POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

[Eman]

Very nice Keith. Veteran's Day is on Monday here

[keithgood838]

Thanks Eman. Siegfried Sassoon was highly critical
of the WW1 high command 'lions led by donkeys'.

THE GENERAL

'Good morning; good morning!' the general said
When we met him last week on our way to the Line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of them dead,
And we're cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
'He's a cheery old card,' grunted Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.

But he did for them both with his plan of attack.

Siegfried Sassoon
(1886-1967)

[keithgood838]

WARLIKE WINDS

An archipelago perched on the Pacific Ring of Fire,
the Philippines is prone to repeats of Mother Nature's ire,
but her latest weather tantrum is one cruel baygo too far,
by unleashing Typhoon Haiyan she has declared outright war.
Notwithstanding the stoic Pinoys renowned resilience,
the world fellowship must now rush to the Philippines' defence.

Keith Good

[Eman]

Nice one Keith!! Yeah I'm hearing it's pretty tragic. The area where my Dad grew up during WWII is chaotic and from what I heard their old house has been totalled along with some of their rice fields. The good news is none of his surviving siblings and their families (3 sisters) were affected as they live in different parts of the country.

[keithgood838]

I'm glad to hear that your relatives are safe, Eman.
I hope the following reflects this thread's sub-title.

RESTLESSNESS

Like the glass-clinking, lips-licking relief
of a cold drink in a drought-defined summer,
maybe the melting Arctic sea ice
is the planet's thirst-quenching response to ruinous
heatwaves in the US, Russia and Australia.
Could it be that Katrina and Sandy
were the huffing and harrumphing of our world
in an increasingly uncomfortable environment?
Maybe typhoon Haiyan glaringly illustrates the snapping
of Mother Earth's patience, of her throwing off the duvet
and angrily declaring: 'Unless you want me to drown
in my own sweat turn the infernal thermostat down!'

Keith Good

[ROBERT M.]

This won't help mother nature either............very powerful

http://memolition.com/2013/10/16/time-l ... -on-earth/

[keithgood838]

Hi Robert, people once believed that the world was flat.

THE DIVERTING DIMINUTIVE

Dear friend, a word in your ear:
'selfie' has been named by editors
at luminary Oxford Dictionaries
(if you please) as word of the year.
It seems that the humble ie suffix
turns a narcissistic epithet
into something designed to endear.
So the photo-word steals the linguistic show -
thought you would like to know.

Keith Good

[Eman]

ha ha..funny you posted this Keith as today is "National Selfie Day" here in the U.S.

[keithgood838]

Crikey Eman, a whole day dedicated to one word;
literary recognition writ large!
Forgive me if I have posted the following previously,
however I think it can bear repetition:

NOVEMBER

No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk, no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds!
November!

Thomas Hood
(1799-1845)

[Eman]

Yep!! All for one word. I wonder if LMFBO will eventually become a recognized word or all those text message terms.

[keithgood838]

NOVEMBER

The Centaur, Sagittarius, am I,
Born of Ixion's and the cloud's embrace;
With sounding hoofs across the earth I fly,
A steed Thessalian with a human face.
Sharp winds the arrows are with which I chase
The leaves, half dead already with affright;
I shroud myself in gloom; and to the race
Of mortals bring nor comfort nor delight.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


After festive lights, All Hallows hands out frights
when dead souls return to haunt the living;
pyrotechnic echoes trigger thoughts of heroes,
shared by New World ones turned to Thanksgiving.

from Calendar Characters

[keithgood838]

DECEMBER

Riding upon the Goat, with snow-white hair,
I come, the last of all. This crown of mine
Is of the holly; in my hand I bear
The thyrsus, tipped with fragrant cones of pine.
I celebrate the birth of the Divine,
And the return of the Saturnine reign -
My songs are carols sung at every shrine:
Proclaiming 'Peace on Earth, good will to men.'

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Jet Stream reprises his northern refrain
and we chorus our rapture with the snow,
yet his Azores-warmed, southerly-steered flow
can usher soft December flecked with rain.

Spared, we are eager to embark and go
on the time-travelling voyage again ...

from Calendar Characters

May I take this opportunity to wish my forum friends
a happy festive season and a healthful new year.

[Eman]

Thank you Keith, and a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family. I always look forward to your jokes and especially your original prose.

[Gray]

Merry Christmas to you as well, Keith.
I also really enjoy all your contributions!

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Merry Christmas from us too Keith, and thanks very much for all the poems and humour throughout the year.