A Viking Victory?

Compassion fatigue wears us down

So, let us think of a new noun

Which I only learnt today

Apparently, it now holds sway!

 

Since Apollo seems to rule

COOLCATION - or a climate cool

Tempts tourists to more northern climes

So, Sweden features in my rhymes!

 

A gentle breeze, cruise down a fjord

Which hopefully one can afford

Provide a welcome change of scene

Where lush scenery stays green!

 

Let us forget the Viking raids

The dragon-on-the-prow parades

Invasions which brought language new

And fearsome tales of derring-do!

 

Today’s world is a different place

Harsh war zones the old replace;

Sun-worshipping is so passé

So let us keep our cool today!

(c) Poet in the woods 2025

Cornucopia on May 23rd

On this day: Ramilles* was won

Brave Joan of Arc’s **ideals undone

Tibet by China was invaded***

And plants by Linnaeus **** upgraded!

 

May 23^rd – short trivia list;

What other events have I missed?

The Internet fills knowledge gaps

And makes us wiser, Folks – perhaps!

 

Facts learned at school are now on line;

For today’s youth that is fine

But nothing beats our Memory Banks

No need for laptop check – but thanks! 

(c) Poet in the woods 2025

Cornucopia - or the Horn of Plenty!

* 1706 - where the Duke of Malborough beat the French

** 1430 - Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians 

*** 1951

**** 1707 - Carolus Linnaeus Swedish botanist and explorer  was the first to frame principles for defining genera and species of organisms and to create a uniform system for naming them,

Shots in the Dark

The football stadium is packed tight

When shots ring on misty night;

Sports shirts are harbingers of doom

For two foreigners – high noon.

 

But this is Brussels, quiet, discreet

Where nobody expects to meet

Their Maker near the canal-side;

Alert stage 4 is soon applied…

 

The site roped off from passers-by;

The match called-off; they shoot the guy

Somewhere down a Schaerbeek street

Now top politicians meet…

 

Why here? Why Sweden? We’re in shock

We thought that we were safe – we’re not

All buses run but some schools close

So once again, we’re on our toes…

(c) Poet in the woods 2023

An Uninvited Guest!

Have you noticed in the summer haze

We suffer an annoying phase:

Small pesky flies on the rampage?

Whence do they come?

Fly-swatters do not do their job;

They land on desk, chairback or hob

With firm intention to hob-nob

With Number One!

 

I lay out veggies which I chop

Preparing food on counter top,

Alerted, they swerve in and stop;

Unwelcome guests!

My windows so admire the view

Near the forest, it is true

But must those damned flies buzz in too

And life infest?

 

Condemned to live with windows closed?

This cheeky fly has a good “nose”

One opened crack and in it goes

To sniff my food;

Now, I love nature and am keen

Like Greta Thunberg* - on things green

But this intrusion on my scene

Is just plain rude!

(c) Poet in the woods 2023

* Young Swedish activist (born 2003)

The Virus aims High!

Friends get in touch by mail or phone
What joy for those stuck home alone.
But fined – for reading in the park?
Our choices now are rather stark...

The days seem long when we've no work
Temptations of all kinds now lurk
In the recesses of our mind
What fridge goodies can we find?

No cinema - new films are free
So a home séance it must be
On sofa cushions we relax
With chocolate, beer or maybe cats.

A cuckoo broke my dreams today
Then binmen took my trash away
I think as lives are put on hold
Some jobs are worth their weight in gold!

Now headline news on BBC
Prince Charles, who is our king-to-be,
Has caught corona,* not the crown
His PR job has let him down...

And Greta Thunberg – activist
Thinks she too is on the list;
More tests are promised, vaccines too
Will Summer come before we're through?

(c) Poet in the woods 2020

*COVID

The Swedish Maiden's Crusade

The talk is all of climate change
As glaciers melt from mountain range
Sea levels rise and tempers too
This is global – what's to do?

Schoolgirl Greta Thunberg flaunts
Accepted wisdom, as she taunts -
For their inaction - Parliament;
Lone voice at first with deep intent!

A personal crusade, now world wide
Indifference brusquely pushed aside
Mass demonstrations, angry voices
Politicians must make choices!

Storms, forest fires, floods and drought
And yet the jury is still out
Nature's balance is disturbed
Has the tipping point occurred?

Scientists oft have aired their views
Reported faintly in the news
That Man's own actions are to blame
Death knell, by another name?

Scaremongering or media hype?
What if the girl-with-plaits is right?
Youth points a finger, bold, distraught;
Actions on all sides are sought!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

An Evil Flowering?

More security, more checks required
Orwell's Big Brother was inspired!
I hear that passwords will be sought
All U.S. entries will be fraught!

Angst and worry in the News
Sweden and Syria abused
Who's next, I wonder, as I stare
Into the sky – no answer there...

Good news is always buried deep
But as you sow, so shall you reap ...
So I turn to Nature, my old friend
And watch bright springtime colours blend...

Here's Harmony – and no mistake!
Revival after Winter break
The harshness of the cold is past
But Politics remains stuck fast.

Our Earth seems small, and yet it grows
Who can tell where the wind blows?
Earthquakes, wars and mass migration ...
Each day – alas - a new sensation!

(c) Poet in the woods 2017

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: September 2025 - 162 countries to date