Life Is

CARRY ON TUESDAY

http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com.au/

LIFE IS.......

Life is a miracle...be amazed.

Think! Every single breath

Is adding fuel to your machine

And cocking a snook at death.

The fact that you're alive at all

Is quite beyond comprehension!

Think of all those wasted eggs

That were just left in suspension!

The hair that grows, the tongue that tastes,

The miraculous eyes that see,

The cells, the chromosomes, the blood,

The incredible intricacy!

Life is a miracle..... be aware.

You're a walking work of art.

Stop for just a moment

And hear the beating of your heart.

*

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

ALONE

Alone.... the saddest word of all......

We are meant to be with others.

As babies we cried piteously

When parted from our mothers.

And there is nothing gloomier

Than being alone in a crowd;

When one is forced into silence

While surrounding sounds are loud;

When the party laughter is deafening

But the joke's not for your ears,

And nobody has noticed you,

You're sometimes near to tears.

And yet, to be alone by choice

Is one of living's joys.

Sitting alone on an empty beach,

With only the surf for noise,

Or listening to the silence

As one gazes at the stars,

Far away from the jangling sounds

Of a million motor-cars.....

These are the most pleasurable

Occasions we have known.

There's a world of meaning 

In that simple word 'alone'.

*

Wayward Wind

CARRY ON TUESDAY
http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com.au/
asks us to use the Rossetti words
'Who has seen the wind?'

WAYWARD WIND

Who has seen the wind? No-one at all, I guess.

We just see the aftermath when it makes a mess.

We see the leaves on the garden path, more of them each day!

If the wind can blow them there, why can't it blow them away?

We see the washing on the washing-line tying itself in knots;

We see the seedlings lying there, with dirt out of the pots.

We hear wind whistling through the cracks and making an eerie sound;

We see the toffee papers fluttering along the ground.

Sometimes we see the dire results of a wild unruly storm

When the wind decides to 'show' itself in a truly violent form.

We see the buildings ruined, and we see the mighty trees

Falling on the passing cars and causing fatalities.

Who has seen the wind? No-one at all, I guess.

We just see the aftermath when it makes a mess.

*

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SAD SONNET

We speed along the highway known as life,

We're all agleam with chrome and steel and leather.

The wind along the way cuts like a knife

But we're inside protected from the weather.

The music blocks out all the painful thoughts;

The scenery beguiles us as we're travelling.

We have no reason to feel out of sorts;

We do not guess that life itself's unravelling.

Rejoicing in our youth and health we go;

The wheels spin underneath us, reassuring;

Light-hearted jokes spill from our radio;

The essence of ourselves  seems so enduring!

Then come the worn-out brakes, the creeping rust.

All lovely journeys end......because they must.

*

Wishful Thinking

CARRY ON TUESDAY
http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com.au/
This week we use the title of a song from China Crisis.

WISHFUL THINKING

Wishes have no power at all!

They just occupy the mind.

They are just little stories

Of a self-deluding kind.

They may be fun to think about;

Day-dreaming does no harm,

And manipulating the future

Has a certain flimsy charm.

But relying on the wishes

Is a very dangerous sport;

Thinking one can alter things

Just with the power of thought.....

Religious thoughts are wishful;

People hope for the best.

They call their wishful dreams 'belief',

And consider that they're blessed.

Maybe these thoughts console them,

But I will always shrink

From building my life on day-dreams

And relying on a wishful-think.

*

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

BE ONE

A letter and a number, and a message lies therein;

It says to us 'Just Be One and then you're bound to win'.

It's promoting mind over matter, and all that sort of guff,

But, believe me, imagination is never quite enough.

Throughout my dumpy, awkward years I longed to excel at sport,

Thinking I could 'B1' through the power of positive thought.

As a ball came hurtling to me I'd think 'I know I can!'

Saving the team from ignominy, that was my earnest plan.

I longed to be the heroine whom everyone applauded;

I longed to get a trophy and be universally lauded.

