I once saw a precious baby caterpillar emerge from its egg upon a rose

But for a moment in the beauty before me, I froze

In that instant, time seemed to stop as our eyes first met

His innocent gaze had washed away all of my past regrets

I will call you my little bug

Oh on my heart strings did he tug

Ever hungry, I fed him leaves from the  very same rose that carried him before he was born

In awe as I witnessed this sacrificial beauty that outshone both flower and thorn

Oh how my love and respect for that rose grew that day

The blessings given to me were more than words could say

Each morning I left my little bug in the rose’s embrace

And every evening when I got home I would always stop to say hello and look down upon his beautiful face

One of these very evenings, I found him out of sight, hanging on a stem

He had a hard shell woven around him

In the eves that followed my little bug no longer greeted me

Growing in his own way, it seemed he no longer needed me

Even still, I went out every night to check on him to make sure he was safe

I made sure I was always there for him no matter what he faced

He grew, and grew and grew some more

If only I knew what he had in store

A day like any other I came home to greet him, I watched in awe as his cocoon began to quiver

And then the silence and a dramatic pause upon his metamorphic stage, sent down my spine a shiver

The casing that held him for so long began to split at its seams

Vibrant colors revealed, in the sun he gleamed

I watched in awe as he finally emerged, fully grown wings ready for flight

Both bitter and sweet, my tears I held back with all my might

With a quick beat of his wings he was aloft, and for just a moment he landed on my nose for one last hug

Just before he took off for the skies, I looked into his eyes and said “you will always be my little bug...”

The lavender lilacs line the path that my bare feet tread,
The grass tickling my toes.
Bees buzz among the sunflowers that hang over my head,
They flit around the primrose.
The sun’s rays warm my skin,
And I breathe in the glorious spring air,
Not thinking about where I’ve been.
Just where I am.
At the end of the path is the old wooden swing,
Where she and I would swing for hours,
Each other’s hands we would cling,
While she told me all the different kinds of flowers.
She showed me the hollyhocks and bluebells,
Daisies and buttercups,
And all of the lesser known flowers I have
Long since forgotten.
She laughed when I couldn’t remember
The name of the tulip,
And her soft lips brushed my cheek.
I sit down on the swing and listen to it
Creak as I push off from the ground,
And the memories come rushing back
That are associated with that sound.
Every afternoon spent here,
Every flower name,
I wish I could remember every one,
In my mind they be engraved.
I close my eyes and picture her,
Her circular glasses, golden brown hair falling,
A pencil tucked behind her ear.
The mole on her left cheek.
Even though she’s long gone,
And our kids are all grown up,
She will never be forgotten.
She lives on in her garden.

If you think it's tough being a firefighter,
try being a firefighter's wife.

And if you think it's hard being a firefighter's wife,
try being a firefighters daughter

I should be done trying
But I don't know how to stop
I thought I was over this
But I guess that I'm not
I don't know what to do
I'm losing composure
I'm counting down the days
I'm losing time for closure
What do you call us
We never had a fling
Or a full conversation
Were we ever anything?
I think you're a thief
You stole my attention
From the man I'm going to marry
I just need an intervention
I think I'm am addict
I need you out of my life
So stop showing me interest
Save that for your wife

Poem ~ Our garden where we would sit n laze .
Ref 023
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our garden where we would sit and laze.
Under the canopy of beautiful tree palms
Rippling waters trickling by whilst we dream

Gardens of tropical plants tended n charmed
And dollars well spent on this tropical scene
Reflections mirrored up to the sky becalmed
Did this paradise figure in our wildest dreams?
Even as loving kindred spirits were we charged
No never though our lives of years we teamed

Without a doubt we teamed to live as one.
Hoping for a life force ,greater than it seemed
Expecting that with luck our life had just begun
Real life Angel ,she was, all I would ever dream
Established early on,we would have such fun.

With plans to live forever, I fear, I was so wrong
Even the best laid plans of mice and men .

Will never stand up to be predictable
Our garden where we would sit n laze
Under the canopy of beautiful palm trees
Lagoons where we watched our charges play
Digging in the sand and giving Nana joy.

Silent now as I sit with you reflecting
I sit in pain knowing that my Darlings gone
Triggering another tear to salt my eyes

No doubt folk kindly say “just love yourself “

Love myself ? Well OK , but my darling’s gone
And in Our garden where we would sit n laze
Z zzzz Barbara oh please let me dream of you
Eternally ,sweetheart in my heart to carry you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written by Philip.
Sunday 7th October 2018.

I'm angry because my wife turned out to be a shopaholic ****.
She thinks she owns me just because her name is tattooed on my ****.
Even though I'm a poor man, my wife believes in living large.
My credit cards are maxed out because of what she's charged.
I go hungry while she and her lovers go to five star restaurants and order caviar.
I got my *** kicked when I tried to stop two large men from repossessing my car.
She brings her lovers to my house, the ***** doesn't even try to be discreet.
I'm about to pass out because for the last four days, I've had nothing to eat.
I just knocked her out, put her in a crate and mailed her to Japan.
I'm doing a terrible thing to the Japanese but at least I'm a free man.
I don't have to worry about her returning and going berserk.
She'll be stuck in Japan because she's too **** lazy to work.
My hair has turned solid gray because of what she did to me.
I may look like an eighty year old but I'm so happy to be free.

I am a Romeo or a lucky one,
I have both,
A wife and a girlfriend.
My wife is my T.V.,
Stable, always there,homely,
No extra cost,
Only pay for maintenance.
Enjoy it when home,
With popcorn,hot coffee or tubs of icecream.
Even has a remote for you to control it,
But no talking,
Keep quiet and listen.
My girlfriend is my mobile,
Lovely, slim and ****.
Turns people's heads when you go out with it,
It's portable,
Take her everywhere with you,
Talk and listen,
Play with it without getting tired.
No remote to control it,
Expensive to maintain,
Pay or get disconnected.
Can be hacked or stolen easily,
Have to be careful of viruses,
Easily replaceable.

Dear future wife
have you lost your mind?
cause if you have lost it
I have lost it too.

In that case
there is no trouble
don’t you worry
we’ll make a great couple

but if you are sane
and still want to be mine
then my love you are
losing your mind.

© Ali Ashraf