Monday 2 May 2011

and so we enter May

To those of you who have been interested enough to see what I have written during April, I thank you.  It has been an exercise in discipline if nothing else and, hopefully, one I can continue.  However, I don't think I can manage one a day for May - I think quality must become upper most again now.

Saturday 30 April 2011

I Did It Maggie's Way (30/30)

And now the time has come and so I write the final stanza
Poet friends, I'll say it clear and mention here Napowrimo's bonanza.
I've tried, yes tried so hard to follow each and every guideline
but more, much more than this, most of my poems rhyme.

Rejects, I've had a few but, then again, too few to mention,
I've changed what I had to change travelling in a new direction.
I wrote each structured verse and read aloud to make it sound right
but more, much more than this, I emailed by midnight (well mostly).

Yes there were times, oh we all knew
we'd taken on more than we could do,
we wrote all night, keeping verses tight,
we'd jot them down, move them around,
I tried them all, hit the writing wall,
but did it Maggie's way.

So now Day Thirty's here, no more to write, no competition
perhaps I'll write a book, go take a look, my special edition.
So, thanks yes thanks to you for all supportive comments rendered
'cos now, as I wipe my brow, I have surrendered.

Friday 29 April 2011

Fantasy or Nightmare (29/30)

Fantasies or nightmares,
you choose.
Close your eyes, just dream,
what have you to lose?
Feel his warmth beside you,
breath upon your skin,
fingers sliding down your spine;
you’ve lost it, he wins.

Fantasy is over,
the nightmare reigns supreme,
banishing all thoughts of him,
cruelly mocks the dream.
The smells, the touch, the taste all gone,
dawn brings another day to live through
until night returns,the fantasy to re-play.

Thursday 28 April 2011

The Wedding (28/30)

There was panic at Westminster Abbey of the kind the Brits do so well,
an orderly kind of upheaval and calmness so no-one could tell
that the maples and hornbeams, though lovely, could hardly fit through the door
and the home of a nesting blackbird bounced twice before hitting the floor.

The trumpeters practised their fanfare spurred on by the listening crowd,
it was the last, the final rehearsal, they stood upright, stately, proud.
Bystanders outside the Abbey cheered and waved little union jacks,
it was twenty four hours to the wedding but spending the night on their backs
on a cold and hard concrete pavement, meant they limbered up when they could,
so they waved and they stamped and applauded just where they stood.

Elgar was still in waiting but the crowds were beginning to wain,
yes they loved all the pomp and ceremony but they'd been told it was going to rain. 
So they unrolled tents and brollies, creating a most colourful sight,
but as the music rose to a crescendo, they rolled over and said gooodnight.

Wednesday 27 April 2011

Classy (27/30)

It's lust at first sight, the girl to your right,
the one with the straight brown hair.
The one in the dress, no, not her - she's a mess
be casual, don't stare.
She's classy alright, no holes in her tights
and look at those heels on her shoes.
She needs to be kissed and I just can't resist
a girl with so many tatoos.

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Ageing (26/30)

Her pale blue eyes no longer
    saw the colours of the world,
no longer viewed the bluebell sky
    as it merged with the dark blue sea.
But, within her mind's eye,
    colours remained vibrant,
just as she had first seen them, as
    nature had intended them to be.
She had witnessed the rise of the sun
    in a sky shot golden and pink;
had watched that same sun setting
    making way for the darkness.

Monday 25 April 2011

Bank Holidays (25/30)

Factory closures
school children at large;
roads full of traffic cones
caravans and cars.
Airports are heaving,
controllers on strike,
Easter in England
Oh, what is it like?

When the sun comes,
when the rain stops,
when tornados play
I simply remember my favourite month
that wonderful month called .... May!

(If you can manage it, this should be sung out loud to the tune of "My Favourite Things" - happy singing)

Sunday 24 April 2011

Trying to Dream of You (24/30)

Horlicks. Cocoa. Diazepam.
Drowsy. Sleepy.
Grab it when you can.
Silent Night mattress,
NASA Memory Foam,
Snuggle in a duvet,
“No Place Like Home”.
Wishful thinking;
Penny for your thoughts;
Dream Catchers hanging;
No dreams caught.
Yoga. Meditation.
Paul McKenna on CD.
Hypnosis for the weary
But just dreams of you for me.