But the ball slipped through my fingers, or whizzed straight past my ear,

And all I heard was a soulful groan not a long and adoring cheer!

I'd admire the local athletes and think 'I can B1 too!'

But it was always obvious that I hadn't got a clue.

And the more I tried the more I failed! Till I often lay in bed

Thinking of the playing-field and wishing I were dead.

The Power of Positive Thinking can only go so far.

If you haven't got the equipment you can never be a star.

I soon gave up the struggle, knowing I could never 'B1',

And since then I've found a million things that give me much more fun.

*

The Greedy Old Lady

CARRY ON TUESDAY
http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com.au/
asks us to use the first line of an Emily Bronte poem
in blue

THE GREEDY OLD LADY

A little while, a little while,

Just a little longer.....

Though the days are growing short

I am growing stronger.

Life, which once was merely 'there' 

Now is such a jewel,

That not to have lots more of it

Would be intensely cruel!

Once, breathing in and breathing out 

Was something pretty boring

Now the mere mechanics

Are something worth adoring!

Life is such a miracle

I treasure every minute.

And, anyway, life can't go on

If I'm not included in it!

*

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

ARRIVAL

(inspired by the photo)

I'd arrived

On the late flight from Amsterdam;

Cold, tired, hungry,

But, most of all,

Longing to meet you.

I rehearsed it all on the plane.

First, the long run down the escalator.

(Who would wait to be carried

On such a journey?)

Then the quick leap into

Your waiting arms.

The breathless kiss,

The whispered endearments,

The ride home on the bus;

The arrival at your flat;

The welcome, welcome, welcome

Home.

*

I got the text message

As soon as I arrived......

'It's all over.....

Met someone else.....

Let's stay friends.....

Thanks for everything.'

*

I stood still,

As life whirled on around me.......

*

The Dragonfly



CARRY ON TUESDAY

http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/

asks us to use the words of Rupert Brooke's 'The Soldier'

'If I should die think only this of me...'

THE DRAGONFLY

If I should be a dragonfly,

Knowing I were going to die,

What would my view of Heaven be

As I existed flutteringly?

Would I think of a cloudless blue

With nothing else for me to do

But skim the flowers and the trees

Floating on a personal breeze?

Would I expect to skim and soar

For evermore, for evermore?

The only certainty would be this......

An eternity of endless bliss

Was waiting for me in the sky!

Oh foolish, foolish dragonfly!

*

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UNIMPORTANT MOMENT!

Unimportant birds in the blue morning sky.

Not worth a single comment.

Pleasure personified! Singing for me! Very important!

* 

Tomorrow



CARRY ON TUESDAY

http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/2011/05/carry-on-tuesday-105.html

asks us to use the famous line from 'Gone With The Wind'

'After all, tomorrow is another day'

TOMORROW

'Tomorrow is another day'; I think that's rather trite.

After all day always follows day, with an intervening night.

Scarlett O'Hara coined the phrase, when surrounded by her trouble;

When everything in life had gone, and all she saw was rubble.

She squared her shoulders, raised her head, and looked up to the skies,

Determined to make a go of things, although she'd been unwise.

There's a tone of optimism in her voice, a hint of future schemes;

We sense she'll go on to succeed and realise all her dreams.

But it can work the other way. After all, if you're the tops,

Tomorrow may disappoint you with a litany of flops!

It's no good flaunting yourself around and thinking you're the best,

When tomorrow may come and shock you because nobody's impressed.

Be prepared for disappointment and then  you can really say

With absolute sincerity

'Tomorrow's another day'.

*

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SEARCH PARTY

Shallow water! Oh what joys

For paddle-poking little boys!

Finding creatures way below,

Swaying with the ebb and flow.

Feeling sand between their toes;

Standing still to strike a pose.

How reflections shine and shimmer;

How the blue-green waters glimmer.

A very special sort of play

On a heavenly summer's day.

