Easter Down Under

Easter Down Under – balmy days
Cerulean blue, high pressure haze
Huge Easter bunnies roam the streets
All shops offer chocolate treats.

A rush on seafood, prawns sell fast
Easter shopping is a blast!
Assorted meats for BBQ
Sauces, dips and wines accrue.

Silver foil in many guises
Mammon, more than God, surprises.
In Churches hymns now fill the air
A festival for those who care …

Sense of excitement, family joys
Egg hunts for tiny girls and boys
A gentler heat as April starts
Renewal in believers’ hearts …

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

On "Wurthdays"

Strange sign on pavement as I passed
The wording caught my eye – I gasped
High class café – won a prize
Promotion in another guise.

For ”Weddings, and Wakes” it clearly said
And "Wurthdays" too – such smart street cred
The neologism made me smile
Australia has a special style.

But is a "wurthday" once a year?
Each day has true worth, that’s clear
Cappuccino with a friend inside;
How many ‘’wurthdays” have you tried?

(c) Poet in the woods 2018



Chalked up sign: "For Weddings, Wakes and Wurthdays"

Main Road, Blackwood, South Australia

Impressionism on Good Friday

North Terrace’s gallery of Art
Whose lofty building stands apart
Presents an exhibition rare
A French mosaic of coloured flair.

Not sure religion’s pull is strong
On this Good Friday people throng
To the Musee d’Orsay’s splendid loan
The Impressionists have strayed from home!

Sisley, Manet, Monet, Caillebotte
In all their splendour, used to shock
The Paris salons eons ago
Their vibrant colours all aglow.

This is not art! No clear design!
Their colour palette out of line
Yet we who see their art today
Admire their avant garde display.

Great lecture held in Radford Hall;
How their skilful brush strokes still enthrall
Snowy scenes and orchard lanes
Ships in docks in winter rains.

Renoir portraits, nudes reclining
Rouen Cathedral grey and shining
Mauves and pinks against sharp greens
Filtered light from trees on streams.

Delacroix’s Algerian flair
Meandering river at Asnieres ...
All presented in majestic frames
With a host of other famous names...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018



"Colours of Impressionism" Exhibition: 29/3-29/7 2018
Adelaide, South Australia

Ball Tampering!

When the sky is blue from dawn to dusk
Ozzie weathermen aren’t fussed
So the talk Down Under turns to sport
“Ball Tampering” makes cricket fraught.

Shock! Horror! strikes the Nation’s game
Commentators cry for shame
A cheating Captain* in full view
The players in a right old stew!

For many an avid cricket fan
The camera close-up clearly can
Put a new spin on ball play
And take the shine out of the day!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018



Note: Stevie Smith - Incident during the Third Test in South Africa on 27/3/2018

Getting High

Reclining seat, faint background hum
Indifferent food, white tasteless bun
The clink of drinks as bottles touch
Sky high, encased in rabbit hutch.

At times the hum becomes a roar
Pierced rain clouds hit us as we soar
In silver-coated fuselage
Protected from a lightning charge.

In darkened cabin, many sleep
Though dim-lit screens and curtains keep
A managed vigil, crew on call
On occasion, footfalls on the floor.

Mid-season, there are empty seats
But sadly lack of in-flight treats
Crossing time zones far below
The Middle East and India glow.

In Singapore, a change of plane
4 hours to waste – it’s such a shame
Buying goods holds no appeal
Most travellers read or have a meal.

Aloft once more, across deep seas
Cramped, scant room for legs and knees
I try to doze and close my eyes:
The price to pay for family ties.

Descent at last in morning sun
Being met is half the fun
Jet-lag be damned – great family smiles
To compensate for tiring miles...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Profits and Losses

Will robots take our jobs away
Has automation come to stay?
Assembly lines work at such speed
That production now outstrips all need.

Microsurgery on line
Utter finesse every time
But companies are greedy creatures
Now 'built-in obsolescence' features...

What price craftsmanship and pride?
Has «unique» as a concept died?
Most latest fashions now come cheap
In terms of cloth and cut I speak!

Travel agents, local banks
Drastically reduce their ranks
Most bookings made with just a click
No smart phone? Then you're out of it!

Automation seems the way to go
Humans, bless them, are too slow
And robots never go on strike
Relentlessly, they work all night.

We can't stop progress, life moves on
But in the process, something's gone
The quest for profit fuels our lives
It's a wonder quality survives.

Today's youth does not make and mend
But follows avidly each trend
Yet do they value what they buy?
The cost, in human terms, is high...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

The Wow Factor!

Like the white rabbit* – much to do
The careful list not yet struck through
There's always something I must add
No time to switch off, which is sad ...

With the internet that eats our time
And mobile phones that stay on line
Each season comes and goes unseen
One day deep snow, now bright spring green.

Storm clouds release a wall of rain
That gurgles down my cobbled lane
And yet the sun shines overhead
As March fights hard to get ahead.

