Out of Sync!

Nature's subtlety amazes
Excessive heat creates new phases
Green leaves veer to brown and die
But this is weird, cos it's July!

While a crowd in Grand Place roams
A student lies outstretched on stones
Her backpack serves as head rest neat
Oblivious to all – asleep!

A local walk by fern and frond:
Ebullient duckweed clogs the pond
This greenish blanket thick, surreal ...
How do birds now find a meal?

Life's in suspension in the haze
Lethargy my will betrays
Tasks pile up, but don't get done
Slow motion rules in torrid sun!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

Isabella - Caught on Camera!

Eighteen months are almost nigh ...
Our little Miss is much less shy
She turns but clearly holds her ground
As Mummy's apron strings are sound.

She gazes at the camera lens
Like Thomas, she has picked up trends.
Quick cuddle on the kitchen floor
Such a fun place to explore!

All happens in blink of an eye
Sweet vision captured, cute as pie;
This treasured moment is soon past
Isabella, bless her, grows so fast...

That's why her hands-on Dad delights
In keeping daughter in his sights
Each day a challenge, something new
Which hoop will she next climb through?

Thomas learns the ropes at school
Reading and writing he finds cool
But she's too young for all of that
So home and Mum are where she's at!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

Imprisoned!

«On red alert» seems a strange term
But in weather terms we live and learn
After a spell of burning days
With the thermometer ablaze

And records broken, Belgium fries;
Torrential rains now greet our eyes!
Those rolls of thunder, darkening sky
Will bring us cool relief, we sigh...

But Nature holds us up to scorn
No sooner do the droplets spawn
Than a noisy avalanche ensues
It rains all day – and makes the news!

Parched plants, soaked now in puddled swill
As gravel swooshes down my hill ...
No respite from this wet onslaught
Unsafe to go outside, I'm fraught!

A whole day stuck behind four walls
Like in the tropics, action stalls
I check - all windows firmly closed
When can I venture out? Who knows?

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

Hot Thoughts!

I observe a lady on the bus
She wields a fan – her face is flushed
An anxious look plays round her eyes
The heat has got to her; she tries

To cool herself, but torrid heat
Makes all her efforts quite effete
With the aircon not up to its task
Drips of sweat her brow soon mask.

I too am hot, but so enjoy
This sunshine – it does not annoy;
Of course it means we take things slow
While records break – we ladies glow.

Not all can hot-foot to the beach
But right now Brussels is a peach
As thirsty tourists come and go
Good news - the city fountains flow!

Summer hats seem de rigueur
But in terrace cafés, seats are bare;
Not keen on cold, we prayed for sun;
We prayed too hard - 'tis overdone!*

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

*Over 40°C - unheard of in Brussels!


(

Boris Grips the Reins!

We wake up and we rub our eyes
Boris – P.M. - a surprise?
Poor Jeremy fades fast from view ...
Trump's alter ego – what think you?

BREXIT deliverer – at last?
With no deal? He makes Europe gasp
The world spins like a well-whipped top
Is this a nightmare? Will it stop!

In Britain politics are rum
Common sense seems on the run
Boris meets the Queen today
Fly-on-the-wall, what will she say?

Though the poet must not show her hand
Thoughts turn to General Custer's stand
Against the Indians long ago;
But the future is not ours to know!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019



Boris Johnson beat Jeremy Hunt for the Premiership.

The Conversion - All Shook Up!

Tremors felt in mid July!
An earthquake? Surely not, I cry
Does Boitsfort on a fault line lie?
Are neighbours as surprised as I?

There are rumblings up my cobbled street
Earth-moving diggers boldly greet
The normal team who stand aside;
Soon a hole is gaping wide.

Blue-yellow barriers just next door
'No parking signs» sprout up before
Great piles of earth in swinging scoop
Lurch past my kitchen as I look!

I question one Vivaqua* man
Who mops his brow each time he can
They're connecting sewers to main drains;
Thank God it's done before the rains!

Now, huddled near my kitchen door
Are burly, sweaty men galore
Discussing how they should proceed;
For it's a two-day job, I read.

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

* Vivaqua - Brussels water company

Taking it Easy!

I peep outside - the mercury climbs
Dissolving urges to pen rhymes
Besides, there's not much news today
With many of you far away...

The workmen on the house next door
Bring wooden panels (for the floor?)
They still come early in their van
And make as much noise as they can!

I checked the cinema - no thrill;
In the summer lull how should I fill
My days? This often busy bee
Finds it a challenge to float free!

