I am still the girl at forty
who loves the shadow
that never left her
James Barrie knew more than me:
sometimes a shadow needs soap,
or sewing, according to Wendy
I learned to appreciate the change
because so much of this body,
softer, speckled, and true
still works and runs its cogs
regardless
I lose control
where the wheels turn
too quickly,
Charlie Chaplin
We share the joke
of frenzied 'Modern Times'
"A day without laughter
is a day wasted"
I agree
My shadow and I
have learned to dance
on the assembly line
I found you
between dreams,
before waking
Gravity
hasn't kicked in
I'm dancing off my bed,
through the window
James Barrie, please offer me
a seat next to Captain Hook
Peter, will you find me young?
Will you find me at all?
I have seven grey hairs,
the last I counted
I cut them all out once
They came back stronger
the second time
It is thundering out
It is hard to sleep
when it is easier
for everyone else
The birds in North Carolina
are ready with purpose
at 5 AM
when my mind is riddled
with knotted reason
Is there anything more?
Are there roots
worth rooting for?
I am not the only settler
who cannot repay his wealth.
I’ve been looking for confusion,
to flout, again.
Take me forward
to the timeless
left.
I love you, through opposites,
Lord Huron.
‘Take Me Back to the Night
We Met,"
Take me forward
to the time
we left.
Which of these is backwards?
Which of these is forwards?
Fiction/nonfiction
Am I exiting?
Am I entering?
Am I timing this reading?
Am I wondering this reason?
Am I finally… in/out
and all about?
Is there reasonable
clout in heaven?
James Barrie, please
whisper to me:
‘This is Neverland!’
Then let me,
believe you.
Find a signed copy after,
and label it:
“Nonfiction!”
“Alice?
Are we home?
-unknown”
When people read poetry
they only read words,
powerful, and hopefully
thought-provoking,
and if better,
memorable.
Otherwise,
they are only letters arranged
in hopeful meaning,
superfluous ones.
Few will read these
slant lines,
buried beneath a shadow
of Hemingway’s fame.
That I had an audience
and people attended
plays….
I remember James Barrie
and his ‘Peter Pan.’
He was, as I am,
a broken man.
Don’t forget
Homer.
To forget the greats
is to forget history.
Let’s not run
in circuitous
figure-eights
forever.
I love you, Peter
but you are still a boy
your games run
in redundant circles
with Captain Hook
and his pirate ship
he doesn’t have gold
in treasure chests
that I can hold
or spend
his crew
are dancing cartoons
your pet crocodile
doesn’t scare me
neither does
the ticking clock
that caught up to me
the little lines
underneath
my middle-aged eyes
make me glow
with contentment
the storm is coming tonight
and I am cozy
in writing
poetry
James Barrie
found inspiration
and created
Tinker Bell
he borrowed
her fairy dust
for his play
it still sings
playful
for me
when I visit
Neverland
I love you, Wendy
let's keep growing old
together
and watching the
shifting shapes of
cotton clouds
maybe we
will see his ship
cross the moon
let’s smile back
at Captain Hook
and his endless
journey
to the playground
and the imagination
of Walt Disney
he also left his heart
where a child
with an open mind
(creativity)
was meant to be
Today’s blessing is about our children
and how time with them goes by so fast…
as I paraphrase the words of James M. Barrie
and a bit of wishful thinking…taken from the past.
Once you read the words…smile
as you let them rest upon your shoulder:
If we never put our babies to bed
they can’t wake up another day older.
Today I’m grateful for James M. Barrie
when he created Peter Pan
the boy who would never grow up be a man…
who said being able to think of happy things
is the same as having wings
Welcome back,
It’s been a while
An invitation to Wine Pairing
I bet it brought a smile
Zevenvacht’s our wine
A farm from Stellenbosch
Meaning Seven Expectations
By golly, that sounds posh
I have some peeps
Tonight I must mention
Dom our good friend
Out spending his pension
Can’t leave out Auralia
She’s about to split
Rumour has it
She’s fallen in love with a Brit
On to my favourites
The gorgeous hot ducks
Looking radiant as ever
Wish I’d worn a Tux
Kerry’s back
For a brief interlude
With Catherine and friends
That table’s bound to get rude
Enough now, Barrie
It’s time to stop
The next course’ almost ready
And there’s wine to dop
“To die … will be an awfully big adventure.”
