A Rose Or Two To Smell

Heaven

When I am dead
Where will you find me?
Look for me
In a rainbow after a storm
In a morning mist
In a bird’s wings as it masters the air
In the petals of a flower in an old man’s garden
In a sunrise over a silent sea
In a moonbeam filtering through tall trees
In the first star after sunset
In a butterfly dancing nonchalantly on air
In a crystal clear mountain stream
In a mushroom springing to life after rain
In wild flowers adorning the workaday bush
In your slippers when you’re in from the cold
In the silence just before you fall asleep
And in a page of one of my books
However tattered it may be

The Spirit Of The Game

Stumped 2023

Listen to the booing
Bad conduct ensuing
From vociferous fools
Who ignore the rules
Fake heroes they are outside the fence
Where they loudly create false recompense
That batsman is out
There can be no doubt
Note well the umpire’s act
For he is the sole judge of fact
How can the doer of a legal feat
Be branded by a mob as an arrant cheat?
Hearken to the noise – it’s mindless babble
The kind you hear from a witless rabble
They declare that an honest man’s a fraud
And demean the contest with noisy discord
Anger is hurled into peaceful air
And you won’t find a sportsman anywhere
Such wrongful behaviour puts an end to decorum
Justice decrees that we simply ignore ’em
Play up play up and play the game
Change your act or endure the shame
For history will surely judge your ways
As the kind of music that a hooligan plays
So be silent now and restore the peace
Or you’ll stay forever outside your crease

Yer Money Or Yer Life

Smoking kills
Call the Quitline
137 484 or 13QUIT
Coles sign

There, that’s it then
I’ve just bought my Marlboros from Coles
Good value too
Special discount price
Although could have bought two meals from KFC with that
Yes I want to quit
Eventually
But I can’t just now
I’m a nervous type
And smoking calms me down
I’m only young too
Too young to die
And old age
The usual time for fatal illness Is so far, far away
Won’t call Quitline either
I’m not a wimp
Or a child
Running to Mummy or Daddy for help
So that’s it then
Thou shalt not kill
Unless there’s money in it
Profit for the chosen few
And for the government
So I smoke, smoke, smoke my days away
And tell the Usher at the Golden Gate
That he’ll just have to wait
As I’m not quite ready yet
To light my last and fatal cigarette

Weapons Of Peace

What is an alliance in today’s world?
It is a mission statement
For the military industrial complex
Just look at those well dressed figures
Holding hands in an extended handshake
Posing for the cameras
Smiling with fake courtship
As a warning to non-aligned nations
Behave yourselves
Or you will incur our wrath
And be doomed by our powerful togetherness
So the war game continues
Defined by cooperative tainted media
That give reality
The veracity of children’s fairy tales
Weapons of peace
That’s what they are
Those statements from the conference
Mere words
That define acceptable international relations
And set the wheels of war industries turning
As deterrents creating not sticks and stones
But powerful, frightening devices
The latest gimmickry of fear and Death
Rockets that you cannot hide from
Cluster bombs designed specifically to kill personnel
Submarines powered by atomic activity
And aircraft with infinite power to kill
Warnings these
Messages sent forth
Concerning an overt manifest destiny
Allegedly to protect a way of life
That is the epitome of virtue
Thus the conflict is defined
Morality versus evil
And the good shall inherit the earth
Provided they are armed well enough to do it

Time To Smell The Roses

I went for a walk this morning
It was hard work
As I’ll soon be ninety
And my knees are like America
They’ve seen better days
Yes that short stroll was not easy
My walking stick gave me a hint of security
Yet I remained quite afraid of falling
Nevertheless I had sallied forth
The sun was comforting on my neck
The air was inspiringly fresh
And to my surprise I had company
A big black bird had come in from the reserve
We both paused and eyed each other
Then as I decided I had done enough walking
And turned to return indoors
The bird assumed I was after its scalp
It turned and kept a safe distance from me
Walking in the same direction
It was so graceful
And I was like a broken down cart horse
Shoeless and treading on hot coals
In this way we progressed for quite a distance
When I paused for breath
It too stood still
So elegant, so tall, yet so alert
I knew I was under close scrutiny
Yet something else was happening to me
I felt so attracted to that bird
Inspired by its majesty
By the charcoal blackness of its feathers
The gentle flexibility of its neck
And the luminosity of the eyes that were watching me
I moved again and our rapport suddenly ended
Those great wings stretched outwards
And away it flew
Something happened to me on the rest of that journey
My step was just a little firmer
And I paused to smell some roses
Before I went inside

royciebaby