Poetry - December 2023

A Brief Flurry

As I look outside the window from the office
And almost as if it's on cue for this time of year
There's a sense of some white stuff in the air
And there's a small flurry coming down here
It's not going to stick on the pavements
And it certainly will go as quick as it arrived
But seeing some of that happening in London
Really did make me feel that we weren't deprived
Lots of other places had white drifts of snow
And that definitely made it feel more Winter
So for it to even attempt to come down here
Was something in the cold that was so bitter
The brief flurry it may have been today
But at least it showed that there could be snow
And if that could happen on Christmas day please
Then it'd just make the festive time so much you know.

(Think it lasted for around half an hour, but being in the office and seeing that brief flurry of snow fall was rather beautiful.)

Walking in the Air

Forty one years ago I can remember
Sitting in the front room Christmas Eve
Being enchanted by an animated film
That had a moment to cherish but one to grieve
It had no words, just music to tell the tale
And felt just so perfect because of that
So when I heard there's a theatre show
I wanted to go and definitely see all that
It was an enchanting hour and a half
Where the characters all danced and came to life
With the snowman and boy walking in the air
With so many happy people forgetting their strife
It was just a lovely distraction from the world
As the music played and the snowman did fly
There was a beautiful momen with a ballerina
That made this grown man almost cry
Most of all it was enchanting to the end
And the beauty of being less is more was the case here
So thank you Peacock Theatre for such a good show
And one that I'm now in my own way hold dear.

(The Snowman, on stage. It was rather good!)

Not The Answer

Everything has been painful
Everything has been hurtful, you know
But the moment has come in life
When it is time to say farewell and go
As you think about things solemnly
How things could have been different
How if you had tried harder
You wouldn't be in such a lament
You'd still be with the woman you love
The one you thought you adored
The one whose head you messed up
When you played away when you were bored
And drunk and pissed; so what do you do now?
You think to yourself as you arrive home
You're realising the truth dawning
That in fact you are all alone
You turn to alocohol in your time of sadness
And as time develops with you
The dependancy turns into more
And more as you feel more blue
Everyone is supporting you with kindness
But you punish yourself more each day
As you drink beyond the safe limits
And soon you can't wait till it's payday
Where you go into the public house
And stay there for hours on end
Until you realise your mind had lost it
And that's where you abuse your friend
The one who tried to be supportive
The one who was there for you
The one who's now facing your ugly mouth
Of four letter words and a gob of goo
Soon you arrive home wrecked
Life isn't getting any better at all
But instead of making the plea for help
You just drink yourself into the wall
Soon you're addicted and no one is there
You need to go into rehabiliation
But be warned this: drink is not the answer
For life's occasional bad situation.

(A reminder, especially at Christmas, that turning to drink isn't the answer to solve everything.)

The Two Rules Of Christmas

It has to be the first of December at least
Before I will even entertain any talk
Of having a festive merry Christmas time
And going for a snow capped Winter walk
But it also needs to be the right time
In order not to be saturated by shopping
And other activities where everywhere is rammed
Which just means you want to be stopping
Also there needs to be a song played
And a famous one at that as well
Where the lead singer proclaims it is Christmas
And once I've heard it, all should be well
It was early December in my love's car
Where she played some Christmas songs
And on the way to have Plum Pudding beer
It didn't take very long
Until we heard Noddy Holder do his thing
And proclaim "It's Chriiiiiiiiiiistamas!"
And as I had the festive beer later
I knew that the rules were met, no fuss.

(Remember, the two rules of Christmas are that it is not Christmas until 1 - It is at least December, and 2 - Noddy Holder of Slade says it is on their Christmas song. If rule 1 isn't met, rule 2 doesn't count..)

Festive Cat Haiku

Brian feels festive
He wants his stocking right now
Lots of Dreamies too.

(Brian the cat adores a good cat stocking for Christmas, especially if there just so happens to be some treats in there. And Dreamies, always Dreamies..)