Hand in hand we wander down this pleasant sunlit glade
Bees and birds and butterflies are seen on every side
Just you and I and natures charm, no one else in sight
Side by side, hand in hand under the dappled light
We need no orchestra playing nor the music of a band
We're content with natures music in this green and pleasant land
We pause beside a rippling stream, watch dragonflies do their aerial dance
The air is heady with natures perfume and the feeling of romance
This is the time for lovers, the time for you and I
I embrace you and I kiss you, beneath an azure blue sky

Oh wondrous being
Thee who leads us from darkness into light
You, yes you who hath humility in your soul
You who like an ember in the coals
Burst forth in blinding flames
To show we lessor men the path
To poetic enlightenment
We, yes we bow low before thy wisdom
For thy are great in your wonderment
Oh
Without thy emphatic mind
The written word is but a mundane thing
Only you can put artistry in I
Only you can inspire with Oh
Master, Master mere mortals such as we
Can never hope to compare
With the artistry that is thee
Wondrous being, lord of word
Absorb me into your flock
For thou hath the poetic ability
Of my ***** rancid sock

Live for today,       tomorrow might never come

Give me five acres of green forest
Give me a clear blue sky
A rippling stream in the sunlight
And an orchestra of birds
Give me peace

His life was in the city spent
But 'twas into the hills he went
In his pocket lighter and small knife
He never knew they could save his life
Alas he knew not what to do
And perished in icy mountain dew
With a knife he could have a shelter built
Of branches twigs and mountain grass
A lighter is the soul of life
The ultimate giver of life and fire
So as they lowered him to the grave
They learned the harsh lesson of the day
If you wish to the mountains go
Then learn thd lesson of what to do

In her smile the warmth of sunshine in her eyes the moonlights glow
Serenity surrounds her wherever she does go
The gentle breeze of springtime whispers her name into the air
And the colours of the seasons are reflected in her hair

Put twelve dogs in a pen
And one or two will always be bullies
But
A pack of placid dogs
Will only accept bullying for so long
Eventually the bullies will become the bullied

This grey haired old dog has spoken

Write not the words that rhyme
If that is not your way
But rather write the words
That have so much to say
A poem is but a story
Of loves long lost, love found
A poem is your speaking soul
A silent cacophony of sound
Poetry is from your heart
On subjects so diverse
Metaphors and cliches
Formed into stanzas and of verse
I don't mind about how you write
Of the subject in your mind
You are the sole creator
And your words cross space and time

Another tale about good old country boys

Just another tiny village pub
And I was hot and thirsty after a long hike
One small table and one vacant chair
So I walked over and sat down beer in hand
Opposite me sat an unkempt old man
Greasy hair hanging lank, stubble on his chin
And man did he stink
Stale sweat and ***** and unmentionable things
I couldn't help myself, said don't you ever bath
He looked at me with beady eyes
Then he began to laugh
When was the last time you was sick boy
He said to me
I said just a week ago when I had the flu
He grinned at me, showed blackened teeth
Said the answers plain to see
You shower or bath every day to keep your body clean
Now me boy never a day ill in my life
And I rarely take a bath well about one every
Six months or so
So boy the answers very clear at least it is to me
Every time you take a shower
You wash away your natural eemunity

'Twas not the way we lived
not the way we chose to die
But the dragon ships keep sailing
towards a foreign sky
Keep up the stroke to the beat of drum
Soon the wind will you have
soon you will be home
Swept ashore on a foreign shore
the gods now speak for us
put them to the sword and spear for our wealth
they must posses
They were men but fourty strong who did our lands asaill


They were vilking, strong off arm
and yet we still prevailed


.

The axes sang their bitter song
And the blood flowed
Blood of innocent, gentle men
Men who pledged their lives to Peace
But...the Axe bit deep
Heart blood shed
And a man of god died
All in the cause of conflict and belief

But.....but have we not learned the lessons
From the errors of our past
Innocent men who only sought to help
Now beheaded in the dust
I don't care your religious views
Of your beliefs and vows
But I do believe in the sanctity of life
And mans right to be heard..
No matter what religion you follow

OK so this isnt poetry in the true sense

When I go on my trip next week and if I get a sunny day I want to find a place in the woods just to sit

The idea is to sit in one place facing south west from 1030 until 1330
and then about every 15 minutes paint a pen picture of the changing perspective

Then try the impossible and turn it into a poem. Call me crazy if you must but then I probably am

You are either sat in front of a computer
At or on your way to school
Nursing a new baby
Tending to a sick relative
Sweating in an office because the air conditioning is out again


While I'm suffering in this tent
Sharing it with a couple of hornets
And a million crane flies
With one tiny light
The noise, oh that terrible noise
Of big carp splashing in the lake
The ghostly rustling of the leaves
Over my head as the tree sings her
Evening lullabye
Suffering the screeches and screaming
Of that ****** owl
Being forced against my will to sip
My scotch

