We must enjoy the future The times we have had have gone There's more life behind us now Than is left as we go on. The only reason to be alive Is to make the good times last Just look forward to more happiness And not be a hostage to the past. We got things wrong sometimes But we survived and got to here We sorted the bad bits from the good And know what to cherish or fear. So enjoy every little thing you do Savor the moments as they arise Smell the flowers and hear the birds Accept that life is a beautiful prize.
A Mother and New York
A one parent boy left with his Mum By a Dad who never wanted to go With much financial upheaval Where the standard answer was no! Later he knew that against the odds She had nurtured him with warm feelings Passed on honesty and unease in equal parts As war bombs had left more than cracked ceilings. Twenty years on and the world has changed When enthusiasm means more than a degree With seven day working while still in his teens He started his own firm and was boss free. Life intrudes and the company must go But he has talent others thought worth buying Now shaking important hands at foreign meets He becomes used to first class flying. New York was where he always felt close To his Mother from yester year To look upwards at the churches to wealth And know he had earned his right to be here. To be in this money Mecca And recall from where he had come He knew it was only made happen By the love he had had from his Mum.
Fight Aging
I will not just sit and wait For my old age to arrive But will duck, evade and hustle And keep the will to strive. I want to live and to discover Life's wonders that remain Feel and taste new experiences Even those involving pain. For what possible reason should I Embrace the end that is coming When I can fight and fight again To keep all my senses humming?
An August Evening with Amy
What more could I ever want On an evening such as this A Blackwater River sun setting And the wind now light as a kiss. Spring here can be magical With the promise of summer to come But watery suns threatening autumn Are much preferred by some. Pause for a moment with the oars still And gaze at the lowering sun's glow We drift briefly on the slack water Then turn our bow to go. Such a simple joy to embrace Calm, quiet, and sublime We should do it much more often We just need to make the time. 30th August 2013
Engineers in the Graveyard
We can't recall his name We should hold it dear Here lie the crumbling bones Of a Railway Engineer. Shame on us forgetting He helped our nation steer A simple direct digging man Was the Canal Engineer. Bleach clothes or clean the drains No need to live in fear The bugs and bacteria cleansed By a Chemical Engineer. Tall buildings and bridges Spanning valley, road or mere Do duty for a hundred years Let's praise the Structural Engineer. Steel, mining, plastics, planes Ships, milk, bread and beer We only have the life we do Because of an Engineer. So cast the bronze or plaster Write the plaque out clear "Beneath this monument lies A Very Worthy Engineer".
Brain Storm
A clever lady with a ready smile Will always stop and chat a while But behind the eyes something unsaid I'm not well; I've got cancer in my head. She carries on her life each day Rolls with life's waves easy sway But now finds it hard to leave her bed Because she has cancer in her head. No angry words and no "why me"? With gritted teeth she shuns pity She accepts her path of life has led To getting cancer in her head. She went the way she wanted to No fuss, no rage, no pain Just named on a bench on her favourite trail Which she won't walk again.
Innocent Innocent of Rwanda
Oh, bright boy of another race Tears stream down your young brown face Of your parents and siblings there's no more trace Why were you not born in another place? This bright young lad sits beneath a tree, Telling of the loss of his family Speaks to a microphone but he's talking to me And I sit comfortable in my land of the free. His parents were hacked to death And he watched them draw their last breath Brothers and sisters all gone too, Now what's a thirteen year old boy to do?
Burial at Sea
Throw me off my Westerly Into the tidal sea Open a bottle of something red And have a drink on me. February 2020
Non-Stop Anguish
It's been a year since he went and Rare is the day he doesn't come to mind We wonder if we could have done more But would vet heroics have been kind? It's best to believe that there is a plan With pre-set lights that blink on When the beast or person is due to leave And it's been planned all along. We should not stress the moment Of what to do when those lights are lit Get an ease of mind that tells us There is nothing you can do about it.
Claws
I had a dream the other night - no normal dream was this No demons or plunging lifts Nor Michelle Pfeiffer's Kiss. The dream was of a crustacean Who lived within the sea. A large blue shell lobster Who sought friendship with me. We had a fulsome conversation And opinions it had a lot. When suddenly it shot upwards A passenger in a wicker pot. I regretted not saying au revoir But we met again that day It was around lunchtime And it was on display. It nodded to me and then Very quietly said Do me a big favour please - Order steak today instead. I couldn't contemplate its death No plunge in boiling water After all it may well be Some lobster's son or daughter. I ate a plate of steak and chips Not what I would wish But had I enjoyed lobster I would have felt shellfish. October 2003