A Snapshot of Singapore

Discovered by the Portuguese

Near Malaya’s rubber trees

Singapore, this island nation,

A-buzz with Asian syncopation!

 

Sir Stamford Raffles’ trading post

Where now the Merlion acts as host

Once by the Japanese invaded…

Where the spice of life is traded!

 

Indians, Chinese and Malay

Enjoy prosperity today;

With GDP on lofty rung

What a long way it has come!

 

Bustling markets, Asia’s pride

Hub for travellers world-wide…

High-rise and high-tech, it can claim

 “Lion City” as its name!

(c) Poet in the woods 2023

The Merlion in Marina Bay, Singapore

Posturing ...

From many quarters come loud cries

Out in the open – no disguise

Is nuclear winter on its way?

Tenterhooks are back in play!

 

Chat-chat and jaw-jaw down in Prague

Resolve nothing; we’re ill-starred

The atmosphere is getting tense;

Against such folly – no defence.

 

Since Nagasaki brought War’s end

In high drama, Nations tend

To rattle sabres, scream and shout

And let reservists fight it out…

 

Satan’s weapon primed - in check

But mass destruction stays a threat!

As Fall-Out – real and metaphor

Could be a step too far - and more …

Poet in the woods 2022

Fast Fashion and Marie Kondo

 We sweat our way through late July

Watching sales-bought clothes go by

In carrier bags from different shops

As acquisition never stops.

 

But aren’t our closets full enough?

Do we really need more stuff?

De-clutter videos are the rage;

People’s moods are hard to gauge …

 

Too much, too little? Draw the line!

Fast fashion - only worn one time?

Few items see the light of day

And yet, we can’t throw them away!

 

It’s all too hard – until at last

We undertake this mammoth task

If it “sparks joy” the ‘Kondo’ way

It’s lucky and it gets to stay.

 

Otherwise, it’s got to go;

A ‘maybe’ means it has to show

It merits its place with the rest …

But will it pass the “wear me” test?

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

Marie Kondo is a Japanese Organising Consultant (born 1984).

R.I.P. Shinzo Abe (1954-2022)

A far-off country suffers woes:

Politics treads on our toes;

The four isles of the Rising Sun

Are shocked and stunned by one lone gun!

 

Here firearms play a minor role

As Japan enforces gun control

But Shinzo Abe on campaign

Is, sadly unprotected, slain!

 

Friday* - focus of world news!

Perplexity - fierce fight for clues;

Ex-premier - household name at home

Long-term on the world stage known.

 

Much fumbling for an explanation

In this saddened, grieving Nation

Which, conscious of the bell that tolls,

Nonetheless goes to the polls.

 

GDP – more on defence?

The point is moot, the mood intense

Alas, we can’t turn back the clock

Japan-the-Pacific takes stock…

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

 

*8th July, 2022

Shinzo Abe - ex premier of Japan

The Fatal Flight

Enola Gay* its weapon shed
On this day: 80,000 dead
The Empire of the Rising Sun
Crushed at last, like beaten Hun.

6th of August Forty-Five
Left marks on many still alive ...
A second bomb**, a tip-toed peace
Though this was only of short lease...

The Cold War kept us on our toes
As Man is ever bellicose.
Korea, Vietnam, genocide
Names we'd so much rather hide.

Still overshadowed by this threat;
On this day we recollect
Haunted, saddened Hiroshima ...
The Atom Bomb - a tough redeemer.

The Fall-Out (in more ways than one)
Is much more deadly than the gun...

(c) Poet in the woods 2020


*The Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. 

** the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 9.8.45





Hiroshima, Japan 1945

A Question of Form

Our lives still sadly out of tune
We've let down our guard – too soon...
Small 'people bubbles' are allowed
But woe betide a tight-knit crowd.

Restrictions cascade once again
Reinforced controls - a pain!
As the infection rate now soars
No cheering of these mounting scores!

In number terms – we're back to May
Just as we go on holiday ...
Have you heard? You must complete
With all particulars, your seat

On a new form, just devised,
When you return to Belgian skies
(The private car is not exempt!);
This new statement of intent

Voiced loudly on the midday news
Confirms the Pessimist's worst views:
Does Antwerp have a maskless flock?
Socialising takes a knock...

Oh, just forget Olympic Games
Tokyo is scared, and claims
This international get-together
May well be postponed – forever!

(c) Poet in the woods 2020

Lock-Down - Week 2!

I watch the sunlight in the street
There are voices – people want to meet
Perhaps they bring a dog in tow
As into our back woods they go.

The terrace door is open wide
I've just put both my chairs outside
I'd like to sit and read a book
But this is still a chilly nook.

The news at midday brings more gloom
It's no fun cooped up in a room
But public parks in many places
Are empty – disappointed faces...

Shadows shorten more each day
The spring, though crisp, is on its way
Birdsong, not exhausts, I hear
There's less pollution in the air!

When will it end? What have we done?
Chats on the radio are fun
As experts give their points of view
But no one really knows what's true!

New Zealand will boycott the Games
And now the sporting world complains
Tokyo - put on the spot
Yields to pressure and calls stop!

(c) Poet in the woods 2020

At the American Women's Club of Brussels

Misty morn – Drève de Lorraine
A drive down beech tree aisle again
Lofty, russet, shimmering gold
Rich panoplies of leaves unfold...

1, Rue des Erables – that's Maple Street
Where U.S. ladies meet and greet
And now hold their bright Christmas Fair
Three floors of treasures made with flair.

Rich fabrics, carvings, jewelry wares
Pearls, books and artwork up the stairs,
Fine paintings showing Waterloo
Zimbabwe and Japan gifts too!

