3rd Molesey Band, Surrey, United Kingdom

For today, I give you two poems for two lovely children and their very proud parents...

This one's for Thomas for his first time with the 3rd Molesey Marching Band. It's not a new poem but it is most appropriate.

My Very First Drum

Grandad said

He knew where to find

An empty pepper tin

To make me a drum

Thomas, ready for action

My very first drum

So we climbed

And we climbed

The wooden stairs

Right up to the attic

A very large room

Grandad said

"It’s the granary, Tom

Where the salted bacon’s kept

Where the ham is kept as well

It’s all stored here

On great big hooks

Hanging and ready

To be hauled downstairs

For dinner or lunch

Made by your Mum or Gran"

Grandad found

The empty tin

Up on the shelf

Where he’d put it himself

In the corner of the room

In great excitement I took off the lid

And my nose took off as well

I sneezed and sneezed

Grandad chuckled and wheezed

Well, it was the pepper tin

Grandad and I polished

Until the tin sparkled and shone

We made a hole in the top

And the bottom

Then we threaded some string

Clean through the holes

And there it was

A beautiful thing

All shiny and bright

My very first drum

And (yes, I know one should never start a sentence with an 'and') this one (which is new) is for Amelia for her first time with the 3rd Molesey Marching Band.

Amelia, in action

See The Bugler

See the bugler standing proud

Hear the notes

Hear the echoed sounds

As the brass resounds

Leading the floats

Filling the air clear and loud

See Amelia in scarf and gloves

Ready to take her cue

Ready  for her refrain

To fill the air once again

As her eyes take in the view

Of the marching band she loves

See the bugler marching on

Hear the beat

Hear the rhythmic thrums

As the boom of the drums

And the brass compete

When the cymbals crash as one

2014 A-Z Reflections

I Love the "Blogging from A to Z April Challenge"!

That sentence stands on its own.  Truth in 10 words if one counts 'A' and 'Z' as words.  

I've only done the Challenge twice but I'm in love.  I firmly believe that it's because of the companionship and camaraderie which we share with others across all genres - all Bloggers supporting all Bloggers.  It doesn't get much better than that!

To all the wonderful Admins who kept the spirit alive in so many more ways than I ever thought possible - kudos.  It would take this entire post to thank you all and to say how much each of you has meant to me personally, so to you all, please accept my humble and profound thanks.  

For all the new friends I've met and for all of the 'old' friends who visited, I so appreciate your support. Although I am not going to mention everyone, there is one person who must receive my highest accolade. That person is Alex Cavanaugh.  Alex, I remain amazed at everything you do.  Thank you so much for being a constant visitor.  Your comments were always insightful and I looked forward to them with great anticipation and expectation.

I have to share how I was personally impacted by the Challenge.  I decided that the photographs I used to illustrate my poems would be taken by either myself or a family member.  There was only one photo in all 26 posts which wasn't.  This brings me to the highlight of the month which occurred through the simple use of one of my niece's photographs.  The photograph was of a satsuma peel which you can see here and which I believed perfectly illustrated my fun but serious poem which I've included here.  It's called Dear Addict but isn't quite what it seems.

Dear Addict

I think of you
Punch to the midriff
I think of you
My arms go weak
I think of you
My heart starts laughing
My blood gurgles too
As it recognises
My essence
Recognise
The essence of you

My fingers tingle
As do my toes
My face starts to spasm
And wrinkles my nose
My cheeks join in
Reaching up to my eyes
Which twinkle and sparkle
Like stars in night skies

I say to myself
There’s a problem here
How can it be
That I hold him so dear?

Then once again
I think of you
Punch to the midriff
My knees touch the floor
Legs which can walk for miles
Don’t make the door

So I say to myself
There’s a problem here
How can it be
That I need him near?

