Best Worcester Poems
(Charles II after the battle of Worcester, 1651)
They spur their horses from the bloody field,
the battle lost – a story old as time –
the King in flight, his kingdom’s fate is sealed
in common soil. And still the church-bells chime.
They spur their horses from the bloody field,
with Roundheads hunting King for every crime
of office and religion. Must he yield
his head now, like his father, in his prime?
His followers will see he’s well concealed.
The battle lost (a story old as time),
the head of state about to be Bastilled –
but no. Just puzzle out this pantomime:
the King in flight, his kingdom’s fate not sealed.
They make him peasant, royal face begrime
and so obscured, you see the crown revealed
in common soil. As all the church-bells chime,
they spur their horses from the bloody field,
the battle lost – a story old as time –
the King in flight, his kingdom’s fate now sealed
in common soil. And still the church-bells chime.
The big debate : “What is a city ?” –
A town created by a charter
And often with cathedral church
But sometimes with an ancient abbey.
St David's, Pembroke is the smallest,
Just twelve hundred citizens
And London is by far the largest,
Populous eight million plus.
Many sprawling conurbations
Are the backbone of our nation :
There's Leeds and London, Bath and Bristol,
Canterbury, Sheffield, Hull;
Then Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh,
Norwich, Wells and Peterborough,
Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester,
Swansea, Truro, Chichester,
Worcester, Portsmouth, York and Belfast,
Carlisle, Chelmsford, Perth.
In cities there is entertainment
With cinema and theatre too,
Museum, gallery and concert hall –
A cultured way of relaxation.
A city has a green side too
With parks and gardens to explore,
Pedestrian precincts help us shop
Away from traffic noise and fumes.
I recommend a city visit,
So many secrets are in store.
Leave your car outside the ring-road,
Hop on a bus to start your tour.
by Robert (Bob) Moore © 2016
For all who suffer Arthritic pain
they know when it’s going to rain
aches in joints, won’t go away
just got to get through another day
We all have it to some degree
I know you feel it more than me
I try to support you when I can
and do some jobs, but I’m just a man
Can’t do the wash the way you like
I think it’s only in your psych
blacks and whites don’t wash together
hang things out, but watch the weather
That can fade, hang inside out
that will need three pegs no doubt
hang by the top, to keep it straight
coat hanger there, to take the weight
cooking needs a whole new plan
I used to cook as a single man
but eggs and bacon wont suit her needs
something fancy, full of seeds
Steak Dianne, that sounds real nice
Worcester sauce and oven fries
thickened cream and parsley fine
a dash of Brandy, or maybe wine
I really wish that I could do it
people say there’s nothing to it
if that’s what she wants, then all I say
you can make it, when your better eh.
Housekeeping is where I really shine
vacuum, dusting, it all looks fine
don’t move the armchairs, don’t look behind
‘cause if you do, then dust you’ll find
Then into the bathroom, that’s a lovely place
scrub the grout and tiles, till you can see your face
all the glass and mirrors, must be bright and clean
and finish with the toilet bowl, polished to a sparkling sheen.
I proudly say “I’m Finished” (it’s taken me 2 days)
and now comes the inspection, to learn the error of my ways
that’s nice she says, its saved me time, and I’m feeling better too
and the rain may clear tomorrow, so thanks a lot to you.
(she’s nice)
Terry was born in Redcar, Middlesborough,
On the 28th day of June in the year 1983,
And he flips between Worcester and Spain,
To train for his basketball matches actively.
In 2008 at the Worlds Terry won the silver,
2004 and the Athens Paralympics, a bronze,
A bronze in 2008 at the Beijing Paralympics,
And fourth place at the 2012 London dons.
In Rio de Janeiro in South America, 2016,
The GBR basketball team came in third,
Collecting the bronze to win over Turkey,
When they won the overtime final word.
At the age of 17 Ian broke his back,
In a motorbike accident, had rehab,
He then worked for a w/c company,
Who showed him w/c basketball fab.
For 3 years he played in the club,
Of the Sheffield Steelers, and then,
He transferred to the Tameside Owls,
To join the British team of deft men.
In 2009 at the European Champs,
Ian and team won the bronze, Turkey,
And then in Israel at more Europeans,
,2011, the team collected gold monkey.
In 2013 at the Europeans in Frankfurt,
The basketball team won the lush gold,
Then in 2015 in Worcester, East Sussex,
He rolled his team into another gold.
So when Rio came they were ready,
And took the bronze from Turkey, 82-76,
Ian was born in Barnsley a 3 pointer,
On the 29th March 1982, quick sticks.
