Poetry - May 2020

Unusual Birthday

I knew my birthday wouldn't be what I usually have
I was just glad to spend it with my love
We knew that there wasn't much to be able to do
So couldn't have a Sunday lunch in a lovely pub
We did have a really nice breakfast together
And I got some wonderful presents too
And I'm sure to be using and drinking those today
Which makes it more special the lengths my love went to
So we had an afternoon walk together in the park
Our one allowed piece of exercise for today
It was just good to hold hands together
And at least feel a bit of normality in that way
Later we had a Gastropub lunch, but at home
With a wonderful pie that had chicken and bacon in
It felt so wholesome to have that meal too
And prosecco to celebrate together - chin chin
It was the best I could have hoped for
And as I relaxed in the evening with Frank Sidebottom beer
I felt so grateful to spend it with my love
And our evening cuddles with Brian the cat were so dear.

(Despite current situations, to have as good as birthday as I did was testament to The Love In My Heart in particular. Good on here all round!)

Working From Home

Switching on the laptop
And connecting to the VPN
It's the daily routine after breakfast
As I log on before the start at 9am
There's meetings to go to but all online
As we try to work out ways for the day
And put those into practice as we keep on going
And come together with suggestions to say
It's a different feeling being alone
And having your office here at home
But in a way it does mean I'm still working
And not in a situation where many will roam
Where the job is gone because of the economy
And the changes we're all having to make
So if working from means I can keep working
It's a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make.

(As someone who naturally likes to meet people face to face, working from home isn't always easy to be honest. That said though, my employer got us working from home a week before the UK lockdown, so we were ahead of the curve and that action, potentially, could have saved lives.)

Alone On The Train

In the first class carriage
No one can hear you
You're the only person on
And it seems rather eerie
No one walking through
And checking your ticket
Only the automated announcement
Breaks the sheer silence
It's yet somewhat wonderful
A quiet coach without being labelled one
And a sense of relaxation
As you head to some essential work
Knowing that the evening sky
Is setting as you thunder past
And that aloneness doesn't feel it
You just know you're doing duty
Yet in all this silence
Is all that singlularity of being alone
Almost as if you're being transported
And whisked through time.

(With trains still relatively empty, anyone travelling does get that feeling of silence and being alone, especially in first class - which, if they are declassified, shouldn't be charged any more, right?)

Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

Our death toll is increasing by the day
And it's now the worst in Europe
It doesn't make for pretty reading
But the new angle is to manipulate
With the daily death toll comparison being dropped
Stating that "we count better" as statisticians
And we include deaths in care homes
We may do, but that's also a distraction
From the fact that other countries may count as well
And their figures, like ours, are officially published
Even without the care home counts
The numbers are still very grim
And many more than the so-called "good outcome"
If we managed to keep below twenty thousand
Which proved of course to be another lie
Because the deflection is now that instead
We could have lost over half a million
But so could many other countries too
Had they not acted so fast and with clarity
Instead those who got in quickly with testing
Proper testing by the way, not just those sent in the post
Managed the outcome as well as they could
Instead we lie about the number of tests done
As if it's in the post, how can it even count?

(There's lies, there's damn lies, and statistics. Something our Goverment is getting wrong. Very wrong. And so they go after journalists who are reporting the correct picture. Typical pathetic bullying behaviour.)

Snuggly Haiku

Brian the cat wants
Lots of cuddles on the bed
He is just snuggly!

(So often Brian sleeps on the bed and just looks at you with wanting cuddles or tummy tickles. Awww..)