Tuesday, January 31, 2017

976 - Blueprint


Haiku Horizons prompt: Design

Blueprint

Life has a pattern
But nothing you can design
Beyond a rough draft.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
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Monday, January 30, 2017

975 - Peeping Tom


Mad Kane poses a regular limerick challenge.
The key word this week is ‘stare’.


Peeping Tom

When Godiva paraded, all bare,
The townsfolk agreed not to stare.
But the temptation was steep
And young Tom took a peep
But swore he just looked at her hair.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
---

Sunday, January 29, 2017

974 - To a Christian who mocked a Haggis



To a Christian who mocked a Haggis

You are a disappointment, Trevor;
You and your high ideals
Of religion and of heavenly choirs.
Surely you know how it feels
Receiving
From the disbelieving
Satire
And yet you pretend to spew
And laugh as if it’s so very clever.
Would JC agree with you?
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
---

Saturday, January 28, 2017

973 - Flood


Haiku Horizons prompt: Flood.


Flood

The ice caps will melt.
But why should I be worried?
I live on a hill.


“We will be flooded!”
“They will breed like the rabbits!”
“You must be afraid!”

Muslim tsunami.
The fear of ignorant folk
Who cannot do maths.


It began to rain—
They came aboard two by two.
Forty days and nights.

A lot of water
To cover all of the land.
Where did it all go?
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
---

Thursday, January 26, 2017

972 - Control


Three Word Wednesday requires participants
to use the three words of the week in a composition.
The words this week are: 

parched, rotund, scandalous.


Control

“Orthodoxy means not thinking–not needing to think. 
Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.”
-George Orwell


Rotund men
In pinstripe suits 
And tall glass towers
Control our lives.

Yes, it is scandalous.
But we do nothing,
Feel we can do nothing.
That is their power.
That is how they
Control our lives.

We let them.

Like the man lost
In the desert—
Delusional, parched,
Desperate.
We crawl to wards
The mirage
Of hope.  Hope
That things will improve
It we behave.
That is how they
Control our lives.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
---

971 - Resistance is Necessary


Poets United Midweek Motif : Change

Resistance is Necessary

We are influenced—
Family, friends, the press.
But we can resist.

Yes, we can listen.
They can put forward their case;
That’s all they can do.

It may not sit well.
Afterwards we can assess.
Change is optional.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
---

Sunday, January 15, 2017

970 - Opportunity Knocks


Midweek Motif : Doors

Opportunity Knocks

If the door is closed
You can open it again—
That is what doors do.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
---

Friday, January 13, 2017

969 - Thank You For Your Support.


Three Word Wednesday requires participants
to use the three words of the week in a composition.
The words this week are: 

jockey, kindred and lopsided.


Thank You For Your Support,
(I shall always wear it.)

He’s growing up—
Too big to be a jockey
And he’s only four.


Our kindred spirits
Support us when we need them
Wherever they are.


Nothing is even—
Everything is lopsided;
Just like testicles.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
---



Saturday, January 07, 2017

968 - None So Blind


Poet’s United Midweek Motif: Vision


None so blind.

Television.
Far seeing.
The bastard offspring 
Of Greek and Latin.
The irony of it:
It makes you 
Introspective
Or escapist,
Or passive.
Voyeurs.
If you don’t like 
What you see
You can change the channel
But, curiously,
You don’t turn off,
Accepting
The best of the worst.
Transfixed 
But seeing nothing.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
---

967 - Defensive Positions


Three Word Wednesday requires participants
to use the three words of the week in a composition.
The words this week are: 

hateful, incorrigible and gaping.



Defensive Positions

Incorrigible,
That’s what they have called me—
For telling ‘Dad jokes’.


Jokes let me escape
From the harsh realities
Of a hateful world.


That dark, gaping void
Between what the world presents
And what it should be.


And so I tell jokes.
If that upsets some people—
They can call me names.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
---

Sunday, January 01, 2017

966 - Early Days


Three Word Wednesday requires participants
to use the three words of the week in a composition.
The words this week are: 

filthy, elaborate and dappled.


Early Days

It is quiet.
The morning is just starting to move.
But gently so.
An early cloud dissolves slowly
And the wisteria lets a dappled light through.

Reflective moments
While the world dreams
Produce elaborate plans.
Optimistic?  Maybe.
But worthwhile none the less.,
There is scope for improvement.
At home.
And at large.

The year past has had its share of highs
And lows.
A granddaughter arrived,
With that smell new babies have.
But wars continue, as filthy as ever.

This morning feels no different to yesterdays.
But we draw a line in the sands of time
And hope things will change.
Outside, ravens pass discordant judgement.
Inside, a clock ticks.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2017
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