Noughts and Crosses

CARRY ON TUESDAY

The words in blue are from the lyrics to 'Phantom of the Opera'.
'No more talk of darkness, forget those wide-eyed fears'

NOUGHTS AND CROSSES!
In the game of noughts and crosses that we classify as 'life',
With the noughts as golden circles and the crosses marking strife,
It's up to us to choose the symbol that we speak about.....
Some choose golden circles and some choose strife and doubt.
For sure they figure equally upon each drawn-up board,
Although, at certain times, it seems our lives are dark and flawed.
If we let those days predominate and forget the days that shine,
We may start believing that life is never fine.
And if our conversations are littered with despair,
Others too will start to think that jewelled days are rare.
No more talk of darkness, for what good does it do?
Wide eyed fears exist, if course; they are nothing new.
Death, destruction, bitterness...... these we cannot forget,
But constant reiteration simply adds to the regret.
'Look for the silver lining'..... certainly that's trite,
But, in a way, the old-time lyric-writers got it right.

Purely by coincidence, the Sunday paper arrived as I was writing this poem. This is the cover! I haven't read the article yet but I anticipate enjoying the 'stories of joy from 2010' and talking about them all day!  

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TEMPERED HOPE.

(I wrote this acrostoc about Obama on June 6th 2009 !!!)

Born of black and white

A meld of day and night,

Royalty in the making

All bad past ways foresaking.

Child of both halves of earth;

King although not by birth.

However, do we ask

Unnatural powers for the task?

Since we expect so much

Surely he'll lose his touch.

Even kings may fall!

Indeed we have seen them crawl!

No man can be unfailing.

Ought we to be loud-hailing?

Because we're sorely needing

Are we too loudly pleading?

May he achieve all that he can.

After all, he's just a man.

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PS 

And a special New Year greeting to my cousin's daughter, Ruth, who has become runner-up in a national contest (U.K.) to find the top School Administrator! Here she is in the Big Smoke posing outside 'Harrods' (where else?)

 And here is the actual presentation, with Ruth on the far right.

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