*

Saved

CARRY ON TUESDAY
http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/
We have been asked to use the well-known phrase featured in blue.

SAVED

At first life was divine; she was all I could have desired;

I felt elated, overwhelmed, delirious and inspired.

Of course, I asked her to marry me; she was really a prize,

With her ruby lips, her generous curves and the bluest of blue eyes.

*

But we started planning the wedding and then the doubts crept in;

I found myself fighting a battle I couldn't hope to win!

The wedding itself took-over; gone were our moonlit strolls;

She was too busy composing lists of the various roles!

There were umpteen bridesmaids to think of, and that not counting the page,

And then the problem of venue..... she really wanted a stage!

We had to visit hotels galore; the reception had to be planned,

And she wanted all the trimmings, something remarkably grand.

Her dress was of vital importance; she scanned all the magazines

For something I'd only imagined was for Princesses or Queens!

Discussions about the menu went on for hours and hours!

And then there were the speeches, the alcohol, the flowers!

The rings she chose were magnificent; even the one for me!

'I've got excellent taste, dear' she said 'Just wait and see!

Our home will be utter perfection; all 'interior design'.

We'll have a heavenly love-nest. I know it will be divine!'

I knew I was in too deeply; invitations had been sent-out;

I simply had to wrestle with my great unspoken doubt.

*

But I am still a single man! And thereby hangs a tale.

I thought I was a gonner, a poor misguided male.

But the Vicar sent a message 'The bellringers are on strike.

I'm afraid all I can offer is something you may not like.........

I can ring one bell myself and I hope that that will do;

I can't give you the peal you asked for, because I have no crew.

Come up to the church and listen and then make up your minds.
No difference; one bell or six; it's still a tie that binds.'

*
So we went to the church to listen; we heard the one bell toll;
It was a deep and solemn sound that entered my very soul.
'She'  stamped her foot and pouted and said 'That'll ruin the whole affair!
It sounds just like a funeral! I want a peal of bells! So there!'
*
And, suddenly, that word 'funeral' started echoing in my brain!
I'd be bidding farewell to my freedom! I'd never be free again!
I yelled 'Goodbye!' and then turned tail, breaking every spell!
And dashed out of the churchyard, like a bat straight out of hell!
*
It truly was a case, my friends, of being
'Saved by the bell'


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

WATER BABY

Squeals of joy
From this little boy!
No lamb to the slaughter!
He loves the water!
Next year he'll leap
Into the deep!
Wet eyes! Wet ears!
And yet no fears!
This Mum, maybe,
Has a Water Baby!
*

Parting

CARRY ON TUESDAY

http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/2011/02/carry-on-tuesday-92.html

The words in blue are from Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'.

The sentiments are my own.

PARTING

'Parting is such sweet sorrow', yet, when that's what you're suggesting,

There isn't much sweetness about it! It seems you may be divesting

Yourself of 'Carry On Tuesday'! How can you be so cruel!

I'm always longing to light a fire and your prompts provide the fuel.

I look for suggestions weekly and do my very best

To follow-on your phrases and suggestions with the rest.

You feel you're not appreciated but, dear Keith, you surely are.

In this corner of Australia you're considered a shining star.

'Microfiction' gives me pleasure; 'Three Word Wednesday' is a treat,

But 'Carry On Tuesday' is a meme that's very hard to beat.

Who knows; without your input, my rhyming might run dry.

If that occurred I think that I would roll over and just die.

Do you want to be responsible for the death of a poor old dear?

(I'm twanging on your heart-strings! Go on! Shed a tear!)

Please, please, reconsider, at least for just a while!

Being heartless and vindictive simply is not your style!

