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A Greek poem


We were walking uphill the mule and I it was hot
and we stopped by a spring trickling down the mountain
there was open barrel for animals to drink.
The beast drank and drank; when I looked it was big as an elephant
and since the track we walked on was narrow it lost its balance
fell to the bottom of the hill.
When I came down it was ok if a bit hazed and we began to walk
uphill again.
Greek Summer

This dawn I was an Adam without a fig leaf seeing the sunrise, the sun looked a bit pale
like it has lost power, put on a shirt
one has to be careful about not catching a cold.
Now at nine in the more, it is getting warmer
if not as warm as yesterday.
I do like the sunlight, but lately, it has been
too intrusive and a bit of rain would be welcome
it freshens up the street and scents wonderfully
clean trees and fresh minds are a lovely combination.
But we humans are never satisfied when it is
******* down in October we look for the next summer.
But that how it is natural does what nature must?
Green Umbrella
We were out driving it began raining and the window whiskers didn’t work.
My wife went out of the car walked in front
I could see the umbrella it was green, but the progress was slow especially up the hill and we had to stop many times.
At home, I dried her hair and washed her tired,
sore feet made her a cup of strong tea till she
was ready to make my evening meal.
Green Umbrella
We were out driving it began raining, and the window whiskers did not work.
My wife went out of the car walked in front
I could see the umbrella it was green, but the progress was slow,
mainly uphill and we had to stop many times.
At home, I dried her hair and washed her tired,
sore feet made her a cup of strong tea until she was ready to make my evening meal.
Grenfell
A big housing machine in London has burnt down
It was a place where the poor and refugees were sent, it didn't
Have a sprinkler system no fire alarm
And it was clad in combustible material to save money but for whom?
This was a criminal act perhaps 100 people have been incinerated
The fire people are still looking and they still have many floors to go
Searching for carbonated bodies
For the rich and the poor alike London is a beautiful place this summer
But the dark smoke from a burnt out building hinder the sun
And green grass has layers of ash from those who didn't have a voice.
We must not be silent push this crime way from our consciousness
For it will happen again and again if we stop demanding our right
To be respected by our leader as equal
There is no Snowdon in the building trade.
You must not sleep this summer night go out of your houses
Switch off your TV and claim you right.  
There is summer in London but not a joyous one the heart is sad
But Britain can be beautiful again if you want it and not
Believe you are helpless.
Growing Up
When I was eighteen or nineteen, I discovered beer
Dance-restaurants and women generous with their wares
I didn't eat sweets anymore which was good for my teeth.
Alas, beer made me talk and women laugh I was fun
but not in the morning a Jekyll and Hide character,
that woman in my bed had to go I needed peace, she had
a tarty face and dirt under fingernails, ***, was easy to
find in the sixty but life was hollow without love the kind
that is restful for the mind.
The money  is always about the money, soon I had to go
back to sea again the ocean can be beautiful at sunrise
But all that water gets a bit boring.
And so it went on tedium and fun a carousel of nothingness
Till I sat down educated me and liking it.  
But as I progressed the knowledge I accrued made a distance
between my drinking friends and I loneliness was there
like a ghost of the past, but for me, the life as a ****** was over.
Grumpy traveller

We are eating breakfast at the hotel,
it has proper breakfast that is suitable for a diabetic person
then we will pack our bags; she will repack my bag
since I crease the clothes.
I will then watch TV and wait.
Then we will pay and take a taxi to the railway station
I tried to get the place in a first-class carriage, but they didn't
have any. I know the train will be packed by noisy,
Tourists who carry more luggage then they need.
The train has a dinner, but I can't drink any wine since
I will be driving home our car is parked at the station
In Faro; I'm not a glad traveller only do so when I must.
Near Faro ten minutes before arrival, I feel quite perky;
it is so good to be home after being away.
Gun control
A husband bought a fine revolver
it was to defend his home and chattel,
but he had children young, packed the gun in and
put it high up in the wardrobe.
Then it happened one night some robbers broke into
his house at gunpoint, and took his computer,
tablet and iPhone and left.
Furious and humiliated he found his revolver,
loaded it with trembling hands and accidentally shot his wife.
He didn't go to jail, kept his revolver, anyone in America
understand a man has the right to defend his family
Gun Play

