I am starting this off in the hope that other people will add their poetry.
This is a selection of my own. Some serious some on a lighter note. Hope you enjoy them.
The Gift of Love
They live in inner city slums with insect infestation
The by-product of profiteering and unrestricted privatisation
They express their deep frustration at the grinding poverty,
And the undisputed massive profit from greedy exploitation
They are ostracized; marginalized and suffer ignorant condemnation
They loudly protest in exasperation at the undisguised discrimination
And the possibility of population deportation;
A classic case of ethnic minority victimisation
Not realising their expectations they try to escape by taking drugs
Drinking alcohol, glue inhalation, resort to stealing and prostitution
Bringing unbridled howls of hate and cruel retribution
Destitute and alone they overdose on illegal medication
In a daze of hunger and humiliation they pray to their God for inspiration;
Feeling their pain He offers them Hope and Absolution;
His enduring gift of Never Ending Love;
Their True Salvation
Don’t Turn Your Face
Whatever you’ve done, whatever they say
Just turn to your God, He will show you the way
Trust in his love, don’t question why.
He was there at your birth, He'll be there when you die
Have you turned your face away, ashamed of what you’ve done?
Let him into your heart; make a brand new start
There’s nothing in this world that has not been done before
So there is no reason why you should have closed the door
It is never too late to mend your ways
Move closer to your God for the rest of your days
Banish your fear and all your qualms
Your God will be there with open arms
Can’t you feel the warmth of those around you
Let sorrow go, allow love to surround you
Do you feel lost and alone? Know why you feel sad?
Cannot believe that you could have been so bad
He knows your thoughts your soul is laid bare
And yet even so He will always be there
Turn back your face and feel the love
Of God, our Father in Heaven above
Forgotten Heroes
No recognition was there for me
I was just another ‘Conscript’ you see
We weren’t honoured like the rest
No medals were pinned upon our chests
Day and night deep inside the earth
We hacked away for all our worth
We sweated blood digging up the coal
It was a nightmare job in a dirty fetid hole
We worked in the gloom miles underground
Some were killed, others never found
A lamp on our head was our light
To bring up the coal was our fight
Without coal industry would come to a halt
If they ran out of steam it would be our fault
So we worked in the dark and breathed in the coal
Deep down in the ground in a big black hole
The Seasons came and went; Years passed by
We didn’t hear the birds, we never saw the sky
We just dug out the coal in that awful frightening place
No one gave us medals, no one fought our case
We weren’t sent to ‘The Front’; Our War was just ignored
They didn’t talk of us; No, not a single word
We were ‘Second Class’; a scruffy, dirty mass
Slogging away swallowing the dust
Breaking our backs to get the coal, for someone must
So, you wanted to be a Pilot? Or a Sailor on the sea?
Maybe a Teacher? That would have done for me!
Your name went into a hat, you got picked and that was that!
You had to join the others, your ‘Mining Brothers’.
I have scars in my lungs; I’ve seen my friends die
One man crushed both legs, another lost an eye
My cousin went mad and he was just a lad
My pal has PTS! Was our suffering less?
Some paid the price of the ‘Ultimate Sacrifice’
Our experience too was real
So why at the end did we get a raw deal?
‘They’ got the medals and the Service Pension
Of ‘Bevin Boys’ there wasn’t even a mention
We were ‘Forgotten Heroes’; No Memorial Stone for us
We were ‘Conscripts’ like the rest
Some died in that hole; Still we did our best
At the end of the war our job was done
We hung up our shovels; ‘They’ gave back their guns
No free suit for me, no job, no Disability Pension
If I’d refused to work I’d have been locked away
I would have spent my leisure
At His Majesty’s pleasure
‘Forgotten Men’ is what we were
We gave up our youth and fought our own ‘War’
At the end of the day, what was it all for?
I Had A Dream
“Make a new life!” they’d said, “A brand new start”
I’d got on that train with hope in my heart.
“The streets are paved with gold!”
So many of my lovely things I sold
I had to leave; it was a risk I had to take
“Move on!” they’d cajoled “Be brave, make the break!”
I took them at their word, and here I am today
No roof above my head, my home is where I lay.
I’d had a goal! I had dreamed of riches!
Now I sleep on park benches and clean out ditches.
Don’t follow me! Stay where you are.
Ching. “Thank you Sir, you are a star”
I count the copper pennies one by one
A bed for the night? A cup of tea? A current bun?
I have only one blanket to keep out the cold
I am still a young man but I feel so old.
I’ve burnt all my bridges and travelled so far.
Ching. “Thank you Mrs, you are a star!”
Should you go East or West?
No, take my advice; home is the best.
Don’t follow me! Stay where you are.
Ching. Thank you, Sir, you are a star!”
Is Anyone There?
