POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

[keithgood838]

Grandson Jack lives up to his name: he is a fair-haired,
blue-eyed bundle of fun. When asked what he might give
up for Lent he replied mischievously,
'Potatoes.'
He then diluted the gesture by adding,
'I don't like 'em.'


ON THE SEA OF LIFE


The newest member of our crew

has been named Jack,

and he is shipshape fine;

God guide him through

as veers on his tack,

yet holds the line.


Keith Good ---------Our second grandson,
embarked 5 September 2003

[Baz]

Thanks Keith.
Lovely.
Barry.

[keithgood838]

Thanks Baz. It has been my good fortune and privilege
to have written several poems in tribute to Matt Monro.
Most were posted on The Lounge thread about a year ago.
Since you rejoined on 4 May, I am assuming you have
not read them. In which case, and as a fellow poet may
I recommend in all modesty, the following selection,
which may be found as follows:

Page four, title Contrasting Charms

Page five, title The Golden Thread

Page 6 , title The Favourite Monro

With my compliments,
Keith

[Baz]

Thanks again Keith.
I will take a look.
Barry.

[keithgood838]

Perhaps I should preface this final part of the munchkins
trilogy by explaining that Roseanna became a photographic
model (displaying the Beauty and the Bib series courtesy
of a neighbour's connections) in the first year of her life.
She appeared in Vogue magazine and on the internet:


A STAR IS BORN


Debut-new in bloom-bright bib, our little lodestar
communicates her cyberspace arrival
via the infants' fashion firmament.
Blue of eyes, scintillant of smile
and sunny of temperament,
the skies are quick to recognise a worthy rival.
And here her cloud-nine reign over us starts:
Roseanna, already a stellated supernova,
alias Aurora, queen of all our hearts ...


Keith Good-------Roseanna made her
grand entrance to our galaxy on 19 April 2007


PS Thank you fellow forum members for allowing
me to indulge our family's 'little darlings'.

[Marian]

Thank you for these three 'munchkin' poems Keith.
I feel we have come to know your three grandchildren through your sharing them with us.
Marian

[Catherine M]

PAY-BACK TIME

O Lord, let me be a burden on my children
For long they've been a burden upon me.
May they fetch and carry, clean and scrub
And do so cheerfully.

Let them take it in turns at putting me up
Nice sunny rooms at the top of the stairs
With a walk-in bath and lift installed
At great expense.....Theirs.

Insurance against the body-blows of time
Isn't that what having children's all about?
To bring them up knowing that they owe you
And can't contract out?

What is money for but to spend on their schooling?
Designer clothes, mindless hobbies, usual stuff.
Then as soon as they're earning, off they go
Well, enough's enough.

It's been a blessing watching them develop
The parental pride we felt as each one grew.
But Lord, let me be a burden on my children
And on my children's children too.

Roger McGough Selected Poems

[keithgood838]

SPOTLIGHT SAVIOUR

Michele's kind invitation
posed no writing problem,
I had numerous words in stock;
the photo though, ahem,
loomed on the horizon,
a diverting-delivery roadblock.
With no store of the camera's devotion,
I had reckoned without our Matt:
he appeared at my shoulder smiling, 'Old son,
you'll be fine, I'll make sure of that.'

Keith

[Lena & Harry Smith]

No secret kept for this lady....seen on a gravestone.

.Here Lies The Body Of Poor Aunt Charlotte
.Born A Virgin, Died A Harlot.
.For Sixteen Years, She Kept Her Virginity.
. A Damned Long Time For This Vicinity.

[Baz]

Love it!
LOL
Barry.

[keithgood838]

The following little verse is a second spin-off
from my Spotlight session. I have borrowed
the title from Home-thoughts from Abroad,
by Robert Browning:


SPRING SONG
(the first fine careless rapture)


My delectable Delius moment,

like when our great music virtuoso

was moved On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring,

was as an adolescent (should that be adorescent?)

on hearing on a radio show

our great vocalist Matt Monro sing ...


Keith Good

[keithgood838]

I don't know the title of the following lines
by Thomas Carey (d.1743), however with
his posthumous permission I would
name the apt piece, DOUBLESPEAK:

With hand on double heart and uplift eyes,
The sly, designing politician cries:
'For my dear country's sake I toil all day,
And wear in tedious thought the night away.'
Now if aright this man I understand,
'Tis for his own dear country house and land.

Keith

[keithgood838]

FACELESS SERVICE

'Welcome to the DVLA,'
droned the disembodied voice.
'For your licence disc renewal
press to activate that choice.'
My insurance, MOT cert and credit
all passed eye-blink-quick control
at the cost of exchanged pleasantries
with a breathing, fellow soul.

Keith

[Lena & Harry Smith]

a rare, unexpected and happy experience then Keith. I'm going to be looking forward to this at the end of this month.

[keithgood838]

A LEXICAL LAUGH

It's the biggest outpouring of bunkum
that we've ever heard;
our American friends counting down
to the one millionth word;
a validation of time's
hackneyed old adage:
two peoples divided by
a common language.

Keith

PS A little transatlantic banter, Lori;
thanks for your very kind words.
(The credit accrues to the subject matter.)