Falmouth Harbour

'Captains' set sail

two huge grey ships 

being refueled - loom over everything else

boats dotted around the harbour at bouys

pleasure boats safely tied alongside  pontoons

out of reach behind the "boat owners only" sign

wind generators on yachts 

busily spin

topping up batteries whilst solar panels take in the sun

Wednesday evening is gig rowing practice 

church bells chime out across the canvas Infront of us

Boats of every kind

all lined-up with the out-going tide

safe behind the harbours arm

the ripples of the water 

reflect sun onto the portholes of some 

as the coast guard boat does it's evening rounds

Pub tables full with chatter

signs displaying fishing trips

and people sat around tucking into award winning fish and chips - seagulls seeing an opportunity 

call out

at the stern of a yacht

a tiny inflatable 

waits at the end of its teather

Foolish

going through a carwash when you haven't got a car

standing at a bus whilst waiting for a bus-stop

posting off a birthday card when no-one's got a birthday

buying yourself a hedge trimmer when you haven't got a hedge

striking every match just to find out if they worked

buying yourself two hats when you've only got one head

using a bag of manure to cover up that smell

attempting to grab a flame that's flickering in the harth

hiring yourself a car but you can't even drive

hiring a car but you've got no-where to go

trying to catch the wind in a broken plastic sieve 

trying to cut a cloud into seventeen equal pieces

having a happy thought and then throwing it in the sea

wrapping up a newspaper in mushy-peas and chips

going off on holiday to the very place you live

running yourself a bath then never getting in it

taking out the batteries to stop the hands of time

running towards the sun to ensure it never sets

planting rows of lightbulbs to see if they will grow

and talking to a pigeon about the price of cornflakes 

... all foolish!

The News

The man on the news said something 

about the cost of living 

and he talked to a few people in that town

and then the leader of a political party said something about what he'd do if he got into power to sort it out

and he said that lady had died

and that they'd strike if they didn't get more pay

and that a trade deal could raise millions for the economy 

and that there'd been fires on that island

and it had been very hot in America

and that there'd been an earthquake 

and that there'd been flooding in that country

and many people had died

and that the local election results will be interesting and will send a message

and that a man died falling from a window

and that police are looking into it

and that someone's in hospital 

and about that motorway that had to be closed due to an overturned lorry

then the bloke who does the sport said something about the man won the tennis

and that someone had won a stage on that cycle race

and that a sports competition was coming up

and that a player has signed for millions of pounds

and that it's nearly time for that football competition to start.

The weather lady says rain

Hair Cut

somewhere in the background 

music from a radio 

burbles away - I tune out

to the shadows of the hairdressers actions

projected onto the white walls below the mirror 

playing out in front of me

the snip of the scissors flying around my head

the lovely caress of the comb on my scalp

the light tugging of my hair as the hairdresser prepares for the next snip

the shops lights shine brightly on the chrome foot rest of the chair

as the sound of the rain enters the shop through the open front door

cars whoosh pass

splashing through puddles

as the buzz of the trimmer 

on the hard-to-get-to bits

around the back of my neck 

send shivers down my back

there are noises from the seats where the queue is waiting

out of my vision

it sounds like a young child

eager to have his trim

bringing back memories of my childhood hair cuts

sat on the uncomfortable wooden bar the hairdresser put across the arms of his chair especially for children 

raising you up so he wouldn't have to bend down

there I was all wrapped in the oversized cape they cover you with

sat, worrying I might loose an ear with all that snippping 

sharp scissors darting here and there at speed - snip, snip, snip!

worried that my classmates will laugh at me when they see my haircut

wondering if he was ever going to stop snipping!

parents looking on smiling with approval 

saying how smart I looked - I never thought so

I never liked smart - and I still don't!

Making a cheese sandwich according to TV adverts

I applied the patiented high fat technology

over the modified high fiber sliced brown wheat flour technology

with some simple metal spreading tool technology 

then removed a block of modified dairy technology

from the large cupboard sized space cooling technology.

Using some super sharp metal cutting technology

cut it into slices.

Placing the slices of modified dairy technology

onto one piece of the modified high fiber sliced brown wheat flour technology

I placed the other piece of modified high fiber sliced brown wheat flour technology on top 

creating some self-contained hunger controlling technology.

Then once more using the super sharp cutting technology

I cut the modified high fiber sliced brown wheat flour technology now containing the slices of modified dairy technology 

into two halves

and ate

(using my in built food mastication technology)

Why Do We Write Poetry?

Why do artists paint?

why do we sculpt?

feel emotions?

why do we cry

feel sad

feel depressed

fear

love

hurt?

...those who write poetry - feel something 

they feel a spark of something inside

then write it down

from the heart to the page

from passion within their soul

to sentences taking shape

from an observation to the written word

...they write it down

As humans we sometimes brake-down

we become broken

we can be crushed

we can feel emotionally stripped 

destroyed 

...by a person

an event

the establishment

or just by life in general

some people are just damaged 

life just isn't fair

either physically or mentally 

or both

with an emotional feeling of inadequacy

darkness

hurt and despair

 ...so sometimes

would be poets write these emotions down

we vent

vent our passion

we empty our anger

our love 

our hate

our observations

all our feelings and our anxieties 

...and we channel them

via a pen onto a page 

via a keyboard onto a screen

via our fingers onto a blog

and into a poem

...and we find that typing it out

unloading it

seeing it written down

on a scrap of paper

on a page

on a screen...

really helps

Those who write poetry

write poetry

because they feel they must

...and feel that maybe 

others might like what they've written too