My Heart starts laughing
Shoots straight to the core
I’m surprised at you Darling
So I’ll tell you once more
There’s nothing that you

Will be able to do
So I hope that at last
You’ll listen and hear

The only thing wrong 
With you My Dear
Is the song in your heart 
Of your love for him
Your very own Love Song
Which sings to your soul
The very same Love Song 
Which sings to your Heart

You’re an addict My Dear
You’re an addict it’s true
You’re an addict I fear
That much holds true

The cure is a punch to the midriff 
Each time you think of him
A punch to the midriff 
When your arms go weak

I laugh at my heart
As I think of you
I'll take that punch to my midriff 
My arms can going weak
I even don’t mind 

If I don’t reach the door
As long as I’m with you
I can ask for no more

I was surprised and delighted when Emma, my niece, commented on that post but even more so when she told me that the subject of the photograph I'd used was actually made by Thomas, of my grand-nephew.  It was Thomas's Dancing Satsuma Peel.  Thomas has autism so he tends to see life a little differently from most other people.  Well, that comment by Emma triggered a most natural response from me and I immediately did a post on Autism and wrote a poem for Thomas.  Emma read the poem to Tom and he thoroughly enjoyed it.  That, out of all the high points of the Challenge was the absolute highlight for me.  

Thank you all once again for an outstanding experience.

Autism

I missed World Autism Day but living with someone who is autistic isn't only for one day, so this is for my nephew, Kyle and his wife, Emma who have the honour of having being chosen by God to share their life with their wonderful son, Thomas (who is autistic) and their daughter Amelia.  What this is doing for my family is teaching them how to think very differently from what is considered ‘normal’ in today’s world. 

They are, in a very real sense, getting a glimpse into how God views us.  From 1 Samuel 16:7 we get this gem on God’s choosing of David to be King over others who were viewed by the prophet Samuel as being acceptable to be king of Israel.

“But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

I used Thomas’s ‘Dancing Satsuma Peel’ in my poem for ‘D’ (Dear Addict) for the April A-Z Challenge to describe a punch to the midriff, not knowing it was, in fact Thomas's work.  However, this is a much better story. 

Emma, Thomas’s mother and my darling niece-in-law (if there is such a thing.  I think of her simply as my niece) wrote the following message on my Facebook page:

“Thomas's dancing Satsuma peel.  I would be honoured to just share the thoughts of an autistic child for just one day. They look at the world as the world is.  It's raining cats and dogs, while we "get" that it means it's raining really hard.  Why don't we just say that?  That freaks an autistic person out, but if it DID really rain cats and dogs it would totally freak us all out! I think that they are more in tune with life and it's us that have a skewed outlook that sadly makes us "normal".  Think outside the box, as autism parents we have to do this every day.  It's a pleasure to do so.”

So, here it is; a special poem for Emma, Kyle, Amelia and most particularly for my precious nephew, Thomas...

Satsuma Man

When you look at me

What do you see?

Do you know what I am?

No, I’m not eggs and ham

I can see it for real

It’s the torn off peel

You say as you widely grin

From an orange or mandarin

No, No, No

Look low

Say I

And then again look high

Look left

Past the crevice and cleft

Look right

For a wonderful sight

Keep moving your eyes

Watch it fall and then rise

Soon you’ll say, ‘Why, Yes I can’

It’s the Dancing Satsuma Man

It’s the Dancing Satsuma Man

Dancing as only he can

Arms and legs open wide

His head thrown back in pride

What a moment, what fun

See him dance; see him run

It’s the little peel man
The Dancing Satsuma Man

Going Dark

Summer Coffee - South Africa Style

To all my Online Friends

Here is a video to ponder:  http://sfglobe.com/?id=637&src=share_fb_new_637

I'm taking the message seriously...

GOING DARK

I love this reminder so I bid you farewell for the day
As I take myself off now to live my life my way!
I'm leaving my phone and my laptop beside
On my bedside table as I now go outside
Perhaps I'll do something, perhaps I'll just sit
To enjoy feeling grass on bare feet for a little bit
Perhaps I'll take in sights and sounds of a bird
Understand how wonderful life is when lived in life not in word
It's not that you're not important, you are
But I need to live life, not view it from afar
So, My Dear Online Friends, I'll pop back again soon
To let you know what's been happening under my sun and moon
I'm now going to live and love life in all its majesty
Not hoping and wishing and living it vicariously
Now as I bid you all a very fond 'adieu'
I hope I may meet you and we can chat 'un peu'
But not on a laptop or over a phone
Over coffee or tea and in person, not alone

Zested Fibre

Another of Kyle and Em's photos

At the end of an incredible month of posting a new verse each day, I can think of no more fitting end.  I can think of so many people for whom this poem is a reality.  To those who love, this, then, is for you...