They haven't got guns in heaven only toothpicks,
but God has got a golden gun given to him by
the producer of James Bond movies.
He toys with it just for fun when newcomers
arrive, but most of the time the gun is on top
of the Bible, he wrote once upon a time.
Not that he has copyright, he will be the first
to tell you, but with the help of strange people
who insisted he had spoken to them
Sometimes when God is alone, he put the gun
to his temple and click…nothing happens
it is all in jest, or is it? Infinity can be a burden.
Now, if you wonder about the toothpicks,
angels like to welcome you with a bright smile
Gunplay

The confused inner city kid
had a gun.
Another boy didn't show him respect,
so he shot him dead.
The gun-boy fled into a park,
under a bush hid.
He is a hero by younger boys.
Sirens and voices, they have got him now,
one bullet left,
wished he was back home with his mum.
Thought of his option
to be a hero for all time?
Guns in Sweden

Sweden has problems with too many guns
shoots hole in the night.
Many refugees came to Sweden, who thought
when the refugees discovered a Nordic paradise
they would become Swedes overnight.
The inhabitance of this Eden has a discriminatory heart.
The glance of an eye tells the truth.
There was a clash of culture.
People of the same philosophy likes to live close to each other,
for them, Sweden has a cold heart.
No work no education, guns are easy to buy.
I don´t know the solution
Perhaps the Nordic people, are too regimented
and it will take time to change this attitude.
Habits

There are certain things in life one has to accept
I used to drink a lot, but it was at an awkward junction
of my life before I learned to like myself,
no, it is not a grand love story I avoid mirrors,
it has the nasty truth to tell me of my age.
What I have inherited from my family is the smoking habit
I try not to smoke it shortens one’s life.
But in the evening I do smoke 3 to 4 cigarettes, they
have little nicotine, yet I'm an addict.
How come I can walk around all day and not smoking?
But when evening comes, the craving arrives too,
I should perhaps see a phycologist, but he will only
say what I know. I think tobacco is buried in my genes
and there is little I can do but to accept my failings.
Haiku

Wretchedness is to
Watch You Tube three in the morn
Watching a dog show
Fear of death
When old is waste
Of precious time
Haiku
Norway, a glazier
Trapped inside a glass orb
Shake it and it snows
Haiku
Invisible flowers
Hidden among razed houses
Jordan valley

Haiku
Army vehicles
Inside sat soldiers of doom.
Broken olive trees


Haiku
The heartless triumph
They lose their humanity
Apathy is their price
Haiku  
Ripples in the cove
Had a dreamy quality
A Memory

The lake a mirror
The heaven admired itself
Rain erased mirror

Irrational rollers
Committed suicide on cliffs
White foam on emerald
Such a disaster
Waking up in the morning
Shamelessly white

Haiku
Self- tanning cream
The pride of looking sporty
The mirror pulls face

Haiku
Deep philosophy
The poet is in deep water
Saved by low tide

Haiku
One types of success
When your work brings happiness
And not endless doubt  

Haiku
The loser a man
Who knows he's incompetent  
Yet accuse others

The news I read
Been the same for fifty years
War and film stars
Haiku
Drunk I was last night
Today my wife doesn't speak to me
I'm sad and lonely

Haiku
I've stopped smoking
Time hangs heavy in the air
In the smoke-filled pub  

Haiku
New Year’s resolutions
Bring out the worst in people
Makes them boring
Haiku and more
Soothing rain on slates
Heal nerves torn to tatters
By unforgiving life

Haiku
Rain is decanting
A transparent carpet of silk
Untouchable beauty

Haiku
Rain chased by gust
A mad dance around corners
A day fit for heroes



The festivities

The nauseous time of year
When ***** is handy
Sentimentality
Silly hats doesn't touch me
Safe inside a fog of disbelief
Haiku
In the Middle East
Firecracker holds no allure
People want accord
Haiku
Camembert she said
Smells like a ***** on fire
Catnap near the grate


