Photoshoot

 

 

Photoshoot

 

The Classic family photo group

Lined up with siblings three

But the camera was too quick to shoot

So three were facing me

 

He should present a smiling face

To camera's waiting lens

But he's gazing at the camera case

Instead of at his friends

 

With anxious frown he's looking down

To see what has gone wrong

The other three are peering round

As he's taking much too long

 

So when the shot was fired away

Before we were all ready

Three faced to one who looked astray

And the image was unsteady

 

What's more the shot was focussed not

With edges somewhat furry

We were an unattentive lot

So it was distinctly blurry

 

The lesson here is loud and clear

For families in a flurry

When standing there with near and dear

Do not pose in a hurry

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Missing Shoe

 

The Missing Shoe

 

While driving along with the radio on

By the verge I saw a man's shoe

Which made me wonder to whom it belonged

And why there was one, and not two

 

This curious phenomenon is not so unusual

An odd single shoe by the road

Why throw out one shoe in a manner so casual

Is walking in one shoe the new mode?

 

A flipflop, a trainer, a sandal or boot,

Shoes appear to be chucked out at random

There are not so many folk with only one foot

So why do these people just one shoe abandon?

 

Perhaps a hiker developed a blister

Or trod on a thorn and found his sock torn

Or a verruca beginning to fester

Maybe the shoe was hurting his corn

 

Was the wearer beamed up by an alien force

And is now gazing downwards from space

Or found he preferred hopping to walking, of course

Or clumsily broke a shoe lace

 

This sight is not rare so its clear they don't care

About this lonely shoe's fate

And that where there was once a pair

This solitary shoe has lost his mate

 

Whatever the case and wherever the place

By the road when you see a lone shoe

Just there on its own where there should be a brace

Give pause to the question of why there aren't two

 

 



Paper Moon

 

Paper Moon

 

Across the firmament she rides

And rules the heavens, this silver queen

A paper moon she silently glides

Reigning benignly supreme

 

Remote, aloof with dignified mien

Reserved, the essence of tranquillity

Radiating her lucent gleam

Sailing the night sky into infinity

 

Detached, this muse, her surface seen

With cratered volcanoes long extinct

Mountains, valleys and lava stream

Far off still outlined quite distinct

As we gaze up so she looks down
With her cool hypnotic stare
Serenely regarding our earth below
Impervious to our mortal cares

Week by week she waxes and wanes
Gradually slipping behind earth's shadow
Once a month her full face revealed
Then diminishes to tender crescent narrow

Shedding her chilly radiance
She pulls our tides by gravitation
The rise and fall along the sea shore
Equalising the ocean's equation 

Gazing up at this distant being

Its hard to believe with the passage of time

Though detached she appears from human fears

Men walked that ground in 1969

 

 

 

Robber Baron - published Cambridge News 3 July 2014

Robber Baron

 

I thought I loved my blackbird

I thought he was my friend

I fed him dainty morsels

From Christmas to year's end

 

The poor bird seemed so thirsty

He hovered round the pond

Picking round and looking down

Beadily watching each frond

 

He stepped down upon a lily leaf

With neat precise and dainty skill

And seized a small amphibian

Then darted away with his kill

 

Its gilded belly was turned to the sun

It struggled in vain but had no where to run

The blackbird gripped his prey and sung

Then flew off in triumph to feed his young

 

He serenades me all day long

He croons with a beak full of food

But this blackbird has a blacker side

With living prey he feeds his brood

 

My garden's made for wildlife

In nature lies our roots

But that doesn't include this blackbird

Who is brazenly sealing my newts

 

 



Of Mice and Men ....

