About to Happen!

Blue skies without a cloud in sight:

The clocks have moved on – there’s more light!

How wonderful that plants respond

To loving care, I feel the bond!

 

Seed packets promise luscious blooms

Joys in the offing, one assumes

So I clean pots and plant wee gems

Well-watered, spring will make amends!

 

At dawn, my pansies face the sun

Bold thyme and mint are on the run;

Lavender spreads fragrant shoots

My newly-planted seeds grow roots.

 

This winter has been cold and harsh

Now we hope the worst is past

As social distancing’s a blow

Friendships with my plants I grow!

 

Each day, pre-breakfast, out I trek

And each window box inspect

For brand-new growth and tendril trails

So far, just chickweed and small snails …

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

 

 

Hold-Up on the Suez Canal!

In turgid waters, the ship lies

Beleaguered, focus of all eyes

Vast enterprise: tugs do their best

To dislodge this manifest.

 

A week goes by, rumours abound

Since this titan ran aground

The “Evergreen’s” expansive girth

Halts shipping transport round the Earth!

 

400 blocked ships hesitating

Forced delays, costs escalating;

Angry owners will not wait

Some take the long route round the Cape...

 

Suez - the Wunderkind - lies still

No Canal let-up until

This monster cargo ship’s afloat

Oh, for the time of the small boat!

 

Once thought the marvel of the age

Since 1869 the page

Of lengthy sea lanes seemed long past

With non-stop travel slick and fast.

 

Alas, container transports grow

Their extra weight means ships sink low

Hence this week’s disaster scene;

Pity they weren’t lean and mean!

                      ***

Eureka moment, one week later*

The ship is freed! It’s pure the-a-ter …

The poet’s task, I think you know,

Is to keep up with the flow!

*23rd-29th March, 2021

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

God or Mammon?

How surreal and multi-tiered

Is our way of life, absurd;

With arcane, top-down, rules imposed

What was open, now is closed.

 

Let’s face it, we’re caught in a trap

Many, stuck at home, now zap;

Their lives endured through clips on screen

Their morning coffee – without cream …

 

Palm Sunday looms, the donkey waits

Riderless, by city gates

Knowing it will be untied

And borrowed for a hallowed ride …

 

But who gives religion a thought?

Our spirituality is fraught;

We need to hang on to some creed

In this world deluged with greed.

 

Despite restrictions, people buy

Sales, pre-lock-down, rose sky high;

Rue Neuve sported endless queues;

Cheap, cheerful T-shirts* still enthuse!

* Selling at €3 each!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

The word Mammon comes into English from post-classical Latin mammona "wealth", used most importantly in the Vulgate Bible

Where We're At!

One week to Easter, more doors close

Where this will lead to, Heaven knows!

This is lock-down on long lease!

Frustrations well up, need release…

 

My 'mustn’t grumble’ mantra fails;

We’re on the edge and biting nails

Crime wave on trains! Brand new and scary

We must think twice and stay wary…

 

Is this where we thought we’d be

One year later – on the spree?

Warm rays of sun don’t let us down

But why go shopping in the town?

 

Non-essential shops – on rendezvous?

Who will take a chance? Will you?

This nightmare seems to have no end

Take courage, therefore, my poor friend!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

On a Tightrope

The Government now hums and haws,

And new avenues explores;

New COVID cases are detected

Somehow - more have been infected ...

 

The pressure mounts; shopkeepers rale

With more shut-downs, they will fail ...

While teachers can’t keep track of rules

Will they have to close the schools?

 

Stress damages our mental health

Our joie de vivre removed by stealth

Many feel they cannot cope;

Where’s Pandora’s gift of hope?

 

We humans are a fragile lot

Our grasp on sanity is not

As solid as it used to be

Lost in our own Sargasso Sea…

 

These consequences, unintended,

Crop up as we’re not befriended

Uncertain, we are plagued by doubt

Should we stay in – or go out?

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

 

 

Waves of Protest!

We thought that we were surfing high

In terms of progress, home and dry

But is a crashing Third Wave nigh?

Such news is stark;

Flotsam and Jetsam in Life’s seas

What we thought was a light breeze

Now brings us once more to our knees

From spark to dark!

 

Attempts to make plans on warm days

Believing in a brighter phase

Reminds us that contagion stays

On touchline still;

The vaccination figures rise

But some refuse it – is that wise?

