Christmas poem (cheesy of course!)

Christmas Wishes

In the corners of our living rooms, stand trees adorned with lights
Baubles glisten and the angel atop watches over the presents each night
As they lay below; paper sheltering the truth of what lies within
Boxes and odd shaped packages; some with a bow, some tied with string
All adding to the creation of a most uplifting sight

With school and workdays over and the festive TV guide bought
Mince pies baked, a Christmas cake and more treats than we ought
We settle by the fire to view our favourite Christmas Movie
Elf, The Grinch, A Christmas carol – whichever, we’re not choosy
To keep good cheer now Christmas is here and the days are oh so short

We’ll pour ourselves a glühwein, raise our glasses and remember
The loved ones who have left us since the previous December
The wind whistling down the chimney carries the whisper of their name
We know that Yuletide without them will never quite feel the same
But their warmth and joy still carries in the fire’s crackling embers.

Yet there is plenty to be grateful for and that we celebrate
Christmas time breeds love and care, diminishing all hate
Bringing family and friends together to eat lots, drink, spend time
To cherish one another; so I send love to all of mine
I wish you all the best this Christmas and a New Year that’s first rate.

xxx

Once again

As another unit

of 365 days

strolls to its close

I reflect,

once again,

because that’s what I always do.

Once again, I look back on a journey

with highs and lows

and some roundabouts.

As with any other year,

I toiled

I loved

I laughed

I felt disdain

I grieved

I made mistakes;

Some over and over again

I grew wiser

and sometimes duller

I danced

I drank

I sang

My soul, at moments, fuller

Other times it felt drained

I was careful

I was sensible

I provided

I truly cared

I was reckless

I was dangerous

I faced challenges

I shared

my insights and my knowledge,

myself and what lies within

and come the first of January

I’ll begin the process

once again.

Globetrotting

Happy holidays

Relax

Worry not for small things

You’ve forgot to pack

With your travelling shoes on

Head out and explore

All that’s out there

and that leaves you wanting more

See things with new eyes

that peer out from behind shades

See the joy in life

before it starts to fade

Board that plane, head off

Go have yourself some fun

And then come back refreshed

When your adventure is all done

Nothing has changed

Nothing has changed

The rules remain the same

as they have always done

as they did years ago

They didn’t suit you then

They still don’t suit you now

but they haven’t changed

And neither have you!

You, who has the gall

to stand there and shout me down

acting like I’ve done something wrong

by working within these norms

that exist to benefit everyone

and not just you

Which is really the root of the problem!

However, you are not a vedette

to whom all mortals bow

Neither are you the sun

around which all planets revolve

We live in acceptance of these norms

These rules that have not changed

and if we can all live by them

Then ask yourself

Seriously, why can’t you?

Because nothing

Not one single thing,

has changed

The catharcism of mind-numbing chores

Standing wearily at the sink

I wipe the remnants of sauce from the plates

and I savour the tunes

pumping from my Spotify account

through the too-small, tinny speaker

on my mobile phone

With those suds and the cloth

and the beat of the rhythm

I cleanse my mind

with the ease of this no-brain- necessary chore

against the backdrop of a long and tiresome day

I remove…

the traffic jam on the way to the office,

the clogged inbox with far too many points

to possibly action effectively,

the insipid cup of too-expensive machine coffee,

the irate customer getting arsey about his goods delivery

-or lack thereof!

I absolve myself of guilt

for the internet purchase made at lunch

another thing I didn’t need

but that I wanted

And isn’t that reason enough?

Frustration, annoyance, guilt, testiness

They all leach into the soap-sudded water

until , once finished,

I lift the corner of the bowl and

I watch as my woes

are carried away

spiralling in the current

to die small deaths as they disappear

down the plughole.

The end of a hard week

The pull of the pub

and the pull of a pint

to ease the pressure of a difficult week

You may find a friend

You may be alone

You may just unwind to the random, background tunes fresh from the 90s

or some other distant era

Often people are loud

as the alcohol dulls their senses

It’s scientifically proven to impair hearing

and so your tender ears

may be bombarded with bullshit

and you may be near-drowned 

by exaggerated claims

But only if you pay them too much attention.

My advice

Just sit

Relax

Enjoy the feel of the cool liquid

as it slides down your throat

Close your mind

Block out the world.

Distorted Angel

At peace but discontented

In love and yet at war

Allowed but then prevented

An open and shut door

Tired and yet so wide awake

An ambitious low-achiever

Running, tripping, heading back,

The truth, a real deceiver

Spiteful on the inside

yet pleasant in demeanour

You think you know the real her

and yet none of you have seen her

With her multifaceted beauty

and that nagging sense of duty

that she’ll observe and duly

Kick it to the kerb.

She knows just who she should be

and what, with effort, she could be.

But she never wanted to

and never will

or never would be.

Thus she’ll just keep on morphing

into a monster of great proportions

or an angel – with distortions

and she’s happy with that path.

Wonderland

Wearing a coat of finest wonder

Dressed in a smile so wide

that it blocks the path of those who approach

They note the upward tilt of my lips
and the shiny white teeth

and reciprocate before squeezing by.

For I have arrived in wonderland

with its paradisiacal fields

filled to the brim with the sights and the sounds

Of hopes, of freedom and of our dreams

Where we fleetingly visualise our true selves

those folks we still wish we could be.



Applauding with loaded admiration

spliced with a dash of envy

those who were brave enough to become their truth

as they parade their talents in front of us

before we return to be crushed by the 9 to 5

The Dark Wood

Deep in the densely overgrown woods I stand

Mistakes and misfortune litter the path behind me

Ahead of me,

I search for the light

For an easier track

free of the thorns that snag at my arms

and the branches that reach out to pull at my hair

Hoping for some companions to join me

and ease the loneliness

of my trek

These things continue to elude me

After much soulsearching,

 I hesitantly decide to plough on,

taking my first few faltering, painful steps 

Steps that will lead me on my way out of these woods

and with each planting of my feet on the uneven, shaky ground,

I remind myself

that regardless of the shape of my journey,

I’ll still reach the clearing at its end.