British-born Kenyan
adventureress globe-trotter
one of the first bush pilots
aviatrix authoress game-spotter
a woman before her time
through and through
who had simultaneous affairs
with Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
(son of George V)
his older brother Edward, Prince of Wales
(later Edward VIII)
and Denys Finch Hatton too
the Kenya Derby a six-time winner
as an unrivaled thoroughbred racehorse trainer
whom my Dad at EAR&H well knew
as whenever she was able
it was he she would speak to
regarding rail transport of her stable
in 1936 she was the first female
to fly against the wind
let's set the record straight
to get it right
the Atlantic Ocean non-stop solo
from east to west with the night
Have you ever seen the satanic snake?
A fierce cheetah hunting with no mistake
A bloodthirsty wolf in the black sheep's clothes
How would it be if you find all in close?
Richard the third, the most villainous Duke
Known as a treacherous and selfish kook
Holds the status of the Duke of Gloucester
A saboteur, schemes as an imposter
Possess an ugly build with a hunchback
Hides his flaws as a professional flack
Feels menial for his deformity
Handles things with extreme enormity
A power monger and it's very clear
Cares not even to kill his near and dear
Strategically waits for chance and grabs
With his honeyed words, he always backstabs
By hook or by crook, wants to seize the throne
Cheats Lady Anne with his convincing tone
Spreads rumours to showcase the heirs unfit
Executes those who thwart with his outwit
When the battle at Bosworth in full swing
Stanley takes a U-turn and quits the ring
Unhorsed Richard cries out losing the source
'A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse"
A ruthless tyrant with no repentance
For him, there isn't any moral sentence
The Bard's 'wicked uncle' gets the title role
Invites the crowds' interest on the whole
Can you forget that piece of cheese
that you inhaled? Oh, just a crumb it was.
But breathing while chewing, then choking!
Was it Cheddar, Cheshire?
Or that Limburger, Parmesan?
But, oh, that piece of cheese!
Not a morsel you'll forget,
or a temporary amnesia that will bring you peace.
A double Gloucester, some feta or mozzarella?
What about that Parmigiana-Reggiano?
Better, far better, not to inhale
a piece of cheese. It's peace you need.
(8 Jan 2024)
Once was a smart, forward-thinking young lady in Gloucester
Her wayward-thinking lover she summarily oustered
Since his libido he couldn’t control,
Ceremoniously, he had to go
And soon, thereafter, he became a carnival rouster.
written December 4, 2021
There was a young lady from Gloucester
Whose flippant ways really cost her
She snapped at a preacher
Who tried hard to reach her
And, finally, he up and tossed her.
written July 10, 2021
I believe I fell asleep last year at the cusp of a new agenda.
As a new virus took root, I found myself eradicated from society
in a way I never imagined.
All of a sudden instead of immersing myself in music and dance
and coffee talk chats, I found myself immersed in diluted contact
such as social distancing and Zoom;
mother-in-law dies
so does my bird named, Ringo
we bury them both
The same day we bury our Gloucester canary in the backyard,
we buried my mother in law, as I partook in a family funeral
miles away from home, I realized that the sun non-selectively
continued to shine no matter what . So much has happened
in such a short span, I feel it is out of my hands.
six months later
still waiting for the vaccine,
life can be so mean
She is a beauty with her vaulted ceilings and cloisters.
Has been parading about for over a thousand years
Showing off her English gothic architecture.
Cathedral Church of St. Peter and the Holy and Invisible Trinity.
We have seen her in films and movies – The Hollow Crown,
Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Harry Potter.
She houses at Gloucester, Gloucestershire, UK.
She was once a pilgrimage for Christian seekers.
King Henry the Eighth established her current choir in 1539.
Today her choir boasts thirty-eight choristers and twelve adult singers.
So when you walk through, you are a historian, so much has gone on.
She is magnificent with her beautiful stained glass windows.
Her organ was constructed in sixteen hundred and sixty-six.
She has been the site of graduations, coronations, and weddings.
In medieval times she held daily worship sung by monks of the abbey.
Gloucester Cathedral, a gorgeous example of what architects can do.
When fate’s hands joined together, pounding seas
A monstrous storm placed fishing boats at risk
I called to Billy, “Captain, listen please,
Turn ‘round, the seas are high and wind too brisk”
With six aboard who prayed they’d make it back
Tyne’s ship was seven hundred miles offshore
From Gloucester, Mass, where they’d begun their track
Much farther out than they had sailed before
October 28th I’d been at sea
But safe in Nova Scotia I then docked
The fate of Billy’s boat I could foresee
And rescue efforts we tried to concoct
With life jackets, the men were found adrift
And to safe harbor we gave them a lift
* Written December 11, 2018
For the “Movie Magic” Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Gregory R. Barden
Written from the perspective of Linda Greenlaw, Captain of the fishing boat “Hannah,” to provide a new ending to the movie “The Perfect Storm.”
