Poetry Thursday 20 - Magic Time

 Sometimes the time between Christmas and New Year can seem rather like limbo but here is a different viewpoint. 

A Magic Time

 

Almost a hangover without the thumping head,

definitely the day after the night before,

but not one to keep you dark in bed,

no tongue like sandpaper or all over sore.

 

Rather an exquisite warmth penetrating every corner,

but certainly tired, even lethargic,

a need to avoid anything but warmer,

and comfortable and remember magic.

 

Because that’s what it generates,

generosity generates a gentler core,

a wish for warmer aggregates,

for which our busy souls silently implore.

 

Before we return to a too fast life,

corner sacks of that holiday biscuit,

so that in those moments of mental strife,

we can refresh with a nibble of Christmas spirit.

© David L Atkinson December 2023 

God Bless 

Christmas 2023

 

Christmas Day

 

Always an early start after Santy’s visitation,

gave stocking toys a cursory examination,

then to the main event beneath the Christmas tree,

ripping into shiny paper setting contents free.

 

The morning spent examining, playing and nibbling,

ignoring breakfast for serious chocolate consuming,

an uncle and my dad set off to the club,

time to get dressed and give the face a rub.

 

The clans had gathered around one in the afternoon,

Jack, Gladys, mam, dad and Doris in the room,

a celebratory glass of sherry before the main meal,

cramped in the sweaty kitchen formality was real.

 

‘Best wishes, long life and prosperity to you all’,

my dad’s annual toast a verbal coverall,

chicken legs for the men and breast meat for the rest,

sprouts, potatoes, Yorkshire puddings were the best.

 

A massive plateful of well-cooked food,

seconds of some items, to refuse would be rude,

then a pause before mam served the pudding,

traditional, rich, fruity with custard flooding.

 

Time to relax and get ready for the Queen,

due at three, children not heard but just seen.

no talking during the regal message,

a period of silence, drooping lids sleep to presage.

 

Dad would retire to the kitchen to wash up,

happy in his solitude as kitchen backup,

the others sank into chairs to doze,

the cacophony of snoring gradually rose.

 

Then it was tea time more things to eat,

the fayre was less bulky but tended to be sweet,

Christmas cake, mince pies and small sandwiches,

a final assault on our clothing’s stitches.

 

The party dissolved into a soporific haze,

eyes dulled, towards the television gazed,

shuffling and stretching signalling the close,

my dad drove guests home to their night’s repose.

 

 Christmas Day over for another year,

relatives replete with grateful good cheer,

no one could know what next year would bring,

who would be there for festival of the King?

© David L Atkinson December 2020 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 19 - Soul for a Carrot

 In this time of fast-paced living do you take your time to look ahead carefully?

Soul for a Carrot

 

I bet you were tempted by the carrot,

bright, orange, moist, sweetness dangling

did you stop and don your specs

then look more carefully?

It wasn’t that big,

The colour was okay but are there wrinkles and splits in the skin,

perhaps not as nutrifying

as the vendor says it is.

 

There are a couple of tempting factors,

that still might be quite good

but are they genuine actors

tempting us with dodgy food?

 

Looking more closely the carrot doesn’t benefit all,

maybe the people struggling  

but there’s a trap for regular payers,

into which millions fall.

 

The vendor wants his cash,

wants it in advance,

wants a bit extra in case,

the carrot provides that chance.

 

Vendor gets it directly from you without asking,

the carrot gives him access,

he keeps more than he’s needing,

then refuses to let it go.

 

Don’t sell your soul for a carrot,

it is a vegetable with limited gifts,

seeing in the dark, a sub plot,

there are no true benefits.

© David L Atkinson December 2023

God Bless 

Writing - Fossil Fuels

 Cop28 dipped its collective toe into the fossil fuel reduction issue. I am not describing it as an argument because science agrees that we must reduce the burning of fossil fuels. Of course, the statement issued was minimalist in its nature but what can you expect from a committee of 192 or so? 

Its Warming.

Right now, annual global average temperature is about 1.1 degree Celsius hotter than pre-industrial levels. 

Its Us 

Human beings are causing climate change, largely by burning fossil fuels. Rising temperatures correlate almost exactly with the release of greenhouse gases. 

We're Sure 

An overwhelming 99% of scientists agree that climate change is being caused by human greenhouse gas emissions. There is no meaningful debate about the basic science of climate change. 

We can fix it. 

The basic facts of climate crisis are grim: the vast majority of fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground for us to stay below 1.5°C of heating,  and fossil fuel companies aren’t going to do that without a fight. 

The fight needs to be taken to profiteering fossil fuel companies and weak and corrupt governments. 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 18 - Know your place

 Writing poetry is closer to the soul than creating long stories, or short ones for that matter. I was reminded of that by the sad passing of  Benjamin Zephaniah. In particular his poem  No Problem (see my last blog). 

Invisible

 

Trust me ya nivver too ard to larn,

even when yer brort up to

‘teachers divn’t tark like that.’

yer ower pitmatic.

