The Underside of Christmas

It’s Christmas Day; now let me see

If I can play a part

Around the world my rhymes run free

But will they touch your heart?

 

I think of those who are alone

Or miss a loved one dear

Or those displaced who have no home

And live in constant fear…

 

To them bright lights and tinselled joy

May have a hollow sound

While others welcome God’s small boy

With shepherds all around ...

 

A time of excess, bonhomie

In which small kids delight

Around a baubled Christmas Tree

While those who grieve sit tight …

(c) Poet in the woods 2024

February 2nd - Shocking News!

One person missing is big news

Police dogs, divers, camera crews …

But when a Turkish earthquake strikes,

Death tolls shoot up to new heights …

 

Talk of 40,000 I have heard;

 Many in Syria have occurred

A myriad family lives cut short

Harsh scenes of desolation - fraught …

 

While rescue workers without rest

Harbour hope and do their best

A lucky few come out alive

Though silent masses don’t survive …

 

At last, free flow of health supplies!

As each exhausted doctor tries

To help all those in dire need;

Field hospitals work at full speed…

 

Politics can’t be blamed for shakes

The cause is those tectonic plates

Which remind us in a flash once more

That Nature’s power transcends war!

(c) Poet in the woods 2023

At One Year On!

I cast around for subjects new …

But one year on, COVID comes too;

With borders closed, fun travel stops

Politics tied up in knots …

 

These twists and turns evoke a thrill

For poets, great grist to the mill!

My fingers flit across the keys

Weird inspirations are a breeze…

 

I think of those chained to “on line”

With much to do and no “down time”

With kids to entertain or teach

And relatives far out of reach …

 

And wonder if God wants to say

That we should live another way?

We tend to think we know it all

But “Buy! Buy! Buy! begins to pall …

 

In Syria the War drones on

Most of its infrastructure gone

Hospitals in line of fire

Its future - dare I say it - dire…

 

While Social Distancing is grim

It’s better far than staying in;

I see the future, not the past:

Signs of Spring are here at last!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

At the Belgian Border ...

 

Winging It!

For good news, I trawl through the Net;
Then look outside – it's cold and wet
As if with me it sympathised
Damp, leaden skies are no surprise ...

Syria's war* - still in the news,
Corona victims die; no clues
Just how this virus propagates
A vaccine must be found – high stakes!

But one old chestnut does not die
No Belgian government is nigh!
Post-BREXIT Britain seeks trade deal
Their fears of being outcast – real.

With racist floats quite out of place
Aalst's carnival leaves bitter taste
Anti-semitism - on the rise
Persecution in a brand new guise...

I gaze outside – not one new bud
The trees' bare branches seem to shrug
There is no good news for today ...
But wait - a songbird flies my way!

(c) Poet in the woods 2020

*Since March, 2010



Aalst Carnival, Belgium

A Bleak Week?

I seek bold subjects that inspire
But the 'muddles' in our world are dire:
Border quarrels, Middle East,
Oppressed people, what price peace?

A long-lost colony* now fights,
Against the odds, for human rights
And those demonstrations round the globe
As many fear life will implode ...

Are DNA tests really sound?
No cure for cancer has been found
I.T. rules - more jobs will go
Work morale? At all-time low.

Drones can spy on us big time
We face an avalanche of crime
MSF now forced to leave
Where they're needed most; I grieve.

Today's youth caught at pristine age
Would rather with their phones engage!
Life as we knew it - on the blink?
It seems we totter on the brink ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

* Hong Kong

What Price Truth?

In this disconnected world, we fight
To understand what's real and fake
How do the Press know what to write
When vested interests are at stake?

What part do Ethics play today?
With constant deadlines to be met
Black and white soon turn to grey
The truth is difficult to get.

World «Freedom of the Press» today*
Yet in some places it is hard
To let the people have their say
Woe betide those caught off guard...

We admire those who defy dissent
Through social media or email
And refuse to toe-the-line – intent
On speaking out - for they risk jail!

Challenges beset the press
Whose raison d'être is sharing news
Truth suffers under such duress
What price the chance to air one's views?

(c) Poet in the woods 2017

* 3rd May

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

Things are Hotting Up!

Another record has been broken
The weatherman is full of glee
This heatwave – what does it betoken?
The thermometer says “33°C”.

Last time September was so hot
Was well nigh seventy years ago
My thirsty plants lie down and rot
The sky for days has azure glow.

There's an urge to go swim in the sea
But lifeguards there are none
Belgium's unprepared, you see
Late summer has begun!

There are other items in the news:
A Syrian cease-fire
With Clinton's health scare, whom to choose?
Which options will inspire?

(c) Poet in the woods 2016

Exodus ...

There are days when inspiration strikes
And you want to put the world to rights
Because much going on is bad
The flight of Syrians - poignant, sad.

They did not ask to leave their home
But now as refugees they roam
Across new borders, cold, afraid
Their future doubtful, no plans made.

Tent cities spring up, water's scarce
Many are wounded – where's a nurse?
Thank goodness many now see sense
And help these poor souls through the fence.

Exodus on such a scale
Of hordes of people, many frail
In peacetime, what is more, is shocking
Conscience on our hearts is knocking …

(c) Poet in the woods 2015

The Boy on the Beach

A sunny beach scene, lapping waves
Turkish shoreline, children's graves
Syrian migrants try to cross
To Europe - many lives are lost.

A photo speaks a thousand words
Drama caught as it occurs
A tiny boy, just three, is drowned*
His life cut short without a sound...

Too young perhaps to understand
A journey in a boat too crammed
But reassured by their warm voice,
He trusted in his parents' choice.

Scooped up lifeless, borne away
He's symptomatic of the way
These tragic migrants stake their lives
To find a kinder, safe sunrise.

***

Unnatural, posed on waters' edge
This photo tries to drive a wedge
In people's minds and incite hate
Emotions rise – and cause debate ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2015

* On September 2nd, 2015
The Kurdish boy's name was Aylan.

The Ides of March

“Beware the Ides of March!” Calpurnia said
As Caesar rolled out of their bed,
But alas - it was to no avail;
The assassins stabbed and left a trail
Of blood in 44 BC
That marks our collective memory.

And on this day five years ago*
Civil unrest caused blood to flow
In Syria in the Middle East;
Again the vultures had a feast.
What a curious coincidence
Uprisings, violence intense.

Leaders in ancient times and now
Have a love of power that won't allow
An alternative or different view;
So Roman oligarchs took a stand;
Fear in Syria grips the land...
No one likes oppressive rule;
Eruption makes way for renewal!

(c) Poet in the woods 2015

* 2010

All at Sea!

The talk is all of emigration
From many a war-torn, troubled nation
Sound bites, harrowing explanation
Heart strings pulled taut;
Injustice, cruel dictators, drought
Fanaticism brings about
Great fear of all those who have clout;
Many are caught

In a vicious circle without end
Obliged their shrinking funds to spend
On a boat trip where they have to fend
For life itself;
Overcrowded, out of sight
Unscrupulously packed in tight
They hope their future will be bright;
Strong, young, good health.

Freedom exacts a heavy price
Afghans and Syrians roll the dice
Pray hard and maybe roll it twice
Before they board
But in the Med the swell is strong
The journey can be harsh and long
For many people their swan song
Death untoward.

Malta and Italy complain
These immigrants have put a strain
On their resources and would feign
Leave them alone
Yet the survivors from the wreck
Bewildered, shivering on the deck
Know they’ve a rope about their neck
If they go home...

(c) Poet in the woods 2013