Poetry Thursday 106 - Chilly

 Where has all the heat gone? 

Short time passing. 

Where has all the heat gone - short time ago. 

The central heating was 0.3 degrees from clicking on this morning, less than a week from a heat wave!!! 

Chilly

 

By heck its chilly,

and the wind is blowing willy nilly,

chilling the parts it shouldn’t reach,

I wish I was lying on the beach.

 

My goodness it really is cold,

the temperature is making me feel so old,

you know age causes your blood to thin,

this is an argument I cannot win.

 

Oh it’s absolutely freezing,

no I don’t want to go out playing,

even my big coat feels inadequate,

give me a nice coal fire and blanket.

 

‘It’s so cold I’ve got goosepimples,’

‘That’s ok it’ll match your dimples,’

‘Out you go and have some fun,’

but outside there’s only a big, cold sun.

 

‘A little cold will do you good,’

toughen the skin and thicken the blood,

the air is thin and so very clear,

it really makes you want to cheer.

 

It is so very chillingly bright,

to stay inside doesn’t seem right,

wrap up warm and put on a hat,

don your gloves and go out like that.

 

It is so cold you feel more alive,

wrapped up so tight, to move you strive,

the blood is coursing in your veins,

working the heart, stimulating brains.

 

Enjoy the chill stimulation of the senses,

fizzing brain cells the cold arouses,

go out into the world and enjoy nerves’ jingle,

watch nature’s response and life will tingle.

© David L Atkinson February 2021 

Really joking - honestly. 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 87 - Wednesday

 We are already into April, the fourth month, almost a third of the way through another year, yet it seems Christmas was only ten minutes ago. We are guilty of wishing our lives away when we have probably all heard some statement admonishing us for the same. So Wednesday, today, is halfway through a week. 

Wednesday Adams 

Wednesday

 

If you peer forward from woeful Wednesday,

you may catch a fleeting, teasing glimpse,

of a couple approaching promising play,

surpassing the week as away it limps.

 

Emerging from the gloomy grind,

a diamond eclipse of brightness peeks,

like the jewel of the sun threatening to blind,

unless in reflection the observer seeks.

 

A promise of brighter times ahead,

the opportunity for relaxing and rest,

two days of not ‘do as they said’,

but spend the time as you like it best. 

 

Enjoy the company of partner and kids,

go places that evoke good memories,

spend time but not as the other 5 bids,

rather as a source of various reveries.

 

Own time is carefree and fleeting,

responsibilities can get in the way,

plan for the work week’s completing,

enjoy freedoms of each weekend day.

©David L Atkinson June 2019 

Half Time

 

If you take away the weekend

Wednesday is half time,

for those of us whose backs bend,

and who long for easier time.

 

A sign for those of us who are old,

that children wish their lives away,

when every day should be like gold,

and used in their optimum way.

 

So take this limited period of time ,

embrace it in your best way,

to not enjoy is a personal crime,

take breath and love your Wednesday.

©David L Atkinson June 2019 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 86 - April

 My favourite month I think. So many positive things happen in April. 

Welcome April

 

This fractured Earth’s demise could slow,

with England’s gentle, April rich flow,

ending the March chilly tirade,

with a colourful growth and birth parade.

 

The new smell of growth and petrichor,

warms the soul and craves for more,

of the gentle version of England’s weather,

that lightens the heart as a feather.

 

A rainbow, God’s covenant with the earth,

grows throughout this assuaging month,

filling everyone with positive feelings,

signalling a good year coming.

 

And as it leaves prepares the ground,

for warmer opportunities to abound,

now for the rest of the year enabled,

let’s be thankful for the month that is April.

© David L Atkinson March 2025 

God Bless 

Writing - St. Patrick's Day

 March 17th, St Patrick's Day, is celebrated widely in the UK and other parts of the world, and to me seems to be a happy day. 

