Passers by

They've often passed my house over the years

walking together, the man and the woman.

Both middle aged, she unexceptional

but he is small and somehow crooked

like a broken twig beneath his always hat.

I've often wondered about their relationship.

Somehow husband and wife seems unlikely

because of his unattractive disablement.

I tend to think of them brother and sister

with her looking after him. Courageous.

I would like to ask them about their connection

but feel it would be intrusive, unwelcome.

Lately they're no longer side by side

but him a few yards trailing behind.

I sense their attachment might be failing.

Sad. Nothing I can do. None of my business.

There's been a miscarriage of justice.

Not some-one wrongly convicted

but some-one wrongfully punished -

not enough for the harm he inflicted.

Another Friday, rain pouring down;

another night in this seaside town

immersed in the usual disco pub

and overwhelmed by this musical hub.

I'm bathing in beer and beautiful women

while soaking in cider with others swimming

against the sad tide with our unlucky looks,

seeking romance outside our books.

I'm drowning in the depths of cleavage,

only saved by the jetsam waistage

floating free from the fishing smacks

till washed ashore on bare white backs.

I struggle to stay afloat all evening

till the lights go up and it's time for leaving.

I really need a personal lifeguard

to stop me pretending to be a ba(sta)rd.

While driving along the dual carriageway

I passed a lady in the cycle lane

whose bike had a loaded luggage rack in front

and panniers full both sides of her rear wheel.

Behind her back were two small children

in tandem. Amazed by the unexpected sight

I braked in awe of her overtaking men.

And then she rode through the red traffic light !

(stopping would need such an effort to start again ?)

Tweets 17

Hoping to stay together through many years

companionship's worth more than sex.

I value what's between your ears

more than what's between your legs.

               WINTER

Days of wet, days of snow,

stuck indoors, nowhere to go,

dreams of sunshine, beaches, sea -

time enough, for now TV.

        ISRAEL  AND  HAMAS

Such atrocious acts that hate arouses.

'A plague on both your houses.'

           LANDSCAPE

Between the weakened peaks

weakly stretches the desert.

        FEMALE EMPOWERMENT

If men can have orgasms, so should women.

If boys can be boys, so should girls.

The winter warmth of bedclothes cedes

to the heat of summer sun.

As the welcome warmth of friendship burns

when love has again begun.

When you're old, an ounce of youth

is worth a ton of wisdom.

Writers embellish ordinary -

gild the daisy.

Is it just my male viewpoint

makes old women seem

so much older than their youth

than old men do theirs.

           LIGHT  MY  FIRE

A crush is the flashy flare of kindling.

Love is coal that catches.

The downside of intelligence is boredom;

that of self-consciousness, egotism

Perhaps a stumble, some minor slip,

the slightest fumble or loss of grip,

something slippery or too well polished -

whatever I'm holding crashes to ground.

I'm well aware it can't be abolished

but will some-one please turn the gravity down ?

Though ordinary, no kind of heart-throb,

when young a romance was always possible.

It's only now when I'm old and odd

that I feel for those whose lacks are visible.

The horror on the young woman's face

on my asking her to dance with me

certainly put me in my place

as a now impossible partner-to-be.

So late but since I've come to know

the sapping of confidence by rejection,

it's sad of course but much less so

than the plight of the unattractive young.