Poems
THE SHED
A gentleman’s shed is an asset Of that there’s no shadow of doubt It’s great to be there on the inside When the stormy clouds gather without. It’s top hole if you have a notion To play with computers all day Perhaps dart in there with your crossword When Mother-in-Law...
Offshore Nap
In drifting off on tides of thought (what bliss) My raft of dreams encumbered by design Tho’ seeking out horizon proved remiss As overboard I’m tossed from time to time When e’er I try to kiss the world goodbye Resulting in propensity to yen Tis then I hear the...
A BOY’S WAR
In dreams, my thoughts will often fly To Chepstow nestling on the Wye The town which saw my early years Of youthful joy and childish tears. Daily walks to Larkfield School And week-end jaunts to Beachley Pool The memories of a growing boy Are endless days of utter...
Proud
Because there are no wounds to see, you think theres nothing wrong with me. But behind the fronted smile, Maybe you should think a while. A story in those eyes unfold a story he will always hold. At sea, in air, or on the land a future lies within their hand. In...
“The Bruce” (King Robert I of Scotland)
Known lineage precludes another’s claim To sit upon the ‘stone o’ destiny’ Tho’ many didst announce such long held aim Twould find a mighty obstacle in thee Thou art “The Bruce” which history writ large Upon the page o’ Scotland’s early years Tward ‘Independence’ thou...
Who are you?
Are you a human or an animal or even a tree? Do you have a name like me? Where do you live? What do you have to give? Do you have friends? Can you make amends? Who are you? Are you small and spicy? Can you tell me precisely? Are you tall and lanky? Are you a bit...
Restriction of Privilege (Repost)
Before the dawn reality takes hold For such a night will linger long in dreams Where life is cheap and darkness brings but cold Upon the hearts of men betwixt the screams Now as the new morn’s light creeps o’er the ground Our friends no longer dwell in upright stance...
ROW ON ROW
Row on row They marched away So freedom could Once more hold sway Row on row They fought to gain That hallowed ground Where they are lain Row on row Their graves now stand But not the place Their loved ones planned Red the blood In field on field Where brave men...
A Poem For Nannie
Novelty for everyone Attached to you Nice to your family Nifty at looking after you Is a good sport Eye on you always forever
As shadows fall
As shadows fall we pause and reflect With heads dipped down showing respect We remember all who have gone before Those who have served on sea and on shore With those in our thoughts let them now abide As if in our presence right here by our side And those who now...
Knight to Black Night
Resolute in hardened steel of armour Ended lives with a slice of his sword Fought with valour, fought with pride Learnt to hate the crusading invasion Erstwhile gone, in a warriors time Cried like a babe at what he'd done Turned his back on the Bloody Battle Coward...
My Eyes
I am a soldier, I’ve travelled a long way, With the cold and the rain, I long for a warm day. The Trenches are muddy, They’re wet and they’re cold, it seems to go through you, right into your soul. As we go, and over the top, I see my friends fall and shot, I cannot...
Wear proud your poppy
Stand firm in the trenches of Flanders fields. Ready the mortar and let it rain upon the enemy. Send them our grenades and show them our might. Shut out the cold and think of home. Trudge on through the sucking, hungry mud. No matter the risk as long as we win, trench...
One hundred years have come and gone
One hundred years have come and gone Since World War started here Generations have moved on Britain changed for evermore On battlefields, young men lay dead Deprived of life and happy years with wife and child The loss has echoed through the land Oh what folly and...
Love of the Common People
Whilst days of ‘Empire’ served to spread the word A wealth of common people felt as one In outrage, at how start of War occurred When ‘Blighty’ and her allies faced the ‘Hun’ Twas stated aim to annexe and demand As neighbour crushed weak neighbour and accrued...
W.O.1. W.D.G.MOTT OBE, MVO.
Today I must pay tribute To a guy who's got the lot Our Garrison Sergeant Major The famous Billy Mott. Resplendent in his uniform He really plays the parts Bill puts the fear of god in men And melts the ladies hearts. He knows the streets of London Like his own potato...
