Querulous

Not Me!


ABC WEDNESDAY
http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com.au
Letter 
Q'

QUERULOUS

It's a danger as we age,

The lapse into querulousness;

The 'sorry for herself' disease,

Senile unhappiness.

Of course we've got arthritis!

Of course our eyes are dim!

Of course we can't hear very well.

But our lives aren't totally grim.

We'll alienate our children

If we spend our time complaining.

We've abdicated the throne now;

It is they who're reigning.

'Always  look on the bright side'

Is a comical retort,

But, to stamp on querulousness,

Think something of the sort.

*

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KNUCKLE-DUSTERS!

'Oh what attractive ornaments!' I'm sure I hear you say!

'They'd look so charming hanging on the wall!'

But these are not attractive items, not in any way.

And they're not for buying in your shopping-mall.

They're knuckle-dusters, weapons that are favoured by 'the mob',

Street-fighters like to use them in a brawl.

Any punch can be a killer as they do a lethal job,

And with broken bones a victim's bound to fall!

Put the fingers through the holes and you're armed up to the hilt,

If you've ill-intent you've got the wherewithall!

You can smash another's face in and feel not one bit of guilt!

And just the thought of it makes my skin crawl!

*

Landscape

SENSATIONAL HAIKU WEDNESDAY

http://youknowthatblog.com/

gives us the theme....'Landscape'.

LANDSCAPE

Landscape of Romance

Removed from reality

Bathed in fairy gold

*

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SKYWRITERS

I dreamed I was a sky-writer

Who wrote up in the blue,

Creating cloud-like scribblings.....

Sky-writers often do.

I let rip in my aeroplane

And let the mist spill out

And then I looked both sides of me

And gave a mighty shout!

I wasn't on my own up there!

When did four planes arrive?

For now I had companions!

I was one of five!

We set-about writing music....

We even drew a clef,

We drew five lines to be the stave!

EGBDF.

We drew the notes of music,

Crotchets and minims too;

All fashioned by our cleverness

Up there in the shining blue.

And people on the ground looked up

Expecting suns and moons

And all they saw was music,

All they saw were tunes.

And everyone began to sing

With one almighty voice.

Our music in the heavens

Made everyone rejoice.

Yes! I had helped to save the world

With a universal theme.

*

It was great while it lasted.

But it was just a dream.

*

Hide -and-Seek

WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE

HIDE-AND-SEEK

We knew he was there all along, of course;

We saw the curtain twitch.

His body made a sizeable bulge

Although he's such a titch!

We made a fuss about losing him,

Searching both up and down,

And declaring in our loudest voice

'Do you think that he's left town?'

At last he could bear it no longer;

'I'm here! I'm here!' he cried.

We pulled aside the curtain

Saying 'What a good place to hide!'

*

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YURI

Did you see me waving, Yuri, as you sped across on high?

Did you see us standing on the steps gazing up into the sky?

We were in Darkest Africa. You were in Outer Space.

Both of us, at that certain time, in our chosen proper place.

'Let's go and watch for the Spacecraft' we said, after our meal.

Looking back, the whole thing seems utterly unreal!

My little earthly adventure was to travel overseas,

To leave my homeland far away for tropical destinies.

I found myself in a boarding-school, with other youthful teachers.

Looking back, compared with you, we were pedestrian creatures!

Your other-wordly adventure was to dare to take your place

As the very first man in history to venture into Space!

Did you know you scared me, Yuri? The Cold War was at its height

And Russia was declaring its overwhelming might.

You intruded on our colony, invading African skies,

The fact that we felt threatened was really no surprise.

And yet we were excited; this was all so new!

If Man could venture into Space what else could humanity do?

So 'Let's go and watch for the Spacecraft' we said as we went outside,

This was part of History; we were going along for the ride.

I remember the sky was cloudless, as black as black can be,

With the stars pricked-out like jewels, or boats on a coal-black sea.

I remember waiting and waiting, chin tilted to the sky

As the chill night wrapped around us and a night-time breeze blew by.

And then! We saw it moving! One star was not a star!

We actually saw you overhead, though you were up so far!

You seemed to move quite slowly, you seemed to be quite near;

Only a dot, but a friendly dot. I forgot about my fear.

I felt a wave of history flowing from you to me.

I was waving to you Yuri.

What a pity you couldn't see!

*

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PS

My first P.S. for quite some time. My social life has been restricted by surgery for skin cancers. However, after only twelve days, I am happy to emerge from my cocoon! I'm certainly scarred, but I feel very optimistic about the eventual healing, and I certainly feel more myself than I did when at least a third of my face was covered in dressings!

The neck scars don't even show from the front!

(My complete Skin Graft Diary can  be found at  http://breabry.blogspot.com.au/. I've written this as a guide to fellow-sufferers but the ghoulish among you may like a squizz too!)

The next thing to be light-hearted about is our present weather forecast! We had a dreadful summer, not cold but wet, wet, wet, and now, with mid-winter only about five weeks away, we're enjoying perfection. (I must admit that most of our winter weather comes in July, August and September!)

The Red Kerchief

RUBY TUESDAY
http://rubytuesday2.blogspot.com.au/

THE RED KERCHIEF


I wanted an excuse to use this photo;
Ruby Tuesday seemed the time and seemed the place.
So I chose the name Red Kerchief for the toddler
With the rosy, ruddy, happy little face.
I don't know where she's from (maybe Mongolia)
But it's camel-country so that must be sand!
Children and animals, intermixed with laughter
Are things the whole wide world can understand.
*
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NEMESIS

It had happened so long ago,

When we were lads in school.

