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Lizzie Bevis Dec 2024
Thou art a gnashgab mewling wretch,
Thy face doth like a codfish stretch!
Thou art a boil-brained muck-sprout,
A maggot-pie with addled snout!

Thou fustilugs, lily-livered mumblecrust,
Thy wit hath gathered quite some dust.
Thou art a motley-minded lout,
A hedge-born knave without clout!

Thou art warped and wayward sock-knocker,
A cumberworld, a scobberlotcher.
A flibbertigibbet, saddle-goose fool,
Who'd lose a battle with a stool!

Thou art a shrivel-headed apple-john,
A dalcop, pribbling bobolyne!
Away, thou canker-blossomed pest,
With thou weather-worn poorly-mannered jest!

©️Lizzie Bevis
This poem was inspired by my daughter who was giggling at Medieval insults, I think that it is safe to say that old English insults were quite colourful!

A modern English translation for those left scratching their heads!

Medieval Mud Slinging

You are a grumbling, moaning rascal,
Your face stretches like a codfish!
You are a stupid, foul mouthed,
Maggot pie with a muddled snout!

You are a clumsy, cowardly fool,
Your wit has gathered quite some dust.
You are a muddle-headed ruffian,
A low born scoundrel without influence!

You are warped and greatly perverse,
A burden, an idle person.
A chatterbox, a simple fool,
Who'd lose a battle with a stool!

You are a shrivelled apple head,
A foolish, prattling idiot!
Away, you canker infested pest,
With your tiresome, ill-mannered wind up!

I hope that you enjoy reading this poem!
Lizzie Bevis Dec 2024
Tea flows like the River Thames,
While tutting spreads like wildfire
At queue-jumpers
And umbrella-shirkers,
As passive-aggressive notes flourish
Like ivy on garden walls
A POLITE NOTICE:
Your parking leaves much to be desired.

———

Digestive biscuits dunk and drown
In piping hot Tea at 4 o'clock sharp,
Followed by a national moment of silence,
As Scones wage their silent war
Devon versus Cornwall;
The cream-first heretics
Face jam-first purists,
While the cucumber sandwiches mediate,
Their crusts banished like medieval traitors.

———

The weather forecast foresees
Cloudy with a chance of small talk,
And a 90% probability
Of complaining about the weather.
Shorts and sandals brave December,
While summer coats guard
Against the August sun,
And somewhere, someone
Is wearing socks with sandals.
Ooh, Suits you, Sir!

———

Red buses pass red buses
Followed by a ritual of waiting,
Until the bus arrives
Five minutes late, of course.
While Big Ben counts the moments
As patience is wrapped in politeness,
Where every grumble is a nod,
Until the next apologetic shuffle.

©️Lizzie Bevis
If you know…you know!
Lizzie Bevis Dec 2024
Your touch ignites
          the morning sky,
With each kiss
          a thousand stars
                    reply.

Your Heartbeat
is my favourite song,
          the rhythm
I've searched
                    for all along.

Your eyes
hold secrets of the sea
          each glance
                    a promise
                              meant for me.

Your smile outshines
          the burning sun,
Two hearts beating
          and joined
                    as one.

Like honey
          dripping
                    from the moon,
Like roses
          blooming
                    out of tune.

Your love flows
          through my every vein,
with a sweet,
          intoxicating rush
                    of pain.

©️Lizzie Bevis
Lizzie Bevis Dec 2024
Home isn't always brick and mortar,
It's the way your eyes crinkle when you smile,
The familiar rhythm of your steady breathing,
And the space between your fingers
where I slide mine.

I see us,
Dancing in kitchens we are yet to build,
Smiling at happy moments still to come,
As our story engraves deeper
Into our laughter lines.

Fifty short years from now,
Is already written in the lines of our palms,
We will be thinning out silver-haired,
Still laughing and growing old,
Sitting by the fire in our armchairs
Side by side.

©️Lizzie Bevis
Lizzie Bevis Dec 2024
These battered wings still soar
Beneath clouds of gathered storms,
You, miraculous survivor,
Are teaching others how to fly.

In your bruised hands,
You hold fragments of others' hope
Like precious stones,
Polishing their troubles away.

How strange and beautiful,
That from your deepest wells of pain
Springs this endless fountain
Of so much kindness.

They'll never know
The weight of the hurt you've carried,
As you transform the darkness
Into a lamp for lost souls.

You are the paradox,
Broken and whole,
Scarred and healing,
Empty and overflowing.

Your gentle soul speaks
In the language of second chances,
Showing that there is hope
To every invisible heart.

©️Lizzie Bevis
I thought that I would just roll with my thoughts and write in free verse as I lay awake listening to the rain and try to sleep.

I hope that you enjoy reading this poem.
Take care :)
Lizzie Bevis Dec 2024
When the weight of the world feels heavy,  
And shoulders slump beneath its load,  
Carrying on becomes an unwanted burden,  
Yet resilience demands that we never let go.

Sometimes I dream of laying it all down,  
To live and breathe beyond these confines,  
To shed the weight of others' expectations,  
To find solace, to rest, and unwind.

Even mountains must rest in their valleys,  
And oceans retreat before kissing the shore.  
Why must I maintain this false rally,  
When nature knows the strength of pause?

So let me be both, the warrior and wanderer,  
The shelter and storm, the sun and the rain.  
Resilience isn't found in constant endurance,  
But in knowing when to try again.

©️Lizzie Bevis
Lizzie Bevis Dec 2024
Their eyes ignite
With every word,
Each gesture met,
Each story heard.
They lean in close,
They catch each breath,
Captivated between
Each life and death.

Like sunflowers tracking
The morning light,
They watch and follow,
The characters plight.
No greater gift
Could the heavens send
Than souls who yearn
To comprehend.

©️Lizzie Bevis
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