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Mark Toney Aug 19
“Failure is an option, but fear is not.” —James Cameron


stuff into your wetsuit
******* your BCD
from your regulator take two sips
excited you should be

we’re gonna scuba
       in Aruba
(did you say Cuba?)
I said Aruba

stare at the horizon
big step into the fray
double fist tap o’er your head
shows them you’re ok

we’re gonna scuba
       in Aruba
(did you say Cuba?) No!
I said Aruba

remember safety scuba
PADI rule of thirds a must
never hold your breath
or your lungs will surely bust

we’re gonna scuba (Yeah!)
       in Aruba
(did you say Cuba?) No!
I said Aruba

finally we descend
enchantment ‘neath the waves
turtles, eels, stingrays, sharks
scenes that mankind craves

we’re gonna scuba (Yeah!)
       in Aruba
(did you say Cuba?) No!
I said Aruba

we’re gonna scuba (Yeah!)
       in Aruba
(did you say Cuba?) No!
I said Aruba. Yo!


.~.~.~

Final thoughts in quintuplet couplets:

Water’s calm with clear blue sky
Summertime is nigh


Be sure to check your regulator
You can always thank me later


No more time for any rhyme
Dive five meters to escape the skeeters


If your mortgage is underwater
Are you certified to dive?


Sea Hunt was a favorite show
It’s great to be alive




© 2025 Mark Toney
Rhyme. © 2025 Mark Toney. --While SCUBA is an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, it has evolved into a common word on its own that’s spelled in lowercase letters. —Grammarly
James Cameron’s quote, “Failure is an option, but fear is not,” resonates deeply with scuba divers. —https://www.costaricadiveandsurf.com/best-10-diving-quotes-from-famous-ocean-lovers/
“Skeeters” is Southern-speak (USA) for mosquitoes.
Mark Toney Aug 19
I wrote a documentary
that would have won a BAFTA
But nobody would fund it
It was not what they were afta

I pitched the plot to Netflix
cuz they have a lot of money
They sent me packing, laughing
“Don’t call us, we’ll call you, Sonny”

I lastly pitched to Paramount
hoping they’d save the day
They took one look at me
shook their head and said, “No way!”

It’s such a shame that no one knows
your worth unless you’re famous
I always seek some solace from
those cookies made by Amos …

Famous (yummy)  Amos (yummy)
“Makes your eyes light up (and)
Your tummy say ‘Howdy.’”



© 2025 Mark Toney
Rhyme. © 2025 Mark Toney.  The quote in the last two lines is from “Shoo—Fly Pie And Apple Pan Dowdy,” a song by Dinah Shore, music by Guy Wood, and lyrics by Sammy Gallop, published in 1945.
mysterie Aug 18
theres no wrong answer
to what poetry is.

"poetry is rhyming"

wrong.
there is actually a
wrong
answer.

poems are little windows,
a view inside
someones head.

it doesn't have to rhyme,
it doesn't always have to provoke
feelings.

its just words,
that are there
to help
*someone
date wrote: 18/8
dislike this one but idk
John Prentice Aug 16
My partner is fun,
I’m sure he’s “the one”,
His body’s a work of art!
He thinks like I do,
And loves me so true,
And I love him with all of my heart.

My partner says he
Has PTSD,
And needs to be just on his own.
“It’s just a bad day,”
I hear him say,
“We always can talk on the phone.”

The close times we spend
Being “more than a friend”
Are few and far between.
My partner needs time
To get over the crime
Of abuse he endured as a teen.

The bad days won’t last,
They come from his past;
He’s getting some help for his pain.
I give him support
And write a report,
To help win his Right to Remain.

The lockdown has hit,
My partner feels ****,
And won’t let me visit at all.
I stay home alone,
And support him by phone,
But he often won’t answer my call.

My partner is sick,
He sends me a pic –
In his darkness he’s done himself harm.
I call 999,
But he tells them he’s fine –
He says there’s no cause for alarm.

I worry so much,
And long for his touch,
As months pass me by I just pray.
My friends wonder why
I stand by my guy,
But I know him better than they.

Time has moved on,
The lockdown has gone,
My partner’s now feeling quite well!
At last we can meet
Not just in the street;
He’s coming back out of his shell!

Before long I learn
My partner will earn
A wage as a carer in York.
But why go so far?
It seems so bizarre
To move far away for such work.

As I help him to pack,
He says he’ll be back
As soon as he finds a job here.
But something is wrong –
It’s taking too long,
And again I’m missing my dear.

To my deepest dismay,
My partner’s away,
Our contact is fading once more.
I call him and plea,
But he breaks up with me,
And says to me, “You deserve more.”

How much was a lie?
Is he even bi?
The red flags were all there to see!
With hindsight I’m wise,
And now realise:
The one who needs counselling’s me.

My mind filled with doubt,
I may never work out
The truth and the lies and the cause.
Two years since we met,
It’s time to forget
My partner who never was.
John Prentice Aug 16
The one who stood up here before
Who couldn't take it any more
Went through with her plan.

What would be my legacy?
Just like me,
I could turn the statistic
Into a curvy figure too—
Not a straight and slender one.
But being realistic,

I find the strength to turn away
And face the world another day
—A continuing man.
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