A New Year's Wish List

Good wishes come in from our friends
In myriad countries at year's end
Parties, fireworks, starry skies
Each one in his own way tries

To spread the hope of better times
Less war, more love and hopeful signs
My turn to add my wish list too
Let me share some thoughts with you:

We need more contact with our friends
Please don't be caught up with daft trends
More fairness – long live honest hearts
And good health – no dear ones should part...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

For Rena on a Special Birthday!

A new year beckons, I've a clue
December babe, right now – for you!
A little bird has spread the word
That you turn ..... - that's absurd!

I meet you often, trim and neat
Your vivacity is hard to beat
With smart talent and such flair
You're youth personified, my dear!

You are without doubt, gal-with-style!
We've «hung out» now for quite a while
So please don't take it very hard
The number on this birthday card.

'Tis but a day and noughts don't count
You are the age you feel and flaunt
Go out, enjoy yourself, have fun
You can make us «Oldies» run!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

On 29th December, 2018

Quelle Extravagance!

Half-price foie gras and cougnou* bread
Gift-wrapped toiletries still spread
In artful, tempting shop displays;
How to make sense of this maze?

Toys in bright plastic – China-made
Not all turkeys made the grade!
No oysters left, but Christmas fare
In gaudy wrappings is still there.

The good news: fresh fruit piled up high
Crunchy loaves and milk stand by
For those like us, who unimpressed,
Like life's simpler side the best!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

* The cougnou or bread of Jesus is a bread baked during Christmas time and is typical of the southern Low Countries.

On the Good Ship Google!

Couch potato travel can be fun
But atlas days are sadly done
We boot up keyboards, a few taps
And bingo! We're on Google maps!

Around the world in just one spin
From neighbours' houses – neat and trim
To distant relatives aboard
Near rock-strewn beach or temperate sward!

Zoom to Kratatoa - Sunda straits
Just two clicks is all it takes;
Vancouver Island, seen by Drake
Or Black Sea coast where Russians wait ...

The Dark Continent is vast
Wow! Deserts are encroaching fast
Built-up L.A., or the Dead Sea
Australia's heart – too hot for me ...

Constantia – exiled Ovid's home
Where his statue is well known
Or Egypt's delta – lush and green;
An instant world view on my screen...

All these treasures near to hand
From Arctic North to barren sand ...
Sometimes I think that everywhere
Can best be seen from my armchair!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

The Proof of the Pudding ...

The Christmas pudding remnants lie
On the sideboard, cold and dry,
Life's like that with candied peel
Spicing up a heavy meal.

We boil our lives and work up steam
We look for meaning in a dream
Rich and luscious, tasty too
But as we age, our dreams do too.

We start to look back at year end
Was 2018 an overspend?
Natural resources are depleted
Human lives so badly treated...

The Garden of Eden is no more
Man's heavy hand lays bare the store
Earthquakes, tsunamis, tidal waves
Crumbling certainties - and graves ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

A Sapphire Christmas

Though winter holds us in its clutches
Incessant sun with frosty touches
Means a snowy Christmas it is not
More like spring without snowdrop!

The nearby park has lofty trees
And a rippling lake with ducks and geese
Where dogs run free and joggers pass
On the crisp and sharp-spiked grass.

But rare are those who laugh and chat
So this festive season seems quite flat
Many quite alone stroll by
Amazed like us, by sapphire sky

Where birds swoop low, quite unaware
That at this special time of year
Humans feel they must be jolly,
Eat to excess, and deck with holly

Their mundane lives; buy tinsel tree
And favour all with bonhomie;
Yet sadly, many are uncaring;
What happened to the joys of sharing?

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

In Carrefour Car Park

Carrefour car park – Christmas Eve
Harried shoppers keen to leave
The hustle-bustle of the till
With trollies stacked high – overkill!

Nervous tension in the air
The whole world and his wife are there
Gaudy gift sets vanish fast
Shelves are re-stocked as we pass.

Wine bottles beckon by the door
With lobsters, foie gras and much more
Tasty snacks, cheese, nuts and crisps
The Belgian Christmas means all this!

In the vast car park outside
A Coca Cola truck is spied
The queue is long as Santa waits
To hand out gifts at festive rates!

Beside the bank - a homeless man
Many avoid him, if they can
The heavy laden cars drive by
He watches them with saddened eye...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Beneath the Surface

The shortest day – the street lights glow
Reflecting puddles – there's no snow
Though chilly it is still quite mild
No snowmen greet the modern child ...

Leaden clouds obscure the sun
But on ground level, people run
Between the bright-lit shop displays;
Small wooden chalets catch my gaze:

Mulled wine and tartiflette for sale
Ribbons and cellophane prevail
Carved figurines are selling fast
Bulging carrier bags flash past.

Perfumes, soaps, hand-painted toys
Crowded stalls, excited noise
An air of expectation reigns
The muffled sound of church bell strains...

God and Mammon hand in hand
Consumerism carefully planned
While in the shadows, pinched and cold
Stand those, before their time, grown old..

How cruel to have to sleep outside
Though Social Services provide
Christmas cheer and now include
Some comfort in the form of food ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Isabella - at One!

A revolution – you are One!
Full circle in Apollo's sun
12 months, 4 seasons - fully blown
A little miracle – our own.

Daddy's girl and Mummy's joy
Admiring Thomas finds you coy
Your little brain keeps secrets well
What stories it could surely tell!