Lantern Cry
Whilst caked in mud my bandage ‘holds the line’ Defence from onslaught of a kind, unkind Should banks be breached, twould serve to undermine As blood would seep; then with lost comrades bind Such sorry state doth all confront ‘round here When torn betwixt said...
Why?
Why was your time on earth so short, why did you have to go Why did you suffer so much pain, the answers, I don’t know Why is it I’ve been left here alone, why did you have to die Why could I not have come with you, instead I’m left to cry Why is life on earth so...
THE BOY FROM PENRHIWCEIBER.
Robert Bye was born in Pontypridd A boy of valleys fibre He spent his youth in Woodfield Street In nearby Penrhiwceiber He went to school in Aberdare An education sound And at the tender age of fourteen years Young Rob went underground. In Dyffrin Deep Colliery He...
Remembered
Remembered every morning, That she has gone away. I did not have the privilege, To be there on that day. Our paths in life had parted, Back in a different time. The hope we'd be united, A constant dream of mine. Every day there is a void, Where Mother used to be. For...
Lloyds T S B
As I cast my eyes along High Road South Benfleet To an area known as Hopes Green There’s a parade of shops built in 1928 It’s where Lloyds Bank has ever been In the days when the Village was self sufficient Local traders supplied all their various Wares Banking within...
Oliver Cromwell
On an April day in 1599 Oliver Cromwell was born In Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire In a country always torn With politics and religion A part of daily life His parents were of minor landed Gentry Far removed from poverty and strife A University education at Cambridge...
The Tuskegee Airmen
The thrill of a life as a Flyer Always many a young lads dream Only available to the elite A remote career it would seem But not so in much Wartime When many young Servicemen are sought The Army , Navy and Air Force The country’s enemies to thwart And this was the...
Analysis of Life
Life is a mystery to all of us Nobody can predict what lies ahead As if that were so we might alter things To the life we preferred instead So look into your soul one day A tremendous task it may seem Is there something you regret perhaps Would your life have followed...
Approach of Winter
Autumn's left us with golden leaves With evenings come the mist and frost Chilling the air around us And the last of the Dahlias will be lost Along with others except the hardy Roses Their last fragrant blooms avoiding the frost The flower beds are now all sleeping...
Bound
Where is the Veteran bound Upon that fateful day. When he leaves this wicked place And has finally passed away. It seems there is no answer Be it "up" or even "Down" Why, He'll be in Hell some say Where all the Vet's are found He won't care just what you think Or even...
Eternal Soldier
Long ago I was a Soldier My country to defend. My heart will be a Soldier's Until this journey's end. Now they call me Veteran For I'm no longer young But I'll remain a Soldier Until my Requiem is sung When those flames consume me And my final journey's made Standing...
FAMILY TIES
Seth’s father was Adam… His mother was Eve, Who also his brothers, Cain and Abel, conceived. So the question I have Is a delicate one; This Seth had a wife… Now, where did she come from?
A SYMBOL FOR WORLD PEACE.
Battalions of brave soldiers died on Flanders battlefields But the true cost of their giving had not fully been revealed Going bravely into battle for our freedom, gave their life Just to fuel another's ego, how they paid a hefty price They're the stolen generation,...
All Dried Out – (Repost)
In truth no tears have I still left to weep Didst fall as comrades dreams, where e’er they lie Now darkness reigns to haunt and sometimes creep As tortured mind replays o’er times passed by Recounting names and ghostly forms; their due Lest we forget the sacrifices...
I Kissed You Goodbye.
Oh Wendy, my Wendy the light of my life My friend and my soul mate, my lover, my wife Now taken by Angels, from me and our home Sad and heartbroken, I’m left here, alone. My memories uphold me as I remember each day Our years spent together ‘til you were taken away...
The voice on my shoulder…
This voice on my shoulder speaks softly to me... Into my ear, it's just what I need. Sometimes I think bad thoughts, of anger or sin... But the voice tells me different, the right way to win. When hope seems empty, forgotten and lost.. It picks me back up and dusts me...
