You
Didn’t know what to do
But did it with such panache
For cash.
O my sweet
Girls must eat
While poets spend their time
In rhyme.
—
The above was prompted by my reading of Ernest Christopher Dowson’s “Cynara”, http://www.bartleby.com/336/687.html. Dowson belonged to the school of decadent poets and in “Cynara” he contrasts his unrequited love for a young woman with his (present) relationship with a prostitute. “Cynara” is a fine poem and Dowson deserves to be better known than he is.
I met a mermaid
Who said “be
Not staid,
But come play with me
In yonder raging sea.
We will go
With the flow.
Do not say
No,
For you may have your way
With me
In yonder raging sea”.
So
I went with the flow
And both mermaid and me
Made free,
And drowned in that sea.
There was a young man named Matt
Who swallowed a very large cat.
He thought it was hake,
Which was a mistake.
I really don’t understand that!
A young private named Maude
Slipped and fell on his sword.
His corporal, named Ted
Said “you should be dead.
But that sword is made of cardboard!”
In my wardrobe hang clothes
But heaven knows
There are skeletons too.
What about you
My friend,
Will you pretend
That your wardrobe is bare
Of skeletons, and only clothes hang there?
A man is many things
To family, colleagues and friends.
Different he may be
In his relations with each, but he
Comprehends
The ends
He pursues.
Or perchance he does choose
To deny
What he is, even to himself
And will die
With a smile
Of denial
Upon his face
Expecting grace …
There once was a king named Canute
Who continued to play the flute
As the sea it rose
And covered his nose,
That foolish old king named Canute!
There was a young man named Neil
Who said “I know how you feel”.
I said “you don’t know me
So how can that be?
You Presumptuous young man named Neil!”
There once was a young technocrat
Who played cricket with his cat.
The feline said, with a purr
“I don’t play fair”
And whacked him with a bat!
On 3 December 2016, I wrote “Shadows” https://newauthoronline.com/2017/10/03/shadows-3/. My poem was prompted by the play of shadows created by the winter sun upon the walls of my study.
Today (Sunday 3 December 2017), it is (as was the case one year ago) a cold day. There are, however no shadows playing upon the walls of my study.
—
“Shadows” appears in my latest collection of poetry, “My Old Clock I Wind”, which is available from Moyhill Publishing, and Amazon.
“My Old Clock I Wind” is also available in braille from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
To order “My Old Clock” in braille please contact RNIB on 0303 123 9999 or buy online at http://shop.rnib.org.uk/.
When contacting RNIB please quote order number 25870603
Alternatively please visit the library’s catalogue, and enter the search term, “my old clock I wind and other poems”, hit search and my book should be displayed.
K Morris - Poet 