Featured Poet

24th May 2020

The day I was the featured poet for A Poem A Day in April. There were hundreds of participants. It was 3/4/2015 and it had 661 visits and twenty one comments. Not at all bad.
Just thought I'd share it again

Day 3:

 3rd April 3rd poem.

Was inspired today by a walk along the coast . We took a path from the beach up a pretty winding staircase. Each turn gave a different, yet  interesting view which  made me reflect the path our lives take. Not sure I've done justice to it in this poem.

Go This Way

Go this way, tread these winding steps,

                                    Up this steep slope.

                                                     Stop here, rest,

                                                              Take in the view,

                                                                              The castle - almost ruins

                                                                                            Glory days over.

                                                                    Carry on up, round that blind  bend,

                                                         See the lake- veiled in mist,  

                                             Joys hidden in shrouded past

                        Struggle further,up  towards the peak,

                                   Breathless,

                                               The path narrows, stones underfoot slow progress
                                                                                  
                                                                    Turn, see the valley

                                                                                      Deep, dark,

                                                                     Holding lost moments of gloom.

                                                                                     But now, for you, up, up, 

                                                                                    Crawl on to the summit,

                                                                 Lift yourself up,

                                          Stand, breathe deep

                           Look around,

                                      All before you takes shape

                                                             Holds together.

Day 31 - Finding Peace

31st Oct 2019

Day 31 .

The last day.

The prompt, Finding Peace makes me think, ok, after today no more rushing to put some words on the blog for Octpowrimo, only peace.

 Of course  I will be doing other writing and hopefully continuing to post to my blog, but I won't be under constraint. I'm not saying I haven't enjoyed the last month. 

 On the contrary, I do love working to prompts and having deadlines, but only for so long. 

It's been good.

So until next year, here's my Day 31 for Octpowrimo 2019:

Finding Peace.

Come to Me, I will give you rest
He said
So, when weary, weighed down, burdened
by life
I close my eyes, relax, spend  time
with Him,
leave all those worries, those cares at
His feet,
Then find that I can live my day more
lighthearted,
Free from anxiety, full of joy, held in Love,
with Him
at Peace

Beijing

Beijing

After breakfast at the Hotel Continental,

The orange juice cool, pure,

We venture out,

Arm in arm-

For safety-

Into bustling, dusty, streets.

A tsunami of noise hits us,

Makes us draw back.

Traffic - six lanes-

Hooting horns screeching-

Engines revving-

Making music with 

Constant tinkling of bells 

From the bikes 

As they weave through 

Disinterested people,

Who, like squawking seagulls,

Swarm along overflowing pavements.

First impressions of Beijing...

Like debris we are swept unwillingly

In this fast flowing river.

We look up

High rise, anonymous

Dirty, grey structures,

Imprison ants 

Whose hope is 

A fleck of blue

Remembered.

Beside us as we hurry by,

Shops selling 

Tea, fans, chinese hats,

Beckon us,

Aromatic bouquets excite our nostrils.

Finally,

In a side street,

We take a rest,

In a Japanese Cafe.

They tell us:

"Don't eat the food here,

It's mostly dog"

We sip a beer 

And ponder

How we'll get back to the hotel.

Go This Way

Day 3:

 3rd April 3rd poem.

Was inspired today by a walk along the coast . We took a path from the beach up a pretty winding staircase. Each turn gave a different, yet  interesting view which  made me reflect the path our lives take. Not sure I've done justice to it in this poem.

Go This Way

Go this way, tread these winding steps,

                                    Up this steep slope.

                                                     Stop here, rest,

                                                                      Take in the view,

                                                                                     The castle - almost ruins

                                                                                                     Glory days over.

                                                                                     Carry on up, round that blind  bend,

                                                              See the lake- veiled in mist,  

                                                Joys hidden in shrouded past

            Struggle further,up  towards the peak,

                                                   Breathless,

                                                               The path narrows, stones underfoot slow progress
                                                                                  
                                                                           Turn, see the valley

                                                                                            Deep, dark,

                                                                                 Holding lost moments of gloom.

                                                                                                 But now, for you, up, up, 

                                                                               Crawl on to the summit,

                                                       Lift yourself up,

                        Stand, breathe deep

     Look around,

                                      All before you takes shape

                                                             Holds together.