Only the Lonely – Goatherd
To see him ‘GO AT’ ten times ten per hour Wouldst take your breath away, ‘tis no a lie Ooo’er “Billy” chasing “Nannies” doth empower New “Kids” aspire to one day be that guy Midst rutting with his chums; a goat apart In going head to head, he is the champ Such cheesy...
Joke
Life is a bad joke Once you realise that fact You have two choices Laugh or cry
Entrenched
I am right and you are wrong; You will say the same of me. Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Each with their tradition But taking the position That they, alone, proclaim the truth And that they each have got the proof That their religion is correct,...
“My Life, a Book without Pages”
No ‘Gospels’ word doth mention ‘moi’ of course Nor ‘Tenets of the Torah’ my decree Known ‘Surahs of Quran’ hath single source All ‘Ayahs’ penned as in soliloquy Practitioners’ of ‘Shinto’ bend with flow As “Buddhism’ brings ‘Karma’ to the fore Held ‘Hindu’ customs...
Circle of Love
Each dawn brings a new beginning Each hour holds memories in waiting Each path finds those in need Each smile is a friendship pending Each “Hello” is sunshine to the lonely Each “Can I help you?” supports the weary Each “How are you:” is compassion Each I love you is...
My Wendy
A sad tired man, with tearful eyes, I sit here on my own Reminiscing of the times gone by and how the years have flown Wondering have I done enough? Have I lived a decent life? Had I been good enough a husband to my dear departed wife? Does my life have meaning? Have...
”NITTY NORAH” THE NIT NURSE
Now ”Nitty Norah” the nit nurse Was someone who filled us with dread She used her sharp steely nit comb Till furrows were ploughed in your head No-one could ever escape her Un-announced she came to the school Armed with her bag full of nit combs And other things...
Nothing Known
Although I know a thing or two, I know nothing more than you Of how mankind came to be Part divine, part chimpanzee. Darwin told us of his theory, Which a lot of people query. They are called Creationists; Suddenly, we just exist. Darwin said we all evolved, But his...
The Nine
It was grey and overcast as we arrived. We passed through the gate and gazed sombrely at the scene. To our left were nine alone, standing apart, smartly erect, evenly spaced, Looking out over the hundreds of round-topped headstones before them, Their badges telling of...
Moth to a Flame
I’m attracted to you Like a moth to a flame My wings always burn But I can’t fly away Though I know it will hurt I’m still drawn closer in Your light is my life And my pain
JEWEL
A Jewel – sparkling rare Amid vast And potent seas Upon this stone Quite set alone A Lion - made of Four But none - Not yet Had ever seen Nor heard This Lion roar At best it sleeps And while it may No tales of valiant deeds But first Before this rhyme unfold The Lions...
Stopped In My Tracks
To see you today Took my breath away Was completely unprepared Stopped in my tracks I’d forgotten What you do to me How you make me feel I miss you So much
The Basic Facts
A man needs a woman And a woman needs a man It’s not rocket science It’s a need for us all We all know it’s true So why is it so hard? If you got it without trying It would be worthless And mean nothing at all So the morale of the story Is a man needs a woman And a...
My Clock’s Gone Wrong
As relative to all that’s known through time Such observations may still prove awry Whilst searching up above for helpful sign My scope doth pan throughout the evening sky By wandering amongst the stars in dreams No journeys end hath ever come to pass In reference to...
Enough to Know
As mounting quiet moments come to pass Reflections form of all you mean to me Tho’ parting now doth separate; alas Still time may tell, for “What will be, will be” I sense that you are near throughout the day As darkness falls, you walk within my dreams In words...
An Officers Death
Sid slumped at his feet bubble of spittle, blood washed grew from loose-jawed mouth With stub of pencil he crossed the black book of names one more page, death full Random shots rang out across the barbed wire line, death or self-death, unmarked His mind slipped to a...
Haiku’s POW challenge
Monsoon A single bubble falls on parched land, preceding thousands to follow Innocence of a Child Spring lambs leap from the picture book in child’s hands, as she dreams their freedom Parenting Carefully chosen nest sites protect spring babies nothing is random...
