Poetry - March 2019


The Same Thing, Over and Over

Let's vote for a deal that no one wants
Whether you be leave or remain
And see how damaging the defeat is
But no worries, we'll bring it back again!
The words haven't changed nor the premise
But we the Government can do what we like
So we'll run down the clock some more
Putting it forward again for a second strike
Yet again the vote is heavily defeated
Some people are just fed up of the deal you see
Yet hang on, we can put it through again
In a guise of Meaningful Vote three
Did the public get more than one vote
On a decision whether to leave or remain?
No they didn't, so why should it be different
For the politicians putting our country to shame?

(The whole last few months of political process have been an absolute shambles to say the least...)

No Chain

So the Formula 1 season has started
With the rights all going to Sky now
And Channel 4 only getting highlights
With restrictions to what they can show
It's a shame that means less live races
Because their coverage is far superior
With the right mix of personas hosting
And not feeling a pain in the posterior
One thing that Channel 4 kept alive
Was the iconic Formula 1 theme
Fleetwood Mac's classic bit of The Chain
With the bassline coming in like a dream
But something's happened this year
Sky's trailer seemed to hint at them having the tune
Which went down with me not so well
Suffice to say like a lead balloon
However their normal coverage
Didn't have the tune on at all
So it seems that none has the rights
And that's just the shame of it all.

(F1 in the UK is not F1 without John McVie's epic bass line and the electric guitar kicking in for that classic bit of The Chain. As Johnny Vegas said, you don't associate it with Fleetwood Mac, you associate it with Formula 1.)

Have You Played Atari Today?

The wood grain effect on the front
Added to the sense of something cool
That this was a console like no others
Where the games didn't take any fool
They were basic graphics
But with some killer sound effects
The game play was most important
One more go and the factor of X
So many happy memories of the games
Space Invaders with bendy bullets
The zapping sounds during Missile Command
And Yars' Revenge's psychedelic targets
The swinging vines of Jungle Hunt
And of course the tanks in Combat
Never mind all the great Activision Games
That pushed the hardware beyond and all that
From Pitfall and its sequel
To the driving at night of Enduro
Decathlon was the original joystick killer
And Frostbite told the cold where to go
So many games that I still love to play
And it's a real sense of classic too
Have you played Atari today?
To understand gaming heritage, you need to.

(I could go on with so many classic Atari 2600 games beyond the ones mentioned - Keystone Kapers, Pressure Cooker, Tutankham, Reactor, Solaris etc!)

The Silence of An Acoustic Gig

It was so nice the other night
When I went to see an acoustic performance
Normally there's the crowd chatting
Which detracts from the listening
However this time around it wasn't the case
The crowd were all keeping quiet
And listening to the music intently
Taking in all the words and paying attention
It made me feel a lot happier
Knowing that there were like minded people
Who knew that actually
It would be rude to chat amongst themselves
As if they were down the pub
The silence was simply beautiful
It meant a lot to be able to listen
And immerse myself in the music.

(It was so good for a change seeing an acoustic gig with an audience who knew how to enjoy the music. More of the same please.)

Love Defeats Hate Haiku

Love all of your friends
Be kinder to everyone
Love will always win.

(My haiku originally for World Poetry Day.)