*

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ICE-CREAM ISLAND
A Poem for Children

I've an ice-cream island in my mind
Piled with ice-creams, every kind.
High and wide and shiny bright!
Ice-creams, ice-creams pink and white
An ice-cream island in the sea
With all the ice-cream meant for me!
What a vision of delight!
Ice-cream, ice-cream, pink and white.
On my bike I'd like to ride
Round and round and side to side;
Here a lick and here a bite!
Ice-cream, ice-cream pink and white.
An ice-cream island! Oh what fun!
But what would happen in the sun?
My ice-cream island then I guess,
Would dribble away in a gooey mess!
*
P.S.
 Please visit
 http://rinklyrimes.blogspot.com/2011/02/fanfare.html
for something extra!
*

One Wish

CARRY ON TUESDAY
http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/

The words in blue are the first words of a poem by Cortney Kuchta.

ONE WISH

If I could have just one wish I'd be utterly perplexed.

I'd stand there looking vacant till the Wizard shouted 'Next!

Can't wait for you all night you know! There are others in the line!

You're wasting everybody's time! And that's all very fine.

You're banished, with your wish unwished! You can't make-up your mind!

Magic would have been offered me and I'd have, seemingly, declined.

*

Every wish is a poisoned chalice, or so it seems to me.

Perfection may be promised but, in reality,

A downside always features. An example....'Give me youth!'

I'd miss out on the grandkids and I'd hate that, that's the truth!

And so it goes with every wish in every circumstance.

So I wish for no more wishing.

I'll just rely on chance.

*

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THE CALL.

Three times in the dead of night

Rang the telephone by my bed.

The first ring woke me with a start,

The second with awful dread.

The third ring left me paralyzed,

Unable to move at all!

I simply couldn't stir myself

To answer the phantom call!

And then the ringing stopped.... like that!

All was silence in the room.

I lay there breathing heavily,

Still with a sense of doom.

I waited for another ring,

Lying stiffly, with eyes wide.

Surely the caller would ring again

If somebody had died!

The moments passed, the silence

Stretched on and on and on.

Whoever had been calling me

Had obviously gone!

But what if it were a burglar,

'Casing the joint' maybe?

Checking to see if I were home

In order to burgle me!

My silence must give him the hint

Of nobody-around.

But what if he came because of that!

Surely I'd be found

Cowering in my narrow bed,

The sheet up to my chin,

And he might be a rapist burglar!

What a pickle to be in!

I lay there in a zombie state

Until the dawn of day

And then the telephone rang again!

*

It was Caroline to say

'I rang your number by mistake

In the middle of the night!

I've rung now to apologise!

Did you get a fright!'

*

The Sceptic

CARRY ON TUESDAY

http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/

The words in blue are a quote from Arthur Rubinstein, the pianist.

THE SCEPTIC

Although I'm not at all astute

Two statements I must now refute;

They may make sense to the like of you,

But I feel that they are untrue.

*

"Love life and life will love you back."

Now long ago I learned the knack

Of loving Life ! Yes, often voicing

All my reasons for rejoicing

In Life, with all its imperfections,

Tossing me in all directions.

And Life returned the compliment;

And Life and I were quite content.

But now life's drawing to an end;

Will Life (with a capital) remain my friend?

Will Life say 'Give her extra time;

Treat her as though she's in her prime;

She loved Life! Give her a prize!

Put-off the date of her demise' ?

Will it heck! Without a doubt,

Heedlessly I'll be snuffed out!

*

"Love people and they will love you back"
Another quote from the almanac!
And what a selfish point of view!
'If you love me then I'll love you.'
Learning to love the folk who hate us;
Ridicule us and berate us;
That's an emotion to be admired;
That's the attitude that's required.
I've tried, but I've never quite succeeded
And my efforts have not been heeded,
But still I've felt I should be pleasant
To people considering me unpleasant.
To love, demanding returned emotion
Seems a very unworthy notion.
So, Arthur Rubinstein, you and I
Definitely don't see eye to eye.
-------------------------------------------------------------

PRAYER

(an Acrostic)

'Put your hands together'
Religious people say.
'Ask for anything you want;
Your God will find a way.
Everything is in his hands.
Relax! He will take care.