Stormy Weather
Open to the Elements Gusty air rips limbs tearing down; exposing life beneath roughened bark Seeking Protection Lee of wall shelters huddled sheep; mass of woolly blobs against the grey Bersham Spoil Tip In storm ridden skies Jackdaws circle; symbolic of discarded men...
Reposed
In tattered robes didst lie face down in sand A choice one makes with nowhere left to run I’d noticed him when gaining upper hand Now ‘playing possum’ ‘neath the baking sun I gauged his years could all but total ten Whilst posing prone, no movement did I see Yet here...
DZ Rascal
Deep humming sound doth heighten my fray’d nerves As cold night air comes whooshing o’er one’s form It’s not all fun and games “For tho’s what serves” In fact, initial ‘Rush’ hath proved lukewarm With mouth agape at ‘Hercules’ (Rear door) I take in dark abyss; once...
Entrenched in Thought
Existence dark and dank within these walls Confined by haunting images embraced Of ‘Brothers’ maimed in ways I swear, appals A longing sense for life each one hath graced By heeding call to arms, all rallied ‘round In comradeship; ‘no mind’ on what’s ahead Midst King...
(Listen) A Comrade’s Promise
Tis held within my mind and aching heart A burden buried deep from prying eyes Lies tucked away from light; now set apart Forever and a day, until one dies Yet memory and conscience doth prevail Midst each unguarded moment in one’s life Releasing and reliving each...
War of Words (repost)
Mine eyes are fixed, yet mind doth wander still Recounting times of innocence at play When love of life brought warmth with winter’s chill Of friends who added sunshine to the day Now morning mist pervades my own worst fears Beyond all life’s divide; where foe doth...
Ode to St. Valentine’s Day
Have you ever sat and wondered How a certain day came about What was it’s origination Was there any reason for doubt ‘twas said in the past that it started In ancient Rome it seems As a day of celebration And creating Lover’s dreams On the day before Lupercalia...
BUT DEATH REMAINED THE SAME
There must have been a hundred more Than I could ever name Where battles raged and victories won But death remained the same There must have been ten thousand souls All lost without a name And telegrams sent from the King But death remained the same There must have...
Remember The Days
Remember the days of the threepunny jubbly And if you had money left it was a penny bubbly Remember the days when coppers were nice And knew all your family it made you think twice Remember the days when mars bars were big And you could go down the shop and buy just...
1914 – 1918
Luminescent eyes stare back and revived Secrets held deep in a mind that’s askew He whispered the names of those that survived A smile that belied the things he went through Innocent boys were political pawns Exchanging their lives for a field of mud As guns raged...
Nit Nurse
Sunday night has come around get the bath out the yard Block of green carbolic mum scrubbed real hard Tidemarks off your neck and those spuds out of your ears She that hard we’d all be in tears Out of the bath go sit by your mum Paper on your knee you know what’s to...
PTSD 2
I sat in a dark room and I watched a film It was about a man who just wanted to kill em He’d been in the army they’d taught him to fight And now he’s come out his head is not right He was a soldier who’d gone off to war And now it’s all over his memories are raw It’s...
Just You
I long for you I cry for you I dream of you My soul screams for you My heart aches for you My eyes search for you My lips yearn for you I live for you My life is you Just you
Meaning
My life has no meaning I feel empty inside I have nothing to live for Nothing to look forward to Nothing to get up for I can’t concentrate I can’t smile I can’t laugh I have no purpose All I have is pain
No second chances
There are no second chances For me anymore No last reprieve No last minute pardon No change of mind No light in the tunnel No reason to live Just a final look back A fleeting glimpse Of the life lost to me Love lost to me Her lost to me What could have been But will...
Can’t Find the Words
I can’t find the words To describe how I feel Never been any good Saying what’s in my heart I know I love you But it comes out so wrong I can’t find the words Now you’re gone
Writing Shakespeare
Shakespeare had a way with words But didn’t know his Dick the Thirds, And though he’d travel outside Stratford He had not seen much past Catford. What history he knew was bitty, So they wrote Shakespeare by Committee; Men who knew of foreign shores, Of Danes,...
