Windswept

Windswept
He almost wept
At the impermanence of things.

Day brings
On the night.
Rome once shone bright.
Man’s desire
For empire
And a girl’s bright
Eyes
Soon dies.

This table
So stable
Must go.
The wind will blow
And snuff out the light
Bringing down the eternal
Night.

There is no fiend infernal
Just the knowledge that I
And all things will,
One day die.
Would that my mind
Could be still.

In humankind
We find
The wish to procreate,
Ere it is too late
And our candle dies.

Man sighs
In a girl’s arms.
The wind will blow.
Her charms
(And his) must go
But perchance
Passion’s dance
Will leave one behind
To walk on a windswept day
And know
That as the wind does blow
All this will pass away.

When A Careless Young Man Called Howe

When a careless young man called Howe
Fell from a very high bough
A farmer, named Guy
Said, with a cry
“You have fallen on my prize cow!”.

(The name “Howe” is pronounced “How).

There Was A Young Man Called Grubb

There was a young man called Grubb
Who wrote verse in his local pub.
The publican, named Monk
Said, “you’re drunk,
But your verse it is really quite good!”.

An Elderly Billionaire Called Paul

An elderly billionaire called Paul
Lived in a very grand hall.
His young wife Claire
Left her shoes on the stair
And inherited that very grand hall …

“If Everybody Is In”, a poem about homelessness

Crisis is a charity which does excellent work aimed at tackling homelessness in the United Kingdom. The charity’s poet in residence has written a powerful poem “If Everybody Is in”, which can be found in the video below:,

Kevin

Churchill

A fascinating podcast in which the historian Andrew Roberts discusses his new biography of Winston Churchill, (https://audioboom.com/posts/7039259-churchill-andrew-roberts-in-conversation-with-robert-tombs).

While the conversation between Robert Tombs and Roberts is both interesting and witty, I found the questions posed by members of the audience, following on from the discussion rather more illuminating.

While Roberts is by no means uncritical of Churchill he is (as indeed am I) an admirer of the man who played a pivotal role in saving Europe from Nazi tyranny, and we should all be eternally grateful to Churchill for doing so.