Absence

absence makes the heart grow fonder
absent makes the heart go missing
abstain makes the heart go without
absinth makes the heart get drunk
absurd makes the heart wildly irrational 
abscond makes the heart leave secretly under the cover of darkness 
abscess makes the heart form puss due to an infection
abseil makes the heart descend a cliff face on a length of rope
absenteeism makes the heart regularly not turn up for work
absentmindedly makes the heart leave it's umbrella on the bus...

but absence
most definitely 
makes the heart 
grow fonder




Old Age

Suddenly 
and without warning
from going to bed feeling normal
after catching up on the latest episode of "Love Island"
you wake up 
and feel compelled to head off into town
to buy yourself a pair of velcro fastened shoes - they're so convenient 
and a pair of comfy drawstring
trousers
the ones with an elasticated waist  - beige of course.

You find yourself thinking it would be a great idea to go out for a picnic 
and park in a lay-by along side a busy "A" road.
Don't fight the urge to make a "thermos" of coffee 
or to make cheese sandwiches.
Coffee and sandwiches from petrol stations are so expensive!
Of course you must go for a wee before you leave - never pass a toilet!
You won't worry about the outfit you're in
beige shorts, complete with long navy blue socks is fine
those socks have a lovely thistle motif around the top
and you'll wear your brown sandals - perfect!

Once on your way
you'll be looking for a turning
so you have to turn the "Today Programme" off 
because you need to concentrate.

So what is this nightmare you're in?
What have you woken up into?
How did this happen?

Old age is what has happened to you!
Don't worry about it now!
This might not have happened to you yet
You might be young, fit and healthy
and go to the gym
and watch "Love Island"
and not like cheese sandwiches. 
and prefer a creamy latte with sprinkles from a petrol station 
made with beans which have been passed through the digestive system of an elephant 
and they're only fifteen quid a cup anyway!

But...
one morning 
I am telling you
this will have happened to you 
and you will wake up as an "old person!"

You have been warned!

Some tips:
Men.
Don't take up an extreme sport.
Don't buy a Harley Davidson.
Don't dump your wife for a younger model.
And don't grow a pony tail!

Women.
Yes that skirt is too short
No, don't get a tattoo - well not on there anyway
don't get plastic surgery - they're big enough already
but maybe try dumping your old man for a younger model

You've been told!








Silence

Silence - a tricky beast to track down
a solitary creature
elusive
nocturnal  
ephemeral - yet ever present
there under all of lifes "hub-bub
grabbed in fleeting moments 
down in a secret corner 
late at night
after a train has passed
a moment caught sat in your garden
down a high street 
long after the shops have shut
before the pubs kick-out
when the noise from the nighttime revellers 
scares it back into the dark recesses 
to wait until natures calm returns
the hushed dead of night
the hours of stillness
the time of the urban fox
of star filled skies
and the silence of the moon
then...
displaced by the rising sun
just before a new day dawns
it is gone once more
displaced by the noise of the modern world...
and back to the shadows





(Haiku)


Getting old means you
can put inches on your waste 
looking at a cake

Move on too

If you'd be so kind
and perhaps, if you don't mind
I find myself inclined 
to leave all this behind
and move on

I think that you will find
that, when our hearts entwined 
a perfect couple defined
but now with love declined
I, must move on

Deep love was not designed
for two souls in such a bind
enough, the daily grind
for hearts now misaligned
I really must move on

Move on, no longer blind
perhaps now to be well-timed
no longer be confined
and you - may I remind
must move on too

...and you - may I remind
must move on too



War - A soldiers story

Am I guilty?
What about those who told me to pull the trigger
forced me to join the cause
trained me
supplied me...
and what about those who do nothing to stop them doing that?
War is not black against white
Communist against...
anarchism, 
centrism, 
fascism, 
liberalism, 
nationalism, 
socialism,
leftism, 
libertarianism 
or any other "ism" you can think of
it's not them verses us
it's humans fighting humans
it's various disagreements
conflicts
motivations, 
both political and societal
but it's not politics 
It's not republics against democrats
It's not about getting rid of religious leaders of whatever faith
It's political leaders in hobnail boots
pulling the strings of puppets in military uniforms
with their shiny brass stars
and their polished medals 
barking orders down phone lines
ordering people like me
to kill!
kill! 
kill!

Politicians are not the ones who will do the killing
but they are the ones who send us 
the young 
fresh-faced 
ideological teenagers to war
it is we who are drafted 
forced to subscribe to their idiology
taught to kill 
to obey the orders of the puppeteers above us
forced to be shipped out to foreign shores
to kill an enemy we do not know 
teaching us to use the killing machines of war
lorded as heros
and more often than not
to be killed for a cause that isn't ours
whilst the whole world is watching
and what will you do with those who protest against war
those who didn't fall in line
do we send in the troops with guns and bullets on them?
How do we deal with that kind of person?
Or is it your right
for people protesting against the killings
to be killed themselves
beaten and mown down by your people in uniforms 
controlled
corralled 
denied their right to have their say
but they protest for us 
we who are returning in bodybags
to grieving mothers
and politically coordinated burials 

And...
why are the politicians having peacetalks whilst we are still fighting
whilst they argue about where everyone is going to sit round a table
they can't even agree what shape it should be!
Who are these people to talk about a war that I am having to fight?
Anyway - if they don't agree to our demands
we have more money than them 
so can buy more weapons 
so we can go on fighting!

And...
and what happens if I am lucky enough to survive the war?
Am I now human or am I still a soldier?
I can't be both!
What did the war do to me?
Look at me - who am I now?
How can I kill people and come home and be normal?
Is it any wonder I don't want to talk about it
You don't want to hear about what I saw!

You don't know!
You will never know!
You don't want to know how terrible war is!
Oh and don't give me a medal for what you made me do!

Where is the tolerance and respect
the regard for others 
other peoples and their beliefs

I will not fight again for my country
not because I don't love my country
but because I hate war
Killing for peace makes no sense