This is an ode to John and his iconic bucolic pub "the Golden Smog" up in Stockton on Tees..
What makes a proper pub?
Unity in a community hub
Immunity from the hubbub
With others shoulders rub
Opportunity you can’t snub
Our own homegrown club
Bubbling banter from the bar
In the cellar need a stellar star
Other views & hues don’t scar
Ales & tales so far above par
No-one argues or does spar
Clinking & sinking another jar
John a helluva fella just say ta
No bigotry is all he does ask
No hate lurking behind a mask
A sisyphean or herculean task
In the company of others bask
No sip from a hidden hip flask
Cheers to beers from the cask
Where the weekend will begin
Delaying within escape the din
Time to spend with ken and kin
Getting you through thick & thin
Whetting our whistles.. chin chin
A third place where a grin will win
To miss this bliss is a cardinal sin
A home from home just staying in!
And those forever on the run,
Vain like rain ‘pon a verdant wood
Lush with leafy weeds wildly grown.
Or early morning’s fog in haze,
Gossamer gauze in its sheer mood
That vanish in lingering laze.
Or take a sun, rising nigh late
From behind tall hills like a hood,
That sets, ere entering my gate
Imagine a mid-summer’s breeze
Bare before I have had it good,
And faces doldrums’ sudden freeze.
Poems all, I was pregnant with
Once ‘pon a time, but now to brood
And miscarried nigh oh like a myth.
_______________________
Reflections |12.03.2026| breeze/wind, fog, sun, woods/weeds, tercet
When the weatherman warned
of 50% rain in the offing he neglected to state
and neither advised nor informed
what the other half would advocate
perhaps hail sleet smog snow
or fleecy fluffy clouds
floating overhead instead
and if so I wonder where they go
wind-blown oh so far away
I guess we'll never ever know
meanwhile we'll have to wait
to see what his non-prediction
weather-wise will precipitate
I glide, a heavy, odd glide,
Through a moody weekend,
Its gasps choked, and;
Taste like bitter wormwood.
Fragile hearted, I,
Tears soaked my eye,
A subtle soul rose high,
And still, ended a heavy cry.
I exhaled noxious smog,
My very aura got tainting,
Whatever virtue, I cling,
It's a long glid; I'm strong.
Fear is an all-consuming fog
Consuming shining rays of hope and light
Eyes trapped shut in this ash-filled smog
Voices of mania are heard at night
From the kingdom of media in fright
Some go to the beasts to be prey
Wrapped in questions, wanting to see the day
Led by rulers in this Black Death
May the wind blow this fog away
The wind of the sun’s holy breath
Date of poem: January 20th 2023
Contest: Fear Is Liar Poetry Contest
Contest's Sponsor: Sotto Poet
Good Riddance to a smoky city
The smog filled streets and the shoddy piety
It looked like the Gods never visited the country, this part
And every nook and corner was a smudge in an artists art!
Morning walks had stopped long enough
And evening exercises were just spoken in a huff….and a puff
Every mans greed was now out in the open
That nothing but money could please, was often spoken
This city had gone from Green to polluted
And every living being here had started getting dreams diluted
Not eve n the gardens were spared
No elderly person was ever here going to be cared
For as blind as every responsible person here could get
Nobody here believed in a breathable environment to set….
That an Art Museum adorned the City Centre, as a matter of fact
And some madman said that this monument could only act….
As an enriching business, making the City a star
But now it looks like a piece of War….
Between the Government that assured the people a smart zone
And every rich-wanna-be decided to clone
By joining hands with the “Government” – thus getting their hands Dirty
Making every living soul in that City – Burn in these streets of pity!
Inhabitants are real
Facing great threats
Weighing on mother earth's future
Its effects and consequences
Even better halt it
Consume more, always more
The detriment of nature
Destroyed as an easy option
The soil is poisoned
Lands are sliding
Rain forests are reduced
Drastic effects for dims
Contagion of air
Exhaust fumes from arrogant holes
The burning of fossil fuels sings along
Harmful and deadly acid rain
Radiation spills and drills
Nuclear accidents such sudden
The air flares corpses
Photochemical smog dances
Water droplets
They mandate tears
Say sad to aerosols
Beloved refrigerants
Sincere solvents
And majesty burning fossil fuel
Why?
a smog of vampyric fume
i walk into! with poison-darts
and with mana of fire as weapons
i penetrate the rugged soil of foe.
my longbow of the Scythians hangs on my back
and two mighty daggers
are steady in my belt as always.
the key and the lock rests in my separate hands;
separate like the sun and the moon!
Affirmation of Love
David J Walker
Learning to say I love you
In one of the languages that
We both think we understand
Left wondering in the after actions
If the words were weaker reflections
Left hanging heavy in the air like smog
I am the one left smugly in the fog
Of wrong interpretations
Missing the inflections of permissions
That should be left to better judgments
Then I can make in the passion of
The moment
“I love you” is packed with phrases
And paragraphs and pages of a
Lifetime together
They are all we have to say it
In a life dedicated to affirmation
The World Is Healing From Coronavirus
We hide smiles behind the facemask
In cold wind virus spread in open spaces
A touch could turn into a snafu touch
As noise turns into silence
Mother earth is breathing
The way we look at it
It is rebuilding and helping us to retrace
The whip-like tail, we inflicted
It released its own antibody
An infective agent to restore its system
Sad to say, we are the aim of the attack
Which gives an end to human capacity
Yesterday was gloomy, saying that sky is sick like us
The well-wishers and care help regain one’s strength
Then we welcome each day a sunny day
To picture the sky as happy light blue yonder
The birds gracing the garden again
I can see the blue and clear sky overhead
Less travel in the land, sea, and air
Clearing smog that hangs over the city
Family members once again bonded
In this sad scenario, everyone prays
To be able to reconnect again
With a tender smile, touch, and cozy talk
We pray that all return to normal soon
Keeping in touch means so much to us
Take care for we still need to grow old
It is a commitment to creating more memories together
Written: March 18, 2020
When I was a teenager
Nothing seemed to be fair
So I rebelled
And I dyed my hair
It was as black as a moonless Halloween night
Which echoed my spirit to my poor parents fright
My days spun listlessly in an endless slog
My core boiled and bubbled up
infected soup of smog
Throughout my journey many feelings lingered
Handicapped by sensations
my life it hindered
Weak and fragile
Consumed with the pain
Inadequate and hopeless
An incessant drain
But something was brewing deep down within
A burst of emotions
But where to begin?
A jumble of words spat onto the page
Some words were woeful and some were pure rage
Allowing stanzas to unravel
I let the rhymes and verse unroll
For I found passion in my heart
Amid poetry in my soul
Nightfall flings dark
To hide odd spark
Wholesome touch slings
In a crisp fling
Cluster each grief
To seed touch brief
Abrupt this haze
As choke greets maze
Windy smog floods
To strain warm blood
Even fresh breeze
Blows a bad sneeze
Forest fires burn
Such smoky churns
Secrete words harsh
In bash and brush
Leon Enriquez
28 September 2019
Singapore
Days of Smog
Do you remember the days of Smog,
Smoke filled Novembers in Fog.
Today you would not believe,
A time when we could not breathe.
Thick Air, not fit for Man Nor Dog.
Smog
Nebulous malignancy
Choking the city
Threatening residence; foul fugitive
Fog
mountains sip coffee
from the cup of Thunderbird
smell of gasoline
smog
haiku+a bonus word
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