Haiku
Not in stable born
Jesus a middle class dude
Didn't need a manger

Haiku
Shielded from the law
Under a park bench sleeping
Big Ben and New Year  

Haiku
Moonlight in rivers
Downstream a wizened face floats
A New Year Begins
Haikuish

Rain in end of June
I don't mind it cools the land
Unclutters the mind
Rain in end of June
Promises moderate times
Dogs do not yowl
The hoary oak smiles
Dust free and verdant leaves
Rain in end of June
No flies fly today
Sparrows sleep under roof tiles
Nests dry and cosy
Haiku riddle

tons of garbage
left by those who want peace
the right to be ******

people like to march
to the tune of pied piper
social conscience

when everyone concurs
they are usually dead wrong
bombs are exploding

consensus are fakes
foisted on naive people
thinking in unison



beware of peace traders
they want you to agree with them
dark hearts of hate
Half a life
To be fifty was a difficult time
the youthful dreams didn't materialize
the road to Rome ended
on the factory floor or no promotion
to the board of decisions, and your words
went unheard.
You look behind you the furrow you had
wanted to leave, is none existing.
A deep sigh, time to get the pick-ax and
continues to break stones, pay taxes, bills
and watch TV. About the successful, those
the few lucky once who had the right
connections, free ride on your back to
the top of the pyramid.
Half of a mirror
I have a mirror in the hall it is cracked
two mirrors in one but prefer the left part
see an elderly face in peace with self
Not the peace of death, but of one who has lived well.
The right part is altogether different
A face old before its time
I'm not a Dorian Grey my sins is not of excesses,
but rather of frugality and perpetual boredom
A sour face that has absorbed every perceived slight
that oozes out through loathsome pores.

Too much to bear I will remove the right part and
keep the part that makes me looking friendly  
even if it is not telling the whole truth which is
not needed now that truth is for the naïve
Handing Trump the election


I big cities in the Us people are running wild
this is not what “ black life matters” was about
a horde of people are running around destroying what is sacred
or should be, in cities of high crime.
We can argue the reason for this pointless criminality
to create mayhem for the sake of it, the fact many black people
live there and appear to gun-related gangs, not because
they are black but because they are uneducated and poor
living in squalor in drug-infested housing where only a few
survive by moving away.
The majority of letting us call them lost egoist people see
this lack of order and civility,
the high profile black leaders do little about this only come
out of their luxury home when there is a funeral
repeat the same trite words, but have nothing worthwhile to
say about crime and the woeful lack of education.
They the well off in the suburbia see this and not knowing
its origin, simply vote for Trump and so it goes on until
we live in in a failed state.
Handwriting

I was sent a book used when I went to catering
college 60 years ago, I had signed it on a page inside.
What was remarkable was my handwriting
which was a little shaky and insecure like a person
who yet to come to grips with life and tries to
make himself invisible.
The book, about hygiene on ships and how much water
a person needed every day; the text was displayed on
The Facebook and they wanted to send it to me,
but I declined since I could remember every word in
the book holds no sentimental value for me.
At best it was a meeting of the past I do not care
to remember as it only makes my old age sadder
then it is.
Happiness is

Flour, yeast and water
mix it well
let the leaven rise
with hands of humility
kneed the dough into bread
bake them well
bread has a crusty top.
Look at the loaf
you make so early in the morning
and be happy
A happy ending?

