One-Handed Thoughts

With one hand, one can’t do much

So many objects one can’t clutch:

Cutting meat, opening a jar

And Heavens, you can’t drive your car!

 

To wash one’s hair, one needs a friend,

Cooking with one hand? New trend!

For bandaged arm needs must stay dry

And most household tasks defy.

 

But I am lucky as I’ve found

A young lass to clean around

Those nooks and crannies I can’t reach…

How accidents new lessons teach!

 

Right-handed, I can still pen rhymes

And meditate on troubled times:

Rare visit by the Pope today

Though many faithful stayed away…

 

The Church in Belgium has mixed press

With women’s rights – the acid test;

Attendance at Mass has declined

Post-COVID, many changed their mind.

 

Religion, free speech, politics

Have always been a heady mix;

Pope Francis, as his name attests

Is modest and leaves with regrets … 

(c) Poet in the Woods 2024

Pope Francis  celebrated mass in the football stadium in Brussels on Sunday, September 28th, 2024

R.I.P. Dame Maggie Smith (1934-2024)

Minerva McGonagall is no more!

On Violet Crawley we can’t call

Though Grantham’s pile remains on view

With dialogues which still ring true!

 

Our Maggie sparkled from young age

In no time made her mark on stage

This star was born with humour sharp

Her sense of timing a fine art!

 

Acting royalty – whose roles

Thrilled indeed, so many souls;

Proving when you have a gift

Who cares if your name is Smith!

 

Miss Jean Brodie’s strident tones

As she Spain's Civil War condones

Brought her an Oscar and film fame;

Then a second Oscar* she could claim!

 

Top of the tree, her name in lights

For countless years she us delights;

Now, though I hear she’s passed away

Her spirit soars through wreathes of grey…

(c)  Poet in the woods  2024 

Died on 27th September, 2024, aged 89.    

* For California Suite (1979)

Powder Keg Politics

Revenge is such an ugly word,

Vendetta, feud, so sad, absurd

As life is tough at best of times,

Just look at history for signs…

 

Our planet is all we have got

Why must we its edges rock?

Why can’t people pull together?

Conflict starts at end of tether…

 

A case in point: the Middle East

Always jeopardising Peace;

A powder keg with a short fuse

Whose politics makes headline news…

 

On the sidelines, we observe

The creation of huge curve,

Which could, if feelings run too high,

Overwhelm, so more souls die…

 

Why do we choose to live this way?

Allies form, then slip away

Our chessboard plays resentful pawns

And today this poem spawns!

(c) Poet in the woods 2024

Broken Down!

When you’re injured, stuck at home, alone

And your whole world is your home,

You can stare blankly at the sky

Or listen for folks who pass by.

 

You can perhaps read a good book,

Or doze a while in cushioned nook…

Ring friends and recount your woes,

Or indeed, do none of those…

 

I broke my wrist, in half-light hall,

A nasty crack, a painful fall

Unexpected, in a rush

I missed my footing, hence this fuss!

 

I felt myself become a cropper;

Now I’m stitched up good and proper

With time on ‘hand’ to meditate

As my diary’s a clean slate!

 

My busy life reduced to nil,

As only one hand does my will

The other, bandaged to the hilt;

How life can change – with headlong tilt… 

(c) Poet in the Woods 2024

Note: it's my left hand so I  can still pen my liitle poems!!

Straight from the Heart

Cardiovascular delight

Week of the Heart – did I hear right?

Joy! When our ticker’s beat is strong

Life is good and we’re on song.

 

But hearts subjected to great stress

Unable to indulge in rest

May skip a beat, or maybe three

And behave erratically…

 

So,when we’re under undue pressure

We must pace ourselves, take leisure,

As if we do not act with care,

Hearts remind us, so beware!

 

Many, caught up with their lives,

Grind on, so it’s no surprise

That their heart gives up the ghost

Result:  we lose those we love most…            

 

In the Good Book, way back then,

We’re given three score years and ten

So those of us who’ve lived beyond

Should marvel at our sacred bond!

(c) Poet in the woods 2024

Puddles, Pagers and Politics!

It’s time once more to pen new thoughts

And paint the world with all its warts*

As exploding pagers hit the news

And debates across the States confuse...

 

There’s Portugal - engulfed by flames

Central Europe – where it rains

So floods endanger myriad homes;

What a cataclysm of unknowns!

