1047 - Blue Boar Blues

I’m sitting in the Blue Boar in Bolton
I’ve read a few short poems, drunk a few
I came by train, don’t worry: drink drivin’
Ain’t my scene. Now I’m free to drink a brew
Or two or three or four. Now what are you
Doin’ this Friday night? The rain’s fallin’
My hair’s flattened, constantly need the loo
And every few seconds, seems I’m smokin’
The piss-stained pavements, not so appealin’
I’m sittin’ here alone… Where are you, hun?
I miss our times together. I miss you
I hate goin’ out by myself, thinkin’
Everyone’s thinking’ ‘This guy’s all alone!’
Well yes, but at least I’m free, unlike you…
Fri 17 July 2009

975 - Drinking and smoking outside Notre Dame

Drinking and smoking outside Notre Dame
And at long last the sun now shows its face
All nationalities come here disarmed
All people relax in this ancient place
Photo-opportunities; cameras race
Accents Spanish and Asian, French, German
Young, middle-aged and old, time can’t erase
These special scenes, sunlit moments of fun
Me, I’m content, beer bottle number one
Almost empty; with number two I’m armed
Bottles of Kronenbourg don’t go to waste
Preparing for the match that’s still to come
(Chelsea/Barcelona) and so the aim
Is to get pissed cheaply in this fine place!
Wed 6 May 2009

894 - Happy alone

Tired last night, went to bed and fell asleep
Slept like a log, thank God, neighbours quiet
Valentine’s Day dawned, appointments to keep
With myself and work, no shortage of it
Started with the news, there’s no end to it
Watched a chart countdown, then football preview
Wrote fifteen pages of ‘Love At First Fright’
Then watched the football scores, as boys have to
Followed by rugby (Wales - England), then new
Songs written and recorded; been a steep
Learning curve, but getting there, bit by bit
Not bad when last month didn’t have a clue
I drank and smoked, and now to count some sheep
With Plato for my bedside reading shit!
Sat 14 Feb 2009

810 - Blues in A flat (take 2)

I’m here all alone in this flat, the cold
Keeps rushing in when I put rubbish out
Into the balcony bin, and I sold
My soul to the tobacco king about
This time last night, smoked some shivering out-
Side the small theatre. Now there’s three smokes left
But not much else. Feel too cold to check out
The show at the Lowry tonight. What’s left
To do, since there is no-one here? A swift
Departure once more leaves no-one to hold
But my true love. I’ll get some records out
And play my pink guitar, and still have left
Enough energy to suffer the cold
Tomorrow, when I’ll be out and about
Sat 22 Nov 2008

699 - Stars stuck

Pictures of old film stars stuck on the wall
Smoking their cigarettes, scooting in Rome
Clipped eyebrows, padded shoulders, men looked tall
But weren’t; perfected in old monochrome
Monroe holding Yves Montand disc at home
Kath Hepburn wearing the trousers, and proud
Tousle-haired Marlon and James Dean in bloom
Marlene leaner, Greta better. How’d
They look today, now smoking’s not allowed
Now dressing-up’s not done; no dress at all
That wavy hair’s a no-no, so’s a comb
They’d find a way to stand out from the crowd
They’d find a way to make themselves seem tall
Acting out roles in life’s visual poem
Sun 3 Aug 2008

633 - I wonder will she?

I wonder will she like my new fragrance
My eau de toilette, oh let’s call it that
On the left hand, Paul Smith, the one I chanced
To buy; on the right, Joop, that I did not
Buy, but it’s strong, just how she likes it. What
A difference a spray makes, that’s what she’d say
If she was pretty witty, and quite hot
When it comes down to old ditties. As May
Becomes June, maybe soon there’ll be a ray
(Of sunshine, not of sting - oh, police!). Once
We kissed, but I’ve been missing her. My hat
Ain’t layin’ at her home. But yesterday
Even our sweat smelled sweet, and both our pants
Combined on floor, in bed, with cigarettes
Thur 29 May 2008

627 - No smoke without desire

Update on my quitting smoking project
Last night a friend suggested that we share
A packet of ten, then went to collect
Another pack of twenty after there
Were none left in the first pack. And I swear
I didn’t want her to, but she gave me
The half-empty pack of twenty to bear
Homewards to finish off myself, ’cause she
Is also quitting with difficulty
Needless to say this had a bad effect
On my longing to give my lungs more air
And less tar. ‘No ta,’ I said, but sadly
Was too weak to resist or to reject
This devilish pact after so much beer
Fri 23 May 2008

624 - Complete control

When stubbing out my last cigarette I
Broke the cracked ashtray I inherited
From my old tenants - a sign from on high
That it’s high time I quit this bad habit
Although I’m not religious maybe it
Is some vague universal consciousness
Transmitting a message just for me - quit!
Or is it all in my mind? Do I bless
Myself when I pray, hope, decide or guess
What’s best to do, and then when I apply
Myself to do it, do I have complete
Command and control to achieve success
Or just a mess? Responsibility
Of such magnitude’s often avoided
Tue 20 May 2008

