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Each book I work on is, for me, a big achievement. I get immense personal satisfaction from piecing together
all the disparate threads of each book in the form of poetry provided by so many different types of poet.
When I eventually complete a book and see it in print I get a tremendous sense of satisfaction. That’s because I always try
and do poets the justice their work deserves. Because each of these poems is an expression, not just of their feelings,
but also of their inner wisdom. I am often touched by the intelligence and sharpness expressed by each author.
So I hope you, the reader, appreciate not just the emotions expressed but also the Words Of Wisdom in each poem.
Lynda Brennan, Editor
FATHER’S PHILOSOPHY
Father gave me a posy on my birthday
It must have been when I was four
And told me to give it to my mother and say
Thank you mum, and nothing more.
The accepted mother’s day we never observed
As on our birthday we honoured mother
So that as mother’s day served
There was no need for any other.
Strengthening family bonds was the aim
Of father’s simple philosophy.
He said that we had done nothing on that day
’Twas mother that had borne the pain,
So she deserved the gifts, not we
And we never failed his wishes to obey.
Montgomery Hennegin
BRIEF VISIT
A small death comes each time we part
For we are hip joined, sisters in the flesh
Bone and marrow down to each stained strand
The stuff of cells, the gesture of face
The fine skeleton of hands
And we sit while the river slides
Stone on restless stone, tearing its soil
Warbling through the green grass
Moaning through the banks of trees
And we share words, words that turn and gleam
In the air, caught, absorbed
The stuff of spirit bright in the flame
While the river talks
Of bone and soil, the flux and beat
Through arteries of rock, the death of grass
The death of mountains
And we sit and we talk
Human fireflies in the dusk
Pat Mackenzie
THE SPIDER’S WEB
Who taught the spider to spin its web?
Embroidering autumn foliage, as a bride her wedding dress.
The snowdrops to rise anew, dazzling cold earth with virgin white blooms.
Who directs swallows to far off lands
In summer, to return to familiar abodes.
Who taught the child to rise to feet?
Propelling it into a world, so fleeting.
Mother to protect and gently succour.
Father to shield from life’s cruel scourges.
Ah, ’tis a puzzle, a mystery to confront.
Smile, for soon we will be old.
Who knows what fashioned these skills.
The pleasures sought, yet leave us unfulfilled.
The hands that set broken bones to right.
The voice to sing of lovers plights.
What holds those strings, holds also me.
But it’s the swallows who fly free.
Celia Annesley
THE VOICE OF THE WINDS
The winds that blow across the grasses
bring to us the words of wisdom.
We must guide and love our children
from the paths of war and woe.
We must love and trust our neighbour
and cast aside the sword of woe.
The winds that whisper through the woods
mourn the souls who died
in needless wars of not so long ago.
We must heed the cries
of pain and sorrow
for those lives snuffed out so early.
The winds that move along the valley
pray for our loved ones
not to die - not to die.
In needless battles their blood spilt
for the politicians’ trumped-up causes.
We must embrace love, not hate - peace, not war.
Alexander Baird
THE CROSS OF KELLS
O slither of wood, how light
You rest across my fingers
But hard, and as black as night.
Strange, intense, your image lingers
Across my mind.
From ancient bog oak, submerged
Long aeons in swamps primordial
Brought to light and cruciformed.
Carved with Celtic holy symbol
Lingers across my mind.
And from Kells precious pages culled
Symbols, Christian and prior era
Of Erins poets - that some call druid.
In whose defence came Columba
From Iona, and the day was carried.
Lingers, rests across my mind.
Margaret Duguid
LISTEN TO MUM
My mother used to say to me, when I was just sixteen,
You go out and enjoy yourself, s’long as I know where you’ve been,
There’s dances at the guides’ hut, there’s youth club at the church,
As long as you are back by ten, and we don’t have to search,
She said, one stipulation, you must not disobey,
Don’t get into a stranger’s car, but I did it anyway.
’Twas freezing at the bus stop, I’d been there half an hour,
He offered me a lift, but soon it all turned sour,
He would have tried to rape me, but as he came too near,
I scratched him with my fingernails, I didn’t have no fear,
He opened up the door, and threw me right outside,
He drove off then and left me with just my wounded pride.
The moral of this tale is, listen to your mum,
She gives you words of wisdom, so don’t you act so dumb.