Filing and laundry up to date;
I'm staring at a empty plate ...
No matter! There are books to read
And plants to trim (they've gone to seed!)

Semi-retired is where I'm at;
With the heatwave coming, where's my hat?
Perhaps for work I shouldn't try ...
Time to «chill» outside and fry!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

A July Pot Pourri

A chocolate box of choice events:
The Tour de France is getting tense ...
It's 50 years since Man-on-Moon;
More space-led projects coming soon?

And talking of another mission
A lady now tops the Commission
By a narrow squeak; sharp birthing pains
For this friend of Merkel, whose star wanes.

Uneasiness in banking realm
Which likewise boasts dame at the helm
How the fickle public soon forgets
The triumphs of those suffragettes!

Post-election Belgium still divided
Coalition footwork undecided
Vast crowds in Wimbledon proclaim
Djokovic's deft strokes again!

Already Bastille Day is past;
Will the 21st be overcast?
Watch out for fireworks – they are free
Brussels – still the place to be!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

Moon Landing: 21.7.1969
New President of the European Commission: Ursula von der Leyden
New President of the European Central Bank: Christine Lagarde



Djokavic beats Federer at Wimbledon 2019 - in 4 hours 55 minutes!

Harrogate - More Impressions

Clouds mask the sun though blue weave shows
Shadows darken flowerbed rows
While Valley Gardens' bright display
Shows civic pride – the Yorkshire way!

Cobbles scrubbed by last night's rain;
Encouraged, weeds sprout forth again
Ochre stone gives Pump Room poise
Recalling quaint Victorian joys.

Cheery, buxom giggling wenches
Pass the time of day on benches
By lofty stele which dominates
The lower town and Betty's cakes!

In narrow mews, Montpellier Square
Prosecco flows alongside beer
The old Turkish Baths flamboyant feel
Here guests enjoy a Chinese meal!

With red and green mosaic panes
The theatre boasts some famous names
As London's West End can attest;
Across the street is M&S!*

Up flights of steps, through library doors
Carpeted comfort on two floors
The Yorkshire welcome still a thrill
Long gone the days of «Trouble at t' mill!»

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

* Marks & Spencer



Harrogate Royal Pump Rooms Museum

A Snapshot of Knaresborough, Yorkshire

The bus meanders down green lanes
There's a freshness due to recent rains
Warm market square in ochre stone
Winding streets where tourists roam.

Flagstones, cobbles, railway bridge*
Crumbling castle on the ridge
Stormed by Cromwell and laid waste;*
But of these violent times – no trace.

Bold, coal-black ravens hop about
Though tethered now, they once had clout;
Their mistress, in medieval garb,
Explains their role in castle yard...

Courthouse, bowling green and benches
Monument to dead in trenches...
The river Nidd swirls far below;
Time to pause and take life slow.

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

** in 1648



* Knaresborough High Bridge (opened 1851)

Was this Victoria's Secret?

The Toison D'Or* – Day Three of sales
Bargains quickly fly off rails
And, not surprising in this heat,
Sun-kissed shorts now flood the street.

Knees of all shapes are on show
Carrier bags swing high and low...
Perhaps today I'll be inspired
All faded underwear looks tired...

Demure or daring? Let me see
What a wild choice of lingerie...
Perhaps I should indulge my whim
And chuck old faithfuls in the bin?

Then a lady, poised, but old in years,
Her hair bound in a plait, appears
These sexy items catch her eye
Is she undercover, or am I?

The gay abandon of the lace
Brings a shy smile to her face
She goes inside; I contemplate
That love can never come too late!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019

* Busy commercial Street in Brussels





Note: Victoria's Secret is a lingerie chain.

Is it in the DNA?

I've been thinking of our DNA;
How our twisted helix will display
To some discerning scientist's eye
How we are made, what makes us fly ...

Crick and Watson – what a team!
Imagine, if you will, the scene
The adrenalin which must have flowed
Unlocking Man's genetic code!

Inheritance - our precious key
Which makes you 'you' and makes me 'me'
Not just facial features, hair and eyes
But skills and aptitudes besides...

Smart Thomas, now six months at school
Has a sense of repartee that's cool
He learns to write and play with sounds
His imagination knows no bounds.

There's a cheeky humour in his eyes
As new words he tries out for size
From his daily growing lexicon;
Quick off the mark, is our wee Tom!

I look into the family tree ...
Poets are Granny, Dad and me
Has my brother passed this to his son?
Let's hope he has; won't that be fun!

(c) Poet in the woods 2019