A camel and a dog
Tired of performing
Every night
At a circus.
Escaped.
The camel walked
On top of it
Sat the dog
guiding the camel.
They found the valley
Seen on a map
In the window
Of a book shop.
They lived happily
Till the died.
The dog´s tongue
Stung by a bee
Could not swallow.
The camel died too
When the water
In the lake
Got brackish.
Happy Ever After
Dad, lit the Christmas tree used proper candles,
My mother complained about the fire- hazard, this annoyed my
dad who opened the window threw out the tree then peed on the flapping
curtains which, had caught fire.
The tree landed foot down and looked pretty in the snow.
The police came took dad away, they wished happy Christmas.
When the gin bottle was empty, mother sang,
“silent night” until neighbours knocked on the wall.
Dad, came home next day, he had a black eye I had a bike.
Next Christmas my dad bought electric light, mother
had joined the AA, but still, I had to visit my aunt.
Happy family
When I was 51 I had an affair with dancer
She didn't want the baby and gave it to me.
Can you imagine? The village women rallied around
A thought is how to change nappies.
I also had to take in a dog no one wanted because it was
aggressive, not a bit of it she had a purpose in life
protecting me and the baby.
Years passed and when she was six she began school
I drove her there but had to sit outside so she could
see me, later that day we drove into town to buy
suitable clothes what I picked out she didn't like
so I left her to it.
I heard a scream; she was in a panic I was not there
picked her up she clung to me and said: daddy never
leave me. We were a happy little family the doom-struck
her mother came back and claimed the child there
was little could do, so dog went behind the sofa sulking
I sat on the sofa drinking wine.
Life goes on the dog and I went for walks that got shorter
and shorter as she was quite elderly had a white snout
and sagging stomach and was grumpy in the morning.
One day I went into town when coming back she had died.
I borrowed a ***** to dig a hole but had no strength
But I saw two big sandstones leaning toward each other
Forming a grotto I put her in there.
As I said year’s passes when I was 71 I needed surgery
Think it is called a bypass, sitting there with a tube in my stomach
There was a knock on the door and in came my daughter
Cried as I have never cried before, she was studying
to become a doctor. When I was feeling better I wanted
to take the bus home. She would hear nothing of it
And arranged for an ambulance, she was in charge
a right bossy little madam,  of course, she had a job in Faro
but she visited me every other day, telling me what to do.
Then she got a posting in Cascais and with my new wife, we moved there. Her mother had said she was not
my real daughter like I should care she is my
nothing can separate us, but I wish she hadn't been so bossy.
A happy place…for some

Under the houses on stilt
That had no sewers
And was built for ******
To service sailors in Curacao
A dry, barren Island
In the Caribbean sea.
Pigs lived under the houses
Grew big and ugly.
When one of them was
slaughtered
Its meat tastes of drunk
******'s ***** and
A cheap perfume that hides
The grotesque ***
In the name of need.
The Harvester

On a patch of land not far from here
There are lit candles at night millions of them
A man I don't know his name
Walks around and snuffs out light, sometimes
He hesitate changes his mind the light he was going to
Extinguish flicks brighter
With his thumb and index finger is corned by this arduous
Work and he sits on a stone to rest as new light springs up
Behind him; his task is endless.
He walks to the part of the field were candle light have burnt
Out, if one still burns but has no wick he helps it out
Then it is morning and the field has golden grains
Haughty Nation

“They crap in our forest”, a young man yelled
the Roma people had pitched a tent near the woods
where people of this tolerant nation go hunting.
They came here the people from afar to seek work
but are usually met with contempt and mistrust.
They came in the hope of getting a share
in this nations’ largesse, but ran into racism
unbecoming pride like it was their cleverness
that brought up oil from the bottom of the sea.
Now, instead of being unassuming, they became  
reactionaries giving pompous advice to less
fortunate countries.
“They crap in our forest”, nourishing an imbecilic
nation, that due to undeserved riches has lost
contact with reality and a kind- heart- ness.
A new head
I walked on a hard earth track, but the earth shook
And turned into the silt, I sank into the mum only me
Head was above ground, after some time the raven
Came and gouged out my eyes, much later the fox came
Ate my lips and ears. They were chased away by the boar
Who ate the whole head.
As the soil hardened I was able to get up and as you know
We have two brains one is in the stomach and is
Rudimentary but well enough to guide me home, my neighbor
was astonished, “Have you lost your head’
He drove me to the hospital where I was fitted to the head
Of a newly dead person, and his thoughts were pornographic
And foul.  I shave this face every morning and tries to
Alter its brain waves, which is a bit of a job as he often falls
Back to his old behavior and swear at people.
Not tell people to ******* because they haven’t what you
Asked for, here the other day the waiter said he had
Only octopus with rice and ate it, went blind for
Half an hour while telling my new brain that too
Much starch is bad for diabetes and it tries do not follow
Its instinct, but adjust his food intake, of course sometimes
It forgets gets gluttonous and eats chocolate cakes.
Headlines
He was going to write his masterpiece
“The road to London” but the coach from
The airport had a blowout.
When he finally came to London, and it was
Morning and reading the headline
which asked several coaches have suffered
blowouts, could it be the Russians?
Another more sober paper said the accidents
were due to poor maintenance but that is
not a word that makes headlines.
As for the poet he didn't like London and
never wrote anything about this great city.
In sickness and health

