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

Tanaga week IV (Wednesday)

4 of 7

Midweek reaches us today
Bringing us here to Wednesday
With tanaga for a play
Which we’d have here anyway

©Jemverse

A Limerick To Honor George Floyd

May his name forever be recalled as the name that brought about an America with Liberty and Justice for all.

Tanaga week III (Tuesday)

3 of 7

Simple every day for me
Always voluntarily
Portrayed very happily
In this form so fancy free

©Jemverse

Tanaga week II (Monday)

2 of 7

Each line ends here with a rhyme
Same at end of every line
Four with rhythm each in time
Bringing verse that is sublime

©Jemverse

Tanaga week I (Sunday)

1 of 7

Japanese departure to
Filipino verse for you
Seven syllables as a clue
Starting now this series new

©Jemverse

Meadowglow

In the meadow there are flowers
but in the grasses growing tall
the vibrant red of poppies crown
and out-manoeuvre all

The daylight fades as sunset comes
and glowing through the trees
the wonder of this moment
brings me falling to my knees

Surprise

Knock knock

at the door,

it’s the arrival day

Circular

It’s around about six miles
twelve thousand steps or so
a circle up above the town
where to the hills I go
It works in both directions
but the better one I think
is via the park up to Slonk Hill
with pause to take a drink

Happy Place

I’ve found again my happy place
I’ve been away too long
but pleased that I was back again
my heart was filled with song
and beaming as I found my gait
with rhythm in my stride
I laughed and grinned with pleasure there
in Sussex countryside

The World Wide Web And Social Media

I spend so much time in front of screens – a television, a computer, and a “smart” phone – trying to digest so much that they put in front of me. Are we an advanced worldwide society because we are connected by worldwide communication technology? With what we have been seeing on all the screens for the last week, that would be a difficult question to answer.

Nestled

Nestled underneath the Downs
beside the deep blue sea
Shoreham town lies quietly there
serene and peacefully

Approaching from the Sussex hills
this view it caught my eye
and thankful that I live down there
I ambled slowly by

Houndie House

Found a field at Horsebridge
out near Ashurst way
for an hour of pure freedom
on an evening of a day
Three acres all protected
by a rabbit fence all round
with trees and luscious grass of green
upon the chalky ground

Words Fail Me

Not a day for humor. Too many heartbreaking images. Too much pain.

First X

10 of 12 in the Jemverse series ’12 months III’

The sixth month of the year arrives
here with the first of June
Summer smiles a welcome
singing here a happy tune
Sun shines down from clear blue skies
a little dance seems right
expression of the sentiment
we have with this in sight

Words of Advice to the Recent College Graduate

College graduates have been cheated out of some of the best parts of graduating from college – that last month of college, last parties, taking that last final and walking out of that last classroom and realizing that it’s over and donning a cap and gown and walking across the stage and receiving your diploma. A virtual graduation just isn’t the same even though it comes with a graduation speaker giving a motivational speech.

Time passing

So the sun sets on the month of May
and June is almost here
already we have seen pass by
not far off half a year
Unsure where that time has gone
it’s happened quite so fast
and life has changed dramatically
and looks quite set to last

Everything to me

Looking through to Shoreham
‘cross the river from the beach
reminds me of the fortune
I have here in easy reach
Equidistant from the downs
to the beauty of the sea
this little town where here I live
is everything to me