Shopping
Look out on the world today
See The adds, what do they say
Buy this, eat that, invest your money,
It would be great it could be funny
Now peel it off and start undressing
Find the truth it’s pure depressing
All the extras, sugars, kilos,
All the numbers Es and zeros
All the models,slim and suntanned
Make it look like even you can
Make up, Heath food even clothes
Exploiting all, it seems anything goes.
Now Pick your way so carefully through
And just choose the item that will suit you.
Jpoet7

  Even the dark knows its place
Sometimes life turns in the opposite direction

You think that you have it down to perfection

And then slap your world tips upside down

Your face turns from a smile into a frown 
You find it difficult you wonder why

A tear falls slowly from your eye

Time to wish your dreams goodbye

Shed a tear and heave a sigh
But there is always another side

It doesn’t pay to be annoyed

It will not change what’s gone before

No worry or fret will it restore
There is a future open up your mind

You’ll be surprised by what you’ll find

The bright sunshine you can replace

For even The dark knows its place

       Jpoet7

I must tell the story of how I spent my summers. The first and still vivid in my mind were the times I spent with my aunt and grandma in Ranelagh. I can still remember the long narrow garden, the scent of strawberries and the fold up deck chairs with the candy stripe patterned material . I can remember also napping on the sofa in the afternoons, waking up with a sixpence ( a lot of money back then ) tucked under the pillow , my aunt and I would then walk down to the shop near the church in the sunshine, ( it was always sunny ) pass by the priest bow head salute , back then there were horse drawn carts my aunt used tell me to hold my breath for fear of choking as we passed the horse droppings, ice cream and hop back home not a care in the world, where my grandma would always be, a small thin lady dressed in black , they always did spot the ball and the x word, I think in the Sunday press ,back then it was an adventure ,now I can hear my 7 year old ” bored ” I can’t remember ever being bored. We used to spend most of our summers on the farm where my mother was born ,we worked in the fields thinning turnips with a hoe , picking potatoes, drawing in the hay riding on the back of the tractor, milking cows by hand into bright shiny tin buckets, white warm and fresh, the tail of the cow swishing the flies and the three legged wooden stool. We used to watch my auntie make butter in the churn feed the chickens, hear the cock crow in the mornings, collect the eggs in the barn and have breakfast . We did not have running water in the house back then and used to go to the well and carry the buckets back fresh, clear, cold, spring water and the tank at the side of the house which would fill with rain water.

             The Special One
A boy walks under a grey clad sky

A secret teardrop in his eye

His mind is full of angst and torment

The fear within, a confidence rent

The bullies they for years did vent

Their poison vicious virulence

The cowards they hid in darkened corners

Spreading lies and hurting comments

Did they really know the damage done

To that little special one

His stuttering start had made him different

Or maybe it was his dark skin pigment

If only they could have looked beyond

A tender beauty that could be found

Instead they took of flesh a pound

And left him screaming, not a sound.

         Jpoet7

The power of the pen is proven once again, for those interested I read my poem to my 8 year old. Immediate response, computer off, at the table eating normality restored. No furniture damaged ✍🏻💪

 

The new age
I called him out at two o clock

And then again at four

He said that he’s not hungry

So I called him out once more

He’s so tied up with his cyber world

He forgets that he’s alive

Am I an awful father

No I will call again at five

I wonder if this resonates

With others of like mind

I could just turn off all his games

Do you think it would be unkind.

I did as I suggested and there was such a row

His voice it raised up slightly

His words increased and how

I know his world is good for him

but surely he can measure

That too much time in cyber world

Puts families under pressure

Jpoet7

            When she sings

I pick up my vinyl record

 I place it on the dial

I walk onto the dance floor

I jive around with style
My feet they keep on tapping

My lips begin to move

My heart is beating faster

Now that I am in the groove
What makes this so amazing

Is that I’m sixty and I’m ageing

Like a youth I am behaving

When I hear her sing

Jpoet7

         Me
It never ceases to amaze me.

 For years I could not see 

The artistic genius and the beauty

 that everywhere surrounds me
I stand upon a mountain 

I look out onto the sea

I see reflective colour

That never used to be
It must have been within me

But then I wonder why

My mind was full of imagery 

For years it passed me by
I’ve tried of late to translate

What lies between my ears

I hope my little musings

Will bring you some little cheer
          Jpoet7
 

     Unpaid Heroes
Lifeboats leap into perilous oceans

Waves climb high in fearsome motions

The Sailing ships and fishing boats

Struggle tirelessly to stay afloat

Sailors peering in the distance

Praying for some help, assistance

Their friends upon the pier await

For any news of loved ones fate

And then Ahoy you hear the cry

Three cheers again for the R N L I

Jpoet7

           Leap year
White cotton buds in a blue clad sky

Another year has passed swiftly by

The storm clouds they have abated

A tranquil dawn has been created
To walk the nearby coastline

Views so beautiful and so sublime

Lapping waters onto shifting sands

Dogs running, lovers holding hands
Children laughing,running,playing

People silently strolling, praying

Scattered seashells softly glistening

In the hope the Gods are listening
Allay all the doubts and fears

Dry all the worried tears

Will bring but happiness and cheer

Throughout the coming year.

        Jpoet 7