Talking about money

I don't like talking about money
It makes me feel quite funny
And my eyes go all runny
Because it is a tool which
Is but a toy of the filthy rich
Not you and I, just gives us an itch

We're encouraged to bank our money
We do, like a silly bunnies
Which they think is very funny
They'll use it to fund bigger things
Make big profit, their wives do sing
But our cash's value has taken wings

As cost of living is on the rise
Which of course is no surprise
The banks may well be telling lies
Wish I had the sense of my Grandma
Who hid her money in a huge jar
Used it to buy a Rolls Royce car!

Image found at http://www.costumedetective.com/

Eyes that sparkle

In this hectic city life
Do you know what I really miss?
No! Not a blissful country wife
But the company of a sweet miss

Pert and pretty, thats the one!
With eyes that sparkle like the stars
Whose radiant face shines like the sun
But she's from Venus and I'm from Mars

I found her the other day
She smiled at me, Boy was that bliss!
Not long before she said "Okay"
Tell you boy, does she know how to kiss!

Image found at https://pixabay.com/en/couple-love-kiss-girl-boy-romance-1502614/

Back in the '60's

I recall the misty mornings as a child
Getting up, bus to school then running wild
Dashing around the playground before the bell

Sitting in our classroom with an attentive look
Reading pages from a most boring book
But studying Maths was worse before the bell

Eager to rush out for the morning breaks
Running, laughing, playing until we would ache
Then back inside at the call of that bell

When finally at last we were set free
We'd catch the bus to take us home with glee
Before ourstop we would have to ring the bell

Then dash down our road where we had begun
Say "Hi" to Mum then into the woods would run
Then play in the trees and streams and bluebells

Cool breeze soon told us it was time to go home
So crossed the farmers field of ripening corn
Saw the old church and heard its tolling bells

When we got back Dad was home from work in town
Gave Mum some bluebells, she said so it's Spring!
Cooking food's smell was like a calling bell

After Dinner we found Dad was in a good mood
Suggested movies at drive in for the brood
He then said "Hope it doesn't rain pell mell"

Image found at https://daily.jstor.org/why-drive-ins-were-more-than-movie-theaters/

Staring at stars

We sat on the stumps beneath willow trees
Staring at stars in the darkening skies
Silver specks were winking down at us two
We kissed, we made love and I heard your sighs

A few years has passed since you went away
I lost you, no more did I hear your voice
Even your brother not allowed to say
Then one sunny day how I did rejoice

You returned to your old family home
Did not seek me out or give me a ring
It was as though I were a burdock plant
That I was just a prickly worthless thing

That lost feeling of unrest saddened me
Until I saw you in the street one morn
Now taking a girl to nursery care
I walked with you and found when she was born

"Yes she's yours" she said "But I never told"
"My dad was so cross he'd have murdered you
I refused to tell him whose child it was"
I smiled "You know now what we have to do"

Image found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_transport

The write place

I work in a study with a high window
The white clouds race by but I can't see below
Just me and a shelf of reference books
Nobody walks past or gives me odd looks

I compose my poems direct to keyboard
It is old hardware but all I can afford
My best aid is a rhyming dictionary 
Plus of course a very good memory

Much comfort is felt with high back office chair
With cushion, which can swivel without care
Waste paper basket waiting there at my side
For trash that I've written and now want to hide

Okay there is a bookcase filled to the brim
Just swivel and reach out to pick on a whim
To give inspiration when brain starts to fade
See what I've writenn, will get accolade

The skies are darkening it's time for a meal
So I print out my work to see how I feel
As I read my draft my heart pit-a-pats
Later I'll post it and in come the congrats

Image found at https://pixabay.com/en/books-bookstore-book-reading-1204029/

The monster in the sea

I don't know why I decided
To fossick down at Cut Face Cove
But here I met a cute maiden
Singing with whom I fell in love

But no words did that girl utter
As she glared at me face to face
Shook her head meaning "No! No!"
As I picked up trove from that place

Her mournful singing had no words
Her deep green eyes wept salty tears
Her dress was but green draping wrack
But I saw more which were her fears

Somehow she told me silently
Of how the sea her home was trashed
She pointed beyond the harbor
Told of fear and death unabashed

Of starving whales and poisoned seals
The death of coral reefs and fish
Not one word spoke, her eyes said it all
Stop killing was her poignant wish

Suddenly my mind finally woke
I realized the awful truth
Man was the monster in the sea
She was right we were the uncouth

Image copyrighted and is an Isadora Gruye photograph        

An Aussie's aspect on Winter

Now is the winter of your discontent
Made glorious summer in Australia
I don't say that winters were bad back then
In England with roast beef, cornish pasties
Pebbly beaches and memorable fogs
Probably all changed now, all European
Until of course they exit from EU
But that matters not to us here in Oz
A truly multicultural nation

Where our friends come from all over the world
Then there are the native people of course
Their land but the census didn't count them
Until a referendum finally 
Acknowledged they were people not fauna
Took us hundred and eighty years to accept
Meanwhile we enjoy weather that is not cold
Unless you climb up the mountains that is
Where it does snow sometimes (no guarantee)

So if you have that strange desire to ski
Best cross the Tasman sea to New Zealand
But as we are up-side-down we do this
In your summer and moan when it is cold
We also moan when it is too damned hot 
Well we moan all the time as a defence
We don't want people to see we're happy
It's the best place in the world; we know it
Don't tell anyone else; I'll clobber you!