Saturday 23 April 2011

The Council Wheelie Bin (23/30)

I'm a garden refuse wheelie bin
quite a pleasant shade of green,
I used to wait at the pavement edge
but now I'm rarely seen.
I'm purpose-built to do the job
I store all garden waste until
the council send their trucks
to empty me, with haste.
But the months have passed
and I haven't moved
just stood here with my load
waiting to hear those trucks again
as they hit the open road.
I'm full to my lid and bursting
with twigs and rotting leaves,
so council men come rescue me
and empty me please, please, please.

Why Today? (22/30)

It was in the half light of a new day she left.
      The imprint of her body moulded into the sheet
like a handprint on damp sand.
       Even in the confused state between sleeping and waking
he knew she had gone.
       Tracing the curve of her back on the sheet, inching
forward as if she was still there,
       he placed his head on the pillow where hers had lain
and smelled the faint roses of her shampoo
       but tasted salty tears.

The Ultimate Dream (21/30)


She stared in the mirror, eyeing herself
pleased with the face looking back;
the puffed eyes with pouches
and wrinkles both sides, now gone
like the old skin so slack.

She moved from the mirror
and picked up her glass,
adding tonic, refreshing the gin.
Yes, dreams can come true,
you can change your life,
thanks to a lottery win!

Cowardice (20/30)

As I waited in the surgery
for my turn to hit the chair
I closed my eyes and made a wish -
I wished I wasn't there!
The sound of gurgling water
the hissing of the air
I wished and wished with all my might
I wasn't really there.
The drilling stopped, no further sounds,
had the patient died?
"Oops! Wrong day, wrong week," I said
the hygienist saw the lie.
"Please don't stress and worry,
it doesn't hurt a bit,
it's over in a minute,
resume your seat, please sit."
My confidence had left me
I know I'm really weak but
I'm sure that I'll be braver
If I come again next week.

Salvation (19/30)

"So" the smiling angel said
"You think I'll let you in?
You can guarantee to me
that you are without sin?"
"Oh yes", I said with ready smile
"I've never hurt a fly and knew
that I would come straight here
as soon as I did die."
"I've never hated anyone
nor done a callous deed
I've not been lazy with God's gifts
and always did succeed.
I've never overfed myslef
and gave to Ethiopiaid,
I've never lusted after men
nor from my husband strayed.
But I can see you're not convinced
you think I'd lie to you,
St. Peter listen closely now
to what I propose to do -
so much for monogamy,
so much for being chaste,
I'll show you what a miracle is
then you can open up those gates"!

A summer Gig (18/30)

Eyes are streaming
Nose so sore
Throat is painful
Tonsils raw
Yet the crowd calls out for more
The show must go on

Conundrums (17/30)

How long is the sunbeam that splits the chesnut tree?
Who sends the whispered secrets to the wind?
Where does the dark hide when the yellow sun comes out to play?
How far is the answer to the the question?

Detached Dwelling - (16/30)

His accommodation was basic but warm and dry;
an occasional photo detracting the eye from plain walls.
His neighbours were usually quiet and non-intrusive and visitors were few,
allowing him time to study.
Death Row had some advantages.

16/30 and onwards ......

Well dear Readers,
It would appear that the enthusiasm with which I started this project was overtaken by other calls on my time. However, if nothing else I remain true to myself and am determined to do 30 poems within the month of April.  So, quantity being the aim as opposed to quality (on this occasion) I am catching up this weekend.  I hope you find something to make you smile - or even cringe.  All emotions catered for.

Friday 15 April 2011

Sunshine - who needs it? (15/30)

I’m sick and tired of sunshine and its cunning little ways
of luring idle children to go outside and play
then it creeps in through my windows,
and with its sunbeams highlights dust
which means I have to vacuum and polish, fit to bust.
And when I’ve earned a cuppa plus a biscuit, maybe two
I stroll in to the garden and lo, I still see you
drying up the flower beds, turning green grass brown
heating up the patio without making any sound.
So, you lure me in to daylight, dazzle me with light
then roast me like a turkey to thirty Fahrenheit.
Well I’ve had enough I tell you as I watch you leave your mark
I’ll languish like a hothouse flower - in my cellar until dark.

Thursday 14 April 2011

Pretender (14/30)

I like the idea of a sonnet
and the challenge of fourteen lines
but a throb in my head at the moment
and the absence of sensible rhymes
means that this day the prompts are useless
my brain cells refuse to obey   
so I’ll just post this simple offering
try a sonnet another day.

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Speed (13/30)

At twice the speed of light
my pen begins to write
and takes me down the page at speed
writing words (before agreed)
so I'm not sure if I'll succeed
in this task tonight.

But at least I've a poem for Day 13!

