Monday, September 19, 2011

Ambition


THE SUNDAY WHIRL
http://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/
gave us this wordle.
We have to use all the words!


AMBITION

As I look back down the corridor of time
I see that I've been drawn as on a thread.
I muse upon my years of writing rhyme
And yearn to take back many things I said.
I've followed like a sheep the latest fad;
And many verses have been bald and raw.
The omens have not been entirely bad,
But at the heart there's always been a flaw.
I must strengthen all my verve and aim to be
A little better further down the track.
The mirror that I find reflecting me
Should have a happier writer looking back.
My fingertips must summon from the keys
Some opal, gem-like work to make me proud;
I'll thrust away my old banalities
And hold my head up high above the crowd!
*

---------------------------------------------------------------




LISTENING-IN.

I enjoy nights of dreamless sleep;
I sleep sound and I sleep deep.
But a lullaby's part of my routine,
That's how it has always been.
And my lullaby is the BBC;
My own accent appeals to me!
All I listen to is the News,
Plus discussions and peoples' views!
Music I find too disconcerting;
Too many memories, some hurting!
But droning voices talking about
War and grief and pain and doubt
I find just lull me off to sleep,
More efficiently than counting sheep!
I lie there, sheet tucked under my chin,
Learning of what a mess we're in!
Troubles here and troubles there,
Starving people, cupboards bare,
Trickery and the Credit Crunch!
Gosh! We are a nasty bunch!
I should be jerked awake by grief!
But all I feel is great relief
That I am warm, safe and well-fed
Not marked by hunger and by dread!
I listen-in to the wide world's woes
And, gradually, I start to doze!
I wake at seven, the radio
Is still hard at it, blow by blow,
While I've slept like a little baby!
I ask myself.....am I odd?
Maybe!
*





7 comments:

Mr. Walker said...

What a fine ambition, self-interest without selfishness. I love that line about the mirror reflecting "a happier writer".

Richard

vivinfrance said...

Your first poem is totally inaccurate in its representation of you as a poet - and you must know it! We all gasp in admiration before your art.

The second poem: ".....am I odd?"
By no means: this is how I soothe my savage breast into sleep, specially, for some reason, the shipping forecast!

Maude Lynn said...

Fabulous wordle poem!

Deborah said...

I must agree with vivinfrance!

Kay L. Davies said...

I think you're just poking fun at yourself with the first poem, Brenda. If you'd wanted to be a different kind of poet, you would have been.
Falling asleep to the BBC News made me laugh. Yes, I think it's the English accent you associate with falling asleep as a child. As for the bad news, there was plenty of that when you were very young.
Ice hockey games make me fall asleep. When I lived alone and felt ill, I'd eat comfort food, set the TV to "Hockey Night in Canada" and go down the hall to my room. Hearing the game at the other end of the house made me feel my parents were there, following the game but watching over me.
— K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

brenda w said...

I love your wordle poem, and also agree with Viv. You word choice is exquisite(banalities), and your rhymes are rarely forced. Brava!

Traci B said...

Two great poems, Barbara. I suspect we all feel the same "ambition" that you've expressed in the first poem, and as for the second, I seem to be slipping off in the middle of my favorite police/murder/forensics dramas lately, so I suppose falling asleep during the news is not so odd... ;)