Six Year Olds

Six year olds with knives 

Six year olds knowing about knife culture

Six year olds feeling they must carry a knife

Six year olds being exposed to the consequences of having a knife 

Six year olds being able to get their hands on a knife in the first place

Six year olds involved with knife crime

Six year olds fighting in the streets

Six year olds out with street gangs 

Six year olds with knives out shop-lifting

Six year olds out with their mates

Six year olds out riding their bikes

Six year olds playing footy in the street

Six year olds kicking footballs against your front door

Six year olds knocking on doors and running away

Six year olds climbing trees and making dens

Six year olds having mates round to play

Six year olds having a mate round for tea 

Six year olds laying on their fronts in the lounge with their chins in their hands watching the telly

Six year olds playing in the garden

having a bath 

having a sensible bedtime because it's school tomorrow 

having a story read to them tucked up in bed

A six year old carrying a knife?

At what point did this story change?

One of these two

There's this woman.

She's thin

black bags under her eyes

a sallow complexion 

wearing what I always see her wear

jeans and a blue jumper.

A young woman 

looks like she's from a chaotic upbringing 

living a chaotic existence 

who's seen too much of the worst of life

lives in a council house

next door gardens piled high with junk 

an existence on the edge

three kids from two fathers

a pillar to post life-style

a regular at the food-bank

she only has money when he gives her some

a debit card that often declines

drives a run-down twenty year old car

five pounds for petrol 

five pounds for something unhealthy to keep the kids quiet - for now

her mother was a drug taker

had no time for her - always chasing the next fix

and died from an overdose 

leaving her with her kids

and the small-time drug dealer she lives with

in a drug related environment 

deals at the front door

drug paraphernalia on the streets outside

I'm pretty sure she dabbles in it

it looks like she's heading down the same route as her mother.

...or

She's a hard working young mum

working to pay the rent and feed the kids

The black bags under her eyes are from dashing between 3 part-time jobs

kids and their school

after-school-clubs 

and parent evenings.

The twenty year old car runs well

her Dad bought it for her and looks after it as he is a mechanic 

The kids are fed properly

it's a priority of hers

that's why she only puts a fiver a time in the fuel tank.

She is caring and has a kind heart

She wanted to be a nurse 

but got pregnant in her late teens.

Being a single parent 

she's always rushing round

no time for herself

no time for her own clothes

her appearance 

the correct food for herself - it's the kids first

she wants to go back to college to resurrect her dreams

but Dad's not capable of looking after the kids because of his job

so who will?

She's had to put those dreams on hold for now.

One these two 

is what I think her situation is. 

Change

Change: Define

To make someone or something

different.

To replace something with          something else, 

especially something newer 

or better.

An act or process through which something becomes different.

Loose change - the coins in your pocket.

Change.

Something to be frightend of!

A Professor

I wish I'd been a professor 

a deep and learn-ed chap

with a study in which I could study in

drink tea in and take a nap

My crazy wild hair would fit in well

with my colourful spectacles; round

a jacket with patches on elbows

a breifcase full with my findings I'm bound

With a swivel chair to sit on

and books from ceilng to floor

on all sorts of different subjects

and a computer on which I'd write more

The media at my door would come knocking

and pay me to pick my brains

when an expert was desperately needed

on my subject and all it pertains

I'd have students to teach and to encourage 

to pass on the knowledge I've gained

write books of my studies and findings

till everything I knew was explained 

The University; my domain; my dominion 

a faculty baring my name

a letter from the King a formality 

more letters to add to my fame

They say one should never have regrets

only once do we travel this way

I've done many things and my life has been full

so this fanciful dream I must slay

I'm soon to retire and happy with life

spending time down in Cornwall 

with the dog and my wife!

(Haiku)

Gales billow curtains.

Is the world still there or has

it been blown away?

Saving The Planet

I washed out 

and recycled 

the plastic containers 

in which we got with our Chinese takeaway 

last weekend...

Am I saving the planet?