Image of kangaroo in snowy vinyard found at https://www.washingtonpost.com/

The first two lines are of course paraphrased from Shakespeare's 'Henry V'

Warm as toast

The brash and ruddy face of Autumn falls
As do the leaves now the fruit is gone
The cold wind reminds us of blankets
And wife is now busy making jam
How creative women are, first babies
Sewing, knitting, jig-saws and more

She looks up shy, smiling, beautiful
I bend down, kiss her and breathe her in
She's as warm as toast and marmalade
Which she made this time last year, I think
October's a cosy time of year
Especially cuddled up indoors

Image found at http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/family-home/home-garden/home-made-jam-is-back-in-fashion

Four o'clock in the morning

First it was a grumble then a huge crash
Four o'clock we woke up to the thunderstorm
Electrical charge of lightning in the sky
Now rattling the roof, resonating indoors
As the frightened dog hid under the bed
Then the waves of rain washed salty kisses
Now against windows then atop the tiles
Slowly the grumbles of thunder eased off
Pins and needles in my arm slowly ceased

As Maureen's grip lessened on my poor arm
And her shaking stopped as she calmed down
Still coiled close to me her nerviness eased
I had not picked her for a scaredy cat
Or should I say scaredy dog on the bed
Who had wedged himself as close as can be
As they both sank off to sleep without me
Such classic companions in time of need
I thought of what a sight the garden would be

Image found at https://pixabay.com/en/storm-thunder-lightning-dark-sky-2258182/

That girl with green eyes

The bitter taste of loneliness
With longing ripe with despair
And hopes of you dead in my mind
Shattering joy of my first affair

Realising that all my hopes were false
That girl with green eyes loved me not
I didn't need the sad advice that
told me that she would soon be forgot

Time does bring wisdom finally
That tart taste of failure disappears
Stale memories ground in the dust
I found sweet Sue and lost all my fears

Image found at https://personalexcellence.co/blog/partner-quarrel/

Enough

What strange creature is mankind
When on Earth himself did find
This rich planet to enjoy
With trees and seas and ores galore

Enough to last many years
Not meant to bring creatures tears
Mass destruction where they tread
Evoking others deepest dread

There's abundance everywhere
Yet some take more than their share
Profit is first, then their heirs
Who rape and pillage without care

Evidence for all to see
Climate change, the rise in seas
Yet poverty is still world wide
Greedy rich are not on our side

Thinking not of the morrow
Of millions grief and sorrow
As this world before our eyes
Slowly, sadly, painfully dies

Image 1 found at https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/147633694014528815/
Image 2 found at https://www.climategate.nl/2016/03/kwetsbare-aarde-iii/

Forget yesterday

What sort of weapon is revenge?
Quite useless when a love is lost
It doesn't alter their act of choice
It only speaks with a cruel voice

How love sings but hate snarls with rage
That charges head first into a fight
Chooses not between sense and hate
Like wild beasts fighting for a mate

Sing only a sad song of love lost
That will ease the mood you now feel
Hit on that girl in the cafe
See, she smiles; forget yesterday

Image found at https://pixabay.com/en/girl-cafe-girl-in-cafe-drink-tea-3474543/

Cardboard cut-out

I am a cardboard cut-out man
A strange being no place to turn
Put on a shelf for all to scan
Won't last long, then in fire will burn

That's the trouble with getting old
Looking bad, feeling sad, that's all
Blown wherever by winter's cold
Time patterns now forecasts death's thrall

One by one bits and pieces fail
Tubes, bones, even nerves moan and groan
As ears listen for coffin's nail
End I hope is not all alone

Image found at https://pixabay.com/en/death-funeral-coffin-mourning-2421820/

Keep still

The best thing in life is just to keep still
For then you can observe what you will
Be it ants or beetles doing what they care
Or watching birds flying high in the air

Even in the busy streets and shopping malls
Or in a produce market's bustling stalls
Suavely dressed or in workman's clobber
All happy children, except one sobber

Quick look now! For there is a snatch and grab!
While the victim weeps and her eyes does dab
Oblivious busker's music still plays
Victim and robber now gone for the day

Down by the river bank all is quiet
A lone Egret watches the water yet
Waiting for a fish to catch for his tea
Meanwhile the Mallard ducks quack happily

Then one warm summer day on beaches strand
Sunglasses on, relaxed with book at hand
Watch the brown tanned bodies pass you by
Keep still and observe, all will please your eye



Image found at https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/786581891145108288/

Ring-a-ring o'roses

Ring-a-ring o'roses
A pocket full of posies
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down

Ring-a-ring o'rosey
I have a runny nosey
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
Energy has flown

Ring the Doc, on the dot
I think I need a shot
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
Nose in meltdown

Ring for an ambulance
Don't spare the finance
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
I feel so run down

Please get me out of here
Loath the food, need a beer
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
Hate this nightgown!