Valerie Burch
GAME OVER
Could never say I love you,
I don’t know what it means.
It is just an illusion
It’s never what it seems.
The highs, the lows, the passion,
The shattering of dreams.
So now that it’s all over
We’re friends still, that’s not bad,
Now you no longer love me,
Why do I feel so sad?
Frankie Shepherd
BEREFT HEART
All time stands still, infinity echoes for years,
First light brings dark clouds of electric tears.
The gap in my life has grown into an abyss,
My empty heart hangs so heavy, when I reminisce.
The pain is not visible, yet it scars the soul,
It’s not only the grim reaper that takes his toll.
You’re missed far more than mortal words can express,
I pray you love, peace, goodnight and God bless.
Ian Michael Clayton
THE END OF LIFE
The grass covered in icy drops of water,
As the mist swirled around my feet,
Clinging to my clothes and damp hair,
It was like a cloud of darkness,
Coming to greet my cold body,
Was there no end to this feeling of emptiness,
I stepped forward, hoping once more the sun would shine,
And warm my icy soul, but there was no end,
Just a dark abyss, as I stepped into oblivion.
Iris Tennent
NECTAR OF POISON
Such pain.
Such pleasure.
Such inability.
Such incapacity.
Such helplessness.
Such deadly urge.
All attack true love.
Humanly impossible courses
form the pathway of true love.
Endurance of pain
produces some pleasure.
The pleasure provides greater inability.
Inability and incapacity become
the deadly urges
to poison the course of love.
The nectar of love yields in
to remain immortal in the world,
leaving the poison to drink the nectar.
Anantha Rudravajhala
CASANOVA
I admired Casanova.
Enjoyed his escapades.
His appetite for the unmentionable.
His frolics with the opposite sex.
All ages, young and old.
Age didn’t matter to him.
They were merely women.
Neither did looks or physique.
He simply enjoyed them.
No need to look at the mantle piece when you’re stoking the fire. Is there?
I found his antics amusing, simply inconsequential entertainment.
Until I discovered, that, he was the man I had been married to for fifty years.
And it broke my heart.
Sheila Bruce
WORDLY WISE
Spare the rod and spoil the child,
Clip their ear, they won’t run wild.
Al Gore preaches global warming,
We should heed his timely warning.
Fly drives out because of you,
Causing too much Co2.
It’s on its way, it’s overdue,
Where’s the vaccine for bird flu?
Don’t do drugs, cocaine or pot,
Otherwise your brain will rot.
Look both ways when crossing roads,
Else you’ll look like those squashed toads.
If you’re drinking, don’t drive, man,
The breathalyser bears a ban.
Never mix the malt with wine,
You’ll end up a drunken swine.
Avoid Al Quaeda, Bin Laden and Hezbollah,
Or the law may feel your collar.
Ban the bomb, thy will be done,
We could be blown to kingdom come.
Ian Tomlinson
QUIZ NIGHT
To the quiz night they all go,
Family and friends all think they know.
Questions are set on current news,
But some of the people have different views.
The quiz master gives out the slips
With pictures of people, he says a few quips.
Everyone studies them anxiously,
They try to guess their identity.
As each group pause and ponder
Their answers, full of hope and wonder,
If all the questions are right,
To win the prize of the night.
At the interval a buffet is spread,
People socialise as they are well fed,
When the answers are all read out,
The winner excited, gives a shout.
Some of the answers they never knew,
Made an impression good and true.
The next time they will memorise,
For they will want to win the prize.
Doreen Barella
SHE SAID
Work the sunrise till its pink opal glow sleeps
Then marvel at the new moon’s pureness,
Feel her silent call, then take comfort,
You can touch souls without them noticing, she said.
Give honourable gifts that grow
You will then be able to breathe their energy.
Be generous with all you know to be excess
Taking only what you need, she said.
Sense the cycle of change, draw on the power,
Let humble spirits guide you onwards,
Follow your heartbeat, the blues of your soul,
It will drown out superfluous noise, she said.
They said, we saw the glow of impurity at sunrise
Screams echoed, torture rode in its wake,
Our lungs ached as man’s carnage claimed momentary victory.
Silenced souls could only stare without seeing,
Buffalo moans haunted our circle of fire, dust covered dusks.
Tranquillity? This new day a scene of mourning
We marvelled at our escape, heartbeat tenuous, recalling what she said, we weep.
