I'm in a state

I'm in a state, time is ticking by
Seconds, minutes, an hour even
The patron, host, manager whatever
Clearly is miffed I've not ordered
He could have seated better guests
A group to put a smile on his face
More than just my bottled water
I pour a minute measure more
Into the now warm, tall  glass
Honestly I thought she would come

The day hadn't started like this
Cloudy yes, but with bright patches
I had raced to get here on time
Even now she could rescue me
By coming through the door smiling
We could order a sumptuous spread
But now I rise to eat humble pie
Walk to the counter to pay up
Glancing at the door, but clearly
I'm in state...of freedom again

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Fly away

I breathe in your scent

And dare to touch your soft skin

You lower your eyes

We should not have met

But disdain the punishment

We surely deserve

I stroke your lithe arms

As you shudder with delight

And grasp me so close

O that we had wings

To fly away together

Impossible dream

What is love but hope?

We shall surely soar away 

The stars tell us so

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It is hard to imagine

70^th Anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz Prison camp

It is hard to imagine

Luckily I remember

As a nine year old

Reading the papers

Seeing the pictures

Swallowing hard

At such an atrocity

How glad that I was

That it didn’t happen

To my loving family

But it could have done

It still happens today

We turn a blind eye

So don’t look on coldly

Yes, it is far away

But it’s also at home

Look around you

Don’t close your eyes

You are powerful

By doing nothing

You’re just as depraved 

As the perpetrators

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Are you my mother?

When I was a child so very small

I didn’t know that much at all

I had my dad and my mother

Then of course I had big brother

Off we’d run down to the gully

Sadly for me he was a bully

I would rather pick some petals

Instead he pushed me in the nettles

Surely if me he so much hated  

He and I could not be related          

So off home I ran full of tears

And told my mother of my fears

“Are you my mother?” I said sadly

When my play had ended badly

“And adopted I have been truly

With a brother so cruel and unruly”

She could not stem my flowing tears

So she had to disprove all my fears

Found a newspaper cutting of my birth

And cuddled me for all I was worth  

This is a true story and even now I can imagine how much of a shock my mother felt when her five year old son told her this. However I can laugh at it as it was me!

I caught Debbie's eye

I’ll say this of Jim

I so marvelled at his choice

Of girlfriends that is

We would visit bars

In the springtime of our life

He dressed well did Jim

With that knowing smile

Pick up the girl drinking gin

Brazen chick was she

Broad smile, full bosom

A laugh you dare not take home

We were envious

While his games were played

I tended to sit and chat

With my mates from work

Office girls sat close

Enjoying their small freedom

Shy glances exchanged

I caught Debbie’s eye

So settled for the opposite

Quiet, cute and wise

She warmed to my smile

I breathed in her scent and she

Let me hold her hand

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Sadness fills my heart

Sadness fills my heart

Raven always speaks to me

Looks me in the eye

They do not count or read

But regard me with wisdom

It is a warning

So the trees whisper

Their moans of such discontent

Man you’re such a fool

Signs are all around

Wild dogs sadly shake their heads

But leave me alone

So I close my eyes

Breathe in the wilderness air

I scent trouble now

Gone are the wild bees

There’s so much work to be done

And so little time

On the wide sea's shore

There, dead fish now stare at me 

Man you've caused a stink

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You are my full moon

That spell you have cast

Now scorches my hearts fibre

I'm glad it does so

You are my full moon

That shines on me when it is dark

Thus easing my mind

In your far off land

Your church bells chime not for me

So far, far away

So what is my aim?

Maybe, one day we will speak

Our sweet words of love

And what is the sign?

Free spirit will you dance now 

Or keep your silence?

But for now, farewell

No more of my trite nonsense

You know me too well

That spell you have cast

Now scorches my hearts fibre

I'm glad it does so

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She smiles shyly

She does not see me

Yet I’m no stranger to her

That makes me so sad

There she goes again

She’s lost deep in her own thoughts

Perhaps she’s in love

I love to watch her

But never guess what she thinks

Singing her own song

Living her own life

Always dreaming her own dreams

What beauty she has

She sees me and waves

So I dare to approach her

She greets me warmly

Do I have a chance?

