Where the lake meets the quaint red roofs
Where the water is chill fresh despite intense July heat
Where cloud hangs as if tied atop mountain high
Is the imperious Lago di Garda  

As the Peler bounds relentless until it finds the Ora in fine fettle winning the day like the plume of a freshly boiled kettle

The windsurfers and kite surfers enter their domain only too willing to jump on the nature train

Take me there
Let my heart rule my head
Let it’s beauty win the day
Let Lago di Garda have the final say

I have been there
A paradisiacal spring
Abloom of my senses
Affaire du cœur

She wandered inside
tiptoeing her way
Striding even
inside my garden of eden

Just the once for a month or so
weightless inertia
took over our souls
but we were there

To replicate is impossible
Our waters they rippled
We got drunk at the inn of love
We got severely tippled

Martyn Grindrod

Splendid soldier you
I'm merely your descendant
barely fit to footstep follow
I'm discipled , My kindred hero

Foreign soils desperately dank
Churchillian's major tactical outflank
Death by bulleted blight
******* German bight

Evil eradication in Holland's nether land
Liberation free , Guaranteed
Twas his life he gave
Home to a war hero's grave

Death knell to heroic soldier blue
And maybe I'm a tad bitter 'tis true
My Blood lost his life to a gameplan
After all what's a medal without the man

Martyn Grindrod

In remembrance Sunday my tribute to my Grandad
William Fred Grindrod
20/12/1918 - 30/11/1944

Sing me joy
shrill bill o' yellow
'neath night sky red
tune my feathered cello

Liven that hawthorn tree
with it's yearly bloom
lift the melancholy
make happiness from gloom

The warbled delight
of a morning song
sing blackbird that tune
from dawn til dusk long

Martyn Grindrod

Wife of mine
What see shine
gemstone glow
finger left four

A vows, a vow
spoken, set in stone
A promise unbroken
never needing atone

A milestone me and you
i can unequivocally say
a quarter of a century
not one less nor more a day

years five past
ten amore
fifteen adore
A score i beseech
Anniversary silver reach.


Martyn Grindrod

The fondness I feel 
for her with the sweet disposition
enlivened a slumber inside of me
her serene voice of velvet twee

It called her name 
It shouted mountain high
It whispered meadow low
it wandered in on shrill wind blow

Up, down my valley's it blew 
Through peaks and troughs it knew
It sighed , It groaned on a grassy dew 
My fondness found sweet dispositioned you



Martyn Grindrod

Atop fathomed abyss
glides serenity
the river queen
a picturesque scene

under water surface
the furious pitter patter
to stay afloat
a feminine steam powered boat

This Protected bird
The mere's beauty absurd
Neck long insane
Nature's aquacrane

A swan to swan
curved apart
a beacon of love
an emblazoned heart

Martyn Grindrod

Archipelago of fire
Beautiful muchness high admire
Mediterranean sunset, Silvery moon
shallow drift of a blue lagoon

biblical , roman citadel
Rabat rabbit , Mdina befell
allied ally , friend nay foe
Britannia forevermore

Africa, europe nearer unsure
Divided ocean's fight it's land
a Country much sought after
beaches of many laughter

Pleasure crafts, weekend a saunter
line up deep blue still
for Malta's high nightlife
St Julian's hip paceville

Little Malta's big on me
three islands ,three cities more
Sunshine eternal burn
'til adventurers return

Martyn Grindrod

Wife of mine
What see shine
gemstone glow
finger left four

A vows, a vow
spoken, set in stone
A promise unbroken
never needing atone

A milestone me and you
i can unequivocally say
a quarter of a century
not one less nor more a day

years five past
ten amore
fifteen adore
A score i beseech
Anniversary silver reach.


Martyn Grindrod

The fondness I feel 
for her with the sweet disposition
enlivened a slumber inside of me
her serene voice of velvet twee

It called her name 
It shouted mountain high
It whispered meadow low
it wandered in on shrill wind blow

Up, down my valley's it blew 
Through peaks and troughs it knew
It sighed , It groaned on a grassy dew 
My fondness found sweet dispositioned you



Martyn Grindrod

Nothing tops the melancholy
of the sweet blackbird sing
twee shrill from beak o' yellow
natures feathered cello

The artistry of the Housemartin
low flight,  dancing pirouettes
on land Englishman sow
betwixt wildflowers earthly grow

A wood pigeon hurries tree to tree
A weight in flight rarely seen
Wings ten t' dozen ,audible hum
A quick heartbeat of a big bass drum

Then the May treat the starling
A spring sensation
a thousand wings delightful circle
a swarm , A murmuration.

