More Than an Upset

Day Four of the applecart

Which spills its far from pleasant load

The suddenness shocks toughest heart

Bruised and scattered, hopes implode.

 

Core-shaken women soon take flight

Or shelter in Kiev underground

While conscripts must prepare to fight:

Thoughts of Prometheus Unbound…

 

Dramatic scenes caught by world Press

 Peace, in tears, flees centre stage

How can one man cause so much stress?

We hardly dare to turn the page …

 

As Corona, somewhat tamed, recedes,

Travel opens up again

Now border crossings fill news feeds:

 Mass human exodus – in pain …

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

Saturday Thoughts

We teeter on the edge again:

News is stark from the Ukraine;

Prices rise, there’s talk of S.W.I.F.T.*

Who should act and give short shrift?

 

Each generation, I’ve heard said

Their Freedom cannot take as read

This is a gift – it must be earned

Meanwhile, a host of boats are burned!

 

Explosive sounds and mass migration

Not Syria, but another nation,

Which is closer and to hand;

First casualty: dissent is banned…

 

Though tensions mount up and increase

Talks and discussions are of Peace;

Resistance takes on a new form

World markets wake to tougher dawn …

 

Are we held to ransom by lone hand,

Spilling worms out of the can?

With oil and gas held in one fist

Diplomacy – what have you missed?

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

* Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

A Troubled Dawn

The poet wakes and looks aghast

The news is – things are moving fast

Two points of view unreconciled

Truth flees - in wake of rumours wild…

 

The play* begins: on centre stage

In full footlights is displayed

A Bear with bold and flinty eye;

The challenge is – who will defy

 

This modern Czar with massive might?

When will tough sanctions start to bite?

Unsettling – to say the least

Perhaps a new Beast-from-the-East?

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

* The "Special Operation" begins ...

Are We Out of Step?

Life throws a googly now and then

We’re shaken and fail to stay zen

Ruffling feathers, Phoenix-fanned,

Fate does not deal a straight hand.

 

What uncertainties on Europe's stage!

History writes a startling page

In the book that is our lives

Full of upsets and surprise!

 

How easy for us to forget

That every life has holes in net

Where at times we tumble through

Confused and scared, but what’s to do?

 

Complacency is one such trap

Our so-called smooth road springs a crack

Which we have blithely quite ignored

So, when disaster strikes – we’re floored…

 

Hence my thought today is simply this

We must go carefully; we may miss

A pothole that lies straight ahead

Life’s a challenge – watch your tread! 

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

Buffeted!

The wind howls in this Feb sun bright;

Winter’s leafless trees hold tight

Scratching rain-filled clouds of grey

Our neighbour’s tree house starts to sway …

 

Wild, wild weather comes to town

Travel plans turned upside down!

Belgium - put on high alert

Grounded planes, trams/trains inert.

 

Eerie light as shadows pass,

Tousled movements in the grass

Hanging baskets dip and spin

Birds, like tossed ships, lose their trim…

 

Rattling glass doors - raucous noise

Gusts whipped up as Nature toys

With odds and sods strewn in the street;

Mankind beats a swift retreat!

 

As this uninvited force comes nigh

Sensed, not seen, by naked eye

Does a chuckle echo in the air?

Dame Nature warns us: “Do take care!”

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

The Heat is Not On!

When the biting wind blows

And your heat system “goes”

You get chilly toes:

Cold winter surprise!

Now each icy dawn

It’s tough to keep warm

As gloves must be worn:

And worse besides …

 

At straws you must clutch

Always hoping so much

That a hard kick or touch

Will sort it out;

But my old thermostat

Seems quite out of whack;

I need thick scarf and hat

To sit about!

 

With fingers like ice

Time to ring for advice;

Thank God friends are nice

And sympathize;

My old house is quaint,

Maybe lacking fresh paint

But cosy it ain’t

 When heating dies!

 

So, I shiver and shake

From the moment I wake

Drinking hot tea and cake

To keep my cool!

Till a rendezvous’s made

I am stoic - and swathed

 In large blankets - afraid …

As cold is cruel! 

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

Well Done, Ladies!

With all this talk of women’s rights

Dark traumas causing sleepless nights

Two new terms have come on stream:

Read on, Ladies, it’s no dream!

 

As ‘Man Cave’ has been here a while

The female version makes me smile

A concept I had never heard

Where equality’s inferred …

 

A friend informed me with a wink

When not busy at the sink

She now escapes to her retreat;

In her ‘She Shed’, life is sweet!

