Trespass

I'll take a walk
All on my own
In the dark with a light at the end

I'll be content
With my own thoughts
Some time for me alone to spend

The echo sings back
As I hum to myself
At peace to be out of the rain

Here in this tunnel
Strolling the tracks
Causing delays to everyone's train

Nonsense

They'll say what they want to say
And you'll believe it if you will
In cries of wild abondon
Loud, desperate, shrill

There's no logic in what they're saying
There really is no sense
Why is someone not an expert
If they're gay and used to fence?

And what's so undemocratic
In letting MP's have a say?
They're our elected representatives
Unlike election untested May

The truth is a right wing media
Peddling lies in a right wing land
Where tolerance and diversity
Crumble daily like towers of sand

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/nov/04/enemies-of-the-people-british-newspapers-react-judges-brexit-ruling

Permission

Sometimes we need permission
To speak to a stranger
Eye contact
Over a shared frustration
At yet another delayed train
Or helping to pick up
A dropped item; spontaneous smiles
Over a funny comment
The absurdity of silence
That pervades buses, trams and train
Carriages demands a change
Or at least a badge
That reads "You may speak to me"

 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/02/kindness-government-loneliness-mental-health

Barriers

The age of the wall has returned
Barriers to keep us contained
Are Mexicans or Calais concerned
The age of the wall has returned?
From Grammar schools nothing's been learned
Divisions are now pre-ordained
The age of the wall has returned
Barriers to keep us contained

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/06/uk-immigration-minister-confirms-work-will-begin-on-big-new-wall-in-calais

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/sep/06/grammar-school-ban-could-end-government-memo-reveals

Obesity

There's a fat chance of them trying
To ban the impact of advertising
On our young

They're cosied up to junk providers
In the pockets of sugar strategisers
Who have brung

This epidemic of child obesity
By appealing to the treachery
Of lifestyle

They are all exercising less
And put under increasing stress
So they pile

On the calories, on the weight
Diabetes, cancer, the ultimate fate
As they grow

But government have never cared
About how the common folk fared
Even if they know

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/18/childhood-obesity-strategy-wasted-opportunity-campaigners

Firework

Like a spluttering firework
You explode into my face
I say stop - And you go beserk
Like a spluttering firework
You leap from my lap; Arms fly and jerk
In all directions, kindling the space
Like a spluttering firework
You explode into my face

Trident

Green tipped and glowing
They'll stand in the bays
The phallic obelisks
Of bygone days
Of Cold War paranoia
Gripping us like ice
A fear that is costly
And we pay the price

So why not disarm
With a casual shrug
Surprise all opponents
With a smile and a hug
What should scare us most
Is a doomsday device
Which we happily condone
Without thinking twice

For it does not defend
It retaliates
An eye for an eye
It's revenge that it sates
Can peace only be kept
If we stand at the brink?
On the verge of destruction
Hoping others will blink

But still the world rages
When perhaps it should repent
Over all the lives wasted
Over all the money spent
If there is collective conscience
Then we'll all collect the guilt
When nuclear war commences
Seeing the flower of mankind wilt

Farewell

Farewell my friends
But then all love affairs
Must have their ends some day
And as we fade away
Into our island mist
Like the ghosts of old
In Celtic times
We will have our memories
Of how we kissed
In Paris, in Vienna
In Rome where all roads lead
But no more
Of that European tour
And with moist eyes, goodbye
Our sharpened sword
Awaits the fatal deed

Vote

Immigrants from a foreign land
Their welcome overstayed

Worshipping a minority God
To which many have never prayed

Workshy and taking from the state
Living lives at our expense

So we must take our country back
And end this Royal pretence


Imagine a country for the workers
With wealth in common held

The diseased trees of nobility
All cauterised and felled

And spreading across the continents
A soothing salve of peace

Equality for everyone
Where bitterness will cease


So don't let them misdirect you
And fill your heart with fear

They hide who truly has the power
For the sake of their career

It's not the question we should be asking
This should be a different vote

Laying siege to their entitlement
And drain away the moat

The River Forking

They had followed the river for years, small groups joining the throng from time to time as it moved through the scarred, deserted valleys. Food was sparse, but enough, whilst the river provided all the water they required.

One day they came to a fork in the river, and a discussion was held over which direction to take. One fork led away into the far unseen distance through a landscape similar to the one they were used to. The horizon above the other fork, however, appeared to be a hazy blue-green in colour.