Each Zested Fibre

When Love overflows

Each petalled caress

Transforms

Into a perfect rose

When desire deluges

Each whisped bouquet

Perfumes

The treasured words you say

When yearning cascades

Each satined ascent

Embraces

That cherished occasion

When love overflows

Each zested fibre

Savours

My you-kissed awareness

You Gave Me Life Again

Goodness, how time has flown by and here we are on the second-last post (not counting 'Reflections').  I've only managed to visit so few people - no more than 100 at most and haven't even been able to visit my favourites more than a few times.  This is quite sad but, given my current working hours, I hope I'll be forgiven for not visiting more.  The list is still available though and there are another eleven months for me to catch up and pop over for a chat.  I'm ending my A-Z with love because that really is what life is all about, isn't it?

The photo for this post is a poem by Lang Leav who so well expresses my own feelings.

You Gave Me Life Again

Thank you

For giving

Me

My life

Back

Again

As I wish You goodnight

My mind races

Leaps

Retreats

Between

Utter joy

Then

Chilling turmoil

What could have possessed me

To

Expose

Myself

To

Become

Vulnerable

Once More?

And then my Soul knows

My essence

My being

Whoever I am

Whatever I do

Has meaning now

Is only alive

Since I've known You

If my life depended on it

I would

Never

Give that up

Because

My life

Does

Depend on it!

Xerophyte

Keetmanshoop in Namibia -  A Dry Desert Wasteland

The name of this poem is actually 'The Wasteland' but I needed an 'X' so it now has a temporary name which was the meaning as near as I could get to the original name - Xerophyte (able to withstand drought)  :)


Xerophyte (The Wasteland)

It grunts

It spits

It throws up an arm

Thinking it’s in command

It shouts

It screams

It causes confusion

To create a diversion

It shrieks

It howls

It tears at its mane

This progeny of disdain

Yet

One glance up

One glance out

One glance ahead

And it’s dead

And gone

To feed the wasteland

From which it fed

To pay for the lives

Of those it bled

Holocaust and Heroism Day - 27 April 2014

It's Sunday and a Holy Day and in an expectant yet humble spirit I Thank The Lord for it.

It's also 27th April, which is Holocaust and Heroism Day.

Sourced from Benjamin Netanyahu's Facebook Page

I could get very emotional, for no other reason than that I was born fairly shortly after the end of WWII when people's memories of the war were still vivid.  My grandfather fought in both WWI and WWII and, although he never discussed what happened to him personally, he did emphasise to us how important human  life and dignity is.  Part of what he used as emphasis was the Holocaust; something he knew about intimately as he was part of one of the deployments which liberated the death camps in Germany.

However, I will not get emotional because anecdotal stories are easy to discard as exactly that - stories. Islam is already trying to expunge the history books of what happened with the Holocaust in WWII as mere anecdotal hysteria by the Israeli Nation and by Jews in general. What I will do for today, as I thank Jesus Christ and My Father God for guidance, is to give factual information about the Holocaust in the form of a film made during the liberation of the concentration camps but only shown to the public in 1985, forty years after it was filmed.

Today is a time of reflection and memory so that the atrocities of the past will never, ever be repeated again. Yet, even as I write this, my heart is breaking because all signs point to a repeat of that terrible time.  Anti-Semitism is once again rampant in many countries. Apparently, there is even talk now that the Jews in Ukraine (in the past couple of weeks) are being forced to register their nationality and other personal details with the government (open to question as to who has been sending out the registration flyers but the fact that there are such flyers is worrying indeed). (Warning - graphic content).  I believe in my deepest being that this 'registration' is the first step towards a repeat of the WWII atrocities which were orchestrated in large part by islamic jihadists who worked in cahoots with Hitler to perpetrate the worst ethnic genocide ever known.  

