Poetry - January 2020

Defeatist

I really sometimes feel so defeated
Seeing the world fall into its current way
With stabbings all over the place
And lots of people causing an affray
It's so easy to be able to switch off from it
Simply because being involved may be trouble
It's also a case of wanting a quieter life
And almost isolating yourself in a bubble
I often feel that defeatist trait
When inevitably that train isn't on time
But I know that it's always a knock on effect
And losing some precious valuable time
I know I can't do much against big companies
Yet I soldier in despite feeling in defeat
Because one day I know that the world is mine
And that day when it comes will be sweet.

(Very easy to feel downhearted on occasion and just accept defeat in life - a lot harder to rail against the system to be perfectly honest.)

Down The Arcade Club

I used to play all the old arcade games
Every Summer when I stayed in North Wales
The Black Cat in Towyn was heaven to me
With lots of games and I could tell some tales
Of how a mere ten pence would last me ages
As I'd bash buttons on Track and Field
Or be able to enter the shiny Out Run cabinet
Driving like mad to get the next level sealed
It was a case of finding a game you liked
And then putting those coins in for practice
Until one day you knew that you were good
You could show that game some justice
Years later my brother had told me
Of a place up in Bury which was an arcade club
It had all of those games that I used to play
And was a real old school gaming hub
So the three of us brothers went along one day
To see what all the fuss was about
And to my joy all of those games were there
Which made me just feel so happy and shout
How much I could still bash those buttons
Breaking records on good old Track and Field
Showing how it was done on Hyper Sports
And getting the eighth level of PacLand sealed
It was a case of enjoying myself far too much
As the lights came on for the end of the day
But it reminded me of how much fun I had
And those games, forever, I want to play.

(If you're in Bury, or Leeds, get down to Arcade Club. Seriously folks, it is ace.)

Walking Through The Mud

The last few days had been rainy
So I was expecting a tough old slog
As I walked section three of the London Loop
But what I didn't expect was a muddy bog
A long path from one road to another
That just felt like a ditch of wet dirt
And really had to struggle through it
Making my feet and my whole body exert
But this was also the case that showed
Perseverance reaps its own rewards
As the new walking shoes did themselves justice
And meant that the walk went onwards
It was a case of looking at the nice scenery
And realising just far that I had gone
So despite all that mud I had encountered
The view from the top of this hill was spot on.

(Definitely a more tougher walk doing the London Loop when it's been really wet and muddy underfoot, but ultimately worth the effort!)

Hungry and Drunk

When the event that you're at has decided
That all the food is going to be without meat
There's a lot of hungry souls out there
Who are heading out to get some lunch to eat
And when that same event gets to the evening
And the meal is going to be more of the same
You can't just nip out to the takeaway
As missing out on the evening would be a shame
But you look around the other tables
No one seems to be eating much at all
And as the night seems to wear on more
You notice that more have turned to going to fall
Because the liquid inside them has been too much
Having drinks to make up for the lack of food
All of this results in a hungry and drunk state
Which isn't doing anyone particularly much good.

(It's an increasing trend now that some events are being held without various food options in the meat department in an attempt to go more vegan, and that if it involves drink, for some it's drinking on an empty stomach. Maybe next time places need to specify the dietary requirements explicitly and if you need to make meat the exception, at least allow that as a requirement and have it almost the other way round.)

Cat and Ball Haiku

Give Brian the cat
A ball and he is happy
Throw it back, Mummy!

(Brian the cat and a ball - he is the happiest thing ever when it's thrown to him so he can paw it away.)