An enduring love

Empty seas and a heavy heart
When did this start to fall apart?
Remembering the life that we used to have
Passion, attention and a laugh

Though now those days are few and few
My love for you remains strong and true
Fantasies form in a cool head
Our only intimacy is found in bed

And there the battle between sex and sleep
Fatigued yet aroused we fall in deep
With the setting of the evening sun
Attempts to shed our stresses have begun
Priorities shift from work to home
Counting the hours 'til we're truly alone.

Bulls**t sells

If you can tell a good story you'll get on well here
If you can make others listen to you, then have no fear
Don't allow results to be a measure of success
Keep blinding them with smoke and mirrors, telling them you're the best.

The poet inside

Ideas pass through me, like wind howling through trees
Memories and creations fill my mind, yet stay only briefly
Wishing I could hold on to these sparks seems a pipe dream
And yet they keep on coming - fast, relentlessly

Imagination is a gift we all possess
Mine works in hyper drive - scrambled - a mess
It feels like I'm in fast forward, images whizzing by
It feels like I'm living too quick - too young to die

Putting the brakes on feels like an eternity
Slowing down the pace is a wishful luxury
I no longer control this, it has taken over me
Manic thought creation is what my life has to be.

Côtes du Vanity

Layered blue azure reaches out to you
Beckoning to be entered, calm as a pool
The scarce beaches of a pre-season resort
En route to paradise or perhaps not

Willing the clocks to slow and stop
Heat warming you, time to remove your top
Blanc yachts cresting in line with the buoys
Young men posing, over emphasizing their joy

Mature women in their bikini twilight years
Staying close to their husbands as younger bodies appear
Vanity overcomes both young and old
One's with histories, others yet to be told
Striking out, believing they’re the best since sliced bread
All living their youth, as if they'd soon be dead.

Dawn from a ferry

Land scraped back, stripped and barren
A new view forming, created in the days
Flattened, cleansed - old scenes forgotten
The morning creeping in, with the sun rays

Pain behind my eyes makes no attempt to fade
Tiredness of another night is for all to see
Weariness creeps out and strikes me with its blade
And another dawn rises to greet me.

Gout fromage

Cliff edges of the slice crisping in response to the heat from the radiant bars
Crust, protectors of this feast, singed from rich tea to barbecue brown
The mature, butchered Cheddar gently forming lava bubbles at the centre
A peak at progress, conscious not to overcook this nocturnal gourmet treat
Pulled from the melting pot at the last minute
To be sliced into two, the creamy brown semi-solid oozing into the new ravine
Prepared for a real pickle - Branston's of course!

Worthlust

Drips of dissatisfaction, eroding worth and value
Reading into universes where others see only moons
Agendas receded into the slimmest of shadows
A desert of kind words and actions
Tundra, barren of security and hope
Cold, numb - words unheard - screams unanswered
At the end  - or, turn around - at the beginning?

Slow awakening

Abrupt from the coma, dreams of a far away land
Dazed not confused, crisp packet still in your hand
Up on your elbows, set to climb from your bed
Wiping your brow, flavour fiery hot red.

Leaving speech (unspoken)

Disappointment and joy reach from his face, like the new horizon or chapter to be embarked
Confidence to replace doubt, inflicted by tongues of serpents and bottom dwellers
This journey of trial, error, exposure, discovery, success
Reinvention of the man, who was always there
Facing the warmth of opportunity, farewell to despair.

Note on piece: inspired by my good friend A and a beer shared, who is moving on to a new career

And I thank you

Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to look at my blog and my work.  I appreciate the comments from Greg, Louise and Sabine - I encourage all visitors to leave comments  - however long or brief.  And of course 'follow my blog' or follow me on Twitter for new pieces of work.

Best wishes and inspiration to you all
PN

Weathering the shower

Unexpected rain breaks across the morning sky
We were told it would happen this afternoon - another forecasters lie
What was blue, is now all but grey
The difference of a summers day
Playgrounds empty of children, all huddled inside
Peering out of windows, monitoring the sky
Safely staying indoors, staying dry
The intensity of the raindrops seems to crescendo at its peak
Thoughts move to prayers, hoping the cover will not leak
Rain storms in the summer eradicate the heat
Wishing this one will pass quickly, to show we are far from beat.