So I manage to blurt out

“You look so happy”

So she smiles shyly

“It is all a front you know

I’m glad you are here”

We grab a coffee

And spend some time together

I really like her

I’ve been such a fool

How much time have we wasted?

Until now that is

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Fashion, a man's view

Men find it hard to see the fashion bent

That all women follow like a scent

To possess a surfeit of clothes to wear

When we would rather see them bare

I confess I do not always think this way

When skimpy beachwear is on display

When awful thoughts I begin to harbour

So I must bathe to dowse my ardour

I would rather spend my cash on booze

And outlay more time on sport or snooze

While rounds of shops we have to probe

Leaving me less space in our wardrobe

Can’t they wear a suit and tie like us?

This would surely stifle all the fuss

Then we could nod our heads in greeting

And bank accounts would be less fleeting

Image found at www.fashionbride.com

Better to have fun in life

Oh, how I liked her

It was that look in her eyes

Joyful, frivolous

One to relax with

And whom one could joke and laugh 

Unrefined of course

But to marry her?

Yes, that was the big question

As I held her hand

I stroked her fingers

Better to have fun in life

Be amicable

I gave her a hug

And then kissed her pretty nose

Then heard a tapping

So then looked down

Yes, it was her ring finger

She could read minds too!

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Where are we going?

He walked home alone

After they had kissed goodnight

Recalling her words

But they puzzled him

She’d said “Where are we going?”

He had no answer

As he trudged along

The cold wind whipped around him

Just what had she meant?

Was it a concert?

Perhaps a weekend away?

Then the penny dropped

His heart beat faster

Oh! She wants to be married!

It’s too soon surely?

When he got back home

“Just what do you think of Jill?”

He asked his mother

“Yes, she a good lass

Isn't she dating others?”

So he shook his head

She smiled, and then thought

“I always wanted a daughter

We get on well too”

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Hopeless Romance

I saw her again

After a bit of a break

She lowered her eyes

She knows I like her

But always keeps me at bay

She’s married of course

I’ve flirted with her

Many years without number

It’s a game we play

I kissed her the once

A crowded street, broad daylight

She just whispered “No”

She enjoys the care

But gives no encouragement

Faithful to the end

What hopeless romance 

I hope I am in her dreams 

For she is in mine                                                                                        

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Daughter of the Moon

She was the daughter of the moon

Pale, beautiful always out of reach

But who could read her

Not me, no-one perhaps

Neither was she of my small world

I long to hear her voice as she sang

Exquisite poetess

Who breathed the cool night

For if I have been so touched

Has she bestowed a special gift?

And kissed my eager lips

Hers for eager eternity

Her father could be time himself

Shapeshifter moving constantly on

Could I live with this legend

Or be her poem's sad end?

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Medicine men

Medicine is such a secret realm

Couched in terms not meant for you

Where doctors play with words and us

While all we can do is moan and cuss

To justify their hard earned wage

Higher beings they deign to be

They shake their heads and write a note

But when we’ve gone they laugh and gloat

You’ve been there an hour or more

They don’t want to talk, just write a script

For the pharmacists to translate

For you’ll find they are always late

If they cannot solve your ill

They will send you to those that will

Scans and tests and specialists

While your cash goes in the mists

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Yet another day

Ann sighed so sadly

For she was pregnant again

This one was her fourth

Yet one child alive

The angels may have brought them

But they did not stay

Jim, Tom and her here

The others were in heaven

Not even a grave

She wanted a girl

But often wondered for why

When life was all grief

This time it might stay

For baby was due in May

That could be her name

But God would provide

And would take away as well

She smoothed her belly

Let me keep this one

She prayed, and a daughter too

Jim, stirred by her side

The cock crowed outside

Silently she left the bed

Yet another day

Infant mortality two hundred years ago meant that 25% or more babies died before they were one year old; many more in undeveloped countries. Birthdays were not at all important, just surviving was a gift.