Image found at https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/25543922858663213/?lp=true

The owl and me

The owl opened one eye and looked at me
As I stared at him in the old oak tree
I was standing on a small grassy mound
And quite unaware of the stir of life
At my feet some ants were now causing strife

I felt their first bites on my legs and feet
So ran off to get a far better seat
Fallen log seemed to be the best idea
I looked up to see the owl leave his seat
Flew up and snatched a brown snake at my feet

So this set me wondering about our Earth
With humans thinking we got the top berth
Okay he merely saw a potential meal
Same time he saw that I'd do him no ill
Did two jobs, saved me with food in his bill

Image found at http://getyourimage.club/new-club.html

The forest loves us

When were you the happiest? I asked, She smiled and said "When we were lost in the forest". I remembered those times too. We would take our lunch and binoculars. We did not have to walk far into the trees before we found a magic land. As we ventured further in the silence surrounded us. Occasional shafts of light ventured through the treetops and the tweets and coos were heard but unseen. As we slowed our pace we could hear the tinkle of a stream and tentatively made our way to obey its beckoning. A small area lit by an opening provided by a fallen tree was where we rested. The wild ones silence was broken by our stillness. It was as though in approval the birds got back to work and flew over the water to catch insects or have a bath. Some chortled with laughter others cooed lazily as we moved not a limb. Suddenly there was a shuffle as an animal ambled through the undergrowth and started digging with its snout close to us to find food. It was an Echidna that looked up at us with his beady eyes, nodded his head and continued his quest for ants. You then said to me "It is so beautiful I feel like singing"

                                                Singing with the stream
                                                 Rippling happily along
                                                   The forest loves us

I thought that this piece from 2015 deserved another outing

Image found at www.keys.lucidcentral.org

Fine Balance

I woke to find your warm arm across me
Your nose nestled in my neck
Breathing softly still sleeping
You had left him after a fight
Bout of tumult then seeking solace with me

I was quite delighted I must say
Settling so well in my home
Bringing clothes and girly togs
With my help and full waste bins
To keep you safe from any affray

Crowds of clouds skeet behind garden's trees
You're still sleeping by my side
How long 'ere I lose you too
Breaking another man's heart
Love comes so easy in your twenties

Image found at https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/444167581973662207/

Talk of love

How do I unlock your heart, do I have the key?
If I talk of love will we be in harmony?
And of your rosy lips, do I get a kiss?
As your arms wrap around me, my perfect miss

What secrets can I discover in your eyes?
Those deep dark pools of seductive mystery
When I am close I breathe you in, what perfume
I am alive, you're love's gift that I consume

Why don't we be locked together for everymore
For you know that it is you that I adore
Looking up you flick your raven locks at me
That shy smile confirms that married we shall see

Image found at https://pixabay.com/en/girl-fashion-makeup-beauty-model-1848949/

We must flee north

Antarctic winter we must flee north
To sheltered bays and warmer waters
For soon the calves will be safely born
There may be sons or even daughters

We've are coming to this far off coast
The river's mouth gives the signal clear
At the isle with those Fairy penguins
Give birth to our calves again this year

Smoke on the mainland is not a good sign
Is it cruel man's dread bush fire again?
Who comes to kill at least one of us
With harpoons and agonising pain

Where can we go that is safe for us?
We have no defence against this beast
Who slaughters us at our calving time
For him our blubbers oil is a feast

We're but fuel for his nightime lamp light
While our bones lay white on beaches sand
One day perhaps this horror will end
With joy we'll be welcome in this land

Today whales are protected in Australia's waters and are a great tourist attraction particularly in South Australia where I live. As far as could discover Japan, Norway and Iceland are still involved in commercial whaling.

Image found at https://southaustralia.com/travel-blog/whale-watching-in-south-australia

Her sweet song

O sing a song of the sea
That's good enough for me
I have so many tales to tell
Even more than that seashell

Hold it up close to your ear
It will tell what you most fear
Will Kraken finally wake?
I hope not for all our sakes

Orcas here, cephalopods there
Giant squids hug like a bear
Stingrays are just baby stuff
Beasts in oceans depths are tough

O sing that sea song indeed
Down there you are just their feed
Unless you're a mermaids friend
Love and kisses 'til your end

Her sweet song will entice you
You'll do what she wants you to
You'll paint her nails and eat fish
Go ahead if that's your wish!

Image found at https://2ser.com/mermaid-tempest-and-friends-life-as-a-mermaid/