Helicopter Passes Over Head

cotton wool clouds in azure blue skies

crisp morning air catches my breath 

crows in orchard discuss the situation 

distant sound of traffic is peppered with small arms fire

twenty 

thirty 

fourty miles distant

a rumble catches my ear

a russian attack helicopter lets go its payload

as seagulls chase an early morning tractor 

flash of white across the freshly turned soil

an explosion of flapping wings 

gently rising smoke amongst the rows of burnt out military hardware 

oak tree casts a shadow 

light and shade

smoke rising from a field of bomb craters 

amidst the ruined buildings

burnt out cars

lives in shreds

sheep sit 'shooting the breeze'

sparrows encroach into each others territory 

disagreeing

squabbling

fighting

chasing in and out of hedgerows

oblivious to the metaphor 

helicopter passes over head

A Rant on Behalf of the Common Man Over The 2022 Fuel Price/Cost Of Living Rises

"You! You're just part of the machine 

part of the filthy corporate landscape!

You're all money grabbing bastards!

Trample us little guys

squeeze us dry why don't you!

Struggling as we are 

kick us when we're down!

Our morning coffee 

our daily paper

all up in price

all our little treats

the extras that make life worthwhile 

make it bearable 

tolerable 

manageable 

...just about

so we can cope and not give up

like I wanna to give up

but you can't 

you can't give up

you just mustn't give up

...must you!"

Pay Homage (You Just Had To Be There!)

a spaceship parked in the centre of a city

architectural majesty 

a cathedral to sport

a collasium to rugby

pay homage to the venue

they assemble and they worship 

sing along with their anthem 

they pray for their country

united in faith

pay homage to the team

lager is quaffed 

dripping from trays

four pints at a time

packets of crisps to help soak it up

pay homage to the alcohol 

with wolly 'sheep hats'

in a shirts of their team

'daffodil headgear'

this passion wears red

pay homage to the outfits

rejoice! sing disciples 

fanatical congregations 

in pulpit like rows

generations at the altar 

pay homage to the church

an allegiance

a devotion 

adulation to spare

fidelity and the people

...you just had to be there!

(Haiku)

Time drinking coffee

is time to stop and chat and

put the world to rights

Before A Storm Hits

Before a storm hits

before a storm makes land-fall

a violent storm

a storm like no other - a silence falls

'The calm before the storm'

A kind of serenity covers the land

Before a storm hits

the air is still

birds are silent

all is calm

Before this particular storm hits

streets are empty

very few people are there to be seen save those who are battening down

stocking up

or leaving town

Run away from this storm

hide before this storm lashes out bringing total distruction - but not distroying your resolve

consuming your city's - but not removing the belief you hold in your fellow countrymen 

taking those you hold dear - but not diminishing the love you have for your country 

breaking your spirit - but not eroding your sence of who you are 

this storm will hit hard 

but this storm wont take your fortitude

your nationality 

your will to rebuild 

nor the memories you hold

(Haiku)

"Give us this day our

daily bread". Better stop the

war in Ukraine then!