In one part of the film, there is a discussion about the dehumanising of people by, at the time, forcing them to remove their clothes and walk naked amongst one another; shaving their heads; and tattooing their bodies with numbers.

While I was listening to this discussion in the film, I kept getting a vision of TSA agents, stripping people naked through the use of their body scanners and by patting people down in the most intimate manner in front of other passengers.  This, to me, is the modern-day version of what happened in the German concentration camps and is exactly what is meant by 'dehumanising' of people.

I pray that another Holocaust-like genocide is not about to take place in America.  Europe has its own problems in this respect but so far I haven't heard about such dehumanising activities taking place.  

Here then is a film which you should back up with your own research on the subject.  Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs has put together an impressive archive of photographs and material from WWII.  That would be a good place to start your research.  In all things, you owe it to yourself to research, research and research some more.  Knowledge is a most powerful weapon.  Ignorance is the ambrosia of ruling classes.

(I've tried to embed the video but it's not working for some reason.  Here's the link.)

WARNING - THE VIDEO HAS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC CONTENT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HAa2p0UnV6k

Without Pause

A surprise return of a beloved is one of the most astounding experiences ever and I have nothing more to say on this...

Without Pause

I gaze at you

Or is it you?

I rub my eyes

Am I deceived?

I stand quite still

I contemplate

Is it you

Or my mistake?

I can’t resist

I run to you

You turn to me

And you run too

We cling together

In bliss and awe

Two souls as one

Our emotions raw

You fill my life

As I fill yours

Forever together

Love without pause

Verdant Green

Johannesburg Country Club Garden 2013

This lovely pastoral poem was written when I was living in England.  There's nothing quite as refreshing and calming as walking across and through English country fields and walk I most certainly did - as much as possible.  The photograph I've used is one I took of a garden I would never walk over but I loved the colours and star shapes of the flowers.  

On another matter altogether - have you visited Alex J Cavanaugh's blogs?  If not, you should.  He also runs the Insecure Writer's Support Group which is absolutely fabulous and a real life-saver when one gets the 'heebie Jeebies' about anything writing-related.  I don't know where Alex finds the time for everything he does for writers and bloggers but I will be forever grateful for that time.


Verdant Green

I walked among the stars today

In their sky of verdant green

Gold and white iridescence

Calmly relaxed, securely serene

I walked among the stars today

In wonder and in awe

Faces radiant, dazzling bright

Illuminated by a glow they adore

I walked among the stars today

Some shy, some brave, some keen

A union of splendour, sharing their sky

Yet each in its own right a queen

I walked among the stars today

Living, loving each moment in time

At once as finite as life itself

Time enduring - aeons overcome

I walked among the stars today

In their sky of verdant green

I walked within the stars

They, well they danced a dance within me

Unite or Fight

Storm  clouds on the drive home from work a few weeks ago - Johannesburg 2014 

What I've done this A-Z is have a set of poems available for each day but, because I really like the daily interaction, all my explanations, pictures and prose are added the night before the post goes out.  It gives me a feeling of connectedness.  I love the picture I've chosen for this poem.  The splash of light really is quite remarkable in the surrounding gloam (and yes, there is such a word from which the word 'gloaming' is derived and it means twilight).

Anyway, tonight is no different and I got to thinking about the poetry I've shared so far.  I've decided that I have quite a bizarre way of looking at the world and life. 

Oh well, I've never been accused of being normal, so I'll just continue to enjoy how I view experiences where other people don't even recognise the occurrence of an experience.  

Talking of which, the picture at the end of the poem provides one of - a different view of Unite or Fight; an alternative ending; or simply an arbitrary picture with no meaning at all... :)

Unite or Fight

Walking into the room last night

I stumbled into a sphere of light

I couldn't look at it

Yet couldn't look away

Within such a dark place

How could there be such light?

As I breathe in the inexplicable 

My mind fills with unspeakable fright

Is this the end of time and times?

Is this to be the end of all?

Will dark and light at last unite?

Or will there be a fight?