St. Patrick is one of the most famous patron saints of Ireland: According to the legend, he brought Christianity to the island, made the shamrock fashionable, and freed Ireland from snakes. The holiday marks St. Patrick's death and has been observed as a religious holiday in Ireland for over 1500 years. 

Biologists tell us that there were never any snakes in Ireland but that the story is a metaphor for St Patrick being fed up with paganism and introducing Christianity. 

The shamrock (clover) is believed to have been a visual aid for the saint in describing the holy trinity. 

A couple of excellent examples of ideas for writing. Take a scenario and apply a metaphor to help deliver alternatives, persuading your audience of a different point of view. The more unlikely the metaphor is, the more fun you'll have writing it, and your audience will be more greatly engaged in your narrative. 

In this fifth Steele novel, Patrick confronts the person who has been secretly following him throughout several of his adventures. This pursuit is not without risk, as the focus of his love, Naomi Kobayashi, goes missing, which significantly impacts his ability to function effectively. We also learn more about Patrick himself. The adventure takes him to Eire, France, and the USA before he returns to resolve the issue in the UK. 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 80 - Has Spring sprung?

 It's so cold. It has been grey for a fortnight. Snowdrops are late, daffs haven't appeared as yet and there are few signs of nesting birds. 

I Love Spring

 

I love this time of year,

when there is a promise of everything new,

but, judging by the weather I fear,

winter, hanging by fingernails, has a different view.

 

Snowdrops, daffodils and newborn chicks,

making their happy return,

banishing the dark with bright colour licks,

but, this year, slow the winter blanket to spurn.

 

A plethora of damp, days of chilly grey,

no cheerful games or shoots of green,

an urge to bend the knee and pray,

that optimistic shoots will soon be seen.

 

Was there a hint of sunlight just now,

could there be a change brewing?

A little encouragement and how,

she will demonstrate the joys of growing.

© David L Atkinson February 2025 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 74 - AYOANY

 So how are us boomers going to cope with the plethora of technological developments that will be thrown at us this year? 

AYOANY

 

Another year older another new year,

after more than three score years and ten,

beginning this one with a smidgin of fear,

coming from I don’t know when.

With the advent of each of these time slots,

the promise of a plethora of new technologies,

like an overdose of nerve trembling shots,

from the syringe of new ideologies.

 

Forty years ago mobiles cost thousands,

home computers were newly around,

now Alexa completes household errands,

Gemini on all topics will freely expound.

 

All about control in the end,

and as we advance in years,

the pace will drive us round the bend,

if we succumb to the rate of fears.

© David L Atkinson January 2025 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday - 56 - Septembers

 People often talk about favourite seasons or months. Poets often write about the seasons and that isn't surprising as in the world UK citizens are renowned for talking about the weather. Who am I to break a well-established trend? 

To September

 

The queen of months that rules the year,

slowing progress and protecting life,

as nature engages a cooler period,

from cold that strikes like a knife.

 

Misty mornings and balmy days,

as the sun retreats below halfway,

people unsure over what to wear,

plants and animals know how to sway.

 

Readying the country for winter’s rest,

first a busy month of fruitfulness,

life delivering bountiful largesse,

but she dies dissipating all stress.

 

And so the time of harvest comes,

nature's gently falling asleep,

dozing to restore energy levels,

girding her loins her promises to keep.

©David L Atkinson September 2024 

Other September

 

On the other hand September’s not cool,

all the bairns must gan back to school,

what’s worse the weather has got better,

could August have been any wetter?

 

In the garden there is a surge of growth,

dad’s vegetables and weeds both,

takes hours to wash hands of soil,

after back breaking hours of toil.

 

The next thing we’ll have to do is harvest,

fruit and veg at their very shiny best,

thorns and prickles ripping at skin,

a punnet to put juicy blackberries in.

 

In thirty days it’ll all be ower,

for another year not to be seen,

Christmas is coming and that’ll be canny,

but first a pumpkin for Halloween.

