1017 - Precipitation observation

A perfect grey sky with no chink of blue
Refreshing rain blown sideways by the wind
A lovely walk home to look forward to
Wet clothes are something that I never mind!
To be downhearted about rain is blind
We need it, in the right amount, of course
As we suck the earth dry, the rain's our friend
Restoring, and obeying nature's laws
As we break ours, polluting without pause
Clean gutters, clean my dirty car, won't you
Clean landfill sites, and nuclear waste, and bins
Wash away all we produce without cause
And this time, build no ark to start anew
Or else put better-behaved people in!
Wed 17 June 2009

1010 - Here we go round the mulberry bush

The women that I’ve known are like the men:
Just people I bumped into; well, that’s true
Of all things in the universe from when
The Big Bang banged to today; chance just threw
Them together for no reason, like two
Neighbouring grains of sand on a big beach
That after a while will move on when you
Or your dog kick them apart, or they’re reached
By the incoming tide. Let nature teach
Its lessons. Go with the flow; maybe then
There’ll be less stress. Drift on into the blue
On this speck, spinning like dust round a torch
Complete each orbit, then go round again
With someone else, for anyone will do
Wed 10 June 2009

1007 - On the rocks

The big white bear balances awkwardly
On a Glacier Mint, melting, melting
He’ll need to grow fins and webbed feet quickly
So few fish, plenty of room for swimming
No shortage of water, levels rising
I shouldn’t have quit going to the pool
Or bottled out of lessons in surfing
In future, maybe kids will surf to school
But more water, more rain’s usually the rule
So life for them could be wet and windy
Enough of this, it’s far too depressing!
Environmental thinking’s rather cruel
Instead I fancy jetting to the sea
Before it ends, let’s keep on enjoying!
Sun 7 June 2009

889 - After flying over the Irish Sea at sunset

I’m in the Crown Liquor Saloon, Belfast
And staying at the famous Europa
I flew over fluffy white clouds so fast
And saw the western horizon redder
And clearer than billions of ancestors
Who never flew, and couldn’t even think
This lofty view existed long before
Life had evolved from mere scum in the sink
Of oceans now gone; no, where is the link
Between view and viewer? The need is past!
Living viewer, superfluous once more
These red sunsets do not need me to bring
My blinking assent to a view that lasts
Beauty does not need life or mind. It’s there…
Mon 9 Feb 2009

827 - Travelogue

I’ve been to London, Birmingham and Leeds
I’ve been to Cardiff, Swansea, Llandudno
I’ve been to Glasgow, Perth, but not Dumfries
I’ve been to Dublin, Buncrana, Sligo
I’ve been to Paris, Rouen, not Bordeaux
I’ve been to Brussels but not Bruges or Ghent
I’ve been to Barcelona, not Vigo
I’ve been to Rome, to Milan never went
Of all the places that I’ve not been sent
I’d like to fly down to Los Angeles
And then drive up the coast road to Frisco
I’d like to nip to Nepal and Tashkent
Then row to Rio and Buenos Aires
And end up in Lapland’s crisp Christmas snow
Tue 9 Dec 2008

775 - Song of the earth and the sea

Listening to Mahler’s ‘Lieder’ while I write
Well, not much time today to hang around
Besides, it’s always fun to combine sight
And even insight, with a clashing sound
That struggles against them, like when waves pound
Against the steadfast rocks, splashing, seeming
To be smashed to fragments of foam; but ground
Is only today what water’s giving
Tomorrow rock will crumble at the sting
Of vicious tongue-lashing, of dark sea’s spite
Venting its endless spleen in bay and sound
No harbour will be safe, so keep sailing
On wavy hills so hungry as they bite
All rotten hulls to bits. All sea-bed bound
Sat 18 Oct 2008

764 - The new doors of perception

An after-dinner coffee by my side
No alcohol today, none yesterday
I feel so real, no depressants inside
This is real life and this is the real way
Stumbling through messy undergrowth, a ray
Of sunlight through the trees, a patch of blue
Emerging onto open fields, away
From shadows into colours old and new
A fertile landscape with much more to do
More seeds to sow, crops to grow, in this wide
And panoramic space, this place to play
To plan, to build and then enjoy the view
Of orchards in rows, and the distant tide
In between, inviting with whitest spray
Tue 7 Oct 2008