But the real lesson is in those words,

learned advice from years of experience

of how to tark reet,

how to act reet,

how to behave reet.

how to blend in.

In fact how te disapeah,

becos yer’ve nee rite,

not with uwer upbringin,

te expect owt else.

Haway bonny lad,

tha should kna thy place.

© David L Atkinson December 2023

God Bless 

Writing - Green Messages

 Irrespective of whether you are a climate denier or not the evidence that there is some kind of progressive problem with the Earth's climate is plain. We are assailed daily with examples of extreme weather events and the devastation that is occurring as a result. But if you are skeptical the effects of polluted air on the human body are obvious. Particles in the air from burning petrol and diesel fuel cause physical reactions ranging from asthma to shortening life expectancy. 

So we need to do something! Of course, the fossil fuel-producing companies, are already kicking and screaming against reduction in their profits. 

Blurb

A man is found dead in the massive Kielder Forest in Northumberland and the initial reports suggest suicide. A member of Patrick A Steele’s team feels that is not the whole story and an investigation ensues that leads the team into conflict with some of the most powerful people in the UK. Steele can mete out his own brand of justice initially but when the power companies and the government become involved Steele has to tread carefully. 

Earth plc was quite prophetic as it was published almost 10 years ago. If you read the prologue on the Amazon sample for Kindle you will learn of some thoughts that tempered my opinion regarding the subject of global warming. 

My bottom line is that the human activity on this planet is such that we are damaging our own environment and as such need to change behaviours and habits. 

God Bless 

Writing - Benjamin Zephaniah RIP

 The world has just lost an astounding literary mind who was brilliant with words and will leave an amazing legacy as a result. 

No Problem

I am not de problem

But I bare de brunt

Of silly playground taunts

An racist stunts,

I am not de problem

I am a born academic

But dey got me on de run

Now I am branded athletic,

I am not de problem

If yu give I a chance

I can teach yu of Timbuktu

I can do more dan dance,

I am not de problem

I greet yu wid a smile

Yu put me in a pigeon hole

But I a versatile.

These conditions may affect me

As I get older,

An I am positively sure

I have no chips on me shoulders,

Black is not de problem

Mother country get it right,

An just for de record,

Sum of me best friends are white

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 17 - Cardboard Box

 I wonder how long it will be before the 25th December becomes Amazon Day? 

It Came Out of a Cardboard Box

 

It came from out a cardboard box.

as they usually do from there,

silicone tongs to polishing rocks,

admonishing all to handle with care.

 

I took no time in the unpacking,

slashing the box cutter left and right,

freeing it of its binding,

till there it was spotless and bright.

 

Set upon the working space,

squat, dark and foreboding,

multi-functions hidden behind its face,

but silent with confidence draining.

 

Knowledge is the cure for fear,

research was undertaken,

still the beast’s purpose was unclear,

until came the need for bacon.

 

Time to gird the loins and take the plunge,

open the jaws and feed the maw,

strips of meat, eggs but no frying gunge,

with a flourish shut the cooking draw.

 

A briefer time than usually taken,

strange sounds no other outward sign,

no obvious hint of cooking bacon,

but now approaching the cooking time.

 

Turned off, unplugged and draw opened,

the golden eggs and sizzling meat,

delicious looking food beckoned,

a breakfast absolutely ready to eat.

© David L Atkinson December 2023

God Bless 

Writing - Personal messages

 It may seem an obvious thing to say but the messages within your writing tend to be personal and so very public. Unlike WhatsApp and other social media sites, you are sending out your messages to be read by all and sundry so you need to be aware of limiting personal stuff. What you tell people is up to you but remember that knowledge is power. 

Also, it will save you a degree of hassle if you remain fair and impersonal. 

Blurb 

Patrick A Steele is principally an Englishman. He finds the influence that the USA enjoys within his country to be abhorrent and decides that he should research into the possibility of doing something about the ‘special relationship’ to which the two nations profess.
Patrick Steele is an accountant with training in a variety of physical skills. He has made himself a self-styled Robin Hood available to right the wrongs of society using his skills as an accountant and a man of violence.
The Gurentai, a more benevolent sub-group of the Japanese Yakuza, set Steele up with a Swiss bank account with sufficient remuneration to purchase an empty factory unit and set it up as a training facility and garage.
After persuading his Japanese companion, Takuo Sumisu and Naomi Kobayashi, to become involved, he also elicits assistance from the German and French secret services. There then ensues a variety of actions that take Patrick and his Japanese allies across Europe and eventually to the US before returning to the UK.

Will the efforts of Patrick and his cronies be enough to drive a rift between the USA and the UK? Discover the outcome in ‘The 51ST State’

As you may glean from the blurb this book could appeal to different audiences depending on which side of the Atlantic your allegiances lie. However, the suggestion that there is a possible conflict seems to have caught the imagination of some as it has sold quite well, for me, particularly in the US. 

A footnote; this was only my second novel and is undoubtedly not the classiest piece of literature! 

God Bless