Vinnies

poor old gran
sitting in her rocking chair
embroidering duchess sets
crocheting doilies
that no one in the family wanted


expendable
(like her)
they end up in a thrift shop for a dollar
alongside the memory quilts and photos
collateral damage
from the present ugly and unfeeling dark age

Midweek Motif - PU

That's What Friends Are For

a sweet
sweet  thing
offered healing salve
to  a badly crushed soul
with reassuring words
kindness
friendship
a  phone number
and some great lyrics
to an old song



it took a life time
to find you

Sunday Muse # 66

a patch of blue sky
is always a good sign
if the eagle scoops you up

with any luck it might drop you
in the cabbage patch
where someone you will call mother
finds you

Slow Shuffle

the dancing was pretty frenzied
moving through a whirlwind life
lots of collisions and topples

now in  soft shuffle mode
weighed down heavy
by too much truth and wisdom
she prefers the  slow dance
everything non eventful and
underwhelming  is welcome

il dolce far niente
has become her greatest luxury



Jozef Israels



Midweek Motif  - PU

American Sentences

No cover ups, her grey hair reminds her  she is no longer youthful.






Loads of wealthy friends at her funeral yet she died broke and homeless




Charlotte Dawson

Eagerly awaiting summer she counts down the days until the spring





Weighing up  pros and cons a final decision reached the door slams shut.

Anyone For Tennis ?

hit miss and giggle
i don't think so
it's the wimbledon finals

the titans have been clashing  for hours
so stressful 
as i watch from my realm
with oohs and ahhs
peering out from under the duvet
on tenterhooks
i wonder if you can die
from this type of pressure
(the viewers i mean)
death by chocolate
now
death by tennis

oh look there's benedict cumberbatch
wearing a suit and looking very dapper
quaffing champagne




roger federer has not even raised a sweat
and to think he is so old - 37
his eyebrows and hair are still unruffled
must be a suisse thing

my tennis teacher at school
said  (looking at me) people who ran from the ball
instead of trying to hit it
had no future in this sport
i still have my racquet somewhere

the crowd is going wild for federer
i'm backing Djokovic



they are both remarkable athletes
both super human
who will win?

this match has been going for almost 5 hours
will rall stay awake
to see the end of the match?
will rall be inspired to  give tennis another shot
hit the ball
instead of running away from it?
will rall ever make contestant for the geriatric cup?

stayed awake
djokovic won
best tennis match ever
thank you linesmen
thank you ball boys
i'm coming back as a tennis star
next time round

Sunday's Whirligig

THIS WEEK'S WORDS come from "Olives" by Donald Hall: listened, alone, prowl, doddering, skulls, fifteen, inscrutable, wrinkles, velvet, skirts, blathering, daughters - 



Sunday's Whirligig

when he was fifteen
wearing a black cape
writing inscrutable verse
he prowled  about
lusting after the neighbour's daughters
cheerleaders
in  short  pleated velvet skirts

now alone
a doddering blathering
wrinkled antiquity
his words became hollow skulls
the only one who listened was his cat




Donald Hall 1928 - 2018

"But, decades later, when the dead   

have stopped blathering   

about olives, obese halfbacks wheeze   

upstairs to sleep beside cheerleaders   

waiting for hip replacements,   "

Joni Mitchell Stormy Weather

it seems
that there is no escape
from the storm clouds
no matter how cleverly
you try to manage
your personal climate
you just have to weather
a storm
no way round it

it does not get any easier
just when you think
there is nothing else that
can possibly surprise you
here it comes
a meteor
strikes you unawares
another ambush
another challenge









Midweek Motif - Poets United

Sundays Whirligig

 This week's words come from " Mother, Washing Dishes " by Susan Meyers

 rarely spare finches delivering knuckles greasy mail note swirling wanting curb new

greasy joan 

swirling and keeling the  pot

wearing her knuckles to the bone

curbed her tongue to keep her job

delivering delicious meals

rarely thanked

expecting and wanting nothing

except a little spare time

to  have someone write a note for her

read her mail

 and tend to her new finches