Complet / Complete

Driving down a hectic street
Dreaming of warm sand under my feet
Wishing I could shift this frown
To be with them, to act the clown
Simple pleasures fill my mind
Another place, another time
Though all I want is to be
with my girls - their mum - completely.

After the rain

Grey clouds lift, a break or two of blue

The rain that ensued has left a shine on the land

Brickwork freshened by moisture's touch

Grime and dirt of the summer trailing away to a mortal end

Steam appears as the sun once more makes its dominance felt

The flora recovers, safe to raise their full faces

Noises once again, where there had been only roar

The evening sounds of the countryside, on the wind children readily explore

And now the evening settles, shed of it meteorological hiccup

Tomorrow brings a new dawn, a new sun, a new day

Awaiting more warming rays, a return to the heat and the dry.

Baggage

Another life, an alternative strife

Reminiscing of the past

Ambitions sought and lessons taught

Naivety of how things might last

A wiser man, or so it seemed

Picking up pieces of his dreams

What about the truth he chased

Always lagging, out of pace

Trying to get to another place

Seeking quiet and some peace

The distant memories of a face
And all you do is chase me

The status of what used to be
You and I, simply we
Frustrations led to this demise
Now it seems we need to re-appraise.


Note on this piece: random thoughts on relationships

Fading day

Sounds of the evening gain clarity
Birds chirping, murmours from parties
The heat of the day has drifted away
An extra layer so that you can stay
Suddenly it's quiet, only to be broken again
The summer evening lifts the spirits and balances the zen

Death...by meeting

Arranged with the best intentions, they drudge into the meeting of minds
Expectations and indifference, partially hidden by their need to perform
Actors on a familiar and well worn stage, Shakespearean if you like
Politics, treachery, realisation - and characters of note
Played out over sixty-three minutes,
Messages too subtle or too bold to be understood

Old ground revisited, replayed, re-dug
Notes scribbled in haste, doodling outlined at the agenda edge
A solitary voice vainly tries to bring order and progress
Loud boy checks his Blackberry for the umpteenth time
No interest in hearing - only to be heard
The sudden face at the glass prompts the meeting to close before it is completed
Evacuating the box, actions for some, already late for the next performance.

Note on piece:  My frustrations at some pointless meetings over the past two days - well we have to get our inspiration from somewhere.

Holiday lost....reality gained

A frown betrays her holiday blues
Reality of work and kids back to school
One final day to take the sun
Before the commute recommences
The joy of a holiday to be replaced
By the trudge of feet and sea of anonymous faces
As the aircraft soar into the morning sky
Still on the beach of calm you lie
The near perfect vista stretches beyond the sea
A gentle wave rides into your feet
Once more your mind starts to drift
Watching the children play in the sand
Wishing you could stay in this land.


Note on this piece:  Observations of my wife and the changes in her mood on the final day of our holiday earlier this year.  Tensing with the realisation that the break from the commute was soon to be over.

Supermarco Republica

Spring has arrived, summer is near
Football on the telly, men carrying crates of beer
Out in their droves, worshippers of the sun
Tattoo's of every image, frequent builders bum

Vests if your lucky, bare chests if you're not
Many a six-pack have clearly gone to rot
What a place we call England, have our standards really dropped?
Is it too much to ask that you wear a proper top?

Your arrogance and ignorance makes you defined
The way you act is appalling, what is going through your mind?
You spend more on fags than supper, and your trainers are the latest look
Your kids are pushed around in designer prams, yet you rarely read a book

Peer groups support your views on life - prejudice, racism and greed
Why don't you stop and look around, it's your kids you choose not to feed
The LCD TV informs you of what you should think
Countless shopping channels and fragmented families - you don't even blink

What now for your children - to what should they aspire?
Years of debt and credit that roll and roll
Decades of smoking that take their toll
And there it is, a life of waste?
But what would you know - you like this place.


