Poems Still Appearing

Rich Man Poor Man

There once was a man who was top of his class
Because he was very rich
Money seemed to flow through his welcoming veins
As a mine he owned and two take-away chains
Raised his profits to fever pitch
Success was his motto so he crushed his rivals
And power was one of his yearnings
He built his fame in the Yellow Press
Placed every opponent under duress
And annually doubled his earnings
One of the things such men often do
Is embark on a political career
So he eagerly found an appropriate party
Gave it his voice faking hale and hearty
Though his virtue was but a veneer
As is the way of this dubious world
This man found further success
With his power anew
His fortune grew
Proving nothing succeeds like excess
But as the years sped frantically by
Fatal illness sans warning arrived
Few people cried
When this man died
Though his reputation survived
The funeral was a rococo event
Its glamour made critics rave
A coffin of gold
With a monument bold
Plus Tom Tipster to dig his grave
Now Tom was quite poor earning modest pay
Yet he never stepped out of line
And the rich man’s death gave him food for his kin
Helped him care for his wife who was pale and thin
And to live to be ninety nine

Undeclared War

For the children around the world acting for truth

An undeclared war is raging now
A terrible struggle
More violent
Than any affray ever know before
With appalling consequences
If the right cause fails
Horrific, horrendous, horrifying
Leading humanity
Towards an alliance with death
With destruction an afterthought
O how the conflict rages
Across the Fields of Understanding
That paradisiacal place
Where hope once blossomed
In a garden of reality
You will of course
Question the identity of the combatants
A natural enquiry this
For those who determine the future of mankind
Demand identification
So note well these belligerents
First
Storming down from the hills of greed and self-interest
The vandals of archaic industry
Riding steeds of steel
And bearing torches so powerful
They scorch the air itself
With them, just a little ahead
Is an array of trumpets
Sounding forth brassy lies
That stifle the cries
Of the people
Whose land must suffer under
The hooves of the invading horses
What of the other combatants?
The opposition to this force of terror?
They are also strong
Potent adversaries
Poised on the brink of the Armageddon
Looming in this time
The wise folk of tomorrow they are
Children of the present
Who do not flinch in the face of evil
Reject the lies and myths primeval
And demand action for global warming

Black Dog

Hello Charlie
How are you today?
Not the best Ethan but thank you for the call
OK then
We’ll see what we can do about that
Open up to me
What’s the problem?
Let’s make this phone health system work for us
You’re at home
Good.
Not out mingling with COVID sources
I’ve enjoyed working with you all these years
So how can I help today?
O things are bad just now Ethan
Too many demons to conquer
Some times I’m OK when I wake up
What a nice word OK is
Sounds good
No need for details
Just a general impression of survival
But not OK this morning though
Too many things I can’t fix
More disasters threatening and happening
Than I can mend…
All right then Charlie
That’s what I’m here for
Let’s see if we can deal with this
Tell me the problem
Fill me in
More than one Ethan
Lots
You know many of them already
You remember my wife left me to live with another woman
My son was a victim of the Afghanistan War
You know I was sacked from my lifetime job
For being too old
You know I have lost other employment because of the virus
I load garbage for the Council now
And I’ve told you my car is at the wreckers
Because I forgot to water the radiator
I’m deaf as a beetle
With one hearing aid I can’t fix
Because I can’t leave home to get it put right
All this you have helped me with before
And other things too
But now
Yesterday came the last straw
The explosion that blew me away
My Uncle Charles
CEO of Make A Killing Inc
And my mentor for many years
Told me of all things I should go to a psychiatrist
And he cut me out of his will
All because I demonstrated agains global warming
And joined the Greens
Last straw Ethan
Somewhat ironic
Because I have been going to you
As my psychiatrist
For all these years
But now that’s it
I’m blown apart
Disintegrating
When you attack someone’s self respect
With all guns blazing
You’ve got to get the facts right
Otherwise you are only enslaving your victim
For your own peace of mind
That’s me just now Ethan
A slave to Uncle Charles’ equanimity
And disintegrating
Everything is a shadow and there is no sun…
All right Charlie
Take a deep breath
Let’s go after these demons
Thanks Ethan, I’m listening
Well now
How old are you?
Fifty-five
Good. Didn’t die young.
How’s your cancer?
I don’t have any
I knew that Charlie
Just a joke
Good. More years likely
How’s your blood pressure?
MY GP says it’s like a young man’s
Heart in good order?
Yes
Good. Still more years looming
Do you get hungry much?
Well not really
The farm and garden give us ample food
Good. Yet even more years likely
How are you and Jessie getting on?
She’s the most loving wife anyone could have
She’s my treasure
You’re not lonely then?
No
Far from it
Good. Makes those extra years contented as well
What about hobbies?
Anything to escape boredom?
Well yes actually Ethan
I have found myself recently
A volunteer with the Police Boys Club
Quite involved I am
Those kids
Poor troubled souls
Many from broken homes
Desperate for a friend
I teach them boxing a bit
And coach the soccer team
Quite moving actually
Cheers me up considerably
Aha!
That’s it Charlie
You’ve found your own solution yourself
To become a vital part of somebody else’s life
Is not to die
It’s a way that doesn’t stop with you
It spreads like a benevolent pandemic
Yeah
I’m convinced Doc
It’s the one thing I do that lights me up
I’ll get into it more
Every day if I can with a smile and a helping hand
Yes Charlie
That’s right, a good plan
Go for it
I’ll boost your Duloxetine to 120 mg
And we’ll see what happens
That’s it my friend
The hour’s up
Time for me to go
Call me if you need me, I mean really need me
Thanks a lot Ethan
It’s made a difference
The black dog’s asleep in the kennel
Cheers

Kindness Is An Antibiotic

Kindness is an antibiotic
More powerful than penicillin sometimes
Gets rid of the poverty virus for example
More quickly than a surgeon deals with cancer
Just apply often, before and after meals preferably
Especially after disaster
And before the chaos of argument
As for the latter
Recent research seems to indicate
The surest remedy
Is a grain of salt
As a treatment the kindness drug is needed now
More than ever before
Owing to the pandemic of sadness
That clutches the world of today
In its callous fingers
Laughter is in lockdown
And tears are flooding the market
An outbreak of self-interest has been noticed recently
Especially in the mining industry
Many important people
Are going down with it with disastrous consequences
And despite the kindness
Delivered diligently by paramedics
Temperatures continue to rise
We have now reached an important moment of epidemiology
Requiring more drastic action
From tomorrow
Kindness will be supplemented
By the powerful purgative of taxation
And the main sufferers
Will be fitted with pacemakers
To control dangerous enthusiasms
So let it be
And may good health return to the world

Now Hear This

Deafness is a hard deal
For every human being
It immerses you in potential ignominy
When your only resort
Is to guess what they are saying
Since I have grown old
I have suddenly found great compassion
For the sufferers of hearing deficiency
All my days
I barely noticed their anguish
Just let it go by
As I enjoyed my infallibility
Wondered a little
Why my aged parents
Had their television thundering so loudly
Slightly annoyed I was
Seeing their behaviour
As predictable evidence of senility
How things have changed at this moment in my time
So much now I cannot hear
Beethoven is but an echo of his former self
I lie with gesture in conversation
Nodding as if I heard what was being said
Throwing in a neutral comment
Such as
How interesting!
And hoping it is not a faux pas
I watch comic television
To enjoy the chuckling
But cannot hear the reason for the laughter
Yet my life goes on
With me more sensitive to the troubles of others
While, for example, with broadcasts of political speeches
Even with the volume up
I still enjoy the beauty of appropriate silence

royciebaby