The Poetry Marathon

2013

Married three years now,
Gone by in the blink
Of an eye, while you reach
Down to me, take my
Hand in yours, forever and always.
Our married life ahead –
Flat by the sea, friends and family,
And a newborn niece
To spoil.

Not knowing of the clouds ahead,
Of illness, loss, and confusion,
A country isolated and adrift,
While our family rallies round
And pulls itself together.

Quicker even than that blink
Ten years passed, yet your hand,
Remains in mine,
A little battered, bruised,
Older and not really wiser
Holding fast for thirteen years.

The Past A Cloak (After Diana Khoi Nguyen)

Tatters of recollections
Warmed us during cold nights,
Pulled close, the past
Draped around us as a cloak.

Shuffling forward inch by inch,
Into an unknown future,
No time to look back,
No chance to change our mind.

The night gradually thins
Into a welcoming pale light,
Warm air finally replacing
The threadbare cloak of a well-worn past.

Blue

In white veined petals,
I see the sea,
Veins becoming foam
As tides rush in and out,
Captured in a snapshot of fragile flower,
As short-lived as the sea is enduring.
Blue fills my vision, my memories
Of standing on piers, watching waves,
Captivated by this dangerous beauty,
Taste of salt on my lips and breeze in my hair,
Hands grasping the thin, steel railing
That is all that prevents us from joining
The waters below,
To be swallowed whole,
And be surrounded by blue.

Skyscraper

Like a needle threaded through clouds,
The skyscraper sits atop the world
Gleaming glass and metal – indestructible
Pointing to the future spread out before us.
Every beat of its silver drum
A new wave of humanity’s flag,
Another feather in technology’s cap,
A climb so high, we dare not look down,
Refusing to ask who is still there,
To catch us when we fall.

January Birthday

With a birthday in early January
He has to accept the nearness to Christmas,
Joint presents and second thoughts
For wishing him a happy birthday
When surely Christmas and New Year
Were not even finished with?

To add to the ill-timed nature of his celebrations
He has to share his birthday with his brother,
The exact same day, six years apart –
Couldn’t be planned if they tried.

And although he’s the younger
It’s very much clear
That he’s late to this party,
As his brother laments
The lack of a shiny new bike
And the appearance of a sibling instead!

Nothing

This too shall pass,
Like this month’s flavour
Becoming next month’s
Fish and chip wrappings –
Nothing lasts forever,
And nothing gold can stay.

So make hay while you can
But don’t count your chickens yet,
And this too shall pass
And all will be well –
But nothing lasts forever,
And nothing gold can stay.

Learn from your mistakes
And don’t let history be repeated,
Time flies if you have some fun
And take your laughter medicine –
Just remember that nothing lasts forever,
And nothing gold can stay.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter, living under the stairs,
Always wondered why nobody cared.
“You’re a wizard, Harry”, Hagrid explains,
So it’s off to Hogwarts and some friends to gain.

Four school houses live in deep conflict,
While students have homework and spells to lick,
But on the forth floor, danger is hidden,
An an obstacle course to complete, they are bidden.

To save the day, Harry must play,
Wizard Chess, and a room full of keys
Before facing an evil professor
And the stone to seize.

But all ends well, and first year is over,
Harry returns to Privet Drive, no longer a pushover,
Wand in hand, and friends on his side,
Harry is a hero – full of Gryffindor pride!

Normal

‘Normal is’, we laugh, shake our heads,
A vague pop culture reference we both enjoy.
There’s no such thing, we agree,
As you tell me again, how you
Have never been normal and I nod,
Knowing I wouldn’t have you any other way.

As we create our own reality,
Definition of normality,
Knowing we exist on the same page
And can write our own book
One moment at a time,
Building a life together.

Moving

This year, we have been unable to move,
To travel, explore, visit friends and family,
Stick to your own back yard, we are told,
Stay home, stay local, stay safe.

But, get outside, we’re also told,
Exercise, enjoy the fresh air,
So down to the seafront, I wander,
For a stroll or amble, or meander.

Sometimes a fast pace,
Marching along the promenade,
Sometimes slow, to admire the scenery,
Watching the tide draw in, or out.

As the sea breeze picks up,
I pass pier and bandstand,
Families and lone joggers,
Enjoying the evening air.

In this seaside town, I’m glad to call home,
I’ll just keep putting one step
In front of the other,
Till I reach my journey’s end.

Time Capsule

Years ago, Blue Peter showed a generation
How to make our own time capsules,
Bury them in a shoebox in the back garden,
Filled with stickers, teddy bears,
Action figures and Lego.
Erasers that smelt of bananas,
And pens in multi colours.
Marbles, conkers and skipping rope,
That filled our childhood days.

Years later, what would people think
Of a cardboard box in the ground?
Would pens still be used, marbles exist?
Just thirty years on, how times have changed.
Typing on phones, text speak,
A games online in a cloud –
Social media to keep us all connected.

But Lego has grown and grown,
If we send a mini-figure to the future,
Will they still have a place,
Thirty years from now?