Martyn Grindrod

I tossed a pebble
Spherical from this here Quay
I threw flat pebble
Shore to sea

Round pebble soared to sea
Over Flotsam ,Jetsam, splash
eddy pool formed
Waves splash and crash

Waves rose high
Winds grew wild
developed strong
Rogue wave outstretched long

Storm from wave grew
Restless from north it blew
Blew undersea with might and fright
Aqueous storm formed tonight

A storm of might formed Tsunami
A tsunami of such a force
Nil survivors
Nil remorse

I tossed a pebble
From this here quay
Now there's no you
Now there's no me


Martyn Grindrod

Springs first morning
Freshness unmistaking
The larks early call
Their singing did befall

A roving along this wondrous path
I viewed a chiselled epitaph
Etched into splendid Larch
Read 'beware the Ides of March'

Perhaps a soothsayers warning
Was unexpected this Spring morning
This is so nondescript
Had I stumbled upon a Crypt

This isn't a Roman arch
It's merely a tree of Larch
This is not ancient Rome
This is not a catacomb

Twas the 15th day of March
I found the secret of the Larch
Words weren't scribed by t'other factors
than a mere plethora of actors

It was the scene of a play
of Ceasers fateful day
where Brutus and Cassius
hatched a plan to **** Julius

A roving first day of Spring
Where Butterflies Flutter, bees did sting
Down wondrous path i passed
Where Ceaser breathed his last

Martyn Grindrod

Amidst ashes pumice lay
Life in cinders Pompeii's disarray
Vesuvius plumed angry swell
Archeologists unearth deathly knell

Volcanic ***** ample spume
from molten lava to darkened gloom
Roman bathing in waters pure
Nimbus of fire blazing coiffure

In A.D 79  it's eruption ooccurred
No time to flee , No time for prayer
For sure a wrong analogy of mine
but this 'Furnace it froze in time

Martyn Grindrod

Red robin sing
messages you doth bring
t'ween hedgerows you hide
whispering secrets totherside

ebullient flyer
dash between, betwixt
garden to church spire

Sharing tales
from beyond the ghosts
scarlet cravat uppermost

Martyn Grindrod

Splendid soldier you
I'm merely your descendant
barely fit to footstep follow
I'm discipled , My kindred hero

Foreign soils desperately dank
Churchillian's major tactical outflank
Death by bulleted blight
******* German bight

Evil eradication in Holland's nether land
Liberation free , Guaranteed
Twas his life he gave
Home to a war hero's grave

Death knell to heroic soldier blue
And maybe I'm a tad bitter 'tis true
My Blood lost his life to a gameplan
After all what's a medal without the man

Martyn Grindrod

My tribute to my Grandad
William Fred Grindrod
20/12/1918 - 30/11/1944
Who would have been 100 years old today.

Red is Romance
It's God is Isis
Red is Hell
Identity Crisis

Red is ****
Temptress alluring
Red is Tempestuous
Bloodthirsty , uncaring

Red is lust
lipstick tempting
Red is Devil
Evil ,uncaring

Red is Sunset
Heat giving , warming
Red is Sunrise
Seafaring warning

Tell us your secret Red
Speak your mind
are Cruel or are you kind

Thank you

Martyn Grindrod

Our Black beauty ( A eulogy )

Twas September in your eyes i knew
Pain hath a hold of you
Cruel depths of death
wanted your final breath

Outdoor winds hurried trees
Leaves strewn as bugle blew
Sadness engulfed my sorry heart
Man's best friend pulse withdrew

Shine still , Black fur did
Alas dormant fester hid
Darkness won that day
But our light never fade'th away

Goodbye gentle soul
from me , Taken too soon
When summer ends no sorrow i'l sigh
As autumn will always mean you


A eulogy for our canine friend Ralph

Martyn Grindrod

Flaxen haired with smiling face
her stride alive with grace
Her eyes pierce the night
alight two doves in flight

Complexion fair with beauty startling
A light above descending

In beauty she walks
not once but twice
A heart to melt
The coldest of ice


thank you

An ocean of pink and white
Waves are her petal bed
A sprinkle of beauty
A gossamer spread

Untrammelled they fall
Down to kiss the ground
Refinery"s best in show
Flutterdown everglow

Not by fluke was fondness captured
Lying luckily , eyes raptured
Twas here not by chance
Basking in her Flamboyance

thank you

Oh cheeky chappy
Darting around in flash of yellow
lightly go sprightly
Oh feathered cello