He will not last long, the doctor said
a mother cried, the boy remember
the darkened room and the murmur
of whispering voices.
Sunlight shone through the curtains
The boy got up asked for breakfast,
hungry had been on long voyage and
climbed the highest mountain.
His mother cried.
The doctor took the applause
forgetting what he had said the day before.
No one wanted to know about his travel,
his mother told him not to speak about it
because it was morbid.
Heart Surgery
Eleven years ago despite my better self there was a residue
of Christianity lurking in my mind. in the morning a nurse
came around and gave me a blue oblong tablet, I swallowed
dutifully and continued to read from my collection of poetry
when I woke up six hours had gone and I had no recollection
and if the surgery had not been successful I would have been
none the wiser. The surgeon came, a pompous twit telling me
it had been touch and go. I thanked him for his efforts but was
pre- occupied by my total lack of any form of hereafter stuff.
Recently I fell off my perch, my wife called the ambulance and
I sensed death circling, but I had no fear. When, I got better
I sorted out my will I would not like to leave my wife penniless
this gave me the sense of freedom, as for my youthful sins that are
water under the bridge of a life of ribaldry.
Heatwave

It is early, but the petrol station is open
and since it is already hot, I buy two big bottles of cold water.
the heat this morning is ominous it holds no promise
of summer and fun, more like the door of hell has been left open
I hear the screams of those who are burning forever (one would
think the body would be impervious to pain)
I don´t want to go in yet sit on a cold stone bench drink water
and dream of swimming naked in the lake of love.
Of course, the lake has gone as has its tributary, the river running
from the hazy mountain.
Suddenly it hits me over the head, the voice which says,
you are 81. How the hell did you manage this?
The news isn´t helpful either saying the heatwave is no suitable
for anyone over 74.
Do they think I´m English?
I drink some cold water pretend it is from a well somewhere
hidden in my imagination of an oasis and palm trees.
I think wouldn´t it be not very good if I invented a pill that made me
younger and younger till I disappeared unborn.
The Heat elsewhere
  
It is hot think of switching the air-condition on
but I think of the refugees from Syria waiting for a gate to open
Israel will not, want to become a nation of ******.
Jordan like ways has a million refuge and political problems
but if Europe pays them enough can take in some more.
The refugees are sweltering in the hot sun many have not
tents and there is no shade in this no man’s land hell,
I hope the Red Crescent and Doctors without Borders have
the courage to help, all I can do is send money and
not switch on the air-conditioning.
Heavy Rain

After Christmas, the angels have a bath,
they also have a bath in the summer.
There are more angels now than before the rules for getting in are relaxed.
It is no longer about being a Christian, but about leading a good life
helping others and so on.
Even Moslems are welcome.
It is no longer needed to have an angelic smile. look cherubic and asexual,
golden locks and a fairytale attitude to life.  
Heaven is getting a bit crowded, thus, when they all have a shower
it rains for days and causes flooding.
Hectic day
Hectic day

An eventful day this Saturday
A man is shot to death at Orly airport
clearly out of his mind and France is under
lock down; the hysteria is taking hold
a laptop in a car was stolen it sensitive
information or perhaps not
a man tries to climb the fence at the White House
and there is blood on the carpet
those on duty should have known and not eat
doughnuts when looking at the security screen
dogs and men are prowling the lawn outside
they must be seen doing something
one can say this have been a day of a none –event
and Mosul it is a side show.
At Fox News, long legged girls- with Botox faces- blame
the Chinese, Trump's pet hate.
The French were not sure who to blame think
the mayhem might have been caused by Iran or
the Germans for taking in too many Syrians.
And over us like Damocles' sword….Trump telling
us all will be fantastic and work for everyone.
A Friday from hell