Tuesday 12 April 2011

Class of '65 (12/30)

I remember the brightest of days
the clearest of skies
friends linked by school dinners
and homework diaries.
Oaths sworn and sealed with scarlet finger tips;
Promises made for meetings in the future.
Where are we all now?

Mirror Image (11/30)

Meeting in a Lift (Vladimir Holan)                    

translated from the Czech by
Ian and Jarmila Milner

We stepped into the lift.  The two of us, alone.     
We looked at each other and that was all.             
Two lives, a moment, fullness, bliss.                       
At the fifth floor she got out and I went on up         
knowing I would never see her again                          
that it was a meeting once and for all,
that if I followed her I would be like a dead man in her tracks
and that if she came back to me
it would only be from the other world.

We didn't meet in a Lift     (Maggie Doyle)

We stepped out of the lift.  All of us, together.
We didn't look at each other and that was everything.
So many lives, so long, emptiness, despair.
At the tenth floor everyone got out and I went down  
Not knowing if I would ever see them again
but that if I didn't it would be like ignoring them
and if they did not return this world would be gone.                     

Sunday 10 April 2011

Lydbrook Water (10/30)

Achiever, focused as the Cyclops Eye,
racing onward, leaving all baggage behind,
burbling your story; punctuating with rocks and tree stumps.
No time for regrets as you spin and twirl
Onwards, onwards.

Sap green branches listen as they lean
towards your acned body, guiding you from land.
A cirrus streaked sky mocks its olive reflection.
Carelessly, mallards drink from your throat
showering drops of liquid rainbow onto their backs.
Onwards, onwards.

Rogue eddies nibble the edges of a fallen tree
as daredevil swans skate backwards enjoying
your momentary lack of concentration.
In the distance a mosaic of canoes dares to
ride on your back, digging into your dark depths
as you lift and circle them.
Onwards, ever onwards.

Saturday 9 April 2011

Golden Girl (9/30)

She was leggy and blonde with a St. Tropez tan
Girl on the loose, stalking her man
Traps being set to net her a catch
Money and brains – what a wonderful match
She visualised houses both here and abroad
Bought by a man she’d pretend she adored
So beware if you meet her, her heart is stone cold
Remember "all that glisters is not necessarily gold"

Friday 8 April 2011

Habitat (8/30)

Tigers live in jungles
leeches favour bogs
meercats like the desert sand
and fleas love hairy dogs!

Thursday 7 April 2011

Addiction (7/30)

It was a gentle addiction,
a habit she couldn't, wouldn't break.

Chewing the lemon from her gin
she thought of Flynn.

Hadn't he told her that poker was her raison d'etre?
We know he was wrong.

Hers was a gentle addiction.

Wednesday 6 April 2011

Hip Hop Health (6/30)


Roll up, roll up get your health check here
We’ll listen to your heart, look down your ear
Hammer your knees ‘til arthritis sets on
Offer liposuction for your double chin.
We’ll test your cholesterol, take some blood
Advise on foods that you shouldn’t and you should … eat
Please provide a specimen
Which we’ll test for major ills
Diabetes and anaemia
Can be managed with our pills.
Blood counts, sugar levels
We can also measure
Just hold out your arm
And we’ll take your blood pressure.
Heart attacks, dizzy fits, we can sort them all
Even plaster up your legs if you tend to fall.
So, roll up, roll up join the lengthy queue
Sign along the dotted line and we'll look after you.

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Change of Heart (5/30)

Old fashioned paper on walls that are peeling
Memories of drunken nights, stains on the ceiling
A quote for re-furbishment sends you both reeling
Living together, no longer appealing

Monday 4 April 2011

A Chance Encounter (4/30)

Warm apple strudle
topped with thick cream,
a fresh cup of coffeee to follow;
the waiter just smiled
as he drifted on past
unaware she was trying to
swallow the words which were trapped
twixt her teeth and her lips
a sentence torn from her heart
for his was the face she had loved
once then lost, 'tho he'd promised they'd never part.

Sunday 3 April 2011

Colours (3/30)

Grey is the colour of the darkening skies
Grey is the colour of his loveless eyes
Grey is the colour of a life built on lies
Grey is the colour of our last goodbye

Spring (2/30)

She drifted through the bluebells
enjoying their subtle perfume;
her long denim skirt both hiding them
and refreshing their scent.
Trailing her slender fingers through
the damp, green stems she welcomed Spring.

Saturday 2 April 2011

April Haiku (1/30)

Rain forecast today
Dark thunderclouds flood the sky
Birds hide in the trees