How you lighten my day
with your flashing ray
Oh how I love your morning sing
While flying on the wing

Resplendent in colour
In flight of fancy fine
How on gods earth
We're you allowed down the mine

thank you

You make me feel like Spring is due
My veins explode
My blood pours through

Your beautiful face
So fresh, So true
Your perfect smile
So Quintessentially you

We just understand each other
Never no hullabaloo
Because my darling
You see me and i see you

thank you

Winter

Fog and mist from Winter Hill drew
over West Pennines it blew
over moorland gorse and bracken
into soot filled chimneys it did blacken
Through howling wind and driving snow
dogwalkers walk in degrees below
The water flows freely down Pick up bank
Thunderous skies miserable and dank



Spring


The hard winter doth disappear
The flowering buds reappear
Starlings arrive cometh May
lighter nights here to stay
Food plentiful rodents group
Barn Owls prepare the swoop
The green grass grow, the wind dies down
Darwen Tower sentinel over Town


Summer


The heat of summer finally here
barbecues ready flowing of beer
The Moorland cattle graze
Too much sun Moorland ablaze
Families depart summer vacation
Off they fly to foreign nation
on their return they did miss
Beautiful Darwen land of bliss


Autumn


Autumn brings forth first frost
Final sign summers lost
leaves fall russet yellowy reds
Butterflies and Bumblebees prepare their beds
Autumnal warmth bereft of heat
Hoddesden walks crunchy underfeet
Washing lines away , Out tumble driers
Kids collecting wood for their bonfires

Martyn Grindrod

' Tis day arrow depart'h Cupids bow
quilled feather aflame
Nay zephyr  t'foil path
Nay sigh , nay wrath

'Tis day Eros took shine
Le Fille aux Cheveux de Lin
For beauty she doth bring
Betrothed by emerald ring

'Tis day St.Valentine
knight of amore
did taste'th our wine
Our blessed intertwine

'Tis day penned poem f'you
T'say our love bears true
T'promise and ne'er ask why
My love is guaranteed til death I die.

thank you

To my wife
'tis your beauty I love best
Not ever nothing less
Twill never fade to nothingness

'tis my wife to whom I adore
It's her who still takes my breath
Her sincere eyes in my opine
Light up darkness with shine

Her scents my nasal bloom
Captures my mind like an ***** boon
Her very essence makes me high
One droplet sends me soaring t'sky

I'm certain to my minds eye true
There will never be another you
So for the thirtieth time
An ode for you my pretty Valentine

thank you

A butterfly whispers a solitaire kiss
A cinnamon smile in perfect bliss
Honey drips on Marzipan lips
A smile , A dimple , A gentle wisp

Demerara adorns your sweet tongue
I'm so glad you've invited me along

Oh sweet thing
Be mine for evermore
Kiss my cheek
and forever make my knees weak

thank you

Haworth

Nestled deep int' Pennine Moors
Where Heights Wuthered
West Riding of White rose
Jealously guarded by rooks and crows

Enshrouded between swales and hollows
Look o'er shoulder something follows
Ghosts and ghouls behind you brood
Apothecary intake stifles thy mood

In harshest of severe winters
When river banks burst to gloom
Three Hardy sisters named Brontë
Hatched their nom de plumes

Currer,Acton and Ellis Bell
Formed as water levels did swell
Women writers surprise 1800's populace
With dashings of feminine grace

In death their fame more grew
Life taken too early more true  
Borne from life of drear
Fame and fortune found no panacea

Now their spirits prowl in adversity
Cats and dogs sense extra sensory
Shadowy graveyards protected by rooks  
Beautiful Haworth, A village of spooks

thank you

The Fall

Hollow Pumpkin
Alight Triangular eyes
Summer's gone
Sad goodbyes

Darkness envelop
with yellow tumble
Autumnal chill
Thunder cloud rumble

Ruddy face russet Red
Spiralling descent of once living
gyrating , Twizzling down
To ground fell gently giving

Once alive healthy green
decry rotting brown
Once smiling cheery faced
But now a deathly frown

thank you

Enchantment

Walking Summers dusky haze
I glimpsed her golden hair
Her femininity attracts my eye
Her graceful gait I espy

Barefooted she stands
Long white dress so pure
Fair Complexion healthy and kind
Her looks encapsulate my mind

Butterflies flutter by
In her beauty Enchantment reigns
Dragonflies dash to and fro
To bathe in her afterglow

Hitherto not the courage
to ask her hand
As she is the Sun the moon the stars
And I am merely the land

thank you

Click Clack Chatterer
Scavenger Vagabond
Rooftop watcher
Silvershine theft Abscond

