He Chopped Off Her Head

(One of the writing prompts/exercises/homework for the poetry group I go to, was to write a ballad. So I wrote one).

Your eyes were like two pools of blue

Your hair as soft as silk

Your lips were like a red, red rose

Your skin as white as milk

I asked if you would walk with me

I asked you for your hand

You promised to love me true

I gave you a wedding band

And then we had some very good years

And I know that we did thrive

But one night you crept into my bed

And you were cold as ice

You had been out all night

And from your lips came lies

I found the man who stole your heart

The man who turned your head

I found the man who took my love

I found him in my bed

I loved you more than life itself

I loved you, oh so much

You have surely broken me

And now my mind is touched

I was enraged, I saw red

I just didn’t know what to do

I’m quite sure that I lost my head

Now you will lose yours too

I took an axe high in the air

In frenzy, I did swing

I chopped off your lovely head

And then took back my ring

And before he had a chance to run

I took him out as well

There was some blood, just a bit

Before his body fell

I burned the corpses that same night

And put your heads on stakes

And now you are together forever

And lots of love can make

And now I’ve found another love

Only now it’s me who’s blue

For I’m a rogue and a scroundrel you see

And I am never true

I wish and hope with all my heart

She’ll find me in our bed

With another, in adultery

And she’ll chop off my head

Possibility

The possibility of anything

Is never black or white

Many colours in the middle

Not just dark or light

The feasibility of something

That is the key

Mathematically, is it viable

How attainable will it be?

Some of us will go searching

In the dark, for years, we’ll grope

But what’s the probability

What’s the chance of hope?

Where’s the practicality

Of our most treasured goal

There is untold power

In the desire of our soul

You have to take part

Scientifically, that’s the case

Our odds do go up

When we take part in the race

Take the opportunity

When it comes near

Strengthen capability

Step up a gear

Fate and destiny

Will always play a part

If you’re spiritually minded

You’ll have a good head start

It’s really quite conceivable

Just between me and you

That, in eventuality

Your dreams can come true

I’ve Been Looking For Miracles In All The Wrong Places

I’ve been looking for miracles in all the wrong places

where nutrient rich soil was never there

where the ground was barren and rocky and bare

where weeds choked the stems that pushed from below

that strangled the plants that dared to grow.

I’ve been looking for miracles in all the wrong places

wherever it slips and slides, hope can’t take hold,

seeds can’t flourish

in Antartic cold.

The miracles I was seeking

only grow in the light

and can’t live where the air is foul

Where shadows fall

And demons prowl

But now…

Now, I’m looking for miracles

In all the right places

Ideal conditions

Not too far

Watered with kindness and patience and love

That’s where my miracles are.

Quote Of The Week

‘Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who can do the things that no one can imagine.’

–Alan Turing

Looking forward to fifty

I’m going to be turning fifty, this year. I don’t feel it. I don’t know whether to grow old gracefully or disgracefully. I’ve always been indecisive.

I looked up stuff about age last week (because I am sensitive about age now) and I learned so much! Some of the things I learned were…

You’re not allowed to say ‘elderly’ anymore. ‘Senior citizen’ is out and ‘retired’ is out the door. You can’t say ‘geriatric’ and I think that’s quite fair. ‘Pensioner’ is outdated and ‘advanced age’ – don’t go there. ‘Old people?’ No, can’t do that, as it euphemizes age. And that euphemism is negative, if you’ve lived a lot of days. So, what are we to do, to show respect for all the years? How do we put a stop to all our politically correct fears?

A lot of these words were bandied about, in certain times and phases but now ‘fossil’, ‘fogey’ and ‘codger’ are out, they’re not P.C phrases. ‘Older adult’ or ‘older person’ is the acceptable term these days, or simply ‘man’ or simply ‘woman’, followed by their age.

It’s about time, the PC World (not the computer store) said something nice about me, so if I’m an ‘older adult,’ then that’s what I’m happy to be.

Quote Of The Week

‘All my life I’ve been doing things for other people, looking after them, doing things to please them but now I want to be my own person in my own right and I’m no longer afraid of doing what I want to do…’

Puli (Sathnam Sanghera’s sister) from The Boy With The TopKnot by Sathnam Sanghera