I nearly missed the rainbow arc
That shimmered in a sky grown dark...
But neighbours clustered in the street
And pointed skywards – that was neat!

Small water droplets all aligned -
Nature's marvels blow my mind
I stare but see no pot of gold
Yet on God's artistry I'm sold ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

* Courtesy Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland"

Thomas the Bushwacker!

Bushwacker Thomas struts his stuff
For a lad of four, life's tough
The great wide world starts at his door
Nature beckons – let's explore!

The adventure, planned by Dad, begins
A healthy stroll as hope has wings
What lies beyond the tarmac road?
It's rough terrain with picnic load.

Today it's blue and green, soft hat
A sense of style (Mum's seen to that!)
Perhaps a pause to have a snack
Hard work indeed to climb right back!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

R.I.P. Sir Ken Dodd (1927-2018)

Liverpool comedy turns the page
Another great has left the stage
The drapes in Knotty Ash are drawn
Leaving the Diddy Men forlorn...

This entertainer, much admired
Never actually retired
But kept his public much enthused
With non-stop patter which amused!

A household name, Ken Dodd departs
Evoking sadness in our hearts
Gift of the gab, whose shows ran late
London Palladium's all-time great ...

Knighted by the Queen, Sir Ken
Still lived where he'd been born and bred
And surprised us once more when he wed
Two days before the sad news spread ...

Consummate star - enjoyed, applauded
With his 'Tickling Stick' recorded
May the BBC, just for a treat
His entertaining shows repeat!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018



Died March 11th 2018 - aged 90

It's Pyjama Day!

Of «Dress-down Friday» I have heard
But as trends go, it is absurd
To think that power dressing's dead
It's how we used to get ahead.

Think padded shoulders, pencil skirts
High-heels worn so high it hurts ...
Does the Fashion Goddess set us free
Is informality the key?

A new trend creeps in from the States
Which raises eyebrows and creates
Sartorial softness that surprises
«Pyjama Day» in different guises.

No mention of the nightdress here
As that would go too far, I fear
But as most work through I.T. screens
Is this as daring as it seems?

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Shifting Sands

What's this I hear on radio
Politics in ebb and flow
Is North Korea in retrograde?
Should we call a Spade a Spade?

At the dizzy pace at which we go
Hope springs eternal as we know
Trump plans to travel there in May
Olympic summit underway?

Bold brinkmanship, new role of dice
Will a change of mood suffice?
Conflicting news bytes, cut-and-thrust
Time to let our rapiers rust?

We're at a turning point at last
The pundits ponder – what a task!
We hope and pray for better things
While guardian angels flap their wings ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Encounters: Trump/Kim Jong Un:
12.6.2018
30.6.2019

The B Word

How life changes; swear words too
«F» and «C» are crass and blue
But now it seems the truth is out
Brit politics has gained some clout.

The 48 percent who claim
Their place is firmly in «Remain»
Discuss with fervour on the Web
The U.K.'s future with some dread.

Confusion reigns at every turn:
Farm subsidies, Pay-As-You-Earn
Border and VAT controls
The Juggernaut of Misrule rolls...

As BREXIT causes blood to boil
Evoking angst, nerves in turmoil
It's now known as the «B» word, Folks
And become the butt of many jokes!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

See-Sawing!

Heavy buzzing sound outside my door
Intrigued, I gazed out from first floor
In tree-cleft, outlined in low cloud
My neighbour - wielding chainsaw loud.

An event! I strolled out in the street
Where against the fence, not piled up neat
A criss-cross pile of branches lay;
More sunlight soon will come my way!

That's Nature for you - it runs riot
And blocks our vision on the quiet
So swaying gently, perched up there
My neighbour axes branches bare.

We exchange a greeting in the lane
Where weeds start growing once again
Despite the snow; if Spring comes late
Smart guy - free fuel to burn in grate!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Isabella - a Budding Rose!

In red-rose-onesie and red frill
My tiny niece is dressed to kill
Sophisticated yet so young
Ready for a catwalk run!

Sublime, serene and so at ease
Isabella charms birds off the trees
She lies relaxed, unfazed by lens
In no time she'll be setting trends!

At barely two months and a bit
With her vast wardrobe she's a hit
Auntie needs no invitation
To declare her - a sensation!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Jazz Band in Jeopardy!

Tervuren's roundabout's a blast!
Since 2005 cars rush on past
Concentric circles washed with spray
A finely choreographed display!

Behold Bandundu's Beastly Band!
Where Congo creatures prance and stand
Playing jazz while fountains flow
Tom Frantzen's* genius on show!

Though this fun artwork is well known
Friday* turned the scene to stone
The fountains froze hard in mid flow
A winter frieze few locals know.

What must those crocodiles have thought
With the saxophone a moment caught
By "Beast-of-the-East's" bold claws
Quite frozen solid out of doors?

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

* Belgian sculptor born 16.11.1954



*2nd March 2018: -6°C



Under normal circumstances