- J.M. Barrie
~
grown gray, had I, with stiffened bones
the pains and aches that old age owns
yet I could still dredge up that vow …
(the one I’d made long years from now)
to cheat the reaper’s blade … somehow
I swore that I should not then roam -
that second star, far-flung from home
and yet, the hope that wrote my chart
(from hopes mere flesh did not impart)
that quest - to save my childish heart
so, twice to starboard, sextant free
I set course through a dream or three
to leave that mortal world behind …
(and mortals, quite the dearest kind)
for Neverland … deep in my mind …
for … Neverland!
Copyright © Gregory Richard Barden, January 18, 2023
“It’s very good to meet you,
You look younger than expected,
But guess that’s always likely,
When your status is protected?”
“Yes it’s good to meet you,
Of course I seem just a pup,
I’m bound to look a youngster,
Cos I never will grow up!”
“I heard that you can fly as well?
Is that line really true?”
“Yes I can fly at night-time,
Come back and I will show you.”
“I heard you come from neverland,
A strange name for a place?
Does no-one who lives there grow up?
If ancestors we trace?”
“You have a friend called tinkerbell?
A fairy? Are they real?
My readers all would love to know,
What secrets you’ll reveal”.
“Yes, Tinkerbell is lovely,
And a very special friend,
And all the things you heard are true,
It’s not just play pretend”
“I interviewed a Wendy,
She had lots of tales to tell,
She mentioned some boys that were lost,
A Captain Hook as well?”
“She said he wants to get you back,
For what you did before”,
“You know a lot about me,
Not sure I can say much more”.
“I needed confirmation,
Of the things that Wendy said,
So now I’ve heard it all is true,
We can all feel safe in bed”!
(Peter Pan by JM Barrie)
A catastrophic tornado on a path of destruction,
hit Barrie, Canada July 15th at 230pm, Thursday;
high winds took roofs, and trees like a great suction.
windows blown out, vehicles overturned, debris filled the streets.
All the people could do was hide in basements and pray,
after dazed homeowners were already talking about reconstruction;
people wandered in shock at the scenes of total disarray.
_________________________
July 19, 2021
Poetry/Rhyme/IHO-The Survivors
Copyright Protected, ID 07-1374-507-19
All rights Reserved, 2021, Constance La France
Written for the Premier contest, Julyme
sponsor, William Kekaula, Judged 08/14/2021
"To die would be an awfully big adventure!" - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Death
A grand
Adventure
God's gift to make
Each breath so precious
Life's sweet echo
Warm and dark
Like the
Womb.
~ 1st Place ~ in the "August Ninette" Poetry Contest, Caren Krutsinger, Judge & Sponsor.
It's all change at Crewe
Rollermakers flattened while riding Crewe's roller-coaster
The tea factory now shipping booze to the nation
chester barrie gone from cutting suits and is now selling flowers
British rail once built the engines and his now a train garage.
Rolls Royce a national treasure now owned by another nations car maker
its all change at Crewe
Crewe's university campus now educates the masses
That other nations car maker now makes Bentleys for the rich and famous
New businesses selling ice cream vans to gadget insurance
New medical centres and schools to be proud of
Queens park rescued from closure
it's all change at Crewe.
Words hurt like fire burning inside your body
Spitting out ashes through your eyes
Water is building up inside my lungs
Drowning in reality
Being with you hurts
Around you it aches
I bruise easily
Your words are like knives
stabbing
Ripping out my guts
Sorrow buries me knee deep into my grave
Nobody there to be my safe
Wish I could keep you in my life
But there is no end to the trudge
It's like walking on a cliff
I never know when I'm going to get pushed
So I have to cut you out
The need for love will grow more
Shelter my heart for now
I'll keep it locked inside my tomb
Put the chains on it
Barrie the key to the lock
Hide these tears that will come for now
Maybe one day we can get back to trying to put broken things back together
But for now it's rocks in the dirt
there's only so many pieces you can pick up before your back aches
Wish you would love me
But it's too good to be
Your still my family
But for now it's got to get erased
So goodbye for now steal away our memories
Cuz I won't be able to bare remembering
I'll stick them on wings of doves
In hope of peace ....
Emblazoned on a metalic field
Leeds coat of arms displays an azore shield.
Upon a sable chief, this deep black bar,
Three mullets argent, silver stars.
On a chain of or, beneath the chief,
Hangs the finest golden fleece.
Surmounting the crest, rests a wreath of blue,
Perches an owl proper,of natural hue.
Supporting each side,two owls with plumage brown,,
Ducally gorged with a golden crown.
Underneath, inscribed on a scroll
PRO REGE ET LEGE it does extol.
Latin translates ' FOR KING AND THE LAW'
A motto born after civil war.
7/ 29/ 2015.
The city of Leeds
In the county of Yorkshire
England.
George Barrie Seal.
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