Journey of Words

Category: Poetry

  • On Branches

    Stripped trees glisten Droplets swell then fall from twigs Chirrups of blue tits . n.b. Despite the buffeting gale that has persisted throughout the night and intensified with day-break, the blue tits https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/blue-tit/carry on their busy lives regardless. Without cover, due to the autumn leaf fall, these stop-start little birds whizz from tree to hedge →

  • On Empire

    Eventually Having taken what they want British pay the price . n.b. The extent to which the wealth of the UK was based on the trade in African slaves is now being more seriously considered and debated. When Great Britain outlawed the slave trade, reinforced by the might of the Royal Navy, Parliament ensured that →

  • On Manners

    Greased hinges open No Where from? Nor How come so? But You’re most welcome . n.b. How would you spend your millions? Discretion, courtesy, stability and security, all are important elements of polite society. I once met a Swiss investment advisor, (let’s call him Eric) who explained to me that these are also the four →

  • On Silence

    Quiet school week night Traffic parked, empty pavements Not even owls’ calls . n.b. Tonight in Portsmouth the air is filled with nothing but sounds of sleep, while the countryside of Somerset will be alive to the hoots and shrieks of various night birds. This silence is unsettling; un-natural. . CLP 23/10/2019 →

  • On Money

    What is it you need? A ajunge acasa Here is your ticket . n.b. Romanian for “To get home” Yesterday a friend sought help from family and acquaintances to find out what ailed a young, homeless man. He had travelled in hope of work to Switzerland, having paid an agent to get him there. He →

  • On Concrete

    Hard composition Will undoubtedly remain Long after I’ve gone . CLP 20/10/2019 →

  • On Politics

    “You know he’s lying Because his lips are moving” Alexander Johnson . n,b. The quotation used above is anonymous, but well understood in relation to Her Majesty’s Prime Minister, a msn described as a “greasy pig” by a predecessor of his in high office. n.n.b. Sacked from two jobs for lying; a plagiarist; unable to →

  • On Technology

    Inconsequential Speck circles march of many “I see no police” . n.b. Apparently Horatio Nelson (see Column) did not say “I see no ships”, but “I really do not see the signal.” at the Battle of Copenhagen. Yesterday’s (19th October, 2019) protest march against Brexit in London is conservatively estimated to have been attended by →

  • October (VI)

    The Sun weakens now While our eyes are distracted by October colours Our cooling skin does not lie . CLP 19/10/2019 →

  • October (IV)

    Washed out by last night Weather interrupted sleep Time for a shower . n.b. “Rain will clear over the next couple of days.” the weather forecaster said. It clears every hour or so here. Moments of beauty swept away by an incoming shower, before the next glistening picture of autumn is revealed, still wet on →