Some nights when I am all alone
I hear a creak and then a moan
The sound of footsteps on the stair
When I positively know there is no one there
I hear a click, or a tap, tap, tap
I shiver and shake at a sound like that.
Screech! Screech! Twitawoo! Twitawoo!
It’s not only me who is watching you!
Don’t be soft; there is no one hidden in the loft!
There’s nothing to be scared of you see
It is only the house that is whispering to me
It creaks and moans for it is growing old
And its rafters and joints are just getting cold
The tap, tap, tap is the sound of the rain
Falling on to the window pane
The scraping noise is only the sound
Of a small flowerpot as it is blown around.
As I lay in my bed in the dead of the night
I twitch and jump and wait for daylight
When at last morning comes I feel such a fool
For things looked different in the light of the moon.
There is nothing to fear, all my things are still here
So I’ll sit in my chair and have 40 winks
Still I don’t really care what anyone thinks
I know what I heard and it wasn’t a pot
It wasn’t the rain as it dropped on the pane
The footsteps shuffled along the hall
I know I wasn’t just dreaming it all
I am going to move to a house that doesn’t speak
I’ll get on to the agent first thing next week.
The Tennis Match
The ball went out of court, the score was 40-Nought!
When I got back to my seat I was looking at defeat.
My legs felt very weak; It is energy they seek
I have a little drink as my heart begins to sink
I am the only ‘Seed’! ‘Belief’ is what I need
If I can break his serve I’m sure he’ll loose his nerve
Play up to the net? I am not defeated yet!
Serve from the back? Give the ball a ‘Thwak’?
I have what it takes to give myself a break
See this crisis through, that’s all I have to do
I must make another plan, hold my nerve as best I can
What else should I do to make my dream come true?
My dream must not be lost; I must win at any cost!
I try not to fret. I cannot be beaten yet!
“Time up, play on” I hear, I banish all the fear
I see you sitting there and leap up from my chair
The rest is just a daze, a dreamlike, fuzzy haze
“Deuce” I hear the call as I ‘whack’ the tennis ball
Just two more points to get, I am not beaten yet!
I jump and swerve, “Keep cool, don’t lose your nerve!”
“Advantage” comes the call, I gently bounce the ball
I must not hit the net; I must not get a ‘Let’
The sweat runs down my back, I give the ball a ‘WHACK’
Best serve of the day! “Game, Set, Match” I hear the umpire say
There’s a ‘ROAR’ in the court, the acknowledgement I sought!
It echoes round and round as I sink down to the ground.
There is ‘Joy and Celebration’, ‘Despair and Desolation’
My opponent thought he’d won! For me the job is done!
A Holiday for Four
I opened my mail and what did I see?
Out of a cast of thousands ‘They’ had chosen me!
I have won a chance to enter
A draw for a holiday in a Caribbean Centre!
My luck has changed! I feel elated
My absolute joy cannot be deflated
I dance around the house in excited glee
How brilliant is that? ‘They’ have chosen me!
I hurriedly filled in the form that they sent
Then off to the post office with the letter I went.
There was a queue a mile long, right out of the door
I was cross with myself; I should have got here before.
The clock struck ten; I would miss the first collection
My letter looked set for a ‘late rejection’
“Be quick at the front, this has to go today”
There were at least a dozen standing in the way.
The queue behind covered most of the floor
The man at the back shouted, “I’ve been here before!”
A lady said, “Well you won’t be posting that today
You may as well go home again and come another day!”
At that there was a scuffle, a crushing and a shoving
“Let me past, this is important! It has got to catch the post!
The people at the front got squashed by those that pushed the most!
“Get back and take your turn!” “Stop that pushing and a-shoving!”
“All calm down and wait a minute
Shouting and fighting won’t help, now will it?”
It was my turn next to reach the front of the queue
The Assistant said, (matter of fact like), “I must inform you
This is the hundredth letter I’ve had of this style
You will have to hold your breath for a long, long while!”
She said, “They should be banned, it just isn’t right
The Fraud Squad should come down with all their might”
“They’re professional tricksters who pray on the poor
Be wary next time one is pushed through your door!”
I felt such a fool, and so did the crowd
They’d stopped pushing and shoving and shouting out loud
They started to leave, out the door, one by one
In no time at all, all the people had gone.
I still posted my form, because I didn’t know better
In a single week I was sent eight more letters
‘Win a car’ ‘win a break’ ‘go away on a cruise’
‘Win the Jackpot’ (you crackpot) you simply can’t loose
‘Win a house’ ‘a TV’ ‘lots of books’ ‘Win some wine’
On to the mat poured this junk mail of mine.
I tore up the forms; they went in the bin
I felt so angry, I could hardly keep it in.
What a scam! What a fool, I’d believed I had won
A holiday for four in the Tropical Sun!
What sort of family would you not want to marry into?
