Walking In His Footsteps

I have two pairs of thick woollen socks

They are from New Zealand and are made of New Zealand wool.

They belonged to my late brother

and yes they are warm

and yes they are comfortable - but that's not why I wear them.

I wear them because 

when I walk

where ever I walk

whenever I walk

with them on - I walk in his footsteps.

(Haiku)

They say two pairs of 

eyes are better than one - but

not on the same face

Bad For You

Smoking is bad for you

that's OK, 

we'll increase taxes on them so much so that you'll have to stop eating to afford them 

(which is also bad for you).

We must stop you smoking in public

but you can huddle outside pub doors in the rain for a fag!

Alcohol is bad for you!

Alcohol causes high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems

...cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum

...weakening of the immune system thus increasing the chances of getting sick

...learning and memory problems, including dementia.

Alcohol is bad for you - but we'll ban that later!

You can't have sugary drinks - we'll raise the tax on them,

they're bad for you.

You can't show fast-food adverts to children

or to anyone at all!

Fast food is bad for you and you seeing an advert might make you go out and buy some.

We'll put calorific values of all foods on all menus so you can see just how bad your choices are.

And you can't have sweets and chocolates at the point of sale, 

sweets are bad for you!

'BOGOF's' must be banned as people are getting too fat.

Gas hobs - gas hobs are bad for you.

Don't let dogs lick your face. 

Dogs licking faces is bad for you!

Don't vape unless you are using it to quit smoking or; you are on fire!

Don't take cake into work.

Don't eat your tie!

Too little sleep is bad for you.

Too much sleep is bad for you.

Sleeping with your head in a bucket of water is bad for you.

Any type of sleep is bad for you!

Don't eat in bed

don't eat out of bed

Don't eat the bed

Eating is bad for you you!

A poke in the eye with a sharp stick is bad for you.

Salty foods like crisps (which are also high in fat)

processed meats

processed cheese 

(in fact anything that has been through a process) is bad for you.

Standing on one leg

too much red meat

too much green meat!

Too much fish (many are high in mercury)

shellfish (they soak up toxins)

vegetables (many commercially grown contain pesticides)

almonds (soak up gallons of water)

salads (they take up too many precious resources)

even water! 

Too much water and you'll drown in it!

Nuts are high in fat

the healthiness of tomatoes is in doubt

and so they must bad for you!

Coffee can cause insomnia, forgetfulness, nervousness, restlessness

...forgetfulness, upset stomach, nausea

...forgetfulness, increased heart and breathing rate, and many other side effects

...like forgetfulness!

Banging your head against a wall

smashing your fist through a window

stubbing your toe

are all bad for you!

Products such as household cleaners, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, petrol, alcohol, pesticides and cosmetics, can be toxic,

so can the contents of your nose!

Binge drinking

wearing pink shorts

weeing into a toaster

arguing with a lion

arguing with your wife

arguing with anyone!

Applying makeup on a penny farthing 

skipping breakfast

skipping lunch

skipping dinner

skipping generally!

Farting into a jam jar

having sex on a bus

not having sex on a bus

having sex too quickly

having sex too slowly

sex generally is bad for you!

Eating too quickly

eating to slowly

eating just beow the right speed but not slow enough to be actually called slow

not eating at all!

Eating is bad for you!

Worrying is bad for you!

Worrying about your bunions 

worrying about your underwear 

worrying about the price of donkeys

worrying about - 'worrying too much'

Air pollution

pollution in the seas

pollution in our cities

pollution in our trousers!

Particulates

micro-plastics

microbes

microscopes 

microphones

microwave ovens

micro scooters 

microbiologists

micro-breweries

microchips

microcosms 

microsoft?

My god!

.. .everything is bad for you so go back to bed and hide under your duvet!

(making sure the duvet is hypoallergenic and remembering that too much sleep is bad for you!)

It's Still Home

The heart of this city hasn't changed - maybe my heart has?

It's streets are now clogged with cars and people!

Buildings once familiar

now repurposed

knocked down

everything turned into flats

cafes and restaurants on every corner! (Are we eating out more?)

Not like I remember it - when I looked at this city with much younger eyes.

Time passed and my heart wanted more than I thought this city could offer me

my eyes needed to see

my mind to experience 

and my soul to love.

I've been away and lived many lives

I learnt and loved

been happy and hurt.

I've seen foreign shores and spoken foreign tongues

gained the friendship of many

and the love of a few - but I came home.

It's impossible to ignore the call of home

that place of your foundations

growing up

the experiences that shaped you

where you made mistakes - but learnt from them!

Yes it's streets are now full of cars

and lots of things have changed

but at it's heart

and in my heart

it's still home.

The Real Us

We never really get to see the 'real us'

the 'real us' that other people see

unless of course that's not really the 'real us'.

The 'real us' may be trapped deep inside

we may be deliberately hiding the 'real us'

behind a mask

or behind our best defenses

for some reason which is not best known to us.

We might not think we like the 'real us'

and so mask it with a different someone

maybe a someone we think we'd like to be

a someone we'd prefer to be over the someone we are 

and so ensues a battle 

a battle between the 'real us' inside

and the pretend us outside

we become two people 

the person we are

and the person we think we should be

when all we really want

is the outside us

to be the same

as the inside us

...don't we?

View from a Parisian Window

Tall Parisian buildings rise like familiar cliff faces all around me

the casual car horns for all the world like arguing seagulls

the sound of the traffic is the waves which run into the beaches I miss

and which surfers ride

and in which young and old swim.

The cars on its streets are fishing boats 

home with their catch

rounding the headlands

into the estuary and into the harbour to unload.

An occasional siren many streets away

is excited children 

shrieking as they play in and out of the shallows

under a mother's watchful gaze

and with the kind of joy only a child on a beach could feel and express!

Although this is Paris - it isn't mine.

Here I sit at my open window 

many miles from home

many miles from the sea I crave but whose perfume I cannot sense - whose power I cannot feel.

Those edges where the land tumbles onto the waves

those edges I was brought up knowing

those edges which at home are all around me

those edges which are mine.

Home is those rocky shorelines

those sandy beaches

that granite peninsula which sticks two fingers up to the atlantic and dares it to do it's worst!

That peninsula that thousands flock to in the summer for their two weeks of sun and sand

those tourists heading west that fill the roads with ladened cars pulling caravans and trailers 

all packed full with people!

But this is only Paris.

The cliffs are just buildings

the sights and sounds are just those which every city makes

and despite my love for this place

this place is not mine

all this that man has made 

devoid of any natural beauty

the natural beauty of the rocky peninsula that lives in my heart and in my soul

...and which now calls me home!