 

In Feb it’s tough for girls alone

With no man to call their own …

 So, on the 14^th, their free time

Is spent with girls - for ‘Galentine’!*

 

Yes, change is constant in our lives …

So witty ladies, sans surprise

Get one over on you, chaps

By penning words to fill the gaps!

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

Example of a She Shed!

* Galentine's Day - celebrating Women's friendship

On the Cutting Edge

Today is all we have, please use it well

On stories of the past, let us not dwell

Sad memories and drama dent our souls;

Better far to plan fun, future goals.

 

Our lives may be a whirlwind, filled with sparks

Or maybe we’ve found peace within our hearts

But in both cases, we must forge ahead

Because too soon the Fates will cut our thread!

 

Pandora’s box revealed her last gift, hope

Despite our many traumas on life’s slope

There are always rainbows to be seen

And under winter’s dead leaves burgeons green!

 

A poet’s task means lifting up the veil

Shaking up ideas long grown stale

Cutting from our life-loaf a fresh slice

So, though it is not perfect, it stays nice!

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

 

Remembrance

Those dates that changed our lives, we can’t forget;

We capture souls of dear ones in our net …

Sweet memories lie treasured on the shore

Recalled with touching poignancy once more…

 

Though brief, such moments brighten up our dark

As the warmth of those we loved still lights a spark

In the deep recesses of our mind

And somehow makes their passing less unkind.

 

The longer that we live, the more we fear

The losing of all those whom we hold dear

But this is how life is, we soon will go

With the hope in time, we too will glow …

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

Isabella Steps on the First Rung!

They sit here on the bench, all packed to go

Their uniforms, quite casual, on show;

For Isabella, kindergarten beckons

While Thomas is a sure hand at his lessons…

 

All present and correct, without half measures,

Their little knapsacks brim with personal treasures;

For Mum this is a step change, empty nest

Time perhaps to ponder what comes next …

 

This February shines with prospects bright

A scenario exciting for wee mite!

For Isabella, routines will extend

Free-wheeling all day long is at an end.

 

From now on, life will run at faster pace

With newbies she will jostle, find her place;

Today she tiptoes bravely through school gates

Where a world of discipline awaits …

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

Learning Patience

It happens sometimes - bodies just rebel

They ache and bring bad twinges straight from Hell!

 A headache comes from nowhere, awkward sprain

Or you make a twisty movement: all cause pain.

 

We forget one day we’ll just turn into dust

Age could be a factor - or we’re rushed;

Too much to do, no time to stop and stare:

Our body tries to tell us: “Please take care!”

 

We carry on regardless, hang on tight

The body, quite neglected, starts a fight

The pressure builds - then agony intense!

Force majeure soon ousts us off the fence…

Injections, pills and morphine - or bed rest?

Down tools! Action stations! Doc knows best

We can’t take health for granted, more’s the pity

So, patience seems the right name for this ditty!

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

with a particular friend in mind ...

Platinum Record on February 6th!

I wake to BBC flash news

We Brits can really now enthuse:

Our Queen defies Old Father Time;

70 years deserves a rhyme!

 

Well-travelled, wise, still centre stage

In this Elizabethan Age

Her Platinum jubilee is planned;

Recognition for Camilla Shand!

 

There have been changes: post-war gloom

Engendered a great Sixties boom

Lost colonies; new countries led

By leaders on a map less “red”.

 

Prime Ministers* have come and gone

Yet still her Majesty rules on

Alone, as Philip has departed,

Stoic, calm, but broken-hearted…

 

Celebrations to be rolled out soon

 A myriad flags will wave in June;

Admired, revered since tiny tot

Her role unchallenged at the top!

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

*16 in total

Fanfare for the Tiger!

Year of the Tiger, bold and brave

Exorcising evils from his cave

Known for wild spirit, power and pride

His advent may be a rough ride!

 

Third zodiac sign of Chinese beasts

Today, Feb 1^st, his “birthday” feast;

Now centre stage, he ups the pace

We admire, but fear, his tawny face!

 

Upsets and tumults lead the way

While this noble beast holds sway!

But his element is H20

Perhaps this bodes a steady flow…

 

I imagine him with head held high

Observing all with practised eye …

Will his presence rock the boat?

World politicians, please take note!

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

Feb 1st, 2022 -  Jan 21st, 2023