Note about the piece:  This is not about an individual or particular group, rather a combination of observations and perceptions.  The greatest source of material was my local supermarket, particularly after 8 pm (bizarrely - and hence the title) and how couples and groups interacted.  It is quite alarming to see people shouting at each other down the length of supermarket aisles as if no one else is there, using a  language spoken with little change in tone and indistinguishable words.  Perhaps I'm a snob or no longer in touch with the wider community...though i think not certainly on the latter.  As I say these are simply observations and thoughts - though should make us think of the fragmentation, polarisation and reinforced conditioning of our society.

d'Artagnan's landscape (reworked)

A strawberry souffle sky kisses distant hills
Like cinnamon sticks - trees static -  no breeze of which to tell
The humidity of the day, lifted and free
Sunset in Gascony, a melting vista, a place to be

Restless children defy the fading light, tussling with a ball
Battling like musketeers, for the honour of the score
The sagging of the peach like sun, dips into the green
A covering of charcoal begins to fill our screen.



note on this piece: another glimpse at the Gascony sunset and the campsite observations

Guest piece: 2012 Fun Olympics

The Olympics are coming - come come come
And go to the stadium and watch the fun
If you can't go  then watch on the TV or R A D I O
And don't forget to bring sweets or chocolate or salty popcorn
Then when it's finished go to bed and have some dreams!

Note on piece: This is a guest piece by my eldest daughter H (8)

Closing of a summer day

Waft of a BBQ drifts across camp
The unmistakable smoke of burning fat
The blue, white and orange merge of the sunset sky
The evening is upon us, the sun drifting lower - to die
Warmth has returned, summer recommenced
The showers of yesterday, distant and spent
Relaxing with a glass of rose, comfy in a chair
Staring at the horizon - blissful - without a care.


Note on this piece:  this year in southern France, having 'survived' the storm of the night before, I sat contented just relaxing and staring across the rolling fields and taking in all the elements around me.

That new old thing aka a life through your phone

You jump to its every buzz and beep
Never far away, rarely out of reach
Constant monitoring, as if watching your first born
To separate you would feel like a limb has been torn

A portal to other worlds, a projection of you
Your identity, your thoughts - it holds these true
It receives more strokes and care than those dearest and near
Discretely informing you when you've been tagged or poked

The language it uses is a mystery indeed
An aversion with faces smiley and funny - screams of need
Your life is contained through it, without you feel incomplete
Yet six months will pass and this brick is obsolete.



Note on inspiration:  This is a piece I wrote in June 2012, however with the launch of the new iphone it seems quite topical.  It contains my observations of how those around us treat and interact with their mobile/smart phones and the dependency relationship they form with them.

Olympic Mist

The parade has come, the crowds have cheered
Olympic mania has swept us up and placed us here
From this high, now where do we aspire
Days pass following the cauldrons dwindling fire
Normality may bring its respite - less colour - more light
Commuters settle into routine
A memory of the greatest Olympics yet seen.

Note on this piece:  Great Britain has been swept up in an Olympics euphoria and having watched the parade through London of our athletes I reflected on what next...

The email de spam warning

Shock and horror, what have I done?
An email stating I look like spam
Not that from  a tin, for those of you old enough to know
Instead a digital flaw, a no no

Though what could have caused this error to be
A new critic of my novice poetry?
Was my embrace of technology too hastily done?
A blog and Twitter, has this try made me undone?

For now I have verified and await my review
A slight sense of having been naughty at school
It still lets me write, which is some relief
I hope that they recognise I am a human, and believe

Note for this piece: inspired by being informed by Google that they think my blog is a spam blog.  and now awaiting the two day review by them to remove any warnings to this effect.

The approaching storm

A thunderstorm is coming
Take warning gets shout out
A thunderstorm is coming
Get undercover, nothing out
A thunderstorm is approaching
The branches bend in the breeze
A thunderstorm is approaching
The trees lose their leaves
A thunderstorm is looming
The wait is getting tense
A thunderstorm is looming
Youth's fearful comments make no sense
A thunderstorm is almost upon us
The children are taking fright
A thunderstorm is coming here
Though will is hit us tonight?

Note about the piece:  I wrote this whilst in southern France recently, where they have some amazing thunderstorms, though in particular the way my daughters were getting anxious about its arrival.  So in tradition, my first entry is dedicated to H & A who provide me with a different lens through which to view our world.

Put to keyboard

So I embrace a further realm of technology and start a blog.  My intention is to update the blog with mainly my new found passion for creating poetry; at least that's how I'm labelling my works.  The aim to upload 5 new pieces a week and where possible get comments etc on them.
I hope you like them and where I can I'll try to give a quick note on what inspired the piece. I reserve the right to add similar 'non-peotry' items as the mood takes.
Here we go!