 

Of Mice and Men

 

There's a vole in the house

Brought in by the cat

Or a shrew or a mouse

- Or it could be a rat

 

To resolve this dilemma

It must first be caught

At hiding they're clever

So the chase may be fraught

 

So nimbly it scuttles

In a dark spot to lurk

From shadows gleam a beady eye

A whisk of tail in the murk

 

Swiftly is zips across the floor

Like a living clockwork toy

Behind the sofa and under the door

To catch it requires a cunning ploy

 

It slips behind the bookcase

And in amongst the cables

With consummate ease it leads the race

To catch it you are quite unable

 

Picking it up is not advised

You shouldn't slip your hand beneath

This is a lesson to the wise

These creatures have needle sharp teeth

 

The answer's a plan both simple and neat

Lay out a wellington boot

The opening close to its whiskery nose

And in it will gratefully scoot

 

Now you must make a painful decision

To check that it is safe inside

Do you put in your hand to feel for its hide

And risk it being nipped with precision?

 

The moral is a simple one

As a vital vole accessory

Inside all well-ordered homes

Wellingtons are necessary

 

 

 



June sunshine...... Published Cambridge News 21 June 2014

 

 

June Sunshine

 

Where and Oh where has the June sun gone?

The skies remain cloudy and grey

A cold north breeze blows all day long

Of sunshine there isn't a ray

 

The bees are still searching for nectar and pollen

And scurry from flower to flower

But the lowering skies the summer belies

As the firmament threatens a shower

 

But the barley field ripples like silk in the wind

With ephemeral poppies scarlet stained

Wild roses arch with bryony twined

So waiting for summer will not be in vain

 

The soaring swallows are flying high

A tortoiseshell spreads his wings to bask

The air is pierced with swifts shrill cry

Apollo will glide from behind his mask

 

 

 

 Postscript

 

Apollo that mighty God now deigns

His beneficent rays to bestow

He has slipped his cloudy mask to reign

Over grateful earth below

 

 

 

 

 



Daisy River - Published Cambridge News 19 June 2014

Daisy River

 

With warming sun and sudden showers

The garden is overflowing with flowers

Snapdragons, poppies, pinks and peonies

Sweet hesparis and columbine

Love in the mist and foxglove towers

Honeysuckle's blooms entwine

Clematis tendrils that mingle with roses

Mock orange and elder their scent combine

But best of all - though humble and small

My lawn has a river of daisies

Thoughts of May - Published Cambridge News 28 May 2014

 

Thoughts of May

 

Breaking dawn with shrilling of birdsong

Saluting the upsurge of spring

While deep in hidden hedgerow nest

Those precious eggs their new life bring

Hawthorn blossom's heady perfume

Mingles with fragrant beanfield's bloom

 

Delicate ferns unfurl their fronds

In shady dell within the trees

Where bluebells share with orchid rare

The murmurous hum of honeybees

The moorhen chicks dart on the ponds

And ducklings creep among the reeds

 

Fluorescent squares of rape in flower

Patchwork the land with hi-vi yellow

Lurid against an angry sky

As cloud shadows go sweeping by

And silvered fields of barley ripple

In rays of sunlight clear and mellow

 

Clouds billowing up in turbulent tower

With indigo sky and chilling breeze

Eclipsing sun in sudden shower

Cleansing foliage with sparkling leaves

Then sun breaks forth with dazzling ray

Air keenly scented with elderflower

 

Great towering chestnut's massy boughs

Are laden with blossoming candelabra

In golden buttercups beneath

Contented cows in meadows drowse

And as they doze at daylight's close

The birds are singing their late sonata

 

From heaven above the lark pours down

His liquid exaltation

The darkling sky with starlight's glimmer

This atmosphere of jubilation

Fulfilment of nature's celebration

May opens the gateway to summer

 

 

Postscript

 

Perhaps May wasn't the gateway to summer

After all it appears that was a bit premature

As the rain continues we get glummer and glummer

And yet there is still more to endure

But the clover leaves are sprinkled with moonstones

And the air is freshened by ozone...

 

 



Evening Serenade - published Cambridge News 9 May 2014

 

Evening Serenade

 

The first bird's voices are heard in the morning

Beginning with a tentative trilling

Then just as the sun's first rays are dawning

The garden is ringing with triumphant shrilling

 

They herald the day with exuberant chorus

Crescendo of joyous avian alliance

Are they really singing and carolling for us

Or is it just territorial defiance?