©David L Atkinson September 2024 

God Bless 

 

Writing - Seasonal stuff

 It may seem an odd topic in September in the UK when really it is a quiet month unless you are a school aged child. After the long summer break only parents tend celebrate! However, writers' season tends to be 24/7 everyday of the year. 

We don't need Halloween, Christmas or Valentine's Day to put pen to paper, but perhaps some feel that they have a duty to produce something on those occasions, I know that I have felt the compulsion. In fact, every day is a gift. 

It's not quite harvest time but in the past, around six weeks from now, there is blackberry week and as children we used to go tatie picking. One of the things I remember about that time was the wildlife, mostly of the insect variety, and associated predators. It made me think about habitats. 

There is a plethora of writing material on habitats, global warming and the affects of human activity. Then there is also the simple fact of September which has been written about by the great and the good, as well as yours truly. 

To give an edge remember the words of John Keats from over 200 years ago. 

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

   Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

God Bless 

Writing - Cheese rolling!

Have you noticed how many celebration days there seem to be in the calendar. We celebrate everything from Doing strange things with Food to Nothing to Fear days. It is also Memorial Day in America today but I just wanted to focus on what seems to be wasteful and silly and that is cheese rolling day.

 

Cooper's Hill Gloucestershire

Cheese Rolling event: One of the most iconic British traditions since at least 1826, near Cooper’s Hill. Still, the roots of this popular event remain something of an enigma.

What is clear, though, is the fact it’s been a part of local culture for a long, developing from a local festivity into an international sensation.

Traditionally held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper’s Hill near Gloucester, it’s not an event for the faint-hearted. The event draws participants worldwide to pursue a 9-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down a hill. The winner is the first one across the finish line—usually in some spectacular tumble.

Double Gloucester cheese is always associated with the event of Cheese Rolling and comes carrying a legacy deeply entwined with the countryside heritage of Gloucestershire.

Apparently, there are quite frequent injuries, which is unsurprising when you see the steepness of the hill and the manic enthusiasm of the contestants. The winner keeps the 9lb cheese. 

Election 

It would be remiss of me not to mention the general election due on  July 4th. It could be summed up by describing it as a promise fest in which the promises are not worth the paper they're written on, and I know, although this seems cynical, it comes from years of experience of general elections. The politicians involved are doing their usual trick of manipulating statistics to suit their own story. In reality the voters need to consider their own situation and how it has changed over the last 14 years.

The interesting factors that have emerged so far seem to be centred round late teens. The Labour Party want to give the vote to 16 and 17 year olds whereas the Conservative Party want to reintroduce national service in a different form from post war but nevertheless compulsory. 

I believe we have to move away from the first past the post 2 party system and towards proportional representation.

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 27 - Love without limits

Apparently, over 80% of UK people feel that Valentine's Day is yet another purely commercial enterprise. I can concur with that view as well but in a world that is seemingly driven by greed a little extra love won't go amiss. 

Love Without Limits

 

It is not under the purview of anyone,

the experiences provided are legion,

it has no bounds or favourites,

and is almost universally of benefit.  

 

Bus drivers are available to date,

as is the fireman and the ship’s first mate,

the brain surgeon and the window cleaner,

also qualify for love’s cherubic archer.

 

It is the same for kings and queens,

as it is for octogenarians and teens,

the euphoria of the coursing adrenalin,

and joy of physical connection.

 

So treasure the magical moment,

cry in the instant of abandonment,

but never wallow in pointless regret,

for something wonderful, over … but yet!

© David L Atkinson February 2024

 

Woke Valentine

 

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

Sugar is sweet,

and providing it doesn’t offend in some way

so are you.

© David L Atkinson February 2024

Egotistical Valentine

 

Snowdrops are white,

Daffodils are yellow,

fancy a date with this handsome fellow?

© David L Atkinson February 2024

 

Realistic Valentine

 

Cornflowers are blue,

Sunflowers are tall,

Valentine’s just another day after all.