Beyond the bay the sun peeked over waves;
calm belied what destiny would tell.
A statue peers where sailors served and gave,
so far from Gloucester shores where seagulls yell.
So far from sheltered harbor's gentle swells.
Undaunted sailors dared the Flemish Cap -
too far, as nature mixed a hopeless trap.
Like hungry beasts tempt fate to catch their prey
and stray beyond their tribal hunting grounds;
the George's Bank was left to stern that day
to go where surely greater catch abounds.
But while their hold was filled with bounty found,
two angry storms swirled in a deadly dance
and left the Andrea Gail without a chance.
Her captain turned for port but could not know
such wrath of nature blocked their pathway home,
and all the crew on wings of Angels glowed -
the face of God to trust and not to roam.
Though oft in tumult's grasp they will bemoan
and think to sell their souls on devil's waves,
yet safe in Heaven's grasp they will be brave.
RIP October 28, 1991
(This does have some internal rhyme)
In the fall of ninety one
a November morn had just begun
as harbor bells rang loud and echoed
all around sad Gloucester town.
Lost within a perfect storm as
ill winds stirred the teaming sea,
never to return to shore,
instead to God's eternity.
The Navy Hymn from St. Anne's swept 'til
harbor's silent shorelines wept as
each tossed flowers to the tide, like
souls they floated - gently gone
while lifted by the prayerful song
and
with last goodbyes inhaled the sea.
Blue Cheese
There is Cheshire, Red Leicester, Emmental and Brie,
Double Gloucester and Edam, a delight for all to see,
Stilton, Caerphilly, or Cheddar mature and mild,
Lots of subtle flavours to drive my taste bud’s wild.
There is Lancashire, Wensleydale or Derby to please,
So why, oh’ why, would you serve me Blue Cheese?
That smelly Blue cheese you know I cannot stand,
Give me Shropshire Mild, or something rather bland.
I don’t want that stinking dairy, in my salad box,
Opening the lid to an odour of sweaty socks.
So, hear my request I am begging of you please,
No more, no more, of that smelly blue cheese.
You can't put a better bit of butter on your platter because a martyr did shatter the packet of your butter as it did welter in the gutter, but that waiter did cater you this later, muttering about an utter butter-hater from Gloucester with bitter hauteur.
Welcome to Gloucester, a city of once great traditions.
A city where our heroes were once the brave fishermen are now our drunkard sports captains.
A city where art was once seen as the great works of Fitz Hugh Lane or a finely crafted schooner is now rapping behind a computer screen or a "perfectly" rolled joint.
A city where our women were once strong and beautiful, but now they are just girls hunting for sex and alcohol.
A city once revered as a place of close bonds and hearty people now has a renown of heroin addicts and pregnant tenth graders.
Gloucester, I love you and it is true that you have changed, but I have one question for you...
Did it always have to be this way?
What does it mean to me
New Jersey
It means smell and warmth
iI……. oops wrong sort of Jersey
Here we go start again …….
Was the home of the Lenape Indians
Till the Dutch and Swedes came their way
Followed by the British who named
It after a channel island off the UK
Was the home of many a battle
Including the American revolutionary war
Who tried to oust the British rabble
Not such an easy chore
New Jersey has many counties
21 was the latest score
Morris County was indeed a pleasant one
Rich in tradition and folk lore
THEN
Theirs Atlantic and Bergen, Burlington too
Camden, Cape May, Cumberland to name but a few
Essex, Gloucester and Hudson come next in line
Hunterdon, Mercer and Middlesex are doing just fine
Monmouth, Morris and Ocean is that enough
Pacific, Salem and Somerset I am now out of puff
Sussex, Union and Warren …….That is New Jersey
The whiskey bottle is empty,
his cup of hope run dry,
he layed upon the gutter,
people passed with distain in their eyes.
Were they there did they see?
He was a joke to some in this town,
his story they did not know
but he was a world war hero,
captured, tortured but only
to his flag, did he bow.
Were they there did they see?
The council gave him housing,
said Charlie make it a home,
he was there for one week only
to him,it just another tomb
of stone
Were they there did they see?
A Gloucester boy,whos eyes ,
could not take no-more,
you drowned in the bottle Charlie,
you drowned because of a war.
Were they there did they see.
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