 

The blackbird, the chaffinch, sparrow and wren

The robin, the pheasant and pigeon

From every hedge and treetop den

Filling the air their voices are legion

 

With evening comes a gentler rendition

Approaching twilight's calmer cadence

The blackbird's fluting benediction

Crooning into silence

 

As the final daylight wanes

The blackcap's song and robin's tweedle

We hear the music's fading strains

Thrush sounds the last post on the bugle

 

 

 

 



A Mother's Sons - Published Cambridge News 9 April 2014

 

A Mother's Sons

 

As I look at these three young me

My heart within me aches with pride

As babies I bore them and learned to adore them

Now they tower over me at my side

 

It was on my milk they grew and throve

As at my breast I tenderly fed them

I held their hands as they learned to stand

Through those first uncertain steps I led them

 

Delight at seeing that first smile

As I gazed at their eyes and saw them respond

So rewarding to watch them emerging

Between mother and son an unbreakable bond

 

Tiny, helpless and on me dependent

Swift hand of time then took its toll

From toddlers they changed to bony kneed boys

Abandoning me for their world of school

 

The challenging years of teenage fears

Rebellious, sullen or loving by turn

Rollercoaster of joy or strife and tears

At the end of the day they called me mum

 

I taught them to ride a bike and read

They grew tall and strong and I watched them thrive

Then each in turn they were ready to leave

But not before I taught them to drive

 

I gave them love and I gave them life

Together we crossed each bridge over water

But now each is a man in need of a wife

I must give him to another mother's daughter

 

The empty rooms, abandoned toys

The clothes outgrown, now men, not boys

Unflinching, unstinting, a mother's love embraces all

So handsome and tall - were they really once so small?

 

 





The Hare - Published Cambridge News 17 March 2014

 

The Hare

 

Ears held aloft like radar dishes

Black tipped with independent swivel

Attuned to catch the faintest sound

Even when he's crouched to nibble.

Unblinking eyes on constant watch

His amber stare alert, aware,

While every hair and every whisker

Is poised to catch the slightest whisper

He scents the air while nostrils quiver

Constantly scanning round for danger

 

Alarm when sensed, this timorous hare

A whiff of scent - a hint of sound

Ears folded flat across his back

He sinks invisible into the ground

So clever is his camouflage

That where before was sitting hare

No eye discerns that he is there

Hugging the earth distinguished not

From ridge and furrow or turned earth clod

 

This solitary creature doesn't share

His company with other hares

Till when spring comes he's out to dance

With other hares he'll gambol and prance

They run and race and circle and chase

And stand upright and box each other

Then scamper again with leap and bound

Brimming with life they abandon their cover

Along they tear, all dangers dare

While all the joys of spring spill over

 



Not-so-Express Delivery... published Cambridge News 13 May 2014 and 25 June 2014



Not so Express Delivery

An order on line should save lots of time

The package will come to the door

A concept that seems to be just fine

Its supposed to arrive between two and four

The 18th thay say, OK that's today

That parcel should now be on its way

It says I can track it as soon as they pack it

I can follow its travels

As its route here unravels

The red icons on screen with roads in between

And that speedy white van with delivery man

Will get here just as fast as it can

I am right here and waiting

To see its approach

But now there's an email 

Saying delivery did fail

No one at home when they rang the bell

*

But that's nonsense - I was watching here just to be sure! 