Life here is hell. Who wants to join
Me here on

The wild side of life

No, it's not a good Easter Saturday
Lead Grey sky
Wet, miserable
And to make matters worse
My dish washer has stopped working

So I've sent her back to bed for a couple of hours

It was the night before Christmas
And all through the house
Not a creature was stiring
Not even a mouse
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Because I had already caught him

You know I have just been reading my poems
Dozens of poems and the thousands of words I have penned
But one thing stands out stark
So many blank spaces where once I had poetic friends
Where are they now I ask myself?
How many have crossed to the other side
Well I guess I'll never know the answer
But just as the tree in Autumn sheds its withered leaves
So the new growth of springtime brings a blush of green
Yes, new growth and fresh young poets using laptops instead of pens
That I don't see as a bad thing, just new technology pouring forth beauty in words
I've been away for much to long and like a light being switched on in a dark room I now feel the urge to take up the pen once more
Or to tap away on a keyboard although I guess in this day of the tablet even my keyboards old fashioned. But pen or keyboard i don't really care because the words I write mean that once again I'm a member of my international family.
With Covid, Afghanistan and all the other terrible things going on our words can inspire and bring hope in the darkest of times.
To all my old friends in poetry and new friends I've yet to meet I say this, Stay safe during the bad times and share happiness in the good times
Joe

The trees stand stark and bare
Against winters lead grey sky
The snow lays cold and deep
And the earth asleep doth lie
No small birds sing, no little things
Move across the land
The earth in hibernation, a long sleep
As winter makes her stand
I awake one morn in the early dawn
And warmth has come once more
A small bird sings a green leaf springs
From natures open door
Once again the earth awakes and life begins anew
And the bitter cold of winter
Has vanished like the dew

It's midnight in the city, a gently falling rain
Just the odd car passing,  the distant rumble of a train

I sit here and listen to the creatures of the night
Listen because I can't see them for they stay out of sight

One sound stands out above the rest, continually it's heard
Even on the darkest night the singing of a bird

I know not what it looks like, colourful or drab
It doesn't realy matter because the songs are never sad



All night she sings while others sleep, her songs so loud and clear
Bringing happiness in the darkness to all who are there to hear

Why does she sing her sweet refrain through the hours of the night?
Perhaps she sings for those of us who have to stay awake

Then come the early morning light and a mighty choir is heard
No human intervention but a choir of singing birds

It's with reluctance that I must leave here with the coming of the light
But later I'll be back once more to hear her singing through the night

Let's search once more for the crystal stream
where poets sat and wrote
and young lovers dreamed of the beautiful years to come

But no more now is the crystal stream where the poets
wrote and the lovers dreamed
of the beautiful years to come

The crystal stream now a fetid sewer of filthy
industrial waste
The fields and hedgerows long since gone
to be replaced by shattered dreams
What a legacy for our unborn sons

No more do we gather and sing the songs
of the beauty that was once this land
no more do we sit and dream
of those beautiful years to come

She stands there in the dappled light thrown by the suns last dying rays
A doe in her full glory there at end of day
Oh how I do love so much the setting of the sun
A time to sit and wonder as the day is done
See there the stripes of silver on that grey and shaggy head
Tis so rare and beautiful to see the badger leave his bed
On silent wings the owl flies past, ghostly in the gloom
How beautiful to sit out here instead of in some stuffy room
See there a fox, her cubs are by her side
She stalks small creatures of the night with the arrogance of her kind
The light is fading fast with the coming of the night
But you can listen to natures symphony sung by creatures of the night
This is a time I love when most others are taking night times rest
This is how I see nature at her best

Thee Artiste aka Loghain Carvo

I first saw them yesterday
In the breakfast que
Suitcase clutched in bony hand
Suspicious glances all around
As the numbers round them grew

Now though I found it rather odd
That they would act this way
It might have been simply
That they'd just got off a plane

However later on that day
I saw them sitting by the pool
Suitcase there within hands reach
And wife stuck to him like glue

I had to know the answer
To the suitcase mystery
And so I asked him outright
About what was going on

He said all I hold dear is contained
Inside this case my pyjamas and my washbag
And stuff my wife puts on her face
But surely I said it would  be safe inside your room
He glared at me in shocked surprise
I trust no one in a foreign land
And so my case and contents
Will stay close to hand

Dark clouds fill the sky
Sad thoughts fill my mind
I think back over the years
Searching for happier times
What has gone wrong?
Where is the peace?
Where is the the love we once had?
Thinking of you creates a storm in my heart
I long to be happy,  not sad
I don't know why it ended this way
Where is the love we once knew
Gone are the days of laughter
Now just days of sad sombre moods