First Circle
We stood in a circle And drank milk from bottles I walked to the middle And sicked on the mat My first day at school I felt such a fool And had an aversion To milk after that
Circle
Trapped in a circle Have to get out Build up the pressure Force an eruption Through the perimeter Like a volcano Causing disruption Walk on the surface Round the parameter Of the circumference Back to the crater Through which I fall To where I started Inside the circle
THE LAST LETTER
If you have been deployed on an operational tour there’s a duty you have to do before you go that turns your mood sour. For every time you have to do one it gets no better it’s your last words, the last letter If your reading this it means I’m no longer on this earth,...
Hope
In times of sorrow and despair It’s nice to have someone there Mother father brother friend Someone to talk to at the very end I look at families through eyes of green And think back to how it could have been But you can’t look back amongst the sorrow So I will keep...
BREAKING NEWS
Breaking news, that’s what the newsman on the TV said, the MOD regret to announce that another British soldier is dead. Another family hearing the knock at the door they always dread. Politicians wax lyrical about their sacrifice more false words they are scum in our...
Life with PTSD
The last five years have been a real strain I’ve put Lyn through it again and again In all that time she didn’t even shout Anybody else would’ve just given me a clout She’s had to smile even when it hurt When she could’ve given me a wide berth She’s always there...
DERRYARD
On a dark December night in county Fermanagh evil men with murder in their mind sought to deliver violence of the most horrific kind. The occupants of the DERRYARD PVCP could not imagine the dangers that no one could ever foresee. As the truck approached the...
Mersey Docks & Harbour Board
Early in the morning dad’s off to join a queue Standing at the dock gate that’s all he can do Hoping that maybe he’ll get some work for the day God how our mum could do with the pay Hoping he’ll get lucky hoping he’ll get picked Maybe we’ll get lucky with some corn...
MILITARY MUMS
She was always there from the start she held close to her proud heart she even sorted out your cuts and grazes even coped with those upset tums those wonderful people the….. Military Mums. They can be soft as feathers or do a rager that will put to shame the biggest...
Ode “Tae a Mouse” (Burns Supper)
Aw gather here tae honour oo’er wee man Tis night o’ nights, we hail Scots ain son Rab ‘Bid welcome’ speech tae greet assembled clan An ‘Selkirk Grace’ is pray’d afore ye grab Wie ‘Cock-a-leekie’ starter tae begin O’er ‘Piping in the Haggis’ odes are read “An' cut ye...
FLORENCE SMITH
The year was 1872 When Florence Smith was born Her father working in the fields To gather in the corn And as she lay inside her crib She fretted and she cried Too young to know or comprehend Her mother sadly died Her father could not raise a child He knew she had to...
Hand
I want to hold your hand Every day of my life Our fingers entwined Your hand in mine Touching you Until the day I die
Complete
My life is empty Half of me missing Without you I’m not complete
Wave
Life is like a wave Ride it while you can Because like a wave It breaks and is gone Forever
THOSE HAUNTING EYES
“Breaking News” that’s what the headlines said; the TV presenter regrets to announce another soldier has been shot in Afghanistan and is now dead. Before it sinks in and a conscious thought is formed they tell us that the next of kin have been informed. By the next...
Broke
He rises every morning Showers ,shaves and shines his shoes Them things they call ablutions 'cause that's what soldiers do His clothes are smart and pressed His hair is cropped and grey He cares about appearance 'cause that's the soldiers way Never late for his...
EVERY MEDAL TELLS A STORY
A soldier was cleaning his medals when his daughter came up to see what he was doing. Dad what’s that one for, is that one you got for a war? No weeyin that’s what they called a campaign in a place called the Province where the whole thing made no sense. We went over...
Deep Joy
Today I had a hundred quid And wondered what to buy It's just before Christmas time All the stores are piled high There are things all "techy" And things of great beauty too In fact so many lovely things I just didn't know what to do I went then on the internet and...