Every penitent understands

God always answers prayer.'
*

The Childrens' Hour

CARRY ON TUESDAY
http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/
This week we are asked to use the first verse of the Longfellow poem of the same name.

"Between the dark and the daylight

When the night is beginning to lower

Comes a pause in the day’s occupations

That is known as the Children’s Hour"

CHILDRENS' HOUR

Two small words to conjour with......two words.....  just 'Children's Hour';

A tiny phrase that hardly seems to speak with any power.

For what could be more gentle than the scene you see above,

A delightful motherly picture, embued with parental love?
Between the dark and the daylight, when the shadows began to creep,

The children were read a story, before they went to sleep.

*

These days, when the night is beginning, life is hardly the same!

The modern child will be occupied with the latest computer game!

The parents are certainly not relaxed! They've exhausting occupations!

And when evening comes there is no pause! Life's full of complications!

No time to lower the lamps to dim or cuddle on the settee,

No time to devote a whole long hour to home and family!

*

But wait! This picture also recalls a time when the Ma and Pa,

Were often very distant souls, only seen from afar!

In high-class families Nannies lurked, ready to whisk away

That dear little girl who only saw her Mother once a day!

Not for them the hurly-burly, that is known, world-wide, right now!

Not for them the spat, the laugh, the hasty kiss, the row!

*

In  days gone by, there was a lack, as far as I can see

Distance lends enchantment!

Enjoy your family!

*
-------------------------------------------------------

 

RULE OF THUMB

How would you care to be beaten with a stick as thick as a thumb?

No doubt you'd end up black and blue, very sore and numb!

Well, in the fourteen hundreds, a husband had the right

To beat his wife in this very way; the law said that he might.

However, the stick must be 'slender', bigger than a thumb was banned,

Although he could beat her as hard as he liked, just with his open hand!

And the women had nowhere to run to and so they had to stay!

That's how arose 'The Rule of Thumb' we hear about every day!

The Good Old Days? I think not! For us, those days have gone,

But in some parts of this sad old world something similar still goes on!

*

Are We There Yet?

Another bored boy!

CARRY ON TUESDAY

http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/
The words in blue are well-known!

ARE WE THERE YET?

It wasn't a case of 'Are we there yet?'

It was a case of 'Here we are!'

The problem was we were far from there yet,

And Greg was cooped up in the car.
We'd only just arrived in Australia;
It was 1974,
And a long, long drive through the open bush
Was, for him, an awful bore.

He was only four and too restricted,

The journey was way, way, way too long,

Though we tried to shorten it with stories

And, now and then, a little song.

We were on our way to the town of Orange
In New South Wales but way inland,
And the journey seemed to go on for ever.......
This was Australia, understand.
Now I think the name Orange was linked with the Netherlands,
'The House of Orange' and history.
Orange itself was a centre for cherries
(As it is to this day, quite famously.)
The trouble was we kept seeing oranges,
Groves of them growing on every side,
Gorgeous fruit hanging in the sunshine,
And whenever we saw them Gregory cried
'Here we are! This is Orange! Stop the car!
Let's get out! Don't keep on driving!
Look! This is Orange! See the Oranges!'
He was obsessed with arriving!
Hour after hour we drove through the countryside;
Poor little Greg was pinned to his seat!
But oh what joy when Orange came into view
And we all had great bowls of cherries to eat!
*
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

FIRST FLASH!

I do wish I'd seen the first firework.

I wish I'd been there at the start.

When the first one went ZIP!

I'd have done a back-flip

And felt a great jolt in my heart.

*

These days we are so used to fireworks

That we feel no amazing surprise

We may shout out a 'Yay!'

Or in Spain an 'Olay!'

As we gaze at the feast in the skies,

*

But we know what a firework will look like

Before the first fuse has been lit.

The great balls of fuzz

May give us a buzz

But we don't all collapse in a fit!

