Best Poems Written by Gavin Lockey

Below are the all-time best Gavin Lockey poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

View ALL Gavin Lockey Poems

Details | Gavin Lockey Poem

Happy Birthday Marie, 100

Happy Birthday Marie, 100,
splashed across the evening news.
Replete with colour photograph,
seen wearing another girls shoes.

Happy Birthday Marie, not knowing.
In meltdown, fused in your chair.
Your family, they loved the Queen's telegram,
and look there's the Deputy Mayor!

Happy Birthday Marie, not hearing.
The paper describes you past tense.
Dream of the cat that sits on your lap,
as none of this makes any sense.

Happy Birthday Marie, dementia.
Alone, with your family round,
long suffering daughter bears crucifixed grin,
she's aware you are already drowned.

Copyright © Gavin Lockey | Year Posted 2007


Details | Gavin Lockey Poem

Girl of Sand: Woman of Strength

little girl keeps getting lost
sliding off her rainbow
trying to untie her shoes

and she's counting up the cost
of the company she's keeping
saving up those violet tattoos

she thinks love is like a sin
knocks you out as you fall in
and every kick is gonna leave a bruise

young girls
and
wishes,
tight spots
and 
dirty dishes,
deadlines
and
waistline,
schoolgirl crushes
and valentines

crawling up against the walls
no escape from Bedford Falls
no 'stage' to board from town at noon

you may not think i have a heart
kind of scared and not that smart
but pass the rope and I'll lasso your moon

Copyright © Gavin Lockey | Year Posted 2007

Details | Gavin Lockey Poem

Reflections On a Collection of Pickled Specimens

Men of affairs, scientists, gentlemen collectors,
researchers, technicians, plankton detectors.
Ladies, when permitted, provided manful help
Wading shorelines intrepidly for variegated kelp.

Be-whiskered men off charted shores 
their Science to be applied. 
From blindest depths defy stern jaws 
to reveal a great divide. 
Thus predate all faith - shift their cores – 
expecting the spring tide.

Knowing their names, seeking their protection. 
Categorised, specified, a literal dissection. 
Must now each specimen elders plucked, and carefully
selected, 
be hidden forever, politically corrected?

Dead-eyed and soaked, deep in their jars. 
Pickled in formaldehyde.
Gentleman, killer? The choice is yours, 
Think well before you decide.
Is the Creator of countless stores
Dr. Jekyll or Mister Hyde?

Copyright © Gavin Lockey | Year Posted 2007

Details | Gavin Lockey Poem

Double Entry

Spawn of the blade,
a bacteria
engineered 
'twixt knife and wound.

'Tween scales and tape
they took
his measure leaving 
figures 
in books.

The spade
cut smoothly
through the earth.

In an effort to save for the approaching moment,
he had lost what he'd failed to spend.

Copyright © Gavin Lockey | Year Posted 2007

Details | Gavin Lockey Poem

A World Too Small

I cannot find enough minutes in the day,
Even measured in the beats of my heart.
From no poet can I prise the words to say,
When all except feeling, appears then departs.
I cannot breathe out those avenues of light,
Capture your beauty in some lost chord,
Nor deliver clarity in the black on the white
In some vain hope of a dignity restored.
Each corridor of retreat inches narrow,
Distressed I find my air it pinches thin.
This control of love plays me as shallow,
Yet is its pursuit the inducement of sin?
Here then I find there are no exits to this place,
And the world is too small to forget your face.

Copyright © Gavin Lockey | Year Posted 2007


Details | Gavin Lockey Poem

Time (1)

For him, time was a mere succession of milk bottles,
He'd sit and watch the summer passing him by
on the backs of pretty young things
still wrapped in cotton.
His wife died.
He decided to have the front door repainted.
He remembered her red hair.

Copyright © Gavin Lockey | Year Posted 2007

Details | Gavin Lockey Poem

Chair

Her eyes weren’t on her feet,
they were still at her hair,
she claimed a misbeguiling air
as she rolled past in that chair,
as she sailed past in that chair.

Framed by the sharp stillness
then they were suddenly there
plumping the bubble with throat-filling care
which blew past with that chair,
then curled past with that chair.

And I swear I saw her standing
saw a firmness in her stare,
courage to show she was aware,
as she walked past in that chair,
as she walked past in that chair.

Copyright © Gavin Lockey | Year Posted 2007

Details | Gavin Lockey Poem

Masks of Silence

The letters he wrote.
Words cut the pages.
The passions 
wrought molten the
forever malleable spaces
cool 
in their contrast.
The letters he wrote. He gave them no stamp

The torch that he carried.
He could turn the air blue with his protestations.
He reached for wall and floor.
He would scream, strain, 
stab his conscience
with doubts.
Yet
reticence, respect and reason left the room dark.
No candles were ever lit.

Copyright © Gavin Lockey | Year Posted 2007

Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Reflection on the Important Things

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter