Poetry - May 2023
Down In The Park
A green space is always welcome
On a warm and sunny Sunday
So it's always nice to be out
Where you have the freedom to play
A nice grassy area for ball games
And a playground with swings and slides
A little stall serving you coffee
And an ice cream van with more besides
It's an idyllic little place here
And you wouldn't believe where it is
It's near the city centre in Manchester
And it's just an oasis of bliss
So well done for those building Mayfield Park
It's certainly a calm place to be
The green oasis amongst all the noise
And one that makes you feel so free.
(Impressed by the way that Mayfield Park, close to Manchester Piccadilly station, has turned out. And on a recent visit it is very well used and very well loved, which shows that if you make a nice green space, people will use it no doubt.)
Slow Coach
I had to take the coach one day
Between London and Manchester
Because the trains were on strike
And I wanted to get there sooner
I thought a coach would be next best
And booked one from Victoria station
So I could sit and relax for a few hours
And reach my Mancunian destination
The only problem is that inevitably
With more traffic on the roads you know
And the football crowds adding to all that
It meant it was often a go slow
A case of everyone heading the same way
And roadworks not helping the situation
So it was a painfully slower journey
Almost an hour late at destination
No Delay Repay here, you grin and bear it
As the coach eventually arrives
It's a cheap and cheerful alternative
If you have six hours of you life
But ultimately, the prospect of being stuck
On a motorway with everyone in tow
Made me realise how much like the train
Let's hope strikes are resolved soon, you know.
(Certainly for me, it was a comfortable enough Megabus coach I took between London and Manchester, no complaints there, but being at the mercy of traffic, especially on the M6, isn't always so good..)
Eurovision Derision
I wrote a song
But it didn't catch attention
Despite it being catchy pop
And it hit the charts
I sang on the big stage
And the crowd loved it
But the jury didn't
And they heard others
So it was then the public
And it was disappointing
As not many voted for me
It wasn't really a good night
I came second last
The audience booed at that
But it didn't seem to work
For whatever reason
So now you'll mention me
In the same breath as Eurovision
And the finishing place
Sadly means derision.
(I do feel a bit gutted for Mae Muller really, some may not have liked the song, but was it that bad to finish second last? Really?)
I Don't Know How To Write A Love Song
I don't know how to write a love song
I try to make it sound loving but the words are wrong
It's just something that I get a mental block on
I want to say those three words but the thought is gone
I don't know how to write a love song
It's just the feeling that needs to be there so long
So I can channel everything from the inside
With a sense of joy, devotion, love and pride
I don't know what to write for a lyric
Everything I try just sounds a bit too sloppy and sick
I don't want to be overbearing with the way I write
But the words don't come easy and sound so trite
I don't know what should come first in the words
Do I want to be a little quirky and absurd
Or maybe something that means more obtuse
So there's some wordplay that may get some abuse
I don't know how I'd make the song end
Whether it'd be with a fade or an abrupt pitch bend
But I want to express that soft gentle feeling
That would make you float away to the ceiling
So I'm at the end and I don't know what I've done
Except thought of some words I might have sung
I don't know how to write a love song
But I do know how to love you.
(I'm sure a lot of songwriters have gone through similar process. For me I'd love to write something really lovely and popular, but the words and music wouldn't always come easy. But I do know how to love at least.)
The Cat and the Rat Haiku
Brian sees a rat
He is at the window now
On his rat watch time!
(Brian the cat saw a stray rat the other day, and my was he keeping an eye on where it was going, with his eagle eyes keeping eyes on, and not moving from the window.)