Well yes
It is nearly summer
My beautiful manicured lawn
Well no......
Burnt brown patches from dog wee
Beautiful minutely planned to the last detail
Flower borders
No, where have I gone wrong?
Flower seeds mixed in profusion
Scattered, germinate where they fall
Scratched up in heaps by my cats
But I don't really care about that
Let's face it, be honest
Walk the woods and country hedgerows
Nature doesn't care
Doesn't care for color coordination
Or how the picture should look
Come on now the hated **** has its part to play
Just let the bees and butterflies
Enjoy this floral display

Not yet a poet familiar
But so far I'm impressed
So lets give him our full support
Just as we support the best
All I ask is this of you
Read what he displays
After all its up to us
To make new poets days

You know I'm in the twylight of my years
Not a problems, I will keep writing for one year or ten
It doesn't really matter
We have kids here who write
I ask you to encourage tlhem
Because they once were you
Nervous, uncertain
Me, I don't care just as long as they write
Young poets are the future of this site
Young people are the future of our countries

They spew forth ***** and bitter bile
As they spin their deceitful web of lies
The common man to take and hold
Their seat to win by ways not bold

Not for us do they want political power
Not for us do they want better
But rather a name up high in lights
Though we be the ones who work and fight

We who as a nation once held heads high
We the ones who once would fight and die
To keep our nation proud and free
A nation once born of democracy

Perhaps 'tis that I'm just growing old
And must conform or so I'm told
Adapt to the ways of this modern life
Of food banks for the poor, overstretched national health

The nearest hospital now over 30 miles away
Along a road over crowded both night and day
Far enough away so that people die
Because the ambulances can't get through

Our land overburdened by immigrants
And an infrastructure that can no longer cope
And so the people now must suffer
The lies and deceit of those we empower

To serve our will

Leave it all behind...... Ipads and mobile  phones. Spend a few days and nights in the high woods,  leave the worries and cares behind.

Leave it all behind.... Feel cool fresh air, rain upon your face, smell the fragrance of the wood smoke not the stench of petrol fumes.

Leave it all behind.... Spend a few nights beneath the stars. Breath the clean fresh air, relax and listen to to the music of the night.

Leave it all behind..... For a few days let the high woods be your home. A piece of canvas for your house. A flickering camp fire for your light....

Yes, come with me to the forest
high on the mountains side
No, no, leave aside the pack
and what it can provide
everything you need you carry
is in your pocket there
I hope
well in mine I have some paracord in case my laces I do break
A well honed folding knife I wouldn't be without
I carry very little but I can still survive

could you?

About twelve months ago we walked the highland
That place where eagles soar
This time it's going to be different
As I open yet another of natures doors
Stout boots, flask of soup and camera
The only things you'll need
Maybe a sandwich or two if you get hungry for a feed
Now you must place your trust in me
For we go not by man made paths
We're going to follow the paths that nature made
And those paths aren't so wide
And so we leave the car park
Enter winters dank dark woods
Doesn't look that inviting
But I promise it will be good
The meandering path we follow
To you might not be so clear
But this path we've chosen
Is the one used by the deer
See that little cloven hoof print?
Well it points the way to go
More pointed at the front
From the size it was a doe
Stop for a moment and leave the path
Drag your boots through the rotting vegetation
Then step back, wait for the show
See I told you and it has appeared as if on que
The brilliant red breast robin has shown up just for you
He's got brains, he knows that when you stir the leaves
For you have done the work for him
Now he can have a feed

I sit here alone in the darkness
Alone with my thoughts
In a few days Christmas
A happy time, a time of joy
But no Christmas now for twenty girls and boys
What madness has assaulted this now sad world?
Where a life can be taken so easily
Without any thought or care
Children, five six and seven
WHY, WHY, WHY?
Tell me now that there's a god
Tell me why he let it happen
No, I dont believe any more
The slaughter of the innocents
Has destroyed all I ever believed in
Animals ****, yes but just for food
But its only mans inhumanity to man
That can destroy so easily

Arms Dealers


So what I deal in weapons, yes I sell death

But does it not bother you about who uses them

Why should it, I'm in business to make money
If it wasn't me then it would be someone else

So what about all the hundreds of innocent men women
And children being slaughtered on a daily basis with
The weapons you sell

Well my friend view it this way, without me they
Would be getting chopped with machetes and axes
You could say I'm giving them a quick clean death

Please don't call me your friend. So you consider it right
That the five year old bloodstained girl in the photo
Had a quick clean death

Well she won't be able to have kids of her own now
She's dead. With the world population explosion I think
I'm helping governments out with my own method
Of birth control

How can you sleep at night with a clear conscience

Its easy, I just sell a product, its not me who pulls the trigger
Now excuse me I have an appointment