Here

The green, the breeze
the sky, the sea
here on the beach
and then there’s me
Grinning wide and
laughing loud
as living here
it does me proud

In the 11th Year of the War

The Oracle of Delphi didn’t predict it’s own ruin.

And the 11th spring of the war has stumbled into summer.
The rains fall as normal. The birds seem oblivious to us.
And look! There goes a pretty young woman
with sandals and legs and curly hair.
I want to call out, say hey,
my heart, I have the wine and cheese,
let’s remind ourselves how precious
is this brief life.
But I don’t.

Disease and insanity stalk the streets.
I thought my old age would be different.
I thought my people were better than they are.
The line between good and evil runs
Through the center of the human heart.

Sometimes it twists in one direction,
sometimes the other. The same person
is capable of great evil and great good,
but who would cut their own heart in half
to root out the evil?

A Science and Conscience Limerick

The world has been through times like this before and mankind has survived. That said, I am a baby boomer who could have never imagined what is happening in the world today.

Back to the beach hut

Got back to the beach hut
it’s been quite a while
so it’s good to be back
at the place with a smile
The wind was quite blowy
but the sunshine was out
and because of the wind
there was no-one about

The Broken In Me

I’ll comfort you.

when times get rough

you’ve had enough

& no longer feel tough

just feel like giving up

I’ll comfort you.

when tears of despair fall

I will catch them all

toss them to the rain

wash away the pain.

then you’ll come to realize

this, this, is where love resides.

O’Prunty 6/32/2020

Leisure days

Sometimes you need leisure days
when slowing down is good
Cathartic, they restore the soul
so you really know you should
I had one of those yesterday
as the forecast was for rain
and some things they needed doing
and they wouldn’t wait again

Drum

The up and down of beating drums are heard across the lake
As falsehood twists the message and the drummers take no break.
The solid door, self-righteousness, defends. It’s locked to win.
Convinced that truth rests safe inside is where truth can’t get in.

 

The piggies on the hill

The free range pigs
up on the hill
honk a bit
as pigs they will
Yet strangely
in a little bit
you’ll find that
you are used to it
Just as well
as past first stile
their habitat
goes on for miles

Dawning

light came dancing through the trees

on twigs, branches, vibrant leaves

as day dawned delightfully:

just me, my garden,

and loose-leaf tea…O’Prunty 6/21/2020

A “The President Didn’t Hire Well” Limerick

The information presented in the body of this post which led to the limerick was found on Wikipedia and is documented by the website.

Poem for Summer Solstice

I sought the perfect poem

for this longest day

It was a Goldilocks affair-

this poem too flowery

this poem- what does this one have to do

with Summer Solstice?

None were right

I cannot wear the words of these authors

comfortably

So I must write my own poem

of what the Summer Solstice means to me

With best foot forward

With best foot forward
I take to the hills
following each chalky trail
It’s different each time
and abundantly fine
bring joy every time without fail

Talking To Myself

After hearing this question way too many times,
I guess a formal answer is due.
Since the voices you’re hearing are not in my head,
You’re wondering, “Who are you talking to?”

The longest day

The longest day
the Solstice here
June twentieth
at the mid year
The sunshine stays
as well it might
and with us til
it is twilight
So celebrate
the Solstice day
with dance and song
as well you may
Mid-summer daylight
Green Man shout
tells one and all
the sunshine’s out

Affirmation

Spent the day with family and Wolf
out in the bright summer sun
with social distancing observed as you do
for good conversation and fun

It almost felt normal and was for one thing
as we couldn’t get close for a hug
but even for that we’ve developed a thing
which we smile as we do with a shrug

Born to the sun IV

Past sixty-one summers
I was born to the sun
a new Thursday’s child
to the world then had come
At the end of the fifties
the Rock n Roll years
a little boy blue
as the sixties they neared

Adaptation

Adaptation is a precious thing
as it proves that we are able
to make the very best of things
when cards are on the table
I speak of course of Covid
and the lockdown and the change
it’s brought worldwide to all of us
as we all re-arrange
There’s been loss and there’s been sadness
as the pandemic’s taken hold
taking toll from everyone
from young to very old

Bringing joy

Never fails the trail
regardless of the time
that I have traced my steps up here
when the weather’s fine
Well trod chalk the wayside flower
the blue sky and the sun
combine here in God’s country
bringing joy whene’er I come

By any other name

“A rose by any other name
would smell as sweet” as this
that grows within our garden
every year to bring us bliss

The Bard of Stratford knew a thing
or two about his writing
and I’m not pretending for a mo
this poem’s so exciting

But those words he penned for Romeo
and Juliet somehow
remind me of this rose I see
so I’ll pay homage now

A Wear A Mask Limerick

Every government around the world is pounding out this message loud and clear non-stop. We have a world health crisis. Science and data says this is a best practice to contain it and diminish its deadly effects.

Why I Write

A writer of modest talent can only hope one day to put together a word or two—on a rare week, a phrase—that’s worth keeping. This is not the conceit of petty perfectionism. This is just the reality of having a mediocre vision that cannot totally grasp what floats in and out of view. It’s the curse of having an mind’s eye that comes close enough to see the possibilities dimly, but does not quite have that extra something that would make it all clear. The curse of the ‘if-only’. The torture of the dreamer who is granted a taste of a truth in the night but loses it upon wakening. The humility of Moses on the border of the promised land who may not cross over, no matter the sacrifice. And virtue is no guarantee. The world often rewards those of questionable credentials.

It’s a frustration that has to be managed—The gap between what might be glimpsed, a brief impression of something sublime and the skill that, were it a painting, only manages stick figure drawings.

So the experience is one of enduring the sense of of constant failure —even accepting it as the price— to press the cheek up against the foggy glass that keeps one just beyond the truth…. Throwing the lariat a thousand times at a stallion that prances just out of reach, hoping that one more throw will tame the beast and bring him nearer, to feel the heat and the true wild life of him. Yet still, as seems to be the way of the Plan, It is a way to learn humility, and patience and forgiveness. Nothing need be wasted, and the great wheel grinds always, and grinds exceedingly small.

That’s the job. Putting up with failure long enough to feel the hot breath of something beautiful.  It is insanity. But oh, so seductive.  

First Lavender III

We’ve not been to our allotment
Covid-19’s seen to that
But Emily our daughter
has been keeping it intact
We’re seeing lots of pictures
which she takes from time to time
and I’m pleased to say as ever
that it’s looking mighty fine

Tanaga week VII (Saturday)

7 of 7

Culmination here today
Not much more for me to say
Done Tanaga every way
Absolutely come what may

©Jemverse

A Couple of Goodbye Las Vegas Buffets ? Limericks

Time to get back to humor.

The pandemic has affected our eating,

Tanaga week VI (Friday)

6 of 7

So the end is in my sight
Waiting here as well you might
Questions that are not contrite
All within the readers’ right

©Jemverse

Tanaga week V (Thursday)

5 of 7

Finding rhyme sometimes is hard
Even though a seasoned bard
Often crossed and often starred
Words they come and none are marred

©Jemverse

-09.06.20_21:50-

They trill in their thousands
Briefly over powered by
Bullfrog or car,
Singing ever louder
A carpet of sound
Growing ever closer
Pressing inside of my
Skull.

-04.06.20_18:22-

The need
For her controlling
Hand,
Tugging and pulling
My hair,
A needy itch
One only She can relieve,
An ache in my groin, head,
And heart.