You and I, together, 

Had broken a Golden Rule.

The rule itself escapes me;

A misdemeanour, nothing more,

But we stood in the office together

And the Principal closed the door.

'It was him, sir' I said so glibly;

'I was only passing by'.

It was remarkably easy

To tell a bare-faced lie.

I was an angel-faced youngster,

You hadn't got much charm;

You viewed my lack of loyalty

With horror and alarm.

After you'd had the caning,

We met in the passage-way.

"Sorry, old chap' I said to you;

That was the least I could say.

It was then you fixed me with a gaze

That I will never forget

Saying 'You are going to be sorry

That you and I ever met.

For I'll be tracking you down, my friend;

And one day we will meet

As adults in an adult world,

Just walking down the street.

And you will know that I've found you;

And that retribution's nigh.

Very soon, you will realise

That you are about to die.'

And there you are, behind me;

I feel the proximity;

The age-old look is in your eyes,

A look meant just for me.

Suddenly I am immobile,

Transfixed by awful dread.

Ten years may have passed us by

But you meant just what you said.

*

Landscape Artist

LANDSCAPE ARTIST

I was the first! When the world was new,

I did what all great rivers do.

I found my way by rock and hill,

This way and that quite free until

I bubbled up among the reeds.

I didn't follow any leads,

I merely babbled as I went,

Designing to my heart's content.

Shall I go right? Yes, there's a way;

I'll coil around that lump of clay.

Shall I go straight? All clear ahead!

Wow! I'm creating a river-bed!

Here's a great tree; I'll pause a while;

I'll curve and loop for another mile.

The ground is flat; I'll grow more wide;

I'll stretch and stretch from side to side.

Here's a gorge! I'll be compressed.

But I'll still rush on without a rest.

Finally, I will reach the sea

And pose myself as an estuary.

In time, when I am in my place,

Someone will invent the human race.

Men will place houses where I bend,

And think that it's a designer trend.

They'll 'take advantage' of my attributes,

Finding my gracious curving suits

Many ideas they have in mind.

And, silent still, I'll onward wind

Giving 'river views' to wealthy clients,

Who never question my compliance.

I'll smile as I follow my usual route;

A Landscape Artist of Repute.

*

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FLIGHT

Though the earth give way beneath our feet

And the coming day be hard to meet,

We all have wings to make life sweet.

So fly.

*

Some may fly on the wings of song;

Their voices may ring out clear and strong

On bell-like  tones they may fly along.

So fly.

*

Some may fly on the power of word

Imagined, spoken, written, heard.

Every syllable like a bird.

So fly.

*

Others may swoop on wings of art.

A simple line may be the start;

A splash of colour may reach the heart.

So fly

*

Others may seek the notes of strings;

A violin says many things.

An orchestra has gossamer wings.

So fly.

*

All these things can make us fly

Way up into a clear, blue sky.

Never seek to ask 'But why?

Just fly.

* 

Brief Encounter

POETIC BLOOMINGS

http://poeticbloomings.com/

asks us to base our poem on the title of a film.

My choice is so old that few people may remember it. The story concerned two very ordinary people who met on a station platform at intervals and fell in love. She had a dull but very worthy husband to whom she returned; he had a position in Africa to which he, also, returned. It was one of the most moving, heart-rending films I've ever seen. I particularly remember the scene in which the wife was sitting across from her husband, and they were either side of the fire. I think he was asleep in his chair. And her look spoke volumes.

BRIEF ENCOUNTER

Life is full of brief encounters

Ships that pass in the dead of night,

A hand that's brushed in a careless moment,

A smile that's brief and very slight.

Life is full of lightning flashes,

Blazing, then replaced by black,

Glimpses in a shining window,

Gone when we would wish them back.

Conversations on a platform,

Ended when the train arrives,

Glances caught mid-conversation

Revealing depths in others' lives.

We are ruled by brief encounters,

Some of which we follow-through.

Did we always back a winner?

Did we simply just make-do?

In those moments of nostalgia,

Thinking of the 'might have been',

Do we dream of brief encounters

And do they still live, evergreen?

*

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TWO GLASSES

Two glasses of wine.

What a romantic evening!

Suddenly, you left.

*

The Artist's Eye

Note: I have started writing a diary about my present experiences with skin-cancer surgery. I know these accounts will not be suitable for Rinkly Rimes, but I also know shared-experience blogs can be very helpful. The diary can be found at http://breabry.blogspot.com.au/.

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                                   Brett Whitely

BLUE MONDAY

THE ARTIST'S EYE

I wish I had an artist's eye

Able to view the world awry,

Able to paint a different view,

Able to see the world askew.

I wish I had an artist's brain,

Able to set new thoughts in train,

Able to give a different slant

On things that are and things that aren't.

Brett Whitely, held in high renown,

Painted this picture of our town.

It's recognisable it's true

And yet is a novel view.

He's made a totally new design

With a swirl of colour and a swipe of line.

Newcastle Harbour and Breakwater

Here's the reality, from the sky,

As captured by a camera's eye.

And here is a self-portrait too.

He clearly liked the colour blue!

*

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ELECTRICITY!

(An Acrostic)

Energy that zips and flashes,

Likely to singe us all to ashes!

Enter here at your own risk!

Consider your exit may be brisk!

The white-hot heat will surge right through you!

Radiant heat will quite undo you!

If you tamper with this lock

Consider the electric shock!

Idiots may think they're smart;

Tampering with locks their chosen art.

You and I are much too clever.

Disobey this notice? Never!

*