Cathy Chadwick
TIME PASSES ON
I always remember when I was a child,
My father liked a pint of dark mild.
My elder brother, a machine tool fitter,
Always preferred a pint of best bitter.
When I came of age I went to the pub,
Eager to join their drinking club.
With brother and father I did not fall out,
Because I drank pints of Irish stout.
But time passes on and habits change,
And I got into the lager range.
Out with my mates on Saturday nights,
Getting drunk and starting fights.
After many drinking bouts,
We soon became lager louts.
Rampaging round Spain and staying out late,
Chatting up girls to ask for a date.
But time passes on, I’ve a wife and a kid,
There’s no way that he’s going to do what I did.
I want him to have things that I never had,
Progress a lot further than his boozy old dad.
Terence Iceton
TED THE BEAR
With a wistful look upon his face, Ted sits quietly and says not a word.
Although we have no conversation,I’m sure that my every word is heard.
There is so much wisdom in his large expressive eyes,
Which are full of understanding, and a kindness they cannot disguise.
I tell him all my secrets, when I’m happy, when I’m sad,
And of those extra special days, and the good times that I’ve had!
He gives great warmth and comfort when I hold him in my arms.
It’s as if he gives protection and keeps me safe from harm,
I never want to lose him, so he’s always in his chair,
For he’s my best friend, and my comforter, my dear old teddy bear.
Jan Imeson
LIFE IS A POEM
In the beauty of the sky
In the perfume of a rose
In the gentle rain on your face
In the warmth of the sun
In the waves of the sea on the shore
In the breathtaking beauty of a starlit sky
In the purring of a kitten
In the love and loyalty of a dog
In the affection of a friend
In the arms of a lover
In the eyes of a child
In the gift we are blessed
Sheila Rogers
LIFE, A MOMENT IN TIME
Life is a precious gift from God
He made the heavens and the earth
The mountains, the flowers and trees
And so much more
For mankind to take care and enjoy.
Life can be fragile like a beautiful flower
And also strong like a resilient tower.
So much to see and enjoy
Yet we encounter battles and strife.
So often life’s hectic space sweeps us away
Without any thought for tomorrow.
Wherever you journey in life today, don’t forget God.
He sent his son Jesus to show us the way,
To give us help and salvation on earth,
And when darkness surrounds us to follow his light.
Life is but a moment in time all, will pass away.
But one day it will all become new.
Christine Goode
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
Pushed to the limit in every way is when one actually sees
How much one loves, how much one cares when forced to the ground on our knees.
Forced to face nightmares again and again that threaten our sanity
Is when one begins to understand love, when one begins to see.
Love is sacrifice again and again of all that we thought we were,
Love is rebuilding again and again on the damage that’s clearly there.
Love is supporting when they need support and trying not to mind,
Caring unconditionally for someone who’s often very unkind.
Loving and caring and starting again when the good side sucks one back in,
The fear light glows a bright warning that some things one just cannot win.
Unconditional love learns to know that and gets up again off its knees,
For love is to sacrifice everything - everything from little understood sickness and less understood disease.
Diane Ireland
THE ROCKING CHAIR
The rocking chair empty now
reminding me of she who sat,
thro’ long lonely days, gone forever,
her worn chair taken by the cat.
Crumpled cushion where her head
rested whilst she slept,
her faithful cat upon her knee,
dreaming of days she wept.
Alone again she thought.
forgetting her family had just gone,
they would come again the next day,
too late, the chair rocked alone.
Joyce Branson
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Let us reach out our thoughts today
And to the Lord in earnest pray.
Let us think of those beyond the sea
Who live in fear and poverty.
Remembering those who have no sight
Whose every day is constant night,
And then of those so deep in pain
Who’ll never walk or talk again
Where in despair, the young are old
Their hopes all spent, emotions cold.
Let us think of those at hunger’s door
Where little children cry for more,
And pray for them that they may find
A better world where life is kind.
Where flowers bloom and ripening seed
Can fill a corner of their need,
Where nights of fear and pain are gone
And peace and love can follow on.
And to our Lord in reverence pray
To relieve the needs of those today.
Helen Langstone
THE INSPIRED WORD
When inspiration comes to you,
Trust God to give you the grace.
Empty out your cluttered mind,
And open up the space.
