The Leaf Blower

The Leaf blower.

A sort of reverse vacuum cleaner.

Is there a more stupid device in all of humanity?

A device which blows but really 'sucks!'

A temporary fix.

Clouds of leaves and dust take to the air

dust storms created

leaves and dust rearranged - moved slightly 

blowing it over the fence

passing it on to a neighbour

covering nearby cars

make people cough - then settling back to the spot it took off from.

Is this the best the greatest brains can come up with?

Is this the zenith of human creation?

Or is it ten out of ten for the marketing department?

One of those things you never knew you needed

A glossy shiney "must have" 

a "come and buy me" gadget?

Really?!

Happiness

Life is an amazing miracle.

...you're only really happy when you don't know that you are.

An improbable result of endless interactions,

...then, when you look back,

at the cause and effect...

...and remember the time that you were happy

there is much to be grateful about.

...and that makes you feel unhappy - as you realize that you are no longer in that happy state.

 

 

The Sun

long languid shadows 

steam gently rising from hedge rows 

the air is still

mist lays across the valley 

warm

sultry

rising temperatures

suncream

a cool summer attire 

sunglasses to hand

bikinis under t-shirts

shorts and pale legs

loungers and umbrellas

favourite tipples chilling in fridges

ice-trays topped up

icecreams purchased

excited kids

picnics baskets

buckets and spades

fun planned

memories in the making

barbeque charcoal

sausages 

burgers

chicken 

cooking tongs 

chefs hats 

(husband's in charge!)

smoke lazily rising

days out arranged 

cars on roads

traffic reports 

hold-ups

windows wide open

loud music blaring 

soft-tops down

summers endless days

...all brought on by the sun

Birmingham

the 12:50 to Birmingham International 

and a tiny women with two huge pink suitcases on wheels - boards at "New Street"

then confidently

and without any fuss

finds herself a seat

for her and her pink entourage.

Birmingham 

relentless Birmingham

bustling 

alive

busy with people being busy

busy being busy

through cuttings and tunnels we glide

and nothing changes

the view is of criss-crossing railway lines

tower blocks

chimneys 

factories 

building sites are everywhere

the cranes more prevalent than the hundreds of church spires  - which,

somewhere,

somewhere largely unseen - prick it's open skies

the scaffolding dotted with men in high viz

going about their work

as if Birmingham has yet to be built 

sites of industry

sites of dereliction

industrial units offering products of all kinds

services like industrial laundries

railway maintenance vehicles in a line

building supply firms offering "everything for the trade"

and dotted about the chaos 

like tiny islands in the midst of a vast ocean

are the residential streets

near abandoned gardens which won't win any prizes

with views into the backs of houses which aren't going to win any either 

some; trying to keep up appearances

some; not so

the places where the good folk of Birmingham return to after a hard day's work

cars parked

lawns cut and gardens tended

corner shops for that forgotten pint of milk

houses

houses in streets

streets amidst the industry

streets amidst the history

a place to call home

a place to be and work and live and to be proud to come from.

Birmingham 

And The Begin Days

The begin days

the spin worlds

the shine suns 

and trees the lights

the fuel fills up with woman

the coffee dispenses a machine

surfaces reflect off sunshine 

and the road speeds along the cars

causing the wave to trees

coins hand from a sleepy man's fall

money moves computers around

as the pay comes into woman

a complete is transactioned

and the day begins 

And the day begins

and the world spins

the sun shines 

and lights the trees

the woman fills up with fuel

the machine dispenses coffee

sunshine reflects off surfaces

and the cars speed along the road

causing the trees to wave

coins fall from a sleepy man's hand

computers move money around

as the woman comes into pay

a transaction is completed

and the begin days

A 61 Year Old Man With Four Children

If I were to meet a 'grizzly' end in some way or other

grizzly enough to make the national news

the news reader would say I was;

"A 61 year old man with 4 children".

They wouldn't mention I was a loving and caring husband and father.

Nor that I was a West Ham fan - but we all had our problems!

Nor that I was a happy soul

and that I loved Paris and used to live there.

They wouldn't talk about me being a messy so-and-so

and a vegetarian 

with a beard and crazy hair

nor that I gave up smoking when I was eleven - ten minutes after I started!

Me being an artist and photographer wouldn't get a look in

and they wouldn't mention that I liked my coffee black and strong

and that I disliked broccoli.

They wouldn't indicate that I was a bit of a hippy 

and loved wearing brightly colored clothes

and that; if I had ruled the world

everyone would have been happy and safe!

They wouldn't alude to a liking for wine gumsn either 

and that I loved radio Caroline and the 'pirate radio stations' from the 1960's

nor that my favourite film was 'Shawshank Redemption'.

They wouldn't mention that I was liked by many and that I preferred Burger King to McDonald's.

Nothing would be said about me seeing the world in a different way from others

nor that I loved 'Time Team'

and that I was an awfully good poet

...and published one!

I'd simply be a 61 year old man with 4 children

...but I was more than that!