© David L Atkinson February 2024 

God Bless 

Writing - Japanese Valentines

 In Japan, Valentine's is a celebration more fully celebrated to be inclusive for all people. To that end there are two days involved in the celebration.

February 14th 

Valentine's Day is more than just a celebration of romantic love; it's a chance to express appreciation and affection in various forms. The tradition of women giving chocolates to men, known as 'honmei choco' for loved ones and 'tomo choco' for friends, is a central aspect of this celebration. 

Men are usually expected to do very little on February 14th and it is the women who are expected to be the principal gift-giver. Not just to their partner, but also to men with who they share any kind of significant relationship.

Another big difference is the kind of gift given: while cards, flowers, jewelry or expensive dinners are all considered fair game for Valentine’s Day in many countries, there is only one acceptable option in Japan: lots and lots of chocolate.

However, just because men don’t have to spend money on Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean they get away with not reciprocating for the rest of the year. 

March 14th 

White Day was not actually established until the 1980s, when the Japanese National Confectionery Industry Association successfully campaigned to implement a ‘reply day’ for men to reciprocate the presents they received from women on St. Valentine’s.

The day was so named because the color white is considered a symbol of purity and is closely associated with an innocent kind of teen love in Japanese culture.

On White Day, men are expected to present girls with gifts roughly two or three times the value of what they received a month earlier.

If the man does not return any gifts at all, it is considered a disdainful spurn, while simply giving the equivalent amount of chocolate they received is perceived as a sign that they wish to cut the relationship.

God Bless 

Writing - Eve of Spring

 The Japanese have a penchant for colourful celebration. They are artistic and quite gentle often accompanied with a plethora of gentle sounds. The weekend gone saw Setsubun. 

Setsubun falls on about the 3rd of February, the day before spring is considered to begin. On the evening of this day, people scatter soy beans both inside and outside their homes while yelling, “Out with the devil! In with happiness!”. To pray for good health for the year, there is also the custom of eating the same number of soy beans as one’s age. 

Mamemaki

On Setsubun, when evil spirits roam the streets and knock on your door, this is not a time to hand out Halloween candy. Fill a Japanese wooden cup called a masu with fortune beans (roasted soybeans). With the cup in your strong arm, bend your knees into a ready position. Ask the bravest family member to open the door on your count.  1, 2, 3, go!

The moment that door rushes open, pushed by the force of a winter gale, with an evil spirit riding on that invisible wave, that’s when you give it a mouthful of beans. Toss that cup of roasted soybeans out through the door while screaming, “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi” (“Demons Out! Good Fortunes In! 鬼は外! 福は内!). As you lunge forward into that demon-tainted wind, the beans clearing your path to safety, catch the side of the door and slam it shut! Fall to the floor, with your back securing the door, and whisper under an exhausted and exhilarated breath, “Oni wa soto.  Fuku wa uchi.”

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 22 - Resolution

 It may seem to be late to be considering resolutions but I reckon 10 - 14 days into the New Year is the crunch time for many people. The crunch being do I continue or not? I have been involved in training in a former life and although some of the training, once 'unpacked', is rather trite one area - setting targets - has stuck. 

SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant Time-bound. 

Worth considering when looking at resolutions.

Resolution

 

It’s hard to be resolute

at the start of something new,

when faced with an unfamiliar route,

hard to choose what do.

 

If faced with making a choice,

in a new situation,

address with a quieter voice,

lest others criticise your option.  

 

So what do you want from the New Year, 

what is your aim for the future, 

to what plan could you adhere,

what strategy will make you an achiever.

 

Avoid the emotional selection,

for you it must be achievable,

avoid striving for perfection,

and select simply conceivable.

 

In forward planning be kind,

small steps are often beautiful,

to external influence be blind,

in reality be adaptable.

© David L Atkinson January 2024 

God Bless