The Government, caught out, still tries

Third Wave to kill…

 

Belgium’s neighbours turn the screw

It seems the safest thing to do

As crowds on sunny days accrue

In public places

They flaunt the rules when they’ve a mind

Hating social lives confined

To just one household at a time

Hence - brand new cases !

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

Near and Yet so Far!

We speak on Skype, my friend and I

The sun shines - hope is running high

We both love growing herbs and flowers

Our chit-chat lasts for several hours...

 

Although the Alps between us lie

We share the same blue, ice-cold sky

I mention rain – she speaks of snow!

Her husband pops by – says “hello!”

 

It’s wonderful to be in touch

As lock-down means we miss so much

But as we talk from screen-to-screen

We realise life has come to mean

 

Curtailment of our travel plans

Our lives caught up in COVID’s hands …

We swop a recipe or two;

She misses family – I do too!

 

A thought then strikes her as we talk

A concept that makes her distraught:

In April she will celebrate

Her SECOND lock-down birthday date!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

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 ...

 

Introducing Eostre!

A thought occurs on this grim day:

At Easter – who will go away,

Join friends and family in the park

Or in some other way impart

 

A bumper dose of ‘Joie de Vivre’ 

Because this last is what we need?

After 40 days the ‘Paschal feast’

Will bring to Lenten times release!

 

I ponder on this bygone name:

Proud Pagan lore still states its claim

That Easter from ‘Eostre’ derives

Hence our Dawn Goddess still survives

 

As harbinger to our Northern Spring!

Early Christians loved the ring

Of this ancient core belief

With its wealth of meaning underneath…

 

The Roman Church took her aboard;

So, with the flowering of the sward

The Resurrection came to mean

The risen Christ plus all things green!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

Eostre - Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Dawn

A Plus Point for the Mask?

Sharp, biting gusts whip at my coat;

With woolly scarf entrenched round throat

I venture out in icy blast

To keep warm, I must step forth fast!

 

The sun peeps out; its feeble heat

Not yet reflected off the street

Does not convince me Spring is near:

Wearing gloves still de rigueur!

 

Cobwebs by brisk winds swept away

Artwork for another day ...

And though I’ve not worn rouge for weeks

The chill brings colour to my cheeks!

 Rain clouds, quite light to deepest grey,

 Chase what remains of blue away

The wind meanwhile, unseen, is heard

As scattered street debris is stirred…

 

I venture forth, tasks to be done

And search in vain for Brother Sun;

At least, for let the truth be told,

My stupid mask keeps out the cold!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

All in Good Time!

In gale-force winds tall branches sway

I hold onto my hat today

Conscious it might blow away;

Beware the chill!

Skeletal leaves whirl in the air

How to catch them? Should I care?

My hanging baskets, dusty, bare

Are never still.

 

Though the urge to dig and plant is nigh

Unopened seed packs lie nearby

Awaiting a more clement sky;

Am I too keen?

My determined pansies do their best

But harsh winds put them to the test

And their fragile petals manifest

A troubled mien.

 

Tills at the Boitsfort nursery ring!

Neighbours plan to cart home Spring;

Those early bulbs, force-fed, will bring

An Easter touch;

But March this year is fiercely cold

And Mother Nature tends to scold

Precocious souls who make so bold;

No need to rush! 

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

Pepinière de Boitsfort

An Iffy Project!

Treasured friendships I hold dear;

Though ominous, dark clouds drew near

And skies looked bleak at my first glance,

With my friend I took a chance!

 

We met at our appointed spot

A deserted street outside a shop

And set off, bundled up, be-scarved;

In Brussels, nothing done by halves!

 

By the canal, past former port …

Few passers-by, most looked distraught

While pressure built up in the air

We carried on – we did not care!

 

Outside a boulangerie* – a queue!

We joined it, feeling peckish too

And armed with doughy, warm delights

We ate and put the world to rights…

 

Then without warning, down it came,

Violent, cold, torrential rain

Brolly – unequal to the task

Our eyes met – time to give up fast!

 

Bedraggled, fed-up, under-joyed

Frustrated and more than annoyed

We plan another walk to try

But only when it’s warm and dry!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

* C'est Si Bon, 46, Quai des Charbonnages, 1080 - Molenbeek St. Jean

with my friend Eki...

The Oprah Opera!

