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?

Creating A Hit Record

Creating a hit record is simple really

just put a few words together 

make sure they tell a story

have a bit a catch to them

you'll need a tune to carry the words 

again - music is easy

it's simply a collection of notes 

there aren't many to choose from - it's a piece of cake really!

Then find someone who can sing a bit

the voice after all is just the muscles and tissue of the larynx

which vibrate as air from the lungs passes through it

you can use the mouth and lips to shape the voice - simple!

You'll need musical instruments 

perhaps guitars

a guitar is played by plucking or strumming strings 

which can be pressed against metal frets on the fingerboard 

this alters the sound it makes - all quite straight forward!

You can add other instruments - like a piano

a piano is just keys hitting strings

again  - not complicated

some drums perhaps 

to tap out a rhythm 

some wind instruments - bent metal pipes

with a mouth-piece you blow down 

and then the sounds come out the other end

All this needs mixing together 

and recording

and if you get a radio station to play the recording 

get people to like it

and like you

enough to buy a copy of your tune - or download it  or something 

a lot

lots and lots actually 

you could do gigs

and people would come to your gigs

live concerts where you play this song

then - there you have it

you'll have a hit record - simple really!

Remind me to teach you how to paint sometime!

Getting Old

Getting old brings biological changes

With old age cells and molecules accumulate damage

leading to a decline in physical and mental abilities. 

The metabolism slows down 

A prevalence of body fat can increase in the midriff 

this can increase the risk of health problems such as diabetes. 

Life changes such as retirement or a  move to more appropriate housing can unsettle.

Old age can bring the death of friends or life partners

and you suddenly find yourself enjoying the coverage of the bowls on BBC 2

everything was better then

the sun always shone back when we were young

We had no responsibilities

the people we loved were still around

birthday cards came with cash inside

life was simpler

things tasted better

what was for tea was a surprise to us

chocolate bars were bigger - but we didn't know

there was food on the table 

we never appreciated how good the music was

we never listened to the radio stations we now miss

we never enjoyed the classic cars which then were just - normal 

the steam locomotives which pulled our trains

the family members we never imagined we'd loose 

we never knew how fondly we'd look back at those times

these times

times when we grumbled at having to go to school

do our homework 

Saturday jobs to earn some pocket money 

made to eat all of our veg

to eat what was put in front of us

having to go to bed at a set time

having to only watch what our parents thought appropriate 

this past 

painted with the rosy tint of retrospection

we were young and care free

everything came without cost 

the past

a time now gone 

which we remember fondly

a time we consider 

better than the time we are in now

remembered with emotional intensity 

but only the positive 

forgetting the negative 

the scraped knees which hurt us

our mind

distorting 

idealizing 

time which now deceives us

which now our mind misconstrues

the past - but not forgetting 

the present - these days now

will be the yesterdays of tomorrow 

for

everything was better then - wasn't it?