Poetry Corner

scribbler

A Ditty

A ditty should be witty
And quirky and quaint
A ditty should be pretty
Alas, this one ain’t.

stickywicket

I'm not sure about the 'pretty', scribbler. I think the essential attributes were listed in the right order and 'pretty' is the least important. Yours is definitely 'witty' and 'quirky' and I like it.

scribbler

"Pretty" was just chosen cos it rhymed!

Sharon_K

Hi Phee

@phoenixoxo here is the poetry corner for you. It had not been used for some time so it had been added to our archive.

Enjoy

Best Wishes

Sharon😊

phoenixoxo

Hi Sharon,

Yes, here we are in the Corner; thanks again 🙂

Unfortunately I've run out of brain for the evening, having only just finished work. But I'll be back, and in the meantime I have to say that I really like scribbler's 'A Ditty'. Mrs SW is right, there's plenty 'witty' and 'quirky' in there 😊

Best wishes,

Phee

YvonneH

Please post your poems where you feel they belong; I'm hoping you won't mind if I collect your original poems and copy them into this thread where they can be seen and read by all poetry lovers.

Thanks

Yvonne x

phoenixoxo

Thanks, Yvonne 🙂

I don't know whether anyone's really into poetry here, so I just thought I'd start by offering a few words of encouragement. I think some people are put off writing because they think they don't know enough about poetry, or they think a poem has to rhyme and it's all a bit difficult (it certainly can be).

Well, I'm in the camp of poets who reckon that writing poetry is something for everyone to enjoy. Of course, being in this camp doesn't make me particularly popular with poets who want writing poetry to be an elite sort of activity... well, never mind 😂

For today, I've just popped down to my archives, returning with one poem with a little rhyme and one without. They're both quite short, from a collection I call the 'pocket poems'. A pocket poem is a nice way to start writing, as it can be just one thought or one picture.

Smiling through the pain

They asked me,

can't you really try

to smile through all

the pain?

I did this,

but I looked so strange,

they didn't ask

again.

🤪

Wobbly pigeon

Outside my window

there's a silver wood pigeon,

perching on a branch of a lime.

It's a windy day

and the branch is swaying.

The pigeon wobbles a little,

but she's holding on just fine

:>)

celtic

Here is one of mine hope you like it.

The giver of life has fallen down, and now lays flat upon the ground

Soon it will be no longer there, you will not see it however you stare

All will walk over where it fell, leaving not a trace for you to tell,

But soon upon where it laid, Springs forth a simple tiny blade,

Followed soon by many more, till they can be counted by the score,

For the Giver that has gone below, has given life to those that grow,

So all of us that will surely gain, should offer thanks up to the rain.

Kitty

I'd better put the one the members of Val's Cafe and you all composed Yvonne.

Wish For Esme

Esme smiled at me today

and the sun came out from behind a dark cloud.

I bent down to smile and say..

'Little one, the world is yours, 

I wonder what you’ll do?’

Will your life be long and full?

For this is what we wish for you.

phoenixoxo

Hi celtic and Kath,

I didn't realise people were writing poetry in Val's Cafe. Thanks for sharing, Kath, and I hope your book is going well.

celtic, welcome to Poetry Corner. I really like your poem, especially for its images and hopeful message, as it comes across to me.

Do you enjoy nature poetry? Here's a poem I wrote last January, after listening to a piece of music called 'The Wind in the Plain'...

All morning long, the winter wheat stands stock-still in its ordered rows;

come midday, as the clouds roll in, it enters into thrashing throes,

now delving down, now rising up, a greening sea though far inland,

a playground for some mystic mover brandishing a hearty hand,

and in amongst the crazing crops a harvest mouse is rushing here

and there and then and back again, her beady eyes alight with cheer,

her reddish fur a-ripple and her whiskers bristling in the breeze,

until the early evening, when the plain once more may stand at ease.

...and here is a harvest mouse 😊 (image from Wikipedia),

 

Best wishes,

Phee

celtic

Hi Phee really lovely. Shows how well you observed nature to be able to picture that in your mind and transfer into words that others may see the same Stay safe, celtic

Kitty

The Tena Lady

She would always dread parties or theatre trips, 

how can you go there with a bladder that drips? 

On days out shopping oh what a to do, 

finding a route that includes every loo! 

Her handbag contained six pairs of clean knickers, 

but opening it up would give her the jitters! 

But then she found something that saved her sanity 

and helped her preserve a little vanity. 

She now keeps a package so tiny and neat 

a pretty silk bag, small and discreet. 

It holds Tena Lady with odour control 

so she now visits friends, achieves every goal. 

She goes to the pictures, to picnics, to parties. 