Damn! Nearly one whole year ‘confined’

Or ‘locked-down’ in the British mind

As some March-birthday friends prepare

Their second fête in lonely sphere…

 

Impatience rears its head at last

We suffer from our ‘friendship fast’;

The Powers-That-Be deal us some slack;

It’s not enough – so we fight back!

 

The Virus now slips off front pages

As Oprah Winfrey’s talk engages

The Royals and the not-so-royal

More discontent comes to the boil!

 

Scandalmonger rags enthuse

Troubled headlines on Brit news

Although a media storm ensues

Windsor brooks no interviews!

 

At a safe distance, Archie plays

From all this hype kept safe, unfazed

His life will be a joyful ride

Soon with a sister* by his side!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

* Lilibet Diana was born in the USA on 4th June, 2021

Surprising Parks!

How green is Brussels! Do you know

These scenic parks now free of snow?

Boitsfort, once ducal hunting ground

Blessed with beech tree glade surround.

 

And what of Laerbeekbos in Jette?

Next to the Ring flows Molenbeek,

Through the leafy paths of Dieleghem:

Lost abbey known to quarrymen…

 

Ixelles: where sloping paths are squashed

Near Indian Embassy: Tenbosch

Survivor amid city sprawl:

Vibrant green lung loved by all.

 

Or Rouge Cloître with its ochre roofs

Where Van de Goes* once sought refuge

Nestling on the edge of town

A calm retreat when you feel down …

 

You can smell it in the air – it’s Spring!

With warmer weather, why stay in?

Skip a light fandango on the sward

Flowers and walkers – in accord!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

* Flemish religious painter Hugo Van der Goes (1440-1482)

Laerbeekbos, Jette

 

 

A Right Royal Conundrum!

Alarming news - a daily trend

Will this COVID nightmare never end?

Impatient souls the rules now bend;

What lies ahead?

Facts and figures jump about

Some wise souls still scared to go out

While warm days now tempt us to flout

The rules instead!

 

Spring wakes and rears its graceful head

Snowdrops and aconites now spread

A bright-flecked carpet to our tread

Nature reborn!

But stress stacks up on many plates

Not only jobless in dire straits

Beset by talk of new tax rates;

Our mood – forlorn!

 

A heart op for our ailing Duke;

Harry and Meghan now rebuke

The errant Press for ‘Falsehoods’ suit;

The Firm reacts;

H.M., cornered, follows through

The Palace orders a review

Noblesse oblige rings ever true;

She can’t relax!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

A New Departure?

Thoughts on health play on our mind

“To jab or not to jab?” I find

Puts in our coil of life a twist:

Is personal liberty at risk?

 

Belgian planning has a flaw

As vaccines pile up in cold store

Sending email invitations

Highlights this scheme’s limitations.

 

For sections of the populace

New-fangled I.T. has no place

No computer, no Smart phone

And just a fixed line in their home.

 

Surreal Belgium has red face!

Snail mail soon will take its place;

We’ll all be ‘called up’, army style

To present ourselves for that small phial!

 

There’s talk of passports when we’re ‘done’

To enable travel to the sun

Hence to me it seems the choice is stark

Accept the jab or don’t depart!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

Crime and Punishment

Truth will out, ‘tis often said;

Should we take such words as read?

Yet sexual tales of derring-do

Saw the end of you-know-who!

 

Celebrities dragged through the mire …

Who says there’s no smoke without fire?

Embezzlement, bribes, laundered cash

Lead many at the top to crash!

 

Corruption comes in many guises:

So, a prison sentence - no surprise is

As always, I shall name no name

But our French friends know whom to blame!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

 The Elysée Palace

A Chat with Rossana

One special friend lives far away

Where time-zone calculations play

A vital role, so we select

My morn, her evening – and connect!

 

A frank and fun exchange of news;

On COVID - some discordant views

But family challenges collide

Life for both a bumpy ride!

 

She’ll soon be Grandma once again

Great joy ahead, new girl to name!

Adelaide Festival in full swing

While Brussels offers no such thing!

 

Tossed in a whirlwind of unknowns

Europe – full of stay-at-homes;

While Oz, still sun-blessed, suffers less:

Its isolation does the rest!

 

Surprising times: prolonged dismay

QANTAS travellers kept at bay;

We vow to keep our friendship sweet

With chats on line from week to week!

(c) Poet in the woods 2021

The Adelaide Festival 2021