Readers' Poems
April 15th, 2008
MY FAREWELL (1944 - 2004)
There was a cold wind blowing and snow
was falling
The sound of gunfire could be heard
We approached the River Po and halted
Travelling on would have been preferred
But having done so, we would have
defaulted
A battle was raging and an officer was
bawling
"Dismount and defend your calling
Your allies, the Gurkhas, are falling!"
Their losses so very appalling
The ambush had caught them without
warning
When I entered a makeshift ward
I gulped and cried: "Oh, my God."
Several smiling faces, but not a word
Lying on stretchers, wounded and gored
Were ten dying Gurkhas all loved and
adored.
On approach I asked: "How do you feel?"
"Very well, Johnny, our wounds will heal.
We are tough and hard as steel."
To me the pockmarks reveal
They were made by Spandau bullets, no
deal
No blood was seen, no pain could they feel
Alas, it was my duty to kneel to thank the
Almighty,
Something I could not conceal.
With one final glance before I had to go
There was one last thing I had to know
Three were lying dead, would there be four?
Outside again having closed the door
I'd seen enough and could stand no more
The epitaph to the true story in rhyme
Will live in my memory for all of time
Those brave and heroic Gurkhas were
friends of mine.
John Joseph Quinn, Bishop Middleham
MY ZOO MEMORIES
I used to work at the local zoo,
In nineteen seventy three
And the polar bears' tank would sometimes
burst.
So I had a brilliant idea (for me).
"We could use duct tape," I said
To Robert, my closest friend.
But he looked at me in disbelief,
Said: "You can't use that to mend."
Next we used a beautiful colour,
Luminous yellow plastic.
"You great blooming oaf, you really are daft.
You can't see the bear, it's too drastic."
Rob suggested a rubber patch
Like the ones he used on his bike.
"Who do you think you are," I asked.
"The Dutch boy who plugged up the dike?"
Next we used my auntie's towels,
Though we ended up thinking some more.
When we patched up the tank full of water,
There was more of it spilled on the floor.
But at last I had a brilliant idea,
"Two layers of glass," I thought.
"So if the inner layer smashed,
The outer would be the support."
"How would you smash the inside glass?"
Robert shouted and cursed.
I stepped up to him and said to his face,
"You'd smash the outside one first!"
Tim Jasper, Sedgefield
BURN-OUT
Now that my working life's more or less
past,
The future I face seems increasingly dire:
A dwindling decline until, empty at last,
They finally feed all that's left to the fire.
WEATHER OR NOT
It's a pity that some politicians
Feel an ad nauseam need to harp on
About something fair-minded folk question:
The global warming and climate change
con.
And, of course, people know why they do it:
For self-serving political aims.
Seeking profit, preferment and power
By promoting these climate change claims.
Well, I've news for all those who encourage
The diffusion of climate change rot:
Given time this old world will recover
Whether we're here to see it or not.
Ken Orton, Ferryhill Station
A MOOD SHANTY
On the waves of the sea
I will always be
For I go up and down
But the waves of the sea
Won't cover me
Though they turn me
round and round
And I will never be alone
For I hold on to Jesus's hand
And we will sail about this sea
Until we come to the Promised Land.
Mary Treveil, Hartlepool
A SPRING MORNING WALK
I know a place in a woodland
Where primroses and violets grow
A river where trout are found
And little waterfalls constantly flow.
There are pastures in the morning mist
Where sheep and cattle eat and wait
And an old grey mare and donkey
Are standing looking over the gate.
Ducks and water hens appear
On the river as it flows along
Darting here and there with open beaks
Is their tiny throng.
In the corner of the field
A farmhouse I espy
With smoke slowly spiralling from the
chimney
As the farmer starts his day.
Elizabeth Sayers, Spennymoor
PURELY PUBS, PAST
AND PRESENT
The George Britannia, Waterloo
Falchion County, Boot and Shoe
Pennyweight, Cricketers, Rise Carr
Hogans Dalesman, Glittering Star
Grey Horse, Highland Laddie, Half Moon
Three Crowns, Hope Inn, Shuttle and Loom
Wheatsheaf, Royal Oak, Burns Tavern
Caledonian, Firthmoor, Green Dragon
Tanners, Golden Cock, Queen's Head
Cleaver Slaters and William Stead
Fleece, Archdeacon, Bird's Nest
Bowes Builders and Travellers' Rest
Vince Elsbury, Darlington
IN A SPIN
The washer was giving us trouble,
It stopped after going so far,
But the mechanic weren't fussed,
He knew it was bust,
By the wire in Judy's new bra.
Steve Graggs, Darlington
10:31am Tuesday 15th April 2008
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