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