Ode to Keith

[keithgood838]

Apologies for the Tigers typo, Robert. Also I was unaware that they
no longer prowl the jungles of the Europa League. However it is great
news that thousands of new jobs are coming to Hull. The city's most
notable resident referred to work affectionately as 'old toad'. Here are
some extracted lines of his on the subject:

TOADS REVISITED

Walking around in the park
Should feel better than work:
The lake, the sunshine,
The grass to lie on,

Blurred playground noises
beyond black-stockinged nurses -
Not a bad place to be.
Yet it doesn't suit me.

being one of the men
You meet of an afternoon ...

Waxed-fleshed out-patients
Still vague from accidents,
And characters in long coats
Deep in the litter-baskets -

All dodging the toad work
By being stupid or weak.
Think of being them!
Hearing the hours chime,

Watching the bread delivered,
The sun by clouds covered,
The children going home;
Think of being them ...

No, give me my in-tray,
My loaf-haired secretary,
My shall-I-keep-the-call-in-Sir:
What else shall I answer,

When the lights come on at four
At the end of another year?
Give me your arm, old toad;
Help me down Cemetery Road.

Philip Larkin
(1922-1985)

[maxine]

Aawww lovely Keith

Wish my Dad here to read it ;0) ...he loved anything like that ;0) ...especially to do with Hull

[keithgood838]

Glad you enjoyed that, Maxine. Last year you guys humoured me
by commenting on my paean to a memorable five days my missus
and I spent in Galway at the gathering of her cousins' clan. I hope
you will indulge me one more time with this follow-up verse:

BALLINASLOE BAKING
(The Gathe'ryan, August 2013)

Begin with handfuls of heartfelt failtes,
add copious spoonfuls of soul-deep ease;
drizzle over lest the mix be spoilt as
the texture fails to rise if runny fine,
then infuse the blend with fresh-farmed flavours
from Galway's glist'ning oyster-rich coastline.
Leave on mark constant indigenous warmth
and serve at the plush Carlton Shearwater:
a mind-digested chef-d'oeuvre crafted by
a duteous Brackernagh Ryan's daughter.

Keith Good

[maxine]

That's lovley Keith my hubby is part Irish ...1/8 th I believe lol ....

[Eman]

Awesome Keith..

[keithgood838]

Thanks Maxine and Eman; now I am sure the poem works - all
the more surprising since I know virtually nothing about baking.

On the eve of climate change talks in America, here are some
controversial words of advice for the participants:

COLD CALCULATION

Convince capitalist power,
which holds decisive sway,
that tackling climate change can
be made handsomely to pay,
then watch their scepticism,
like the Greenland ice sheet,
perceptibly melt away ...

Keith Good

[keithgood838]

RESURGENCE

An endangered species,
the Celtic Tiger has been spotted
surging through the finance jungle of the EU,
showing the way for fellow big beasts
to shake off their lethargy
and prowl powerfully too.

Keith Good

[keithgood838]

THIS MALCONTENT MONTH

Serene September arrived, the perfect guest,
behaving like summer at his sunniest best,
then October barged in like a truculent lout,
huffing and puffing and throwing his weight about.
As tearful, spluttering tantrums still come and go,
maybe the weather gods will impose an Asbo.

Keith Good

[Eman]

Nice Keith!!!
Love the imagery

[keithgood838]

Thanks Eman, I case you are unaware, an Asbo here
is an anti-social behaviour order.
Here is something right up your poetic street: October
presented in a more favourable light by American poet
and song lyricist, George Cooper.

OCTOBER'S PARTY

October threw a party;
the leaves in hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in a rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly "hands around."

George Cooper
(1840-1927)

[Eman]

Nice, I remember studying Cooper's work in college.

[keithgood838]

Here's a verse by an American performance poet, Eman:

THE LITTLE TURTLE

There was a little turtle.
He lived in a box.
He swam in a puddle.
He climbed on the rocks.

He snapped at a mosquito.
He snapped at a flea.
He snapped at a minnow,
And he snapped at me.

He caught the mosquito.
He caught the flea.
He caught the minnow,
But he didn't catch me.

Vachel Lindsay
(1879-1931)

[ROBERT M.]

[keithgood838]

I'm glad you were amused by that witty, small creature little ditty,
Robert. Here's one of mine that I may have posted previously:

AGE ANGST

Two bats upside down in their habitat.
Says one: 'I've a late-life foreboding sense.'
Says the concerned other: 'What is that?'
Says the first: 'We should fear incontinence.'

Keith Good

[maxine]

love it Keith ...something i wouldn't have tought about before and said so wittily lol