Isabella crawls? Auntie's not sure
But you hold court on parquet floor
You've now been on holiday
Car journeys make you snooze away...

One candle on your birthday cake
That loving Mum is sure to bake
So sad I cannot be with you
At this celebration new!

As Thomas knows, in a big plane
Travelling from the wind and rain
I plan to come in a short while,
Meanwhile, I bathe in your warm smile!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Angela with Isabella

Extinct!

This word sends shivers through my soul
The last white rhino dead! A hole
In our collective memory
A branch lopped off from Nature's tree.

Long hunted for his precious tusk
Poachers turned his life to dust
Their ignorance and stupid greed
Mean no white rhinos now can breed.

In Kenyan wild they are no more
Last lifeless form on jungle floor
Once lost, the link can't be renewed
In evolution terms, we're screwed...

Zoos remain a last resort
Film images will soon be sought
Frail vestiges of what we've lost
Man learns too late and to his cost...

More species vital to our lives
Are hunted to extinction, guys;
David Attenborough was right
Our world is in a sorry plight!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Rush Hour Jazz

Tram 51, in rush hour crowd
The wattman's voice comes over loud:
«Technical failure – please alight!»
At LeMonnier platform bunched up tight...

Moans and groans in French and Dutch
Delays at 6 p.m. - too much
Tired commuters caught up short
With bags of groceries just bought.

A replacement tram soon comes in view
Mad rush for seats – there are too few
We sway about as we pick up speed
Damn! Too crowded now to read...

No matter; I observe the faces
Of tired travellers going places
Each one wrapped in his own sphere
Locked in earphones everywhere ...

A suitcase blocks the aisle - and pram
With baby, causes doorway jam
A saxophonist then tries to play
Mellow notes to calm our day...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Strasbourg - in the News!

Under frosty winter skies
Strasbourg shocked by gunshot cries
Three busy streets with shoppers fraught
Will the terrorist be caught?

In this Christmas market, horror stalks
Uneasiness homes in and walks
Among the stalls where people cringe
Sad ending to a shopping binge.

A reminder all is not bright lights
From the Dark Side, danger strikes
For Death is never far away
And life is many shades of grey...

While those with means plan festive spread
Some have no place to lay their head
Re-live the Parable if you're able:
Homeless Christ born in a stable ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

On 11.12.2018 three people were shot dead.

The Rough and Tumble

Wild series of events, our lives
Some are planned, some a surprise!
But if we try our best to follow
What is right, then life is hollow -

As what spurs on adrenalin
Is illegal, risky – or a sin!
But that's what gives our lives that glow
And - if we're careful - who will know?

All sorts of things give us a «buzz»
It's the taking of a chance that does
Cause our blood to flow so fast;
It's exciting when the die is cast!

Challenges crop up, untoward
The Devil giggles – he has scored
When obstacles strewn on our way
Bring doubts and worries into play.

«The best laid plans of mice and men»*
As Robbie Burns said, way back when,
Often catch us on the hop
Is life easy? It is not!

How often we're put to the test
Life's a bumpy ride at best
The sun shines sometimes, then it snows
Always we're kept on our toes...

*«To a Mouse» 1785



Statue of Robert Burns - Dunedin, Scotland

To my Followers!

Blog Followers - you're so discreet!
Many your own IDs keep
Hidden from the public gaze
Is this secrecy a phase?

Why this coyness to give names?
Poetry is just playing games
With words, ideas and metaphor
In this, my undepleted, store.

Although unknown at first, it seems
The Internet gives rise to dreams
I pen an ode, it's put on line
And bingo! It is read, big time!

What prompts these forays on my site?
I try to keep my topics light
Though bad news and sensation sell
The whimsical inspires as well!

I make no claims, ban all click-bait,
Avoid political debate
But try, in gentle mocking style,
To tease your minds and make you smile.

It's five years since, just for a dare,
My little poems went «on air»
Now to all my Followers, I say:
Loyalty is my tasse de thé!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

Isabella at Advent

Drama at the kitchen sink?
Caught in a moment on the brink
Of a clean of teeth or hands
Isabella, smiling, greets her fans.

In red today - with heart on show
This tiny creature makes me glow
So self-assured, in perfect pose
Unfazed by cameras – and it shows.

Mum, though busy, takes a break
Together, Mum and daughter make
A welcome intro in my day
And banish all that Belgian grey.

Not yet one, but getting there
This blonde Cutie's wide-eyed stare
Shows her powers of observation
Sweetness needs no invitation.

Her first Christmas looms ahead;
Will she hear bluff Santa's tread?
Too young perhaps to pick up clues
Though Thomas (five) has other views!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018



First birthday: 21st December 2018

Tip of the Iceberg?

Stress, nerves, emotions – we are raw
We cannot know what lies in store
So we scrabble for a hold on news
Faced sadly by conflicting views...

Another Climate Change review*:
Extended talk-shop - what is new?
12 degrees - autumnal splendour
But is this normal – for December?

Forest fires pollute the skies
Energy costs now set to rise
The dumbing down of all T.V.
«Yellow jackets» on the spree...

The gap between the rich and poor
Has become one great and yawning maw
Taxed to the hilt, increasing debts:
BREXIT - as bad as it gets...

Where's good news? I cast round
For something wholesome, true and sound
But we hurtle on our merry way
With the 'self-destruct' key now in play!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

* COP Conference: Katowicz, Poland December 2018
* COP Conference: Madrid, Spain December 2019 (No 25!)