A Reality Check

This January nears its end
Marked by a spate of deaths; a trend
That seems to be on the increase;
Alas – we're not all on long lease.

Whether spouse of childhood friend
Or thespian colleague, I now spend
Much time alone in meditation ...
Death never comes by invitation.

Last week my uncle slipped away
Oz kith and kin in disarray;
How hard it is to come to terms
With loss, and how one's stomach churns...

The catchphrase «young in spirit!» sounds
So everyday; it does the rounds
And yet our date of birth belies
The age we feel – as each one tries

To carry on like Peter Pan,
Staying teenage is the plan!
So when we hear that friends have passed
We're brought up short – life ebbs too fast...

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

Thomas - at Primary School!

Thomas, smart in navy blue
By Mum geared up for primary school;
A little young, he's barely five,
But keen - the Big Day has arrived!

An all-round education fills
His days with challenges and skills
Though sport will also play a part ...
So much to take in – where to start?

Bit by bit he'll integrate
Though school rules may be hard to take
He'll soon catch on and form new friends
Shared learning sparks exciting trends!

Sunhat and backpack, smile in place
His moving belt now picks up pace
He'll learn to write and tell the time
How soon before he reads my rhyme?

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

The Body Politic

Politics – rule by a few
Who try to tell us what to do
Whose grasp on power tends to fail
When Satan forms their holy grail.

Election claims are for the birds!
Corruption, greed and honeyed words
Soon worm their way inside their souls;
In many countries the bell tolls...

The World Stage needs new men and true
People who can see right through
Those get-rich-schemes that bleed us dry
And on global warming try

To make amends; we stand to lose
Our natural habitat – the clues
Loom large – a holocaust of bees
Will bring us quickly to our knees...

Mass emigration, refugees
Soil atrophy, the loss of trees
Shrinking icecap – melting floes
As Attenborough at Davos* shows...

Our world's a mess; yet leaders shrink
From yanking us back from the brink
Wastage, NIMBY**, short-term goals
Prevail; but we should backtrack roles...

(c) Poet in the woods 2019



* Sir David Attenborough at the World Economic Forum, CH, Jan 2019
** NIMBY: Not-In-My-BackYard

Some Thoughts on Snow

Snow holds its own, soft fascination
Apart from blanketing the Nation
It maps our footsteps and our wheels
It hides from view and yet reveals

Our movements - be they fast or slow:
Intriguing patterns in the snow.
Rubbish bags are frosted white
Briefly hidden from our sight.

Blank spaces show on cobbled street
As early drivers, keen to meet
Their rendezvous, have quit their spot
To drive to crèche their tiny tot...

Others, dismayed, moan and groan
And leave their buried car alone
Content to trudge to tram or bus
Or risk a bike ride, it's less fuss!

The days progress, snow turns to rain
Suddenly we don't complain
As windscreen wipers do their stuff ...
More snow is forecast! Life is tough!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

A Day of Contrasts

I poke my nose out and detect
Dark, dreary, dank, raw cold and wet
Snow flurries morphed to grimy slush
The odd bird flying in no rush ...

More snow, we hear, is on its way
As the leaden skyline plans to stay
Chill winter's book has many pages
And not a ray of sun for ages...

City bikes flash past bare trees
Their tracks weave patterns as they freeze
Gutters weep - Jack Frost's attrition
So moon-lit granite cobbles glisten.

No help for it – the kitchen calls
Soon baking smells waft up the walls,
Lasagna, home-made biscuits, pie
Warm treats to die for – in the dry!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

The Norfolk Incident

What oils the wheels in winter time?
When snow is forecast, humour's fine
A good laugh makes endorphins race
And brings a pink glow to the face!

Trump and BREXIT jokes wear thin
And economic news is grim
But an incident on Norfolk road
Not far from Sandringham abode

With Prince Philip* at the wheel
Of upturned car, is a big deal!
The other driver, smaller car
Got the worst of it by far...

Nothing loath, he's out once more
No seatbelt? That's against the law!
A field day for the national Press
Should Philip take another test?

His wife no doubt is not amused
To see the Duke make headline news
But wryly quips on this affray
In her question to Theresa May!

(c) Poet in the Woods 2019

*aged 97

The Queen with P.M. Theresa May.

A January Perspective

A touch of frost this wintry day
Sun filters through a sky of grey
Skeletal weeds stand stark upright
Cobblestones reflect the light.

The Commune workers sweat their tasks
By raking dead leaves in the parks
Nature, in abeyance, sleeps
Though an owl his lonely vigil keeps...

Gutters drip on paving stone
A gentle, whistling wind makes moan
A ray of sunshine warms my cheek
I hear small children in my street...

It's back-to-school time - parents wait
In clusters at the wrought-iron gate
As tiny creatures, wrapped up warm
Rush towards them in a swarm.

Though January picks up pace
The festive season leaves a trace
As prostrate trees, of baubles shorn,
Await the binmen in the morn!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

In Memory of Anji

She was warm and bubbly, lots of fun
An AmDram actress, next to none
A feisty soul, with forthright views
And a bumper talent to amuse.

Much missed when she and Tim went back
To balmy Devon, we lost track;
Two years ago on wedding trip
To Belgium, she dropped by to sit

On my sunny terrace in Boitsfort
Where over tea and cake – and more!
We put the world to rights again
Both thinking BREXIT a real pain!

So, much saddened on this day,
I learn that Anji's passed away
Another bright star sinks below
Our gaze - lost in a rosy glow...

