POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

[keithgood838]

As the dust settles on the battle-of-the-sexes
humorous thread, I think it's time to post something
that raises the tone. The following was written
by my late friend Eric Baker in tribute to his beloved
wife Brenda who pre-deceased him:

SILVER IS ...

Swish of surf on sand-strewn shore
With ebb and flow of tide;
Bees, intently harvesting,
Each to his task applied.

Low murmuring of evening breeze
Caressing trees and flowers;
Raindrops tap-dancing on the roof
In spring's life-giving showers.

Liquid cadences of harp
Cascading on the ear;
Deep shadows in the empty seas
Bemottling lunar sphere.

Sweet scent of lavender and rose
Enhanced by summer rain;
Pictures, etched on winter nights
By frost on window pane.

Butterfly on errant wings
Drift-dancing over flowers;
Silken sheen of spider's web,
The toil on many hours.

Clear water chuckling over stones
In wand'ring meadow brook;
Word-pictures in a fairy tale
From childhood's fav'rite book.

Dew gems on grass by night restored
To freshness for our pleasure;
Autumnal tints of falling leaves
A wealth of hues to treasure.

Translucent wings of dragonfly
Skim-dancing over tarn;
Soft-soughing wings of preying owl
Emerging from a barn.

Snow, soundless, settling on the fields,
Expanse of of ice agleam;
Soft soothing silence of the night
That we may sleep, to dream.

Yet none of these would be my choice,
Dear one, could I but hear your voice.

Eric Baker

[mariana44]

That was just beautiful Keith--anyone who has lost a loved one can relate to that. Eric sounds as though he was a very talented man.

[keithgood838]

Yes Marian, Eric was also a talented thespian
possessed of a powerful stage presence. I'm sure
he is looking down at us feeling gratified that he now
shares the website stage dedicated to Matt Monro.
I hope to post some more of his lines later.
He was a man of Kent, incidentally, and lived in Biggin Hill.
Keith

[ROBERT M.]

Keith, was his favourite song Come Fly With Me or perhaps Fly Me to the Moon

[mariana44]

I know Biigin Hill---the airport is there--not too far from me-in fact my neighbour comes from there.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Thank you Keith, and Thank you Eric Baker, a lovely poem,

[keithgood838]

Glad you liked it, folks. Now let me return the tone
to its former state of disrepute:

TAUTOLOGY

Newscasters who start their sentences
with well or now
are like an itch - a minor irritation.
They thoughtlessly indulge the freeloaders,
those intrusive interjections, illicit boarders
of the linguistic train adding nothing to the information.
Now I recommend the media make it their duty,
indeed take a solemn vow
to throw off such nuisance superfluity.
With effect from?
Well I'd be relieved if repulsing the rascals started now.

Keith Good

[keithgood838]

SURFEIT
(26 June 2010)

A feast of sporting fare,
a sumptuous a la carte menu;
something to every viewer's taste
and, thanks to technology, there
is no mouthwatering delicacy
that needs to go to waste.

But the culinary apogee
that holds national sway?
Tomorrow's afternoon banquet to be
served at three on a historic Sunday.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Can't see Frankfurter sausages on our menu Keith.

[ROBERT M.]

Hopefully the Germans will serve us up sour kraut

[keithgood838]

On this lately neglected thread
I post a poem by my late friend who,
from his celestial eyrie,
will be pleased to see
that his words will be appreciatively read:

AT DAWNING

The morning mist meanders over the meadows and fields,
And all is quiet: that silent hour which Mother Nature yields
To all mankind is with us, the suns rays penetrate
Amorphous clouds to rest their warmth on flowers beside the gate.

Grass, dew-silvered in night's hours, reverts again to green,
And creatures, large and small, begin their daily tasks unseen,
As, hour by hour, the Earth awakes to greet the new-born day
Bestowed by the Creator in His rich recurring way.

These things are real and yet for man they have no consequence;
The moss upon a rustic wall; the dew on web or fence
Mean nothing to him, for he thinks only of wealth and power;
Not the beauty nature shows him in that splendid hour.

For man is arrogant and vain, rejoicing in the glory
Of man-made things and man-made plans - he cannot see the story
That ev'ry day unfolds before his maladjusted eyes:
A stirring leaf, a butterfly and ever-changing skies.

Eric Baker

[mariana44]

Another lovely poem from Eric-thanks Keith for sharing it.

[keithgood838]

Glad Eric's lines found favour in your appreciation of verse, Marian(a).

THE HEALTHCARE HAZARD

The hubris of politicians
blithely takes one's breath away,
not for them a short trip
on their untested smack
round the margin of the bay.
No, they herd us on board
without a by-your-leave
and set course for the open sea,
oblivious of placing in jeopardy
the wellbeing of you and me.

[keithgood838]

ST ANDREWS, 2010

The Old Lady has already banished some favourites
to win her affections, and is 'driving' to distraction
the remaining suitors in their quest for the accolade
of her Claret Jug:

"TEMPO"

'Don't force it, let the club work willingly!'

The exhortation evokes time's pendulum
swinging dispassionately through the vicissitudes
of the daily struggle to survive:

Finding the approach that leads to success;
overcoming handicaps;
staying on par under pressure;
the bad lies; the lucky breaks;
seeing aims blown off course
and soaring hopes sink without without trace.
Putting yourself into history;
flirting with peril; the rough passages;
losing self-confidence in the sands of insecurity,
then gleefully noticing trees
bursting with leaf (and song)
upon the muse's timely intervention.

Now embedded in folklore,
perhaps that pinned-up one-word note
had implications for the game of life:
for the pursuit of pleasure
and for minimising mental strife?

Keith Good

[keithgood838]

BROADBAND BLUES

BT emailed to tell me
that my browser had grown tired;
my attempts at upgrade failed
because my webpage had expired,
so I phoned the BT helpline
saying: 'I need a new browser,'
and a voice from distant India
replied: 'Shall we do it now, sir.'

Daraksha led us on the upgrade dance
and showed off her nimble-movement skill
upon the Mozilla Firefox floor,
I felt as light as Fred for days until
my hub ceased to flicker by happenstance
and all our broadband music was no more ...