She mixes with folk who are real arty fartys. 

She also plays hockey and netball and tennis, 

and has plans to travel to Rome and to Venice. 

So dear ladies, don't stay home crying, 

it's Tena Lady you should be buying

😊

phoenixoxo

Kath, you should send that to Tena 😂

celtic, many thanks for your kind words. Unfortunately my work keeps me busy most of the time, but something I really enjoy outside office hours is listening to music, seeing things in my mind, and writing about them.

I also write about various real-life experiences, often to cheer myself up. Earlier this year I wrote a poem about managing, finally, to get permission for an accessible shower. (It was the word 'loo' in Kath's piece that reminded me of this one 😊)

One day in May last year I bought a flat way out of town --

it's in a sturdy tower block of bricks, some red some brown;

there's level access in and after that a nifty lift,

and in my flat just one or two things that I need to shift.

I need to take the bath out, put a shower in instead;

I asked if I could do this. 'Yes,' the flats committee said,

but later on they changed their minds and made their answer 'No';

I asked them why I couldn't -- it was just cos they said so.

I kept on asking 'Why?', until they said perhaps I could --

I had to get an expert, a surveyor from the 'hood;

he came one Monday with his pen and clipboard, camera too,

took pictures of the bath and stuff, and peered behind the loo.

He sent his findings late on Thursday night, in a report --

it covered five whole pages, so it wasn't very short;

his costs weren't cheap, but it was worth the price I had to pay --

he says that I can have a bespoke low-rise shower tray!

🚿 (yay!)

Best wishes,

Phee

celtic

Like that one Phee, yes surveyor's are rip off merchants, I had a lot of dealings with them before I retired,as I was a builder and in most case's could do the job without their help which I did in a lot of case's and there has been no trouble with my work , and I have been retired 20 years. take care celtic

phoenixoxo

Many thanks again, celtic 😊

This surveyor's hourly rate was £90. £90! Not only that, he took his time about things, let's say, so I did come over a bit shaky on receiving his invoice. I would've been happy not to have added these costs to all the work, but the committee claimed a survey was necessary... and in the fullness of time it emerged that they'd lost the original plans of the building (d'oh!).

A builder got involved when an interior wall started to collapse! Fortunately I didn't have to consult the committee about that part of the project and the builder put it back together again without making things complicated, which is always good 👍️

Have you written any poems about your building work? 🙂

Best wishes,

Phee

celtic

No Phee not yet, maybe one day I will. I have a few more that I have saved copies but most of them have gone to the poetry heaven in the sky, for this reason my family asked me to find and save what I could, I did this and made a CD and gave a copy to my 3 daughters and grandchildren at the same time I wrote my memories down and had them printed so my future generations will be able to know who their ancestor was,as I am researching my family tree and have traced and confirmed my grandfathers 5 time removed I know nothing about them except my direct Grandad so I know now that this will not happen in my case, stay safe celtic

phoenixoxo

Well, I hope you will, celtic; I'm sure they'd be a good read 🙂

It's great that you've made a CD of your poems, and you've written down your memories. Stay safe yourself 🍀

Best wishes,

Phee

celtic

Hi everyone hope your all well and if like me you having to stay in finding things to do can be hard, although I have a lot of hobbies, wood and stone carving and art among them, I do like to try other things, that is why I have come back to poetry, and thinking about writing more, I thought some of you may feel the same as I, so decided to ask if you would like to join me in writing a poem, I start the first few lines then anyone could write and add a few lines and if enough join in it would be interesting to see how it turns out. The following is my effort,

Come walk with me as I pass on by

To view the wonders of earth and sky

To gaze at sunsets and sunrise

While standing on the Bridge of Sighs.

over to you folk

Kitty

Coronavirus

by KathleenT

It started in China - so they say,

The numbers are added to - every day.

Italy, Spain, and good old Blighty

it’s even spread to the US of A.

Families are parted,

can’t kiss or cuddle,

and any one poorly, or any great age

are anxious at all the rules and the muddle.

Self isolating and social distancing

these are the watchwords today.

But I won’t be scared as I’ve heard it said

that come Easter it’ll all go away.

BOOM BOOM ☺️

phoenixoxo

Hi celtic,

I hope you're okay and continuing to enjoy your hobbies. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm used to being indoors so I've been just getting on with things as usual! But for people who are generally able to get out and about, it must feel very weird at the moment.

Nice idea, a bit of co-writing. Here's your four lines followed by four from me:

Come walk with me as I pass on by

To view the wonders of earth and sky

To gaze at sunsets and sunrise

While standing on the Bridge of Sighs.

Thus Celtic spoke -- and Phee wheeled up

with buttered bread and soup to sup,

for viewing's often hungry work

especially through the misty murk.