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

Sadly, Anji passed away on 14th January, 2019

Mail Companionship!

Emails flood in thick and fast
It's Jan and Christmas is well past
I trawl through the vast mass I've stored
Is my filing system flawed?

Monday - let us clear the decks
So much info now collects
That I question if it should be kept
Time for my in-tray to be swept!

We find ourselves on many lists:
Marketing offers we have missed
Promotions tempting us to buy
Friends who mail us to say «Hi!»

No help for it! Time for a purge
Before new messages emerge
With obligations to respond;
Our answers lost in deep beyond.

Meanwhile, snail mail is mostly bills
Or free press – hardly source of thrills
Yet the paper mountain never ceases
Despite computers, it increases!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

Bookshops Under Attack!

Bookshops in peril! The printed word
Is on its way out? That's absurd
But it seems statistics do not lie
And on-line wins out over 'Buy'!

So let me state my point of view
Hopefully, you share it too
It's fun to browse for a good book
A clever cover and you're hooked!

My bookshelves now are under strain
Many tomes I read again
I like the feel of turning pages
Enjoyment comes in easy stages...

Some of mine have dedications
Gifts from friends and kind relations
Some still loved, from way-back-when ...
Happiness when life was zen.

But now the thirst for instant news
And on-the-spot reporting views
Means journalists don't have the time
So facts get jumbled up on line!

The economic climate's grim
Books are pricey; we give in
As Amazon can sell them cheap
So farewell bookshop in our street!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

Now We Are Six!

This snap blows Auntie clean away!
Niece and nephew dance today
Their eyes locked in a loving gaze
Cute by all standards, they amaze!

Thomas, five, is quite the Man
Isabella, barely one, his fan
Decked out in pink and white, like cake
A rosebud princess – no mistake!

A fitting title, five plus one
Or have I somewhat jumped the gun?
Progress happens at such speed
That daily snaps are what I need!

Life celebrations keen to gauge
Auntie chronicles each stage
From hope to egg through christening gown;
Behold the new Talk of the Town!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

Thomas Turns Five!

Wow! 60 months since you were born
Which makes you, Thomas, Capricorn!
The time has flown by at such speed
It won't be long till you can read

Your far-flung Auntie's special ode
Sent to you in Antipode!
I've watched you read the alphabet
And know that «big School» plans are set

In motion as the new year starts
Jan is a time of new departs
A change of scene - wee sister one
Challenges happen at a run!

The world expands when you are five
Tough learning curve - eyes open wide
Happy Birthday Thomas, in the sun
Auntie's proud how far you've come!

(c) Poet in the woods 2018

On 8th January, 2019

A Sensational Diary?

New diary as the year begins
Waiting to receive its wings
And fly off in directions new
But all is blank – we have no clue

What inspirations now will strike
Life oscillates 'twixt dark and light
Good news, bad news, weird surprises?
Adventures come in many guises!

The unexpected can destroy
Or, on the other hand, bring joy
Small kindnesses can warm our heart
Or deaths upset our apple cart ...

It's human to make plans, I know
But fun to just go with the flow
My faithful diary plots my course
Down life's river from its source ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2019



Title inspired from "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde: Gwendolyn: 'I always take my diary with me when I travel. I must have something sensational to read on the train!".

For Colette-of-Boitsfort

We need to be reminded
That good souls still abound
Not all are bloody-minded;
Great joys can still be found.

A case in point, I missed the bus;
It sailed away as I arrived
(Murphy's law gets all of us)
But, as I stood there, I was spied!

A kindly neighbour in her car
Observing my acute distress
Asked me, «Are you going far?»
«Hop in beside me, be my guest!»

Touched, amazed; what a surprise!
As kindness is in short supply
We quickly formed warm friendship ties
The metro stop was quite close by.

I gave my card (you never know)
I only have her name: Colette
But she has made my day, and so
Her friendliness I shan't forget...

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

On the Far Side

That translucent orb, the Moon
Whose lunar cycles form the tune
To which all womenkind must dance,
Has its secret side enhanced

As the Chinese, keen to prove their worth,
Have sent a module up from Earth
Which, thanks to relay and high tech,
Has with success just made the trek

Around the Moon in Outer Space
And on its Far Side found a place
In a crater's gaping maw
Where it can tentatively explore!

"Man-on-the-Moon" in Sixty-Nine
Made the headlines then, big time
But as the Space Race has abated
Some see such trips as overrated.

Imagine - losing links with Earth!
This 'Made-in-China' finds a berth
In an eerie atmosphere unknown
Dark, cold, silent - and alone...

Rumours buzz; should we believe
The Chinese have cards up their sleeve?
Is this gentle amble through the stars
A prelude to their real aim – Mars?

(c) Poet in the woods 2019



Model of the Chang'e lunar module

An Appeal

Do you often switch off T.V. news
As the button «self-destruct» ensues?
Breaking news is clearly that
Human beings tinged in black ...

The «feel good» ratio is low
It creeps in when a news day's slow
If there's no scandal to report
Or Trump or BREXIT to distort

Our minds with trivia, mostly fake;
Where's common sense, for goodness' sake?
Am I a lone voice on the scene
To not believe what's on the screen?

Responsible reporting's fair
But the printed word is now so rare
Whom to trust in this morass
When so much that we read is crass?

Do you, my Readers, have a view?
Do you feel bamboozled too?
Sometimes I dare not take a look
But disconnect and read – a book!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019