*

It is said that a cook in old China

Started messing with bits of bamboo

He then packed it tight

And set all alight,

The Saltpeter and black Charcoal too.

*

Whatever possesssed him to do it?

He must have leapt up in the air

When the whole thing went 'BOOM!'

And scattered the room

Causing damage beyond all repair!

*

Yes! I wish that I'd seen the first firework,

And that look of indignant surprise.

But, at my insistance,

I'd have watched from a distance

While not really believing my eyes!

*

Last Moment

CARRY ON TUESDAY

The phrase in blue is the closing sentence of the 1950 film The Glass Menagerie .


LAST MOMENT
(A very personal memory from forty years ago)

You would expect a final memory

To be intensely personal;

After all,

Four years,

Thousands of miles,

And a great deal of romance and affection,

Had come before.

*

As it is with many relationships,

It had faded,

Dulled,

Become routine.

Though neither of us had admitted it.

*

Now he was returning to Africa.

We stood on a grey London platform.

*

And he said 'I'll be back, you know'.

And I said 'I'll still be here'.

And we were both half-lying,

Hoping we were speaking the truth,

Knowing we were not.

*

The whistle blew,

The train pulled out.

He waved from a window.

*

But, almost immediately,

The line curved.

He was lost to sight.

All that was left was a departing train,

Growing ever smaller.

I waved to something

Impersonal.

*

And that is how I remember them,

All those years,

All those emotions,

Letters,

Phone-calls,

Protestations,

Tears!

*

Whenever I think of him

The departing train is my first thought.

*

It was utterly impersonal.

Yet it was utterly sad.

*

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

GONE FOR EVER

So many feelings,

Inspired by one memory.

*

A gate opening on to a quiet road;

So quiet

That we looked up, startled,

When a car went by.

*

Distant views of grassland,

Sometimes a glorious green,

Sometimes the dry colour of corn

And, once,

The grey of extreme drought.

*

Here and there, cows,

And the sound of distant mooing.

A sheep

To crop the garden grass.

Geese

To protect,

Or to be protected from!

Hens laying eggs.

A baby kangaroo

To nurture.

*

Along the road a little way

Horses,

Coming up to the fence to be fed.

An exciting excursion for a little boy.

*

Heat.

But not the humidity of the coast.

A dry, scented heat.

*

The treasured memories

Of a citified Grandmother

Whose family

Lived in the country.

*
Thinking back to

Once Upon a Time.

*
What do I feel?
Sadness?
Pleasure?
Nostalgia?
*
All of that.

*

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PS

 

Not 11,000, but 22,000 turned up to help clean Brisbane! Many had to be turned-away! I'm one of those silly people who gets teary at the happy, not the sad. And I'm teary now.

*

Darkest Before

CARRY ON TUESDAY
http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/2011/01/carry-on-tuesday-87.html

The words in blue are a quote from Tupac Shakur
"For every dark night there's a brighter day"

DARKEST BEFORE 

For every dark night there's a candle;

For every hot day there is shade;

For every tear there's a following smile;

There is hope when we feel afraid.
*

  

This Taoist symbol tells us

That all things are intertwined;

A brighter day will follow

When life seems too unkind.

*
The young will not believe this;
When they chance on a day of gloom,
They think it will last for ever
And think in terms of doom.
So many young lives are ruined,
So many young lives are lost,
Because they're not understanding
That not all their stars are crossed.
I remember it well from my girlhood;
The sense that I couldn't cope.
Not only that but I never would;
The world seemed devoid of hope.
*
As one ages one sees the pattern;
The dark and the light combine
To create a life not bad or good
But reasonably fine.
Then one chants 'As one door closes
Another one opens wide'!
Trite? Of course! But they happen to be
Words that can't be denied.
We rock through life on a seesaw
From the day that we are born!
But...... another trite-but-true saying.....
'It's always darkest before the dawn'!
*
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SOLITUDE
Grey sky, grey water.
Fish flashing under my boat.
Everything waiting and watching.
*