I was writing about consumerism.
What is the point when people get up at five in the morning?
buying tumble driers that use plenty of electricity in a country
where the sun shines nearly every day.
A new computer when they can upgrade the old one is such
a waste of money.
I'm missing the point people like buying shiny objects
like crows drown to the sparkly buying new yes, the newness is the future.
When most of the products are made elsewhere
it does little to stem the mass- unemployment in this country.
The earth minerals to satisfy the useless.
I hear you laugh derisively; he knows nothing.
So, you can have your black Friday, and black it is when loans are served
at the end of the month.
The people are fooled and seduced by capitalism,
therefore, banning credit cards, when paying cash, one is more careful.
Pets

  We should only keep pets we could eat, say, rabbits
  Or miniature pigs when we get tired of them in the ***
  they go.
  In the hinterland of Alentejo, I once had rabbit stew
It tasted strange but was edible later I suspect it was
Cat meat.
I have been thinking of becoming a vegetarian. Have tried
But it never tasted like meat.
There is now artificial meat for sale, alas mostly as burgers
When they come up with a good steak that doesn't fall
Into pieces, I will eat that meat.
As for now I will have fried sausages for my lunch and
Baked potatoes
Hemingway and I
I don't want to reinvent myself, I would, however,
like to go back to the days before domestic demands
I had to work hard to support a family of children
not mine, sometimes I sat in the garage looked at the car,
wondered if I should run away.
Once, my mates and I climbed tree I told them I should
be a writer; now that I'm old I have a chance, but too
much innocence has run into silt,
I will never be a Heming way of letters.
I’m still in Cascais
Waiting to go home to my house in Algarve
30 years since the Berlin wall came down with the help
Of Russia let us not forget this.
In the meantime, many more walls have been built
Mainly in Israel, a program on the TV didn’t mention this
We don’t like to say anything upsetting.
The wall between me and my house is called old age
When it comes down no one wants to cross it.
The Chinese wall is a tourist attraction, no China
Is building a silk- road instead of covering the whole world.
There are many unseen walls between people, classes
Poor or rich, and between you and me.
The hope is that abstract walls will come down
The rest is steel and concrete suitable for building houses
Her birthday

We’re having lunch in the Cascais centre
at a posh restaurant with a sea view.
The price of the lunch was outrageous
steak with salad and chips, which she
could not eat because of her teeth
she did eat the French fries.
She had a glass of white wine I had water.
I had suggested we take a taxi, so I too
could have a glass of wine.
Nearby a luxury hotel, it was splendid
she had spent a fortnight there with her first
husband, 300 euros a night, and in case
you misunderstood it was the room price.
I was glad to drive back to our house.
He was no Alfred

The war was over my father was coming home from the sea
he had chocolate bars, and inside one there was a picture of a film star
propaganda is not new- my picture was of Clark Able
I remember the bar of chocolate as being a bit stale, but sweet.
I was in bed at the time, was pale and thing suffering from tuberculosis
my old man looked aghast and said; is this son?
A furious argument erupted, my father had to leave, never saw him again
except on the bus going into town, he sat there crying
and I left to avoid the embarrassment.
But this was years before I met Alfred, who refuses to be my father.
The Hidden thought

It is said our unconscious fear of death
pushes us forward to achieve something before
the great Nothing descends,  
for writers this is prescient they struggle to leave
behind words on paper, and not erased
as leaves on trees when the cold wind blows.  
Others skydive from mountaintop cheating
the reaper, yet hope to live long enough to tell
their story of daring do.
Architects fear death too, that's why they built
the tall skyscrapers that will stand the test of time
and celebrate their foreverness.
The chef in his kitchen thinks of death when he
prepares a meal a signature dish where his name
will appear in cookbooks.
As it is unconscious, most people are not troubled only
when waking up at four in the morn before
birds sing and you can taste the stillness of death.
Higher education

Learned knowledge doesn’t
Doesn’t replace the truth accumulated
During a lifetime.
Everything you learned at school,
The certainty you had, falls on the wayside.
They tell you about wars, but doesn’t
Explain why it happens, if they do
It is mostly some nonsense that suits the nation
And you are left with no knowledge
Only an ex-student who loves to impress
By citing Latin.
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