I often think it's nice to bring some snacks into a poem. What are we going to view, I wonder? 🤓(field glasses)

Best wishes,

Phee

celtic

Great Phee that is fun, just what i hoped to see, lets hope more add their bit, we could end up with a best seller😂. It is hard not being able to go out but I have started to go for a 30 min walk each day when my knee allows me, I do miss my art group and a disabled club I help to run, but realise how lucky I am to have the family and friends who phone and Skype me, so I will get through it no matter how long it take, do you think that will happen before our poem is ended,🤔 stay safe celtic

phoenixoxo

Yes, here's hoping for a few more visitors, lured by the idea of a best seller 🤣

It's good that you've been able to keep up with the walking when possible, celtic. That's what I'd do, if I were able to walk. One of my neighbours has taken to pacing up and down the driveway every afternoon, and I've also been spotting a few people out walking, jogging, or cycling along the road. Today, though, I was mostly observing a male and female blackbird out foraging on the lawn for insects. Perhaps they've a few mouths to feed 🐣

Your clubs sound fun. I expect you're already looking forward to returning to them later this year (hopefully). I enjoy art too. I'm not very good at it, but I enjoy creating things using a software programme called 'ArtRage' and laughing at the results. I'm still in work (from home) at the moment, but if that changes I'll be spending a lot of time on various creative projects. Yes, it's good to keep in touch with people during these strange times 😊 

celtic

Hi Phee sorry I've not been on for a while but I've been so busy with one thing and another, and I'm glad as the days seem to pass so quickly. In regards to art you will find loads of tuition on YouTube and it's all free and although I have been doing art for about 5 years I still need help. Phee if you can entice birds and insects into your garden it will help to pass the time, I feed the same birds every day and spend time watching them eat the bread and fat balls and I enjoy it, also there are many groups on the PC that you can use to help pass the time away. I've in the middle of building a small pond out of an old plastic dustbin and yesterday I put up another bird box that I made. I love using my hands during the day then in the evening I can go on my Laptop when free to relax and see how other folk are in other forums. It seems we are the only ones interested in the best seller 😂 You stay safe and keep as busy as you can, all the very best. celtic

Kitty

For All Those On Prednisolone

I've a question for all those on Pred,

how to cope with the craving for bread?

Are you like me

sitting on the settee

as you watch the TV,

with a plateful of sandwiches

there on your knee?

And then of course there is pizza,

cheese and onion, tomato, Chorizo.

it isn't a crime

whenever you dine

just take your time

with a crispy side salad

with flavours sublime.

But sometimes it's crisps that I need,

my desire for those carbs I will feed.

I should have pineapple,

orange or apple

as I get to grapple,

with weight I have gained

my efforts are really quite laughable!!

Kathleen T.

jaybees

Pleased to have found Poetry Corner, I didn't know it existed ! I've found writing poems helps to distract from thinking of my problems .

I've been putting pen to paper during Lockdown writing about the Virus and also Trump 🙄 but on the lighter side here are a few short ones I wrote to myself 😊

Odds and ends

Will always tend

To send a person

Round the bend

Clutter and mess

Will cause distress

So tidy up to make it less

Carbs and fat

Would make a gnat

Gain weight (they are known for that !)

So hear my plea

Or you will see

If eaten

You may look like me !

CBT

I'm wearing out

There is no doubt

Keep cheerful s'what

It's all about

To lessen pain

You train your brain

To think of sunshine

Not of rain

Achy_g

Oh my goodness! I didn't realise we had a poetry page.

I write and perform under the alias Lateral G. I'm on YouTube and Facebook - one of the new challenges I took on during the first lockdown was beginning to use video software, since I was unable to perform my poetry live. In October, some of my poetry was also included in a Bradford Libraries anthology of lockdown poems.

Most of my poetry is topical and political, so I'll try and choose a less divisive one for this setting.

Here's one I wrote last week.

Disconnected

Today I learned that sports now have virtual audiences

People projected from their living rooms

Into stadium seats they once would have filled

Unseen and unheard by the players

Who perform their tasks in a silent bubble

Two separate worlds

Disconnected.

Which is how I also feel. 

I remember nightlife:

A fizzy, heady, exciting world

With music, dancing, friendly strangers

And atmosphere - the buzz of the crowd

Behind a screen, I don't feel anything.

Just disconnected.

I have disconnected from

Feeling outside of this virtual world

The gradual withdrawal from technology

That leaves us behind as we age

Has accelerated, leaving me

Disconnected

I can probably dress it up

As a morally conscious decision

To disengage

Like a hipster, refusing to use a smartphone

But the truth is I'm disconnected and alone.