and Papas
who didn't like Mondays
that ended one sad way
a depressing and dark day
that washed all the fun away
and left them bereft
as though victims of theft
of a life that consists of
just work and a gist of
enjoyment for those who
can fight off the demons through
wit and with guile
with panache and with style
till the story's great hero
can vanquish his worst foe
and we can all then go
to lay down our heads for
to sleep in our beds, Phew!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Friday tomorrow. Friday is fish, is everybody 'appy, you bet your life we are!

 

Always brilliant. xxx

Tomorrow is FRIXDAY btw. xxx