I thought I had lost
The key to my clock.
When I found it again
It’s old tick tock
Continued on. but time
He pauses not.
(The above poem first appeared in my June Author Newsletter, which can be accessed here https://mailchi.mp/37a9976abe1c/kevins-june-author-newsletter).
On Sunday 1 August, I took down my copy of A E Housman’s A Shropshire Lad. Whilst I am an admirer of Housman’s work, as with all poets and authors, certain of his writings resonate with me more so than do others. One such poem is “When I Watch the Living Meet”, which appears in A Shropshire Lad and is reproduced below. For more about Alfred Edward Housman please visit https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/a-e-housman. For the free ebook of A Shropshire Lad please see https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5720.
When I watch the living meet,
And the moving pageant file
Warm and breathing through the street
Where I lodge a little while,
If the heats of hate and lust
In the house of flesh are strong,
Let me mind the house of dust
Where my sojourn shall be long.
In the nation that is not
Nothing stands that stood before;
There revenges are forgot,
And the hater hates no more;
Lovers lying two and two
Ask not whom they sleep beside,
And the bridegroom all night through
Never turns him to the bride.
While visiting my most favourite old uncle Flow
I said, “uncle, do you happen to know
Why you have a girl’s name?”.
He replied, “my dear nephew Jane,
My real name is Louisa, as you know!”.
She is discreet
When we meet.
Her bare legs touch mine.
And behind
All the kisses and wine
I find
Old Father Time.
A policeman whose name is Ed
Was found handcuffed to his bed.
While wicked Lou
Wielded her shoe.
It was all consensual Ed said!
When a waiter by the name of Kipp
Said, “sir, do remember to give a tip!”.
I said, “I’m reliably told
That a horse called Gold
Is a certainty at Newmarket this afternoon Kipp!”
Whilst sitting in my most favourite bar
I met a young lady named Marr.
Being both willing and able
She danced on my table.
But the vicar he went too far!
When a young lady serving curry and rice
Said, “this establishment is no place for vice!”.
Her friend Miss Hocking
Searched for a stocking.
And the spice it was really quite nice!
Awaking in a pool full of seals
I saw a young lady in heels.
When I said, “am I drunk!”,
She replied, “as a holy monk,
You should avoid pools full of seals!”
I am delighted to announce that my new poetry book, Behind Closed Doors, is available on Amazon as an ebook. This book includes some of my cake artworks that were designed to share a specific message about lockdown, overuse of technology, global warming, and plastic pollution.
![Behind Closed Doors by [Robbie Cheadle]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41-rr7EbgdL.jpg)
What goes on behind closed doors: in the boardroom, after death, in the home, during lockdown, and in nature? This collection of poems, ranging from rhyming verse to twisted nursery rhymes, captures the emotions and thoughts people hide behind the masks they present to the world.
You can listen to my poem, Achieving tranquility here:
