BLOCKHEAD

"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money."

                                                               Samuel Johnson

OK, so I'm a blockhead. 

WELCOME

 I hope you enjoy reading from this collection

as much as I enjoyed writing it.

( more poems in my all round overland tour of S. America

on Kindle :  'SAO' by Michael Amor )

What makes a piece of writing a poem?

If there isn't any rhyme or at least repeating rhythm,

it's just pretentious shredded prose and not a proper poem.

I know there's a science explanation

about the colour of the sky

and it would be presumptuous

of me to question why

it has to be so complicated.

I give the scientists their due

but seeing as it's Some-One's carpet

I just think God likes blue.

Miracles

The first miracle is that the Universe exists:

the second that the Earth is so alive:

the third is Mankind:

and the fourth will be

if the second can survive the third.

When all is said and nearly done

then nothing really matters much.

When, without war or poverty

a life as comfortable as mine

begins to stutter to its end

there's little lost and still less won.

TWEETS 25

JAN 8  SUSSEX

I wondered why

so many cars on the road today;

then realised why -

all the ice and snow has melted away.

Changing gear is usually H

but more economical is W

ALLOTMENT

Another two hours in mud and cold:

there isn't any pleasure in it

but there is some satisfaction.

BED

used to be exciting - sex and cuddles

but now it's just a refuge from the daily troubles.

DISCO  OR  COCOA ?

One old woman in my bed

or lots of young ones in my head.

LIFE

like a fly's acquaintance with window glass

MORE BAD NEWS

The news seems always full of death and disaster,

a world out of control that we can't master,

tragedies of loss and grief far way beyond

my little limited life being in bond

to scrabbling for some trivial bum rhymes

and feeling guilty at being happy sometimes.

THURSDAY BAND NIGHT

The older ones are not attractive;

the younger ones need younger men.

At least the dancing keeps me active

partnering despair again.

I have a little poe tree

nothing will it bare

about my human frailty

but what I hereby share.

There's very little silver

and even less that's gold

and as for Spain's fair daughter

I wouln't be so bold

WINTER BREAK

Within this Spanish winter hotel

occasional sun warms the clientele

and stirs the dregs of teenage dreams

for so many old folks in jeans.

Can miracle births be expected when

these days there are so many pregnant men ?

We're not the wealthy but equally not the poor;

we have enough but naturally want more.

Among the sad detritus of old age

her flowing sunshine hair illuminates

the weary gloom and reaffirms

the beauty of the human race.

What I want in a woman is beauty

or at least some physical attractiveness;

lust was just an episode in the past

never intended to last.

Two sister children run their game

etching the adults' life in embers

with life in flame.

I got one hit from the Congo/Kinshasa

but no return and nothing from Lhasa.

SUMS

People like arithmetic;

they multiply.

I stand disoriented, lost in space,

devoid of bearings to locate the place

I left so recently but sadly now

cannot remember where it is or how

to find it in the quiet gloom

of vastness in this hotel dining room.

Domestic abuse

So many young and beautiful women

sparkling everywhere on TV

could make some men resent their own women

being only ordinary.

In a house across the road

there live a young woman and two young girls;

no man but also an older woman

and I asked the young woman "Is she your mother?"

"No, she's my partner."  Oh ! Touchez.

How sad for a woman to peak in beauty

only a quarter way through her life

but there is the consolation of children

hopefully when she becomes a wife.

Tweets 24

Too late. No threat.

------------------------

Winter is stalking my garden

but Summer's already gone.

Summer sunset - glowing coals.

Old and waiting to die,

life seems the dregs of a dream.

Is it just coincidence that the rise in child ADHD cases

follows the growth of 'gentle parenting' advice ?

COURTESY OF THE ROAD

Politeness can sometimes go too far

like gesturing 'thanks' to an empty parked car.

MANOSPHERE

While you may compliment a woman

a woman complements you.

OLD  FART

I'm out of place in a disco

but what would I rather see -

real young people dancing

or actors on TV ?

Searching the table among the glasses

the collared dove found food to go

scattering every now and then

crumbs for the sparrow waiting below.

                                

I like those discos when the music

is catchy enough for dancing

and when the women are beautiful -

young and slim and entrancing.

I tend to note the ages of the deaths

of those that merit mention in the news

and mildly gloat over those that I've outlived

pathetically challenging the fact that I lose.

Strawbery patch

I'm pleasantly surprised to note

a rather unusual absence of slugs

while searching for any hidden fruit

(ignoring the possible presence of bugs)

by feeling 'blind' among the leaves.

But then my hand feels something soft

and moist, surely over-ripe but retrieves

the berry by squeezing  . . . I'm shocked !

It moves ! Above the leaves a head appears.

I recognise it and now it's clear -

if you want to keep your strawberries slug free,

encourage your patch to be well-frogly.

Apples

Now the crows are attacking my apples

spearing them with their wicked beaks

but there's such a glut it doesn't matter

losing their share in the following weeks.

The garden is littered with baby apples

pushed overboard by the swelling sprays,

dessert for the resident slugs and snails

surviving the sweltering summer days.

The 'drops' I add to my compost bin -

a layer cake of everything;

the big apples will be sliced and stewed,

boxed in the freezer for winter food.