Parkington Trump and Ride .....Published Cambridge News 17 January 2914

Parkington Trump and Ride

Its easy to drive to the park and ride

Carefully park and note your position

It must surely save a lot of time

And free the centre of congestion

A bus would be good and come soon it should

But the only seat we can avail

When we'd like to sit if only we could

Is a cold slippery skinny steel bumrail

A hygenic gap for easy cleaning

Just at the most convenient height

Allows icy blasts straight from Siberia

To whip around our ankles tight

The one thing we can all be sure of

The colder it is and the worse the weather

Of waiting there will always be more of

And then two buses arrive together

There's still yet one remaining challenge

Wandering round in conditions arctic

In this ocean of cars - can we still manage

To remember later just where we parked it 

Wet Wet Wet... Published Cambridge News 6 February 2014

  

Wet Wet - Wet

Another grey day with curtains of rain

Cascading down the window pane

We cower with open umbrellas and wellies

There's mud that squelches at every step

From ground that's endlessly soaking wet

The horizon a gleaming floodplain

*

The waterlogged fields are deeply soggy

And endless vista that is drearily boggy

Sheets of rain are sweeping the highway

Hypnotic swish of windscreen wipers

With vision obscured by flying spray

And trucks are chucking a bow wave

*

The heavens weep from leaden cloud

Drenching the waterlogged earth beneath

Drops dancing like spinning coins on the road

Twirling across like minature dervishes

Whirling over in wild skirmishes

To culverts that have overflowed

*

There's beauty still with new perceptions

Those sheets of water give glassy reflections

Mirrored picture of tree and sky

In flooded ditch there's a replica hedge

Crystal clear inverted image

That trapped within these waters lie

*

My washing line's slung with a garland of pearls

Each twig and leaf is diamond hung

Delicate globes of surface tension

Each drop holding a tiny refraction

Smooth surfaced puddles are rippled by rings

That outward spread with concentric curves

Celebrity Cooking..... Published Cambridge News 9 January 2014

Celebrity Cooking...

I'm really not so keen on cooking

Although I'm aware that I should be

I find it a bore and rather a chore

If I tried I don't think I could be

First one must look through the recipe book

To find the page of instructions

And hardest of all decide what to cook

Before you can start preparations

There's the peeling and chopping and basting and stirring

It all seems to be so very time wasting

And all the time to instructions referring

When there's so many things I'd rather  be doing

The celebrityj chefs that you see on the tele

Whose creations appear with an effortless flourish

Their panache and aplomb make it all look so easy

Ingenious ingredients with flavour that nourish

They make it all look both simple and fun

They whip or they flame the cream or the game

And say with a smile that that's how it's done

But our efforts don't at all look the same

(Though some chefs do acquire a certain notoriety

Not from the food or glib demonstrations

Of impressively making such slick presentations

But from  a lifestyle lacking a degree of sobriety)

Its all such a fag and rather a drag

And after you've eaten your meat or your fishes

With foods that fulfill all your dreams and your wishes -

The last straw of all is washing the dishes

Rainbow's End - Published Cambridge News 15 January 2014

Rainbow's End

We wake to a sound so relentless and drear

A steady continuous downpour of rain

Pull back the curtains and outwards we peer

At grey and colourless soaking terrain

At inky black clouds from the windows we gaze

And waterlogged fields reflecting the trees

The roads are awash as cars through them slosh

And now its been raining for days and days

Blacker still the sky becomes

With menacing thunder and lightning flash

In lashing gale rain turns to hail

As thunder rolls with deafening crash

A sudden lance of sunlight spears

And blossoming through the lowering skies

An iridescent tiara spanning the heavens

The shimmering arc of a rainbow appears

 

The church will hold that crock of gold

At the close of this torrential shower

A shining vision of ephemeral beauty

The rainbow's end shines on the tower 

Happy New Year..... Published Cambridge News 3 January 2014

Happy New Year

At the New Year the time has arrived

To make our lists of resolutions

Of all those efforts we've contrived

And plan our innovations

Now that Jan 1st has come

With past bad habits we've now done

Not to drive to work each day

But put on our trainers and jog all the way

Work off the backlog of Christmas excess

And make of our job a resounding success

In this new evolution...

To stop eating chocolate

And go to the gym

Not stay up too late

And keep healthy and trim

We will give up the smoking

And give up the drinking

On maturer reflection

It might be much simpler

Just to stop thinking

Remembering my mother's prophetic predictions:

She always claimed that the road to hell

Is paved with good intentions

Oh well - what the hell.....