593 - Saturday night party for one

I’ve played guitar along to 90s hits,
And Cockney Rebel, Bloc Party, Dionne,
With Brakspear’s Triple Beer and cigarettes.
I even played Yes ‘Going For The One.’
Stopped when Brian Wilson covers came on,
Because I had to write tonight’s sonnet
Before tonight’s Match of the Day came on.
Yes, I want to enjoy the football. Let’s
Watch Derby beaten by West Ham. No bets
Placed today, true, but even so, well, it’s
Great to see what Paul Jewell says. It’s fun
Watching him squirm in interviews. I’ll get
Some food together, and then I will sit
On the sofa till bedtime comes along…
Sat 19 Apr 2008

549 - End of winter

The sixth of March - a day I once voted
A little arbitrarily the most
(Yawn) boring day of the year. The bloated
Corpse of the winter lingers, and its ghost
Will not depart; we hear its winds that boast
And cry defiance as we lie in bed,
Pulling covers up, keeping warm as toast;
Keeping our days busy until it’s fled.
What’s more, the door is open till the thread
Of smoke from five cigarettes has floated
Away into the night to join the host
Of ghostly cries and whispers as they head
Across the north west sky, often voted
Gloomy (but it’s not as bad as supposed).
Thur 6 Mar 2008

474 - Smoke and mirrors

Last night I had a victory of sorts:
I drank only half of the bottle dry,
And I didn’t smoke all the fags I bought.
How’s that for success? How clever am I?
Okay, you want to know the truth, know why?
Well, I’m no hero; I had simply had
A few pints with colleagues to say goodbye
Till next year, and that was why I was bad,
And bought cigs on the way home to my pad,
And only drank half of the wine. My fault
That my jumper now smells smoky. A lie-
In did me good, though, and I’m once more clad
In my smoky jumper, because I thought
With two cigs left, again I’ll smell smoky.
Sat 22 Dec 2007

418 - Here I go, here I go, here I go

I'm so happy, I've got a cheesier grin
Than that on the face of Man in the Moon
From today only good things will begin
I'm sure I'll win a poetry contest soon!
My fortune's rising, a helium balloon
That can only be popped by Father Time
But he's as lazy as Santa in June
Watch me mark my hundredth birthday in rhyme
Other good news? Well, Dubya's pantomime
Has reached its final scene, the audience in
Excited mood, waiting for a new tune
I've even won all this week's bets. Bells, chime!
I haven't smoked for months, drinking has been
Cut back. Things are going my way, I croon...
Sat 27 Oct 07

243 - Tonight's the night I'll stay booze-free and write

Tonight’s the night I’ll stay booze-free and write.
Don’t know ’bout you but drinking slows my mind.
Not smoking’s really helped. I don’t drink quite
As much now as I did before, I find.
But any drink at all still seems to bind
My brain in chains; it strains and puffs and pants
Like some old train chugging uphill, half-blind
(The steam gets in your eyes); a cripple’s dance.
Enough of that! I’ll give myself a chance
To swim down to the seabed where those white
Pearls beckon, truth and beauty both are mined,
And duty’s fed by ruthless gaze, not glance.
And so in clear blue sea I swim tonight,
Not in polluted waters dark with wine.
Sat 5 May 2007

228 - To all the many ex-smokers out there

To all the many ex-smokers out there -
I’m one of you now, starting from last night!
Each cigarette can palpably impair
The blood flow, you know. What a bloody fright!
My arms and fingers, legs and feet aren’t right:
They have become progressively numb (hum
Along). So I’ll stop setting cash alight;
I’ll gamble it all away instead. Dumb,
Maybe, but healthier. And soon will come
The first of July, when the English air
Is liberated from those clouds of white
That long oppressed the crowds trapped in a room
Like prisoners held in a dragon’s lair.
It’s time to quit. That’s it. Thanks and good night!
Fri 20 Apr 2007

27 - My angel nags me, keep your body fit!

My angel nags me, Keep your body fit!
My devil laughs, and says, Put on more weight!
My will power sags. That devil’s an easy
Friend. His path’s wide and flat. His golden gate’s
Three steps away. Staying behind at school
For extra lessons is the angel’s style.
All work, no play! Run faster uphill - you’ll
Be a contestant in the race, then! Mile
After mile I ran today in Lyme Park,
In training for a race on the eighteenth.
And now I smile as the evening grows dark,
Abstaining from all effort; staining teeth
With bottled beer and cigs. Beauty exists
In right and wrong, but wrong is harder to resist.
Sun 1 Oct 2006

17 - Cigarettes! Why do i feel the urge

Cigarettes! Why do I feel the urge
To go and get another pack of ten?
I’m not addictive. It’s not nicotine
I need, but any excuse to submerge
My head beneath the sand every half-hour;
To blow around myself a smoke ring fence;
To put all sense of duty in suspense,
And abdicate when I should stay in power.
Turn off, tune out, drop in the bin the ash
Of destiny. With yellow teeth of clown,
And Smokey’s tears that don’t roll up, but down,
As a lighter flame dies, I feel the lash -
Wet. And as I rub my smarting eyes,
Some rich folk rub their hands, and the blame dies.
Thur 21 Sep 2006