 

We should tread carefully, pay more heed;

Man’s life is in his hands, we read

But as I search for seeds of hope,

I dangle from a much-frayed rope!

(c) Poet in the woods 2024

* What Oliver Cromwell purportedly said in the 17th century when sitting for his portrait : "Paint me, warts and all!"

  

Happiness - Brief Encounters!

Who reads my stuff? I’d like to know;

It’s like life - with ebb and flow;

Some days many find my page

As my little thoughts engage …

 

Some news event means I am read

As I hit the nail upon the head!

My readers like a poet’s take:

An alternate piece of cake!

 

Our world’s in turmoil; Man’s neglect

Means storms* do more than make us wet;

They flood our senses and make way

For front page horror scenes each day!

 

The sun shines, though it’s cooling down

Autumn, with its burnished crown,

Means darker evenings by the fire

Where my poems may inspire.

 

But who you are and what you do,

Puzzles me – perhaps you’re new …

Your stopping by my blog means much

As somehow, briefly, we’re in touch!

(c) Poet in the woods 2024

* News flash: Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, southern Germany, and parts of Austria have all been hit by heavy rainfall (Storm Boris) in recent days, with up to 45cm falling in some parts causing devastating floods in many parts of the region.

Celia Johnson in the 1945 film "Brief Encounter"

On Quiet Day - 11th September

 A dedicated day to calm:

A moment claiming to pour balm

On our troubled, noisy lives …

I ponder on this new sunrise …

 

Who, I wonder, thought this up?

Modern life is brash and tough

With constant buzzing of Smart phone;

Are any of us quite alone?

 

In Brussels old trams rumble past

Cars rev angrily and pass,

Aeroplanes growl overhead,

Barking dogs at night I dread.

 

Trucks change gears and blast their horns

In Autumn there are thunderstorms,

High-pitched children’s cries are heard

Their chatter deafening the birds!

 

So, all in all, it seems to me,

A day of peace and quiet should be

Added to our diaries now

As it’s overdue, somehow!

(c) Poet in the woods 2024

Quiet Day is a special occasion dedicated to embracing silence in our noisy world. It encourages us to take a break from the constant buzz of daily life.

 

Rush Hour Reading!

 I sit upon a crowded bus

It’s wet – umbrellas poke at us;

While others hang on tight and frown

Today - Thank God! - I can sit down.

 

The man beside me reads a book

In French (because I had a look):

His novel keeps his mind alight

His battered briefcase out of sight…

 

Both of us soon quite engaged

At devouring each new page!

This art form brings us daily joy;

Why let stress our lives destroy?

 

But many, in love with SMART phone,

Cannot leave the thing alone!

Rain and roadworks slow our pace

I look up, with wry smile on face!

 

As he who shares a seat with me

Is quite content to let things be

Completely lost in his good read

His trip, like mine, blissful indeed!

(c) Poet in the woods 2024

Dealing with The Blues

Is there something you can say or do

When a friend is feeling blue?

The ‘Slough of Despond'* is vast

And many find themselves caught fast.

 

It’s the fate of humans, I’m afraid;

Can new challenges persuade

Those ‘down in the dumps’ to rise

And take new journeys, make new ties?

 

I make no claim to know it all;

At times we rise, at times we fall

The smart trick, so it seems to me,

Is to de-clutter, make minds free.

 

Around us there’s a wealth that’s good;

Reflecting on this surely should

Remind us that the sun still shines

And friends can help us through bad times …

(c) Poet in the woods 2024

* See John Bunyan's 1678 Christian allegory  "The Pilgrim's Progress".

September on the Cusp

September – what a burst of heat!

Sweaty joggers in my street

ADEPS* offers free fun walk!

Neighbours, sun-tanned, stop and talk.

 

The summer lull - lost in the past

Commitments pile up thick and fast;

Though early mists soon dissipate

Roadworks slow down dear tram 8.

 

A glut of berries fills fruit stalls

Now and then a tired leaf falls …

Politics - still in debate

The jury’s out - who’ll lead the State?

The year moves into middle age

With “mellow fruitfulness**” displayed

A new term for all schoolkids starts;

September - glowing - warms our hearts!

(c) Poet in the woods 2024

* Belgian Sporting Association

** memorable line by John Keats in his poem "To Autumn"