612 - Biofuel for thought

We had to reduce carbon emissions,
So Brussels told the EU we must use
More biofuel. The Americans
With their huge cornfields, how could they refuse
Al Gore’s warnings? Also, how to defuse
The terrorist bomb by not buying oil
From the Middle East? There’s no need for clues:
Of course they’d grow a feast of biofuel.
This all seemed great to westerners, but cruel
To the rest, the starvers. Millions of tons
Of harvested grain that their plates would lose,
Their fates again decided by our loyal
Leaders, chasing votes and obeying friends
In government and business. Hardly news.
Thur 8 May 2008

550 - Meaning what?

The meaning of life - is it 42?
According to Douglas Adams, it is,
But I disagree. Reader, so should you -
The number 5 to me has far more fizz!
These interstellar sonnet five fifties,
Sprinkled with magic space dust, may reveal
After millennia of careful studies,
The key to all secrets, the real real deal.
Meanwhile, look through your porthole, and just feel
That universal vibe. Enjoy the view,
The stillness of rotating galaxies,
The stillness of your thoughts. Then grab the wheel
And put your foot down, or you won't get to
Doug's planet, Earth, for several centuries.
Fri 7 Mar 2008

548 - Matters of anti-matter

Well done to Stephen Hawking! With sheer brain
Power he's overcome his failed body
Using the only muscle that remains -
On the right of his face - to read, study
Communicate, teach maths at Cambridge. He
Also does lecture tours, writes books, and tries
To solve the riddle, crack the mystery
Of not just how but why a Big Bang flies
Out of a singularity. Surprise
Is commonplace in the quantum domain
And still elusive is why gravity
Loosened its grip? A huge temperature rise
From anti-matter falling down the drain
Of a black hole's a possibility.
Wed 5 Mar 2008

543 - Thunderbirds are on pause

5,4,3,2,1 Thunderbirds are go
And 5,4,3,2,1 sang Manfred Mann
The rockets at Cape Kennedy aglow
Prepare for take-off, super sixties man!
Those days when all was possible, the span
Of earth to moon reduced, and Mars lay next;
2001 beckoned. Now we can
Look back and see the cost, which wasn't fixed,
But continues to mount, like waves betwixt
The disappearing river banks. We know
We're not ready or able yet to plan
Our expansion, boldly go on star treks.
Let's clean up our act here on earth; let's show
We're worthy to go further. Three two one...
Fri 29 Feb 2008

541 - Earthquake!

Earthquake! Last night, due to a network glitch
Causing a loss of internet access,
I went to bed early with a book which
Was dull enough to remove any stress:
A well-known book, by Thomas a Kempis,
Preaching docility and acceptance
To the poor of the late Middle Ages,
Who might otherwise rebel, take offence.
The light turned off, radio lulling sense,
But sleep was slow to come; I'd always twitch
Myself awake, steadily getting less
Sleepy, more tired. My bed began to dance.
Alarmed, I sat up. My bed rocked and pitched.
Was someone underneath? Then, quietness.
Wed 27 Feb 2008

518 - (I'm afraid we must) save the planet

The cry reverberates: “Save the planet!”
While spinning plates wobble worryingly.
The pressure’s on us all to call for it,
And not to cave in to the company.
We can’t leave it to governments; no, we
Must educate and demonstrate and push,
And at election times especially,
Defect from deaf defective leaders: Bush,
And even Democrats are in a rush
To fund campaigns and fill their full pocket
With packets of dough from each industry
To quieten those cries to a kind of hush.
Whatever the cause, there’s cause to regret
Each missed window of opportunity.
Mon 4 Feb 2008

453 - Sudan death

If you go down Sudanwards today, you're
Sure of a big surprise. Don't take your bear
For it's no picnic there, especially for
Foreigners, but also Sudanese there
Untold numbers of refugees need care
But no-one cares. In Darfur and the south
The ethnic cleansing, rape, torture, despair
Endless uncivil war. And so look out
Sudan has oil, and the west's big black snout
Is in there along with China's. The poor
Are terrorised with armour we prepare
And supply with fuel. Our governments spout
Against the horror, but while payments pour
Into enough accounts, long live warfare!