Cake mixes in large Kilner jars
Cute posters, loose tea, Christmas cards
Refreshments while kids take a look
At «Père Noël» in inglenook!

Creativity in many guises
A fun collection of surprises
An Aladdin's cave in all but name
No doubt next year I'll come again!

(c) Poet in the woods 2017

More Aftershocks ...

Hurricane Harvey sweeps the Coast
Houston Texas suffers most
The Lone Star State in deluge caught
Low-lying areas are fraught...

While Nature shows us all who's boss
A world away Japan is cross
As Kim Jong Un plays with his toys
'The Mouse Who Roared'* makes a loud noise.

Uncertainty in different spheres
Life as we know it, ends in tears
At least the sky is blue today
With no eclipse to make it grey!

(c) Poet in the woods 2017



* 1959 Film starring Peter Sellers and Jean Seberg

The Japanese take a Stand!

«When Ignorance is bliss
'Tis Folly to be wise»
This, Thomas Gray's* superb bon mot
Should come as no surprise

With the media frenzy at its height
The Japanese refuse
To translate Donald's** sharp sound byte
On the national news.

Startled, shocked or maybe smart
As it would cause offence
With a lack of logic at its heart
It defies plain common sense...

So, Translators of the World - Unite!
When faced with text that's tricky
Should you adapt to make it right
Or refuse to take the Mickey?

(c) Poet in the woods 2017



* Thomas Gray was an English poet, letter-writer, classical scholar and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, published in 1751.

** Trump

In Free-Flow

Words plant themselves upon the page
In an order I can't always gauge
What shall I write about today
With so many of you far away?

World Youth Day plans in old Kracow?
Or Russians caught in drug-based row?
The Games in Tokyo now loom
For Olympians keen to shine - High Noon!

In Brussels: music concerts free
For sales – Rue Neuve's the place to be
Half-price tickets on the train
And parking's easy – in the main!

Facebook is “quiet” which is good
You're all relaxing – as you should
With friends and family in the sun
Time to switch off – and have fun!

(c) Poet in the woods 2016

A World Poet?

The Internet keeps a full log
So every time I'm on my blog
I see people are on line;
This is happiness – big time!

Who's looking at my blog right now?
I've had Mozambique and Curaçao
Ghana, Germany, Japan,
China, Russia, Kazakhstan

Oman, Jamaica, Singapore,
Denmark, Chile, Ecuador
Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan
Israel, Egypt, Switzerland

Morocco, Ukraine and Slovenia,
Latvia, Laos, Greece and Kenya
Barbados, Belgium, Venezuela,
El Salvador, Brazil, Australia

Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait
United Arab Emirates
Belize, Spain, Sweden, Myanmar
Finland, Fiji, Panama

Malta, Norway, Argentina
Paraguay and Costa Rica
Zimbabwe, Zambia, USA
Peru, Tunisia, the UK

Malawi, Ireland, Macedonia
Turkey, France, Macao, Mongolia,
S.A., Sri Lanka, Netherlands
India, Seychelles and Thailand

Mexico, Philippines, Albania
Italy, Syria, Romania
Canada, Jersey, Hungary,
Bangladesh and Burundi

Vietnam, Palestine, Hong Kong
Saudi Arabia, Lebanon
And many others I've left out
Bad rhyming patterns, I've no doubt...

(c) Poet in the woods 2016

Note: January 2023 - 151 countries to date!

Chernobyl to Fukushima

30 years ago upon this day
In the Soviet Union, far away
An explosion struck a nuclear site
Where security wasn't tight.

Dust - radio-active - hit the skies
Instant death toll – 31 lives
The worst-ever conflagration
Headline news in every nation.

Polluted soils in Chernobyl
Plants and crops are poisoned still
Shattered are school kids, family homes
Now many have cancer in their bones...

Then a violent earthquake in Japan;
Unpredictable – as Nature can
At any time bring us up short
Fukushima – a new lesson taught:

The reactor damaged by huge waves
All three cores melted in three days!
The aftermath is grim indeed
But who will Nature's warnings heed?

In Belgium there's Tihange and Doel
But are they safe? Should we use coal?
A powerful but destructive force
Has nuclear energy run its course?

(c) Poet in the woods 2016

Chernobyl: 26.4.1986
Fukushima: 11.3.2011



Chernobyl Nuclear Plant

Fukushima, Japan - after the disaster 2011

Hitting Sixty

It's time to reminisce a while;
You were a cherub, Raphaël-style
Chubby, blonde with deep blue eyes
And Mummy's very special prize.

As Big Sis, I watched over you
You picked up fast and followed through
Soon you walked and rode your trike
Later came the Raleigh bike!

I think we got along OK
But the age gap meant we did not play
Together much; your love was bricks
And Thomas the Tank Engine at six.

While I lost myself in reading
You liked sport and go-kart speeding;
So very different you and me
We enjoyed a certain liberty.

Both went abroad – you liked Japan
A world trip - you became a man!
As Europe meant much more to me
Our careers down separate paths would be.

Exotic partners we both chose
So perhaps we're similar – who knows?
Success at sixty, little Bro
With lovely wife and son in tow!

(c) Poet in the woods 2014

Tsunami Anniversary

An item on the news today:
Japanese lives were washed away
Seven years ago on March 11
A frightening exodus to Heaven.

A giant tsunami rushed on shore
Unheralded; onlookers saw
A mass of water metres high
Race inland - 18,000 die.

All peacetime death tolls were surpassed
The raging waters moved so fast -
That crops were swamped and roads washed clear
Cracks in Fukishima’s plant appear.

In a stroke, Japan’s brought to its knees
This high-tech island Nation sees
The Sea which protects can also warn
And that is why today they mourn.

(c) Poet in the woods 2014

On March 11th, 2011 - over 18,000 deaths.