I started to clap, but no-one joined in.
Do people not do that here? I asked.
But at least my applause was genuine,
Unlike a round with which one is tasked --
Pressure to buy several pints, feeling casked,
Pegged to a keg of expectation
When all you want is icy hydration.
Not feeling awkward as the odd one out
Is one of my social aspirations
When silence distorts one sound as a shout.
Sixty years since i saw him
But he suddenly came to mind
A quiet sense of humour
Of the mischievous kind
A pleasant disposition
Except when crossed
Then very soon to remind
Who was in fact the boss.
An unlikely friendship because
We were years and ranks apart
But somehow i could never
Take the Army thing to heart
A square pegged soldier
Never quite fitting in
Leading this charmed life
Of undiscovered sin.
Always respectful of rank
When together on base
Down in the pub at night
Near equals face to face.
I, of course left
He carried on
I only found out
Long after he was gone
He achieved senior rank
Became very well respected
I suppose on reflection
Only what was expected.
I wonder if he ever remembered
His disrespectful boozing mate
And how we both reassumed rank
As we passed the barracks gate
Wilma was a pretty little thing.
Ed decided she would like American cheese.
So that is what he gave her as a pre-date present.
Wilma was astounded; this was the only cheese she did not eat.
Her dog loved all cheeses, so he was the recipient of this feast.
His next date was with Peggy, a girl from an Irish clan.
For some reason he pegged her as a connoisseur of cottage cheese.
Without asking her, he surprised her with a carton on their first date.
This was their last date.
Peggy would have rather had candy or flowers.
Third time is a charm, his mother told him.
She was the instigator of the cheese presents.
She hoped to keep him home the rest of his life.
He was a baby, only twenty-three. Her baby.
He had a date with a Marla, a woman from New Zealand.
She has blonde hair; blondes love cheddar cheese, his mother told him.
This time she was right, and he ran off with Marla.
A pegged round point gleams a dream as a passerby
pauses briefly at some display of hearts. Creams alot
enchanted in velvety reds filled with sweet treats that
address the same in my deepest fantasies. Employed by
the Creatures that slither their way, shading their point in
passing. Then a heavenly-sent gifts a genteel speaker
drifts a spun floater albeit a dove's solitaire feather.
Angelic hands reach down to gather it up in chorale
chants achieved its disciplined course. In brevity
breathes deeply, exalting with the soothing blessed
Suite, performed by Johann Bach. Toccata, Adagio, and
Fugue in C Major, with cultured ivory chords and refined
pedals as the fantasy seized a day.
Snap crack the hard
Pebbled acorns ricochet
As if thrown by invisible
Hands of nature’s forces
Some fall straight
Others propel with
Unjust uncertainty and
Deliverance passerby
Pegged and peppered
Squirrels intent on
Getting their winter
Food source fulfilled
Scurry around burying
The acorns in
Potted plants, piles of
Leaves or any such
Hiding spot
I often wander how
They remember where
Each and every
Hidey hole is?
Such is wildlife
Trials and tribulations
A row of jazzy underwear
Wafts gently in the breeze
Pegged to the clothes line
Strung between two trees.
A garden brolly provides
Shade from the evening sun,
Chickens scratch the earth
In their wire netting run.
The cockerel struts his stuff through
The chicks of this years hatch,
Beans and peas and potatoes
Grow profusely in their patch.
Veggies for the table
All home grown
In what I've always wanted
A garden of my own.
Discarded children's toys
Are scattered on the green
But the kids are in bed
Quietly sleeping so not seen.
Blue Geraniums are covered
By wasps and bees and flys
Flitting to and fro for pollen
All sights restful to the eyes.
A summer Friday evening,
A whole weekend ahead
Stretched lazily in my lounger
In my hand a glass of red
Contemplating life, counting
All my blessings one by one
Hoping the rest is as good
As as that already gone.
In my little country garden
Resting in the shade
My loved one by my side
I've really got it made.
Next week is round the corner
For now just living for the day,
This gentle summer breeze
Blowing all my cares away.
While wondering wishfully, you
certainly got tired with each of
your relation.
Penetrating Pain pegged a pin
in your heart before you realized
that I am enough for you.
But you were you.
My menacing mind won't
accept the truth as my
tender tears are just
water droplets to you.