Sat 1 Dec 2007

448 - Shades of grey

There's brillig or humbug, or there's brillbug
Superb, abhorrent, or superhorrent
Is it a cup or mug, even a cug?
A drip or torrent, even a drorrent?
You see, there's not just black and white. I've spent
Time thinking about the grey in between
That mixture of two opposites that's lent
The qualities of both. Though less pristine
Less pure, I'm sure it's more like things have been
Both in the human being, that big bug
And the bacteria that somehow went
Through space and grew in earth's water, so clean
Until we came along, until we dug
And dammed. Now will earth's riches be well spent?

Mon 26 Nov 2007

400 - Is this the end of a long golden age?

Is this the end of a long golden age?
Can this continue or must it turn sour?
Has growth reached its limits? Time for shrinkage?
Can the earth stand greater demand for power,
Whether it’s coal-fired or it’s nuclear?
Is there a wind, a whole climate, of change,
Blowing, showing us that we must lower
The population, and must rearrange
Our politics of greed? Is this so strange?
Can we end conflict, sing from the same page,
Look after sky and sea, tree and flower?
Can we evolve? Is goodness out of range?
Or are we creatures in need of a cage
Before we run amok and self-devour?
Tue 9 Oct 2007

398 - We never really see things as they are

We never really see things as they are.
We look at the world through distorting eyes.
We twist and elongate, we miss and mar,
Especially when it comes to our own size.
This has been taught for decades; there’s no prize
For guessing which country we think the best.
Which species we love most you can surmise,
And also whether we like work or rest.
Since we were suckled on our mother’s breast,
We’ve taught ourselves to look in the mirror
Dishonestly, distraught when we hear lies
From others who are not quite as impressed.
Well never mind, just smile for the camera
And for them all, and learn to compromise.
Sun 7 Oct 2007

390 - If to intervene in Iraq was wrong

If to intervene in Iraq was wrong,
Then we must also leave Burma alone,
Now that the monk-led crowd have heard the gong
That ends their act, to our half-hearted groan.
The law says there must be a wider zone
Affected by events. This sadly lets
Soldier states struggle on till they lie prone
In pools of brown and red, weighed down by debts,
Disease and hunger. Though the UN frets,
There’s little can be done. Money is strong,
Stronger than armies. China is a clone
Of western greed now, and the Soviets.
A new generation will come along
In Burma and elsewhere. The seeds are sown.
Sat 29 Sep 2007

388 - Orgasmic supernova, spread your seed

Orgasmic supernova, spread your seed
Across the supine space, finding tiny
Eggs, watery planets ready to breed,
Impregnated by comets, hot, shiny.
Diseased insects, blown over the briny
North seas, infect British cows with bluetongue,
The virus injected, porcupiny,
Turning empires of bovine cells to dung.
The oil wells east of Palestine have sung
Their siren song, and investors decreed
Leaders should hire invaders, screw whiny
Impeders. “Feed us well,” the cracked bell rang.
Death and life intertwining, mutual need,
Deep breath striving to come, freed, finally.
Thur 27 Sep 2007

375 - Angola, Austria, Azerbaijan

Angola, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Brazil, Bangladesh and Bulgaria,
Chile, China, Deutschland and Dagestan,
England, Ecuador, Ethiopia.
France, Greenland, Haiti and Indonesia,
Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lapland,
Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua,
Oman, Pakistan, Poland and Queensland.
Russia, Spain, Sierra Leone, Scotland,
Sudan, Sweden, Turkey, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan, Thailand, Tanzania,
USA, Vietnam, West Indies Land.
Ex-Soviet states, Yemen, Zimbabwe. Man!
Can you state why we need them? Me neither!
Fri 14 Sep 2007