Category Archives: Poetry

Poetry

Thanks. A Poem

11 Comments

I know I’m a bit late with his one, as Thanksgiving was last Thursday for my US friends, but it is still November, the thanksgiving month. And we should give thanks all year round.

I decided to write a Haibun for this. A Haibun is poetic prose followed by a Haiku complements it.

Here is my Haibun.

Image by Yuri from Pixabay

Thanks

The warmth of the sun caresses my face. The breeze lifts a strand of my hair, like a lover. The leaves whisper secrets above me. The brook giggles at the jokes it heard. Flowers nod in agreement with everything. Butterflies paint the forest glade in a tapestry of colour.

There is such beauty 
We have been given so much
We should be grateful.

Have you ever written a Haibun? I only recently learned of them and this is only my second.

Let us know in the comments section

announcement, Cover Reveal, Poetry

Cover Reveal

15 Comments

I’ve had the suggested cover back from the publisher and have accepted it. I like it. What do you think?

Should be out in time for Christmas, so if you are stuck for Christmas presents, here’s an idea. Details of where and how to buy coming when I know them.

In the meantime, if you would like a short story to read, completely free and exclusive, click on the button below.

Send me my free story

Maria and Tom have bought an antique table for the old cottage they have bought. When they hear strange noises in the night that sound like crying, they worry their house is haunted, but the sounds seem to come from the table.

They set about trying to find what is causing the disturbances. The answer is stranger than either of them had thought.

(Clicking the link will add your email address to my email list, but don’t worry, you can unsubscribe immediately if you wish. Nor will you get any spam. I only send out an email each quarter, or if I have any exciting news–like a new release.)

Poetry

Armistice Day

2 Comments

I’ve had one of those weeks. As I’ve not had time to write a new post, an as it’s Armistice day on Saturday, I’m reposting one I wrote for the100th anniversary of the end of WW1.

Here’s the link.

Click to read
Poetry

Xenophobia. A poem

4 Comments

There is so much conflict in the world. I don’t mean only the major ones we hear about, like wars, but those smaller ones, not always erupting in violence

Xenophobia

People hate foreigners. I wonder why?
Do they not live, and like us they die?
Imagine you lived somewhere that
A bomb might anytime knock your home flat.
Just think about all the things you would do
If the government thought they would kill you
Just because you disagree with them.
And without a trial you they condemn.

Imagine a place for years without rain.
Your crops have all failed, again and again.
You watch as all your animals die
And, head in your hands, hear your children cry.
You cannot feed them. You have nothing left
To give them, so you feel bereft.
You watch as they get sick and they die.
And wonder, but no one can say why.

But there are lands where there is no war,
Where food is accessible, and there is law.
No one will come in the night and take
Your daughters away with them, to rape.
No bombs will land on your home. If you could
Would you not leave all behind where it stood?
So let us not hate these people who flee
Such terrible lives so they can be free.

This is a poem I’ve not yet published. I am trying to write a poem a day for a year with the hope of publishing it in two parts–January to June, and July to December. I hope to get the first part published in time for Christmas so people can begin to read a poem a day in January.

If you are interested in reading more of my poetry, I have a poetry book already published. It’s called Miscellaneous Thoughts and has poetry of many types and subjects. It can be bought from your favourite store in several formats: ebook, paperback, hardback. Click on the book title to go to your favourite online store to find out more, and buy.

Or you can go to Next Chapter’s Independent bookstore by clicking here.

Poetry

I Am Earth.

6 Comments

After some protests in Germany in February, over the destruction of a village to make way for the expansion of an open cast coal mine,I thought of a poem I wrote a couple of years ago, called I Am Earth (found in Miscellaneous Thoughts) and decided to write a sequel.

The Ancient Greeks thought that the Earth itself was a goddess called Gaia who, along with Uranus, the sky, created all living things. In I Am Earth, she bemoans what humanity has done, and threatens us with destruction. Here she is telling us what she is doing to bring this about.

I Am Earth (2)

I am Earth.

I am your mother.

I gave you birth.


I told you

What will occur.

And now you will rue.


You ignore me

And take little heed

Of my anxious plea.


So I send you rain

To flood all your homes

And give you pain.


I send the drought

So no crops will grow.

There’s famine, no doubt.


I heat the world

And many will die

From the heat I have hurled.


Winds I will send

In hurricanes now.

Your lands they will rend.


Yet you will not learn.

To me you are deaf

So the world I will burn.


Fires in the summer;

Deep snow in the cold.

You get dumber and dumber.


My skin I do shiver

And make buildings fall

As the ground it does quiver.


I will belch forth fire

From deep in my heart.

Make Earth like a pyre.


Will you now learn?

Don’t exploit my wealth.

Or you I will burn.


I AM DESTROYING YOU.

You can buy my poetry book, Miscellaneous Thoughts, from your favourite retailer, in ebook and physical book form.

The poems are in a variety of styles, some serious and some amusing.

If you purchase it I would be ever indebted to you if you would leave a little honest comment on what you think of it. You can post on any of the retailers.

