More Poems

Silence

Silence is a dangerous thing

It can be a bird with a broken wing

For there are times when we should speak

Instead we ignore the suffering weak

Fear can cause this deadly hush

When jeopardy looms with a frightening rush

At times we are silent and simply afraid of power

Our muteness stains the earth like a dying flower

So tyrants rage on, unfettered in their deadly way

While wordless, we leave them to thrive on dismay

Victims fall, plaintiffs call yet cowards do nothing at all

Villains rise and realise they are safe with a silent wall…

Once in the mists of history an autocrat came to power

He bullied his foes, gave people woes, and built an ivory tower

He ruled by force and crushed dissent

Dispensing lies wherever he went

Making his power grow each hour until he reigned supreme

Never a soul dared challenge him or decry one evil scheme

No one spoke of injustice even though it often occurred

Many deadly outcomes came untouched by a single word

Until one person had a dream

And spoke of a wondrous cleansing theme

Revealing the truth with a fiery, relevant call

That brought about the despot’s sudden fall

“For the Emperor has no clothes,” he said

“He robs the poor and rules by dread”

Then he listed the crimes of the evil giant

And vowed he would be not ever again compliant

Suddenly the people saw the point

They rushed as a wild throng to anoint

The speaker with a garland of holly

For revealing the despot’s folly

They banished the villain to his endless shame

To remain forever a monster with a tainted name 

Times change; now many others respect the power of speech

Triumphant words are known to be at last within your reach

Lies

So you want to get on in the world my lad

Well it’s lies you will need for success to be had

So pay attention and beguile:

When you tell a lie be sure to smile

Then hit your victim with a flood of data

From the pen of a famous fabricator

Act out fictitious schemes you devise

And be sure to look your foe in the eyes

Don’t let your glances stray and keep that grin

If the smile is returned, my boy you are in

When you tell tall tales, make use of the dead

They can’t deny anything you’ve said

The past is also a fruitful ruse

Time tends to save you from abuse

If you want support with illicit fame

The easiest way is to drop a name

When your deal with money is a pig in a poke

You can divert attention by cracking a joke

Another device is the fictitious friend

He can support you as you pretend

And apparel is a factor for a lying contractor

So you should dress up like a Hollywood actor

Remember too repetition’s trick

Tell a lie often and it will stick

This above all to thine own self be false

And your puppet will dance to your lucrative waltz 

Memories

Memory is a child of the past

Mischievous, disobedient, defiant to the last

It can lead you astray like a villain at play

Or give you an answer the pedagogue’s way

Time may be the enemy of what you recall

Sometimes you recollect nothing at all

Though other days are different and cast a spell

And the flimsiest moments you recall well

When you are old your years may seem numbered

But yet that’s when thought can be unencumbered

It is true my body reeks now of decay

But I still recall dancing the hours away

Today I am single and live on my own

Yet with memories of soul mates I’m never alone

Now I am jobless and live on a pension

But still recall lessons I gave worth a mention

Perhaps I am doomed soon to breathe my last

But memory lets me find strength in the past

I was born when the Harbour Bridge was new

I recall when peace ended World War II

I remember hearing Crosby croon a tune

I recollect when Armstrong walked the moon

Those memories are made of the sternest stuff

Of their sweet like I’ll never have enough

Tags from Shakespeare to Walter Mitty

Are cures for apathy in a city

So here I am near the end of my road

Remembering Archimedes and sometimes Mister Toad

I’m thinking too of all the friends I’ve had

When I die perhaps I’ll haunt their minds; I hope they will be glad

Storm

Lightning struck near my home today

Thunder was loud and soon after the flash

A gas pipe exploded just a step away

And repair gangs came with a dash

This made me think of the dues we owe

To the fiendishly powerful weather

If science is right and it’s all we know

We have no more power than a feather

My mind started then to stray

With anxious thoughts soon forming

I could not avoid dark feelings in play

Concerning global warming

I’ve heard many a word that is quite absurd

Suggesting a weather solution

But O what folly from an ignorant herd

To buy and sell pollution!

On top of this there’s another scheme

Sheer madness on the whole

Liars are promoting a fictitious dream

And talk about clean coal

But above all this as I watch the clouds

Tumble and grumble in the sky

They seem to me potential shrouds

For so many people will die

When the day of reckoning comes, as it will

And we must pay for the heat

The fools who lie to get their fill

Will wear the shame of defeat

So there you have it; hear my plea

The time has come to change our ways

Global warming will bring us no glee

There are few remaining days

So my gentle wish is that you’ll conform

To my thoughts arising from that humble storm

One Kind Word

I awoke depressed today

It tends to be a common disease

In the present world

So many things cause the problem

Hot days are burning the hours away

Fire alerts are everywhere

COVID is killing like a medieval inquisition

Politicians are buying submarines without my permission

And as for me, I have my own particular burdens

Took my dog to the vet last night

Goodbye to a friend – it’s a sorry plight

Don’t get much money on a pension either

And I need special shoes

For my walking blues

My knees hurt me when I walk

And I’m losing my hearing completely

Confined indoors most days

Once I rode the lovely waves down at the nearby beach

And ran around the cricket field that’s now beyond my reach

My car is in hock, needs a new engine

And you must have a mask if you catch a bus

Dangerous place a bus

On top of all this is the atrophy of retirement

That category is a depressing condition

No more dreams come into fruition

You just fade away as you sigh

And move relentlessly towards your time to die

So there you have it:

A quick fire list of all the woes I struggle to endure

One more thing belongs to my tale

Leave it out and I clearly fail

My precious wife approached me today with a smile

And asked me how I was

“Not too bad,” was my reply – the usual lie

Suddenly I realised my luck to have such a friend and a home

That is why I decided to write this poem

On Growing Old

Growing old leaves me cold

You’re like a fine book cursed with mould 

Your body resembles a pear gone rotten

And your good old days are all forgotten

People get annoyed when you can’t hear their words

While your personal needs are left to the birds

Your body aches and your eyes get sore

You tend to lose your balance what’s more

Young people hurry and leave you behind

The music they play drives you out of your mind

When you’re caught in a crowd you can’t take a trick

As your movements depend on your walking stick

The government too is worth a mention

They constantly tend to reduce your pension

When I’m out walking I accept defeat

As I constantly need to rest on a seat

I’ve been in trouble many times getting lost

I’d get a taxi but I can’t bear the cost

I move so slowly you should remember

I have to buy Christmas cards in September

The clothes I wear are out of fashion

I think they were once part of army ration

I also have problems with my diet

I no longer have a chocolate on the quiet

Admen mock me and drive me wild

When I feel myself portrayed as a bungling child

Often I feel only just alive

It’s hard to keep struggling to survive

Nevertheless I keep my heart active

Let’s face it the dying thing’s not so attractive

royciebaby