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Office matters

How easily I am distracted

From whatever I do

By the flick of her hair

The ways that she walks

The glance from her eyes

And the waft of her perfume

That now fills the office air

My mind’s not on my work

Others seem untroubled by

This girl with such a frame

I think she really is the best

Who clearly just does not care

But I’m not in her sights at all

She doesn’t even know my name

I’ll ignore her, which is best

She’s not the one for me

How could I ever measure up

Then one day she’s at my desk

“I thought you didn't like me”

as she asks for help on a job

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I found she was quite modest

And was glad I had let her be

While all the others ogled her

Wisely my distance I had kept

Safely observing from afar

She's summed us up, so I think

Perhaps love is finally astir

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The boy on her mind

She sat by the phone

Jack always rang on Wednesday

When he worked away

It was unlike him

She tried to think what she’d said

As she felt choked up

Was he different

Last time they were together?

She felt hot and sick

Her face coloured up

Did he think she had flirted?

That time in the bar

Well he smiled at her

Of course she would smile back too

His name was Robert

"There’s plenty of fish"

She mused to herself, grinning

"I hate those that sulk"

She now felt better

"He can stay working up state

Leaving me behind"

Just then the phone rang

“I wonder if it is him”

She said with a laugh

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The Artist's Model

Every week he went

To the down town studio

He worked in conté

The same mixed group there

Different model each week

High speed impression

Five, ten, minutes more

Likeness to please or throw out

Until this stunner

Steady as a rock

Best model they ever had

And curves to die for

A student of course

Earning some cash for keep

Hope she comes again

Conté sketch by Author

Forelorn Hope

Your eyes spelled out that ennui

Gone that special touch for me

Where are those notes you used to send

I can sense this is the end

Your rosy scent I can breathe

No news for so long, so I seethe

Once you channeled all your life

Now you choose not to be my wife

Must I now capitulate? 

Drifting in an inky state 

Drenched with tears cold to the bone 

Now condemned to walk alone 

Please generate some hope for me 

List all I could do, you'll see 

A single smile, one warm glance 

To show I still have a chance 

Just what can I say to you? 

To show I'll be ever true 

And what gift can I render?

Proving my love is truly tender

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Secret Kiss

Now if I had been

So inordinately drunk

As to touch your hair

Then you’d turn around

Look me in the eyes laughing

And would forgive me

Because you knew me

We often smiled at each other

And idly chatted

Your eyes told stories

And I loved to kiss your cheek

when you spoke my name

It was but a game

As we admitted nothing

Both with our problems

Until that one day

I stole, but you gave, that kiss

Completely sober

We two, now delighted

Have a very big problem

Our special secret

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On Waking

You are in my dreams

I am in seventh heaven

For I breathe you in

I lay by your side

My fingers touch your soft skin

You turn and come close

Those old times return

As in passionate embrace

We kiss savagely

I melt into you

And capture every sigh

For my memory

Those electric dreams

Find me alone by morning

Now I’m cold inside

But were you not here

Are they your tears on the sheets

Or mine once again?

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Was that you?

On the road again

I’ve been in this town before

Many years ago

Sixties or seventies

I was so young in those days

Until I met you

You were beautiful

I was hungry for adventure

You just wanted me

And you were so strong

I was putty in your hands

Where have you gone now?

Country girls are best

So strong and reliable

How did I leave you?

Could you still be here?

Married and a grandmother

Thinking of me too?

The old town has changed

So have I for that matter

Was that you just then?

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You start Monday

“You start on Monday”

The voice said a week later

It was the New Year

She was so nervous

Walking into the office

With the other staff

“I’ll get Mister Jones”

The receptionist then said

So she sat to wait

A tall man walked up

“Hello Jill, welcome aboard

Mine name is Matthew”

But then he added

“But everyone calls me Matt”

And then smiled at her

Talking all the time

Pointing out the departments

“Don’t worry you’ll learn”

“Here we are; your desk

I’ll go through the procedure

With you for this week”

As they sat she thought

“I’m going to like it here”

Looking in his eyes

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Facing the plain truth

We are all alone

Just pale shadows of ourselves

That is my belief

I dread that bell's chime

On the day of nevermore

That holy call to prayer

Have you had your fill?

And ingested life’s full compass?

Our life’s finite joy

Laughing happily

Dedicated to sweet love

Care and tenderness

Before that sad arrival

Facing the plain truth that

Your signs, your stains gone

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