Poetry, Sport

The FA Cup.

1 Comment

Just finished watching the FA Cup Final. We were beaten by our biggest rivals. *Sigh.*

Here’s a little limerick about it.

United has lost the cup

From it champagne we’ll not sup.

City won the game

And now it’s their aim

To win the treble, like us.

Poetry

Coronation Day.

10 Comments

Today is Coronation Day. Here’s Haiku.

We have a new king.

Coronation is today.

A new era begins.

And a limerick.

Today my mobile did ring.

When I answered, it was the king.

He said, with a frown,

‘I’ve lost the crown.

A nice hat, instead, will you bring?’

Will you be watching the Coronation, or will you go out somewhere and ignore it?

I might watch a bit, but won’t be watching everything.

Maybe I can get some writing done. I got done none yesterday!

Let us know your thoughts in the comments. I will be interested to know the consensus of people, especially those abroad.

Poetry

Spring Cleaning–A poem.

8 Comments

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay

Not my favourite job to do, but when the sun shines in, it makes the dust more noticeable. So it’s a job that has to be done.
And the satisfaction at the end makes it all worth while.

Spring Cleaning.

The sun is now shining making everything light

So it’s time to make our homes shiny and bright.

Let’s pick up our dusters and polish all day

Till every speck of dust goes away.

We’ll clean all our paintwork and make it as new

And polish silverware so your face you can view.

Then wash all the curtains and clean all the floors

And see if we need some more paint on our doors.

‘Spiders beware, don’t you build any webs.

We’ll knock them all down with our brushes,’ I said.

Sweeping and polishing all of the day

Until the last smidgen of dirt’s gone away.

Now stand back and look at all we have done.

A shiny and perfect home. We have won.

Have you done any spring cleaning yet? I’ve washed my dining room curtains and cleaned out my kitchen cupboards. Still a lot more to do!

Poetry

British Wild Flowers. The Lesser Celandine.

5 Comments

Lesser celandines are one of the earliest wild flowers to appear, blooming from late January until the end of April.

They are small, growing to a mere 2-3 inches, but form masses of flowers. They look gorgeous when in bloom. A veritable carpet of yellow stars.

They are found on banks, at the edges of woods and paths, in grassland. In fact, almost everywhere. One might be tempted to put some in the garden, but think twice. Although they are lovely little flowers and bloom when there isn’t much else, they can be invasive.

They spread from tiny tubers which grow in the leaf axels. Rooting them out can be a problem as it can help them to spread! My suggestion is to enjoy them where they are. I did see some for sale in a local garden centre. They were lovely with unusual dark, reddish leaves. Very tempting.

I understand, from reading on the net, that their leaves are a rich source of vitamin C. Useful at a time when, in past ages people hadn’t had much green vegetables during the winter months and may have been suffering from scurvy as a result. I have no experience of eating these leaves, and so cannot recommend them as a salad vegetable. ALWAYS CHECK FOR TOXICITY BEFORE EATING ANYTHING GATHERED FROM THE WILD.

Here’s a little poem to the celandine.

Celandines

Little stars litter the grass.

Have they fallen from the sky?

They are shining when I pass

Reflecting sun’s rays from on high.

Celandines are here to say

Winter’s gloom is nearly past.

Spring is really on the way;

Warmth will soon be here, at last.

Bright and cheerful little flowers

Covering the woods and banks  

Creating lovely yellow bowers.

We should all be giving thanks.

I hope you enjoyed this little post about one of our early spring flowers. Feel free to share it with anyone you think might find it interesting, but please link back to this blog if you do.

If you want to read more of my poetry, you can buy my first poetry anthology, Miscellaneous Thoughts, by clicking on the book cover in the side bar or the title in this paragraph.

I just looked at my poem on the preview, and the breaks between the verses does not appear even though I added them when writing. this always happens and I wonder why. Does anyone know why?

Please leave your comments in the comments box. I love hearing from you.

fantasy, Poetry

Pettic. A poem

Leave a comment

This is not a poem that appears in a book, but it’s about a character in the Elemental Worlds duo.

Pettic

Pettic was a farmer’s son who loved to plough the land

Until one day his life did change in a dramatic way.

He was chosen from many lads to obey Prince’s command

And go to live in the palace, far, far away.

He was to be companion, confidant and friend

To Prince Torren, the Crown Prince, the king’s son and heir.

And with the Prince, his lessons he also would attend.

But then the Prince disappeared, nobody knew where.

So Pettic chose to go in search of his dear friend.

He visited strange worlds like nothing he had seen

And faced great dangers, helped the folk, their lives he did defend.

And found what he was looking for when he did intervene.

For in four lands he had to find four gems that were the key.

Will young Pettic find all that is required 

To find Prince Torren and set him free? 

If you wish to know the answer to the last question, you can find out by reading The Stones of Earth and Air, which is free as an ebook on Amazon, and The Stones of Fire and Water. Follow these links to buy at your favourite store.