Ade is a 2.5 wheelchair basketball player,
Who was born in Lagos in Nigeria in 1978,
His home town is Liverpool, a Mersey sayer,
In Spain club BSR Amiab Albacete is a date.
He lives partly in London, joined the Bullets,
And he’s travelled with the sport worldwide,
German, Italian, Israeli and South Korean sets,
Sunshine is his normality to love and abide.
In 2003 at the Europeans in Sassari in Italy,
Ade and his basketball team won the bronze,
And in 2005 at more Europeans, Paris’s sway,
The GB squad came second with silver cons.
Then in 2007 at the World Champs, Germany,
A silver was wrought, and in Beijing in 2008,
TeamGB won a bronze to the podium occupy,
And in 2011 a gold fell, Isreali Euro freight.
2013 and TeamGB won the Euros, Frankfurt,
2015 they won another Euro gold, Worcester,
So in 2016 at Rio Ade contributed to support,
His team to add a bronze to this large cluster.
Ade was jailed by Liverpool Crown Court,
For claiming over £33000 of state benefits:
Housing, council tax benefit, income support,
In 2009 he spent six months with jail slits.
Vicky is an archer, born on the 14th of April,
In 1977, and started getting that archery thrill,
In 2010 when she competed for the first time:
She found archery thru a friend’s lucid dime.
She lives in Malvern in Worcester, England,
So she trains in Lillishall in Shropshire’s land,
At the National Sports & Conference Centre,
Where there are facilities and lots of banter.
Her coach since 2013 is Rikki Bingham, tough,
She’s right-handed, not left, it does the stuff,
Vicky throws 26” long arrows at weight 24lbs,
And she went international in 2014, grounds.
Indeed, at the Euro Para events in Switzerland,
She shoot a new WR to get a silver garland,
Then at the Para Worlds, in Holland at Almere,
She won a bronze and a coherent team silver.
And then in 2016 again at the European Paras,
But this time in Saint Jean de Monts in France,
Vicky gained another individual bronze medal,
So she is also going to Rio de Janeiro to treadle.
Phil is a Welshman from Cardiff, basketball,
Who plays for the club the Sheffield Steelers,
On the 2nd February 1994 he was born tall,
And wears vest 11 for TeamGB, has feelers.
His classification is 3.0, he’s experienced,
‘Cos he was a junior before being a senior,
He first played as a senior very balanced,
2012, Standard Life Continental Clash leer.
In 2015 TeamGB won the European gold,
In Worcester in England’s West Midlands,
So in Rio in 2016 the basketball team bold,
Beat Turkey to win bronze, third strands,
Rebecca was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa,
Aged seven and was born in 19th December 1999,
In Droitwich Spa which is in Worcestershire county:
She trains, works out at Worcester Swimming Club.
Spotted by a British Swimming Vision for Rio guru,
She debuted internationally in Funchal, Portugal,
At the Swimming European Championships 2016,
Where she claimed a silver, missed gold by 0.02.
In Rio she came second to take home the silver,
For the SB13 category of the 100m breaststroke,
Striking the wall in a speedy time of 1:13.81 mins,
Just behind Fotimakhon Amilova of Uzbekistan.
Her local community honours her at Christmas,
By asking her to switch on the Christmas lights,
The Droitwich Christmas Lights, and she was,
The local year’s Junior Female Sportsperson.
AS YOU CALL
Threads ripple across space
as you draw pictures with your cells
Lotus in my belly moves toward arched feet
Is your Sun strong enough for a Flower
Which prefers the shade?
.
An irresistible pull of nourishing amber
I finger its veins with my broken skin
petals fall apart, skirmish dust
instantly swallowed by your dog
Rumi gives a foolish grin
for once not knowing his words
then dervishes with Shams and Desert Fox
I cannot draw his silk
as his eyes guide mine to
Spaces between unwritten lines
Worcester mountains show a
path with rocks, rabbits, lizards
rooting my Lotus
knee pain evaporates
with my pupils dissolving into yours
THE MISSING DAUGHTER
He worked near the Thames
Engineering computer systhames
And other electronic ithames.
This young man came from Gloucester :
Went out driving with his daughter, but loucester.
Seems his car wouldn’t start in Worcester
Cos his flat battery needed a borcester .
Policeman said, earlier that year in Szczecin*
She’d been seen with cowboy in a ten-gallon szczecson,
Wearing a hand-stitczed czechered shirt in czurcz,
And disrespectfully munching Czech czocholates.
Was this the same guy she was with
When she was visiting in Cadiz?
