We, We Two, One, Us

I am - 'me'

the personal pronoun - 'I" 

I've always been - 'me'

'myself'

I thought I didn't know how to be anyone else - but I found a way

when I became - 'us'

when I met - 'her'

when I asked - 'her'

the big question

and she said - "yes!"

so she and I became - 'we'

'we two'

'one'

'us'

and we've been - 'we'

'we two'

'one'

'us'

for so many years

so much so that 

being - 'we'

'we two'

'one'

'us'

is all I know - now

who would I be if there were no 'we'

'we two'

'one'

'us'

for - at some point in time

one of us is going to loose the other 

what we have 

now

can all be swept away so very quickly!

But...

have I forgotten who I am

what the personal pronoun 'I' means anymore

what 'being me' - is or was?

Who I am?

Who would I be?

And...

could I ever be 'me' again?

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Looe

Low cloud hangs over the steep valley sides above what was one of Cornwall's busiest ports.

Separating the twin towns of Looe - 'The River Looe'

nearly at it's end 

is spanned by a small grade II

listed bridge

built replacing an ancient 15th century structure.

Once both angry and fast 

tributaries,

the two main rivers

with identical names to the two towns - are joined as one

in a confluence north of the towns

they become a calm 

tidal harbour 

where for many centuries

shipwrights made the ships which set sail

to fish

and to sell

exporting all that Cornwall could produce.

Nowadays it's quays produce

beds for the night

and lunches

coffees and teas for tourists

who

in the summer months

flood in; in their thousands

by train

by boat

or by car 

down the narrow winding lanes that feed the two towns. 

The single river having become a slow 

calm

harbour

provdes shelter for a small fishing fleet

a mere fraction of what it was -

the pleasure crafts and weekend sailors making up the numbers

then

finally 

the river becomes an estuary 

and passes 'Banjo Pier'

when this former gateway to a wider 

waiting world

...becomes the sea.

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An Encounter

He came in from the night. 

He was thin - very thin

and had a gaunt and pale complexion.

His overall appearance was dishevelled,

you could say he looked 'shifty'.

His face was weather-beaten  

hardend by life.

He had thin lips - which he kept tightly shut

and supper for this thin

dishevelled

weather beaten soul?

10 cans of cheap lager

with a bag of crisps on the side.

His tobacco stained fingers handed the cashier a crumpled ten pound note 

which he took from a pocket.

It could have been his last - who knows

he certainly didn't look well off

but had a homeless look about him

unkempt

wearing many layers of dirty clothes

looking like he hadn't the means 

nor the circumstances to do anything about it.

He took his change from the cashier's hand

and loaded his empty rucksack with the lagers - with what looked like a very well practiced routine...

...he then turned

and disappeared back into the night.

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(Haiku)

Valentine's day cards

hastily being bought and

written on the day!

People call me the professor

People call me 'The Professor'

I'm really not sure I know why

maybe I have the authority

the presence of that sort of guy

I'd like to have been a professor

my colourful outfits would fit in

my wild hair would make much more sense - and match the stubble that covers my chin

Maybe it's my BBC accent

or maybe they think that I'm  bright

that with my round horn rimmed spectacles

I fit the perception just right

I like all that cerebral thinking

writing papers in an important 'rag'

but there is a good reason why I'm not the professor - and it is, one very big snag!

I would have loved being a professor 

but I must confess to you

I'm not over-burdend with qualifications

and Professors require quite a few

I have a certificate in swimming

and 25 yards was very tough!

I didn't really like it at school much

learning - and all that stuff!

School sucked me in at one end

and at the other end just spat me out!

I'm sure that all they were teaching me

was very important - no doubt!

I really didn't have a life plan

only college - so there must've been a spark

but college didn't have any professors

who on me, could maybe have made a mark

People call me the professor

but I'm not the professor type

I don't think I'd have be very good at it

but it's too late for having a gripe!

I think that I'm much too old now

to help young students to learn

so I'll sit with my wife and my dog - as

some peace and quiet 

is what I now yearn!

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Don't Grow Up

As an adult 

you must never overlook 

nor forget

the unadulterated joy there is to be had 

by a child

in blowing hard 

down a drinking straw

which sits in a glass of milk

or similar childhood beverage

- especially a carbonated one

which then sends the drink

in the form of bubbles

cascading over the glasses rim

and onto the table 

and over itself

and the floor

oh and the cushions on the chair as well!

As an adult of course

this is very annoying

and contains no joy

as we are the ones who usually have to clear it all up

and possibly change the childs outfit

which is now soaking wet

so it will need washing

and drying

because this was the outfit you were going to send them in 

to the party tomorrow 

and then we need to wipe the table down

and the cushions on the chair

might need dry cleaning

...not forgetting to mop up the floor!

...you then grow up 

you grow up not remembering this joy

and forget just how amazing it was

then

when your time comes

and you find yourself on your hands and knees

annoyed

because your child has done this very same thing

the thing you did

many years ago

that you thought amazing

...this is the time to search your memories

rummage around and recall

remember the joy you found

by this simple act

and

maybe... 

maybe forgive them just this one time!

...or just don't grow up!

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