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 

Thursday Poetry 9 - Conference season #ToriesBroke Britain

 In the middle of conference season the usual promises of jam tomorrow are being leaked to the press. The Tories led with HS2 and the appalling mess that the project is developing into daily. 

HS2

Not as long as planned again,

the expensive toy put away,

but who working a northern campaign,

wants to go to London anyway.

 

Even twenty minutes quicker,

for us just an historical holiday,

no work or business bother,

to force us in a southerly way.

 

So what of the unspent money,

how will we benefit now?

or is it for the Tory party,

to feed their greedy cash cow.

© David L Atkinson October 2023 

Mawkish Mordant

 

Stand up and fight frequently,

said again and again,

stand up and fight repeatedly,

supposedly a rallying cry,

stand up and fight will cause others

to stand up and fight.

 

Penny forgot what we’re stand up and fighting for,

but repeated it until her throat was sore.

© David L Atkinson October 2023 

God Bless 

Writing - Change or not

 The one factor that causes the adrenaline to build in almost every human being is change. So it is when you are writing and decide to do something different to your main character, their behaviours, or situation. However, sometimes a change is as good as a rest. 

The book I wrote that brought about the most change for my team was Inceptus which was my 5th novel. It was my maturing into a better writer even if I say so myself. The process of change needs planning. 

If you mentally make that change decision then it is the trigger for some behavioural hiccoughs. You may find that you increase the amount of procrastination, begin to fear you have writers' block, or even believe that the art has left you. Persevere! 

It is not true of all change, but if you build upon what has gone before then you will be energised by the outcome. It may lead to greater personal satisfaction, and, you never know, success. 

In this the 5th Steele novel Patrick tackles the person who has been surreptitiously dogging his footsteps over a number of his adventures. This is not without risk and the focus of his love, Naomi Kobayashi, disappears which seriously affects his ability to function as well as he can. We also find out more about the man himself. The adventure takes him to Eire, France, and the USA before he returns to resolve the issue in the UK. Will Patrick finally rid himself of a deadly enemy? Can our hero rescue his love or is it already too late? Another Patrick Steele adventure filled with tension and action as well as the support provided by the team he has developed over the years. 

The above blurb gives one or two hints that change is at hand. Romance is strongly indicated and the movement from Steele centred to team focused methods of achieving his ends are significant. 

If you desire a parallel in life just take notice of the current political situation in the UK and the changes the PM Rishi Sunak is announcing weekly, in an effort to throw the Labour Party so as to reduce their lead in the polls. The outcome won't become known for some months but the level of panic in some MPs even in Sunak's own party is an indicator of the stress of change. 

Introducing change into your writing may be a nerve-wracking idea but it could work out well, on the other hand, if it doesn't, go back to your original method. As my father used to say 'there's only a week between a good haircut and a bad one'. 

God Bless 

 

Poetry Thursday 7 - Death Throes

 As an observer of the aquarium, it is time for the blue fish to go.

Death Throes

 

It is always sad to witness the anguish,

and struggles of a stranded fish,

flopping about away from the water,

stuck in the bottom of the capturing vessel,

channelling the last of its energy into one final leap to salvation.

 

Each explosion of pointless activity,

bringing closer the inevitable end,

but still the senseless entity,

without a scrap of extra to lend,

grinds on blindly.

 

But with limited attention span,

we can’t expect more from the dory,

or from the rest of the azure clan

who excel at wasteful folly.

© David L Atkinson September 2023

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 3 - Not up to me

 I actually wrote this poem three months ago but after listening to a current affairs phone-in programme it seems even more relevant today. Perhaps I should re-publish every three months until the election.

Not up to me

 

General election next year,

but there’s no point in voting,

my opinion is without value I fear,

I’ll see the result in the morning.

 

I don’t like what has happened to my country,

under the current oppressive thumb,

but if I vote for the other party,

in this constituency they’ve never won.

 

I wish there was a better way,

a system that gives a more balanced outcome,

but I’ll probably never see the day,

when our decision sheds elitism,

 

and is representative of lots of views,

rather than the divisive two party rule.

Still they aren’t interested in my muse,

so I’ll stay home and keep my cool.

© David L Atkinson May 2023 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 2 - Rather not #ToriesDestroyingOurCountry

 I know it's not political season but there are things that prey on the mind even in the silly season.

Rather Not

 

I’d rather read a telephone

directory than listen

to more excuses from a Tory.

 

Better to watch a cartoon about a dory,

or celebrate Newcastle glory,

bump along in the back of a lorry,

than consider the actions of a Tory.

  

More interesting to count every calorie,

or sleep in a teenage boy’s dormitory,

succumb to a request to clean lavatory,

than to acknowledge the success of a Tory.

 

Better to eat bugs with an aborigine,

or fail in everything academically,

swim in the dark pond in a quarry,

than to admit to ever voting Tory.

 

But there is such a complex history,

why millions voted them is admonitory,

choices they made were not mandatory,

however, why my friends?

Contradictory!

© David L Atkinson August 2023

God Bless