Months later they met up with a Sioux in Saulte St Marie**
And they visited the the zioux there,
Where a young man tried to waulte the girl,
But she fled to Arizona, to Tucson.
There, the police failed to catch her : they arrived tuc soon
Then she escaped to Arkansas
Strangest case of missing daughter I ever sas.
…………………………………………….
NOTES
* Ex-German city of Stettin, now in Poland and called Szczecin
** The entire Canadian population knows that this town
is pronounced “Soo-saint-maree”.
The entire US population has never heard of the place.
Mel had to berate a bad car driver,
Who, at traffic lights, nearly hit her,
She said “Life flashed” in rigid fear,
When the car towards her did steer.
She rubs shoulders with Crockroft,
As a middle distance athlete not soft,
Because she lies in the T34 category,
Whilst also doing sprints, has agility.
Born in the July of 1977 in Worcester,
She did well in meets, her multiplier,
Of her talent and skill, her preparation,
For the 2012 Paralympics in London.
In London Mel finished 7th, the 200m,
But went on from there to have feathers,
On podiums when she came in third,
In the 100m - 2014 European standard.
Also in the 800m she came in second,
To obtain the silver medal conditioned.
And then at Doha in 2015, World’s stand,
She took silver again for her strong hand.
She made the Rio GB squad and calls,
Her wheelchair is Dolly, and her stalls,
Are as a teaching assistant because she,
Studied Equine Science, it is her sea.
From back streets, alleys and hedgerows they came,
all sorts of people with children and dogs
filling the Chapel like a hall of fame;
the smell in the air had a whiff of bogs.
The best beggar in Worcester, that was Jack
a man of the street to be laid to rest,
no family to grieve, no mourners in black.
Some he had cheated, others could attest
they had learned from him street craft to survive,
receiving and sharing what came their way.
I read from St Luke how all turned aside
of those invited to the feast that day.
I gave them a welcome in Jesus' name
for coming to share the Jack that they knew.
It wasn't a banquet, but all the same
we gathered at the grave to ballyhoo.
A tipsy guy struggled to announce
he was known to them all as Steady Jack.
"Steady as you go!" his comrades pronounced.
A young Rastafarian kept us on track
with a wistful melody on his flute,
gathered for the committal packed in close.
Many an improvised personal tribute
was tossed into the grave for Jack's repose:
besides clods of soil a can of Guinness,
a bottle upended, several butt ends,
a home made wreath dropped in as a witness
limp but sincere to Jack's coffin descends.
To pay its respects an old dog came forward,
peered in, then curled up on a grave nearby.
Once the hole was filled and Jack was covered
expletives were uttered to satisfy
feelings deep within. Then dancing began
with bongo drums which continued till dusk.
Standing aside with much to understand
as cemetery staff completed their task,
I found respectful silence was broken
by fresh conversation of what we'd seen,
rituals of death uncommonly potent
shared and displayed with nothing routine.
here’stuh
the girls of Woostuh
the ones we usetuh
get closetuh
and pretendtuh
dancetuh
the Sambuh
The girls of Worcester Mass.,
making our short training tour
in 1957 Fort Devens bearable.
There was a dance hall there.
Public formal dancing is almost
unknown in the South.
I cooked a pie with
For my husband, the old git,
Cos he really had been upsetting me
I used a very special pastry
That was so light and tasty
To help disguise the flavour, OMG!
The carrots, leeks and onions
Simmered nicely on the hob
This is going to be a really special pie
Stock cubes, spices, worcester sauce
All went in with force
The bastard, I hope it makes him die!
You see, amongst his clothes upon the floor,
It's his floordrobe that's for sure
I found his mobile and a text that read
Angela I love you, I cannot wait to see you
And do unpronounceable things to you in bed!
My Name is not Angela!!!
So this needs a lot of thought
And manners I'd been taught
So I'll make him this very special meal
If he doesn't gag and hurl
His stomach will be in such a whirl
And make him oh so very ill.
Two final ingredients left
To go in this special pie
ake mushrooms and gathered from my lawn
Our dog will play his part
Because of Angela, the tart
It's fresh, steaming and still warm!
At the dining table that night
I could not hide my delight
When he covered his with gravy and tucked in
I forgot to mention, wasn't my intention
That my portion went straight into the bin
I am also cooking dessert
Which with any luck will hurt
Custard simmering nicely on the hob
With added mobile phone and sim
I hope that it chokes him
Next thing going in will be his nob!
Later in the evening
He looked at me and said
Darling, did you find a mobile phone and sim
It belongs to my mate Joe
He left it in the pub you know
Ground, please open up and swallow me in!!!