“Look!” some said, pointing to the North East. “There are green fields. That must be a verdant land to cater for all our needs. We will be able to take back control of our own lives by planting crops and animal husbandry, rather than relying on foraging what we can as we travel.”

“But how can you be sure?” Said others, as they pointed to the North West. “At least on this path we know where we are headed, and know that we can find food and shelter. Why take the risk into the unknown?”

“Listen!” The first group said. “Hear your experts! They do not know but they are afraid of change. They have no new answers for you. We have allowed our numbers to grow too large and now there are too many of us to be supported within this landscape.”

“But it will cause fighting amongst ourselves if you prove to be wrong and there is not enough food.” Responded the second group.

And so it went on, with each argument infused with greater fear than the last until a great confusion reigned amongst the populace. To them, it seemed, whatever they chose would cause War and Famine and Pestilence. There would be a great Suffering by all concerned and Disaster would befall their community.

Eventually they decided that each person would choose for themselves, as the leaders were so petrified of making the wrong choice, they would rather make none at all. The majority chose the North West path, as it was a landscape they trusted and knew how to eke an existence out of. But a few chose to travel towards the inviting hazy blue-green on the horizon.

Over the long days they found the distant haze slowly begin to take on a darker hue. The hopeful green shade diminished in favour of the blue, before becoming purple and black, until they realised that they were staring at a range of bare mountains, rising up from the other side of a deep chasm.

Their fork was throwing itself off their side of the chasm, falling with a deafening roar that echoed amongst the rock formations like giant flapping birds.

“What do we do?” some asked. “Do we turn back?”

“No. There is no turning back. You made your decision at the fork. You were brave and curious. You trusted your instinct for freedom over the control that the others would have forced you to bend to. Have we not too been able to feed ourselves since the parting?”

“Yes”. They replied. “But now what? There is no verdant land here, nor on the other side of the chasm. And we dare not leave the river for losing access to water”.

“It is simple. Do you not see? We throw ourselves over with the water and carry on following the river until we reach our perfect green and pleasant land.

“It will be for us only, because we will be the only ones brave enough to take the difficult path and it will be our reward for perseverance. And we will defend it from all comers”

The people were unsure, but since their leaders were so sure of an outcome which they all craved, they slowly formed up a line on the edge of the chasm, with the water rushing headlong down by the side of them, growling like a fearsome dragon. They all held hands with one other and closed their eyes in this leap of faith.

Until suddenly the cry went up.

“Jump!”

Inept

Oh! How our leaders were inept
And how we kept
Our misgivings to ourselves
But we could have wept
At their indecision-making.

For we knew we could
Be so much more adept
Had we worked our tasks
At the same time as we slept

But we did not wish
To find that we had overstepped
The mark; Thence to be cast adrift
In the chasm in which we'd leapt.

Towel

I wish the world would stay
Far, far away from me
A barge pole length apart
With me hiding under
My duvet

I wish the world would
Leave me alone
Stop buzzing me like a
Spying drone of bees;
I'll switch off my phone

I wish the world wasn't
Quite so foul
That it makes me want to
Scream and howl
Wrapped up in my towel

My safety net
That dries me when I'm wet
A call for help when
I whip it around
Above my head; I'll bet

I look rather manic
Eyes volcano burning
Like a satanic soul
It won't necessarily follow
That I won't panic

Canada - Ten Years On

Ten years ago exactly I flew out to Canada to embark on a two and a half month journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast, something I find hard to imagine even as I write this. I still have many fond memories and images in my head that surely it could not be that long ago? But it is; The date on the front of the calendar proves it.

So, over the next few months, as a project to myself, I will write some posts based on the places that I visited and my memories of them, along with a few photos. It will be fun for me to relive my experiences and share them with you, and will hopefully be of interest to anyone who reads them.

One of the overwhelming memories I have of that trip to Canada was the friendliness of the people I met there, whether they be youth hostel employees, museum ticket vendors or barmen. Not to mention the people I met in hostels, both local and foreign. So much so, that when I returned to London I found myself trying to talk to people in shops! A cardinal sin which any Londoner will know and I was soon pushed back into my old ways by the silences and the stares.