The Cost
In a quiet country churchyard lies the sad neglected grave Of a poor forgotten Soldier No one had cared to save His heart was full of love For the way of life he knew But he laid it on that altar To fight your war for you To soldiers wars bring wisdom Along with...
Just Reward
Once i read a poem It made me stop and think Caused a silent tear to fall Made these old eyes blink It was written by a veteran Of a war so far away The memories were many He still carries them today Things no man should see Of things no man should do He gives thanks...
Graveside
Some soldiers died today, Though no one gave a care. For they were Cold War warriors, No medals hanging there. A cheap and worthless badge, Was all they had to show. They all volunteered to serve, But no one would ever know. Ready to defend this land, In times of...
Ordinary Soldier
He's just an ordinary soldier A man so brave and true He killed three men today Well, that's what soldiers do He makes no fuss about it He shouts it not out loud But he saved anothers life today That makes him oh so proud Sometimes when battles rage He sees the...
Last parade
A long long way from home Fighting in the foreign sand For reasons he's not sure about And has no need to understand He believes his country needs him And he want's to serve her well But he fights for many reasons Some of them he cannot tell He fights not for reward...
The Stone
Courage loyalty and comradeship, Qualities they have shown. Displayed there now forever , In black marble stone. Carved by craftsmens hands, Words filled all in gold. That they may always stay, With spirits oh so bold. You will see there always, Every single name. But...
Signed to serve
I had a brother who went to war, Went though he'd not been before He didn't know then on that day That he would always stay away A bullet on it's deadly path Cut short his youthful hearty laugh He fell there in that filthy sand And died there as I held his hand A...
Consequences
Throw a pebble in the river Spreading circles to the shore Rippling outwards from the centre Disappearing till no more. So our actions, like the pebble, Send their ripples, make their waves; Intermingling all our circles From our cradles to our graves. No one knows...
If love could light a candle
If love could light a candle, how bright would burn it's flame? How many sins committed, in just a loved ones name? Which candle burns the longest, one broken that cannot mend?.. or that which can't be broken, like the dogs love for his friend? The candle of a child,...
“GREAT WAR?”
A hundred years have come and gone, But here we stand, heads bowed as one. On the air the sounds of bugle and prayer, In our hearts sadness, regret and thanks we share. To those who fell then, to keep all safe, From Tyranny, Greed, Stupidity and strafe. “The Great...
A BUSY LIFE
A BUSY LIFE HARDLY NOTICED THE WAR MEMORIAL AS I HURRIED PAST JUST DEEP IN THOUGHT FOR ANOTHER BUSY DAY DON`T FORGET TO PICK UP THE KIDS FROM SCHOOL HAIRDRESSERS APPOINTMENT AT 2.00 MY GOD …HE WAS MADE TO PAY THINK I`LL BUY SOMETHING FOR MYSELF MAYBE A NICE TOP OR TWO...
And it came to pass
And it came to pass That a Globe was formed from a so called mass, By whom or what I don,t know so I'll pass And it came to pass that life could live here On this green & blue beautiful sphere Plants,animals the whole nature It didn't take Long for Humans to mature....
Caribbean Ladies
With biscuits and their coffee cups They sat without a fuss Chatting, laughing in the lounge Waiting for their bus One lady had a walking frame The second with a cane Their friends sat guarding travel bags Until the driver came ”The Torquay bus is ready now It’s...
Silence
So that’s how it ends In silence And lowered eyes No hint of regret Just a shrug And endless sighs It so hard to say When you knew (The blatant lies) Those colleague nights out You, all alone (That’s no surprise!) So now she’s gone Just silence And no goodbyes
DEAR MUM
Hi mum made back safe to sunny Afghan, R&R was great, just getting my kit together no need to be sad, oh can you say hi to dad. Hi mum just waiting to go up to the Forward Operating Base cant wait to finally get out of this place Hi mum got your parcel today shared...
I’m Coming Home
As I wave goodbye and walk away the kisses and cuddles from my loved ones still fresh in my mind I set my sights on what will be my new daily grind. To Afghanistan I flew to fight for my country, I’m with my brothers, never alone, a promise made to my family. I’m...
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