"The Flipside"
We write
our hearts out
we pull
the catch back in
slowly,
they read,
we think,
too fast
swallowed
in the hollowed out
hallowed hearts measured
ounce per ounce
we write
our hearts out
stamping footprints
obstinance turning
ourselves
inside, out
stone washing
ourselves
inside
out
written on
lines
wrung out,
expelled
pegged left
hanging
right
left
without
missives,
no doubt
on the flip side
of eternity
gravity
grounds us
toes
touch the ground
neck and face
upwards
downwards,
still life
breathing
eyes watching,
reading, waiting
the mystery
we believe,
or, we sit still
debating
the earthly
volume
a boulder
pulley drawn
backwards
forwards
backwards
in quarters
we are quartered
like poetry
we are,
washed
in clouds
inside
out,
we are
on the
flipside ;
waiting
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
Nikola Jokic, the opposite of cool
The woke NBA had him pegged for a fool
Calmly drops in 40 a night with 20 rebounds
Lebron and Jimmy B. had to call off the hounds
Shared standings and beguiling beginners
Brobdingnagian breeding and brutal babies
False fellows and flumadiddle flair
Well-attended wedding with subpar sageness
Cash corrosive customs control
Plagued positions and phony persona
whimsical world pious properly pegged
Written: April 30, 2023
Alliterisen Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Joseph May
Line 1 - x = 10
Line 2 - 10+2 = 12
Line 3 - 10-1 = 9
Line 4 - (10+2 )-1 = 11
Line 5 - 10-2 = 8
Line 6 - (10+2)-2 = 10
Line 7 = 10
"Genus"
taxonomic
classifying worth
separating the yolk
from the white
like poets pegged
on a line to dry
still and wet
behind the ears
years slapped
heartily away
and back into
the shore
like tides
to bare feet
hear them cry
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
For my mate
You added your bit to the show
A joke a story or a place to go
Standing next to the barbie or keg
Serving the snags or beer you had us pegged
Always the last to leave no waste allowed
And you knew all the nicknames being so proud
With the reasons for each name made
For shows or border incidents you did not fade
So now it’s your day again
For us to say see ya later friend
And here’s cheers in beer for you
When at the bar I’ll have one for you too.
© Paul Warren Poetry
Reaching out,
stepping out
into the beyond.
Feeling the stars
bathing your vista
with twinkles and sparkles.
Venturing beyond is a journey
through a time warp's
quivering door
with fate swathing your body
in expectation,
like seawater does
when you plunge into the dark sea,
carefree with eyes closed.
You've turned your back on sameness's tug,
and shed the hackles and snares
of past cares
that tugged you down
like ropes swung over
pegged at each end.
Beyond your reach, now
you're free at last
to soak up, enjoy and imbibe
whatever comes your way.
"Tightropes of the Three Graces"
Tightropes
for hanging clothes
on a line
each piece
pegged wooden
held between closed fences
misfortune's breeze lifts
sleeves like covers
pointing the way home
books and their pages
for The Davenport dancers
all's well that ends well
scene perfect
imperfect fortunes
throughout their ages
the balancing act
seeking Life’s rhyme
saving fates in stages
odd numbers
are never easy,
never graceful
the balancing acts,
tightropes
of the Graces
saving fates in 3 stages
(LadyLabyrinth / 2022)
mlb, klb, llb
Édouard Bisson , French Pre-Raphaelite
“Die drei Grazien”, 1899
Hans Baldung, German Renaissance and Mannerism
“Three Ages of Man”, 1541 -1544
“Three Graces”, 1539
Sandro Botticelli, Italian Renaissance
“The Three Graces”, 1485 - 1487
Energetic
Closed my eyes
Quickly realized
Slowly breathing
Happy seeing
Friendly visit
Elicit
One on the porch
Moving forth
Little feet
Looking for a treat
Instead of a bird
A chipmunk we heard
Eating away
Happy at play
Through the children's legs
Laughter we pegged
Went for a walk
Indeed, we saw a lot
A lady bug
Full of hugs
The Lord's presence shown
Butterfly inside our home
Heaven's glory we felt
Heartfelt
Blessed our grounds
What else shall be found
Down came the rain
Rainbow came
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