Let heaven be your influence,
Put other thoughts to flight.
You’ll walk the road to paradise,
Be guided by the light.
Fred Ablitt
I DID IT OUT OF LOVE
I did it out of love
When I couldn’t be
With the one I love
So I went out and
Got the one I love
Then we both fell in love
Then I know I did it
Out of love
Sandra Goddard
THE PUSH AND RUSH
The push, the rush and endless fuss,
That’s life to you and I
And don’t we often wonder why
For we are always running here to get the train
And there to get the bus, to take us back again
We’re always in a hurry, always on the go
We always make urgent
Though why, I’ll never know
Maybe this is progress of the human kind
But if we could have progress
Towards a peaceful, restful mind
Perhaps that’s why we gamble
On the lottery and football pools
For most of us would like the chance
To be lazy fools
Bernard Tucker
LOVE’S FIRST FLING
Hands that touch and lock
Emotions that bubble and froth
Caressing embrace, a tender touch
Eyes that meet and say so much
A glance which speaks a thousand words
Two lovers enraptured in their own world
Fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle
Inseparable, intertwined in intimacy
Far from the realms of reality
Shared worship of sensual, idyllic lust
Vulnerable, stripped bare of all mistrust
A cherished kiss, a moment’s bliss
Simple, secure, serene and pure
Awake, alive, aflame inside
Stabbing your heart, numbing your brain
Playing your emotions, driven insane
A moment’s pleasure, a lifetime’s treasure
The innocence of love’s first fling
Before cracks appear and arguments set in
As warm, intimate feelings deepen within
Martine Gafney
PARABLE
See the wise virgins with horror recoil,
When instructed by the wedding organiser,
To give the foolish virgins lamp oil,
All those bright lamps lit, gave a lovely light,
But they only lasted half the night.
Give yet more lamp oil to the virgins foolish,
The organiser insisted, accede to my wish.
But the virgins’ vessels were empty,
They were not as he thought, like the bottomless pit,
In sad denial the organiser believes,
The wise virgins have more lamp oil
Hidden up their sleeves,
But he could not have his wedding cake,
While he slowly sat and ate it,
With no lamp oil left, no lamps could be lit,
A great darkness covered the land, literally,
But they had all been in the dark,
For a very long time indeed, metaphorically.
Geoffrey Martin
LIFE IS PRECIOUS
Life is precious there is no doubt
That is what it’s all about
We are not here to live just for us
And although we try not to make a fuss
We all have a lesson here to learn
So always try to do a good turn
For everyone is struggling along life’s way
Meeting new challenges every single day
Now and then we all need a helping hand
For often it doesn’t matter what we plan
Things don’t work out as we want them to
That’s why I’m glad there’s me and you
You are my rock in times of stress
I cannot and will not take second best
I value your love every single day
As I know in my heart our love is here to stay.
Enid Skelton
A CHINESE STORY
Martial arts master with student waving a staff
Somewhere in Shandong province along a country path
They happen upon a bird tangled in a bush
Staff like lightening slicing air with sudden whoosh
Full of fright the untangled bird flew free
Escaping the students strikes of three
Shouting at bird, pathetic thing stay and fight
Come back and feel my might
The master on hearing this took hold of the staff
Proceeding to beat student around the calf
Student crying, master why are you beating me so?
I am your best student that can beat any foe
You have much to learn, master making student cry
Whilst shouting in anger, now fly, now fly
David Maxwell
THE SOUNDS OF NATURE
The sounds of mother nature
Come in many different ways
From early morn to nightfall
Across the earth divine.
The howling of the wild winds
Across the valleys and the hillsides
Through the tall trees of the forests
On its journey to the end.
The thunder and the lightning
The anger of the skies
Reaping vengeance on the evils
Of the errors on mankind.
The patter of the rainfall
The breaking of the waves
The rustle of the falling leaves
And birds in heavenly flight.
For those of us who cannot hear
Enjoy the gift of sight
For others, the sounds of nature
Fore-telling of the planet’s end.
Jim Carlin
BE GLAD
Be glad to be the one
Who said sorry first
Not sad to have been bad friends before they die
For life has no guarantee for anyone
So sulking sprees are unwise
Be glad to admit there could be faults on both sides
No one’s perfect and saying sorry for our own faults is wise,
For whatever the outcome we will know
We tried, and tried, and tried.
Joan Kernick