I was also amazed by the dramatic landscapes; The forests and lakes, mountains and waterfalls (well one waterfall in particular), and the expanse of skies. I have only really experienced anything like it since in Sweden. And coming from a relatively small island, I had to adjust my distorted sense of distance. Here a few hours will take you from one side of Britain to the other, whereas there it will barely get you across a province.

I grew a beard for the first time while there; A much bigger, bushier one than that which I have now. I learned to enjoy ice hockey, as well as getting a taste for a Tim Horton's with a boston creme donut.

All in all it was a wonderful trip, and I hope I can get that across in my future travelogues / reminiscences as we go from east coast to west.

Foxes

The foxes are in the henhouse

The cock has lost its spurs

The guns misfired

And let them escape

Sky blue thinking

Has lost its shape

The foxes are in the clubhouse

As the end of the season blurs

The blues and red devils

Suffered devils and blues

But Leicester's champions

Are the headline news

Fatherhood

So, welcome Isabel, now you’re out in the world

For nine months you’ve been inside Mummy

Curled, safe and warm, like a snug bug in a rug

And now we can hold you and hug you at last

Grandad is smitten, as he was with the first

But big sister is full to bursting with emotion

There’s love and there’s jealousy all in one go

But she’ll come around when you’re both playing ball

As for me, well I adore you, as I knew all along

And bore anyone who’ll listen to a long description

One was wonderful, from where I stood as a Dad

But two is much better when fatherhood is concerned

Richer

Achievement is not based
On how much you earn
Or on the lives you destroy
And the hopes that you burn
- Just to make yourself richer

It's not about having
Offshore shares and trusts
Of giving in to desires
Or power hungry lusts
- Just to make yourself richer

You can't call achievement
The luck of inheritance
Serendipitous schooling
Providing the circumstance
- Just to make yourself richer

Achievement can be measured
By love and humanity
Learning from mistakes
And giving time to charity
- Just to make your soul richer

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/panama-papers-sir-alan-duncan-mp-speaking-in-defence-of-david-cameron-critcised-for-decrying-low-a6979826.html

Spring Poem

The first day of spring

And I hear the birds sing their hearts out

They all know their parts; Calling to a mate

Marking their territory

And all are merry with their refrains.

It’s the start of a new season

A reason for us all to be joyful

The light lasts longer; The night is shorter.

We can dream of walks among a field

Of daffodils and bluebells

My soul is singing with the sun

A dream of summer as Spring is begun

Birds and flowers and life

Sprouting up from the everlasting cup

Of nature’s cycles.

Knocking

Health and safety; You're having a laugh!
It's more like people not paying attention.

   More involved in their own little lives
   Waiting for texts from friends, kids and wives

In this world of image, of posing and pretension

   They need their head knocking to create some sense
   But it's unlikely you'd notice any difference

http://www.newstalk.com/Cathedral-relocates-huge-sculpture-after-texting-visitors-butt-heads-with-it

Being Single

Oh it’s hard to be single

On Valentines day

With no-one to cuddle

And no-one to say

“I love you dearly

You are my one

My dearest sweetheart

My honeybun”

Oh it’s hard to be single

And go out for a meal

To see a romantic

2-for-1 deal

With no-one to eat with

No starter to share

And you feel the couples

All around stare

Oh it’s hard to be single

In the age of the “date”

Is it my personality?

Or is it just fate?

To be forever alone

Forever just me

A tag of loneliness

Of which you’ll never be free

Oh it’s hard to be single

On Valentines day

Everyone asks you

“Are you sure you’re not gay?”

You’re letting down family

Letting down friends

And only by pairing

Can you make amends

Single or otherwise? You can still download my Haiku Collection Love and the Valentine

Violence

Lying in bed listening
In the middle of the night
Awoken

The sound of the neighbour
Beating his partner
Broken

The sobs and the grief
And the bitter cries
Pained

Leaving their mark
On my imagination
Stained

A public display
With no attempt at pretence

A tragic drama
Of domestic violence

New Project

Following last year's regular "almost" poem-a-day deluge, I've been quiet for a month on this blog, trying to work out a new project; One that will not take too much time away from my usual day job of being a Dad, especially since a second one is on the way in not too many months.

Anyway after some time of thought and reflection I have decided to put together some collections of Haiku over the coming year. Each collection will have its own subject area and they will be available as PDF downloads.

Here is a link to my downloads page from the blog and as you can see, the first collection is already available.

New collections will appear from time to time on the blog, depending on when I can spare the time to write and post, so please bear with me.