Feathered Artful dodger
Eagle eyed espy
Iridescent plumage
Cunning and Sly

One for sorrow two for joy
Bird of high skill
Master of roadside hedgerows
Today's dinner roadkill

'Neath Nimbus Dark

Eerie sings

Nature's Acrobats

Million wings



Splendour reigns

Cascades crash

Aeriel Ballet

Swooping splash



Mesmerising movement

Semaphore Correlation

Phenomenon splendid

Starling Murmuration



thank you

Ludwig Ii

A Bavarian King with no bone bad
A Bavarian King introverted not mad
A king who lived life by night
A king who stayed out of sight

The Swan king was his given name
from Bavarian bloodstock he came Maximilians Death took away his youth
On throne pomp splendoured and couth

Peer pressure never kneel
Twas Opera Ludwig did feel
Robert Wagner was his one true love
Ludwig fitted Wagner hand in glove

A queen, A queen the Bavarians did wish
Lovestruck Elsa dry eyes diminish
Conformity died during Ludwigs reign
His sexuality showed no shame

Lake Starnberg scene of demise
Mystery death .****** or boat capsize
The King ,The King long live the King
Life lived how he chose Ludwig ii

A Bavarian King with no bone bad
A Bavarian King introverted not mad
A king who lived life by night
A king who stayed out of sight

The Swan king was his given name
from Bavarian bloodstock he came Maximilians Death took away his youth
On throne pomp splendoured and couth

Peer pressure never kneel
Twas Opera Ludwig did feel
Richard Wagner was his one true love
Ludwig fitted Wagner hand in glove

A queen, A queen the Bavarians did wish
Lovestruck Elsa dry eyes diminish
Conformity died during Ludwigs reign
His sexuality showed no shame

Lake Starnberg scene of demise
Mystery death .****** or boat capsize
The King ,The King long live the King
Lived life how he chose with no offspring

Thank You

Martyn Grindrod

Archipelago

Roaming this island of many
pondering love lost
Solitude is my only friend
I've met unhappiness at my own cost

To have love and lose
is the cross I bear
To taste forbidden fruits
To err and find despair

To find solace in this Archipelago
depression I did find
bitter the taste I'm tasting
Loneliness has lost my mind

thank you

Oh Seraph loving celestial being

Through clouds you tiptoed ,finger playing harp strings

Long and short stroking , affecting my heartstrings

Fine looking angelic maiden bejewelled eyed

Porcelain skinned , golden trusses i espied



(Alas you stole my heart with no thought shown
Ripping shred from shred torn as if your own )


Alive with grace she strode dignity in dance

My heart did pound as i await her advance

Feverish sweat I did perspire should she pass

I caught her eye she welcomed me at last

She slid beside loving with tender blithe

I write this sonnet for you my darling

Oh Seraph loving celestial being



thank you

Le Fille aux Cheveux de Lin

'Tis day arrow depart'h Cupids bow
quilled feather aflame
Nay zephyr  t'foil path
Nay sigh , nay wrath

'Tis day Eros took shine
Le Fille aux Cheveux de Lin
For beauty she doth bring
Betrothed by emerald ring

'Tis day St.Valentine
knight of amore
did taste'th our wine
Our blessed intertwine

'Tis day penned poem f'you
T'say our love bears true
T'promise and ne'er ask why
My love is guaranteed til death I die.

thank you

Second Rank I stand
Head on,Eye for an Eye
Sacrificial Lambs
Seven Foot Soldiers and I

Step by Step
Bravery and Valour we bring
Readied for Battle
Lord Protectors of our King

We may be killed
We will stand tall
We will fight tooth and nail
We will answer the call

For the Grandmaster
We would die
Black or White
Up for the Fight




Thank you

Cardboard City
land of broken dreams
life on the pavement
existence of extremes

lost my job , my home , my wife
No end in sight of my pitiful life

Down on my luck my life's a mess
living outside as outdoors  guest

A kindly gent puts a fiver in my palm
below freezing tonight
so it's
McDonald's coffee and a lip balm

So if you see me asleep on the side of the road
I sleep here because I have

No Fixed abode

thank you

When I was a spring Lamb
onlookers would stare
whose the spring Lamb
with Red Hair

When the farmer took us to market
with his trusty bloodhound
They all sold for hundred quid
Me the ginger a pound

I'm the odd one out
Black sheep in a strop
The only sheep with freckles
And a copper top

Alas I'm the last sheep standing
As you can tell
I live five times longer
The black sheep duracell