If poetry be the food of love can I have a double helping please ?

 

Life is a poem, it does not always have to rhyme.

Hey did you read my blog yesterday ? if you did then THANKS. If you did not then check it out – GO ON.

Within writing last year, speaking of my time at school I spoke about how I learned to love poetry but I could not write a poem. I have been writing stories since I was a teenager but I could not write a poem to save my life.

PAST TENSE

On 20th February I visited the National Trust Gardens at Stowe near Buckingham. We go there most weeks to spend time in this beautiful parkland. Suddenly and completely unexpectedly these words came into my head. They came into my head from my heart.


A SNOWDROP

A hint of spring on a winter’s day,

the snowdrop in a carpet of white

upon a field of green.

The naked branches of the trees

look down and envy all they see.

Then they smile at what is yet to come.

A robin dances on the ground

his red breast differs with the white

and thinks could this be a nesting site ?

But then the footsteps of a man come near

and with it sadness, dread and fear.

The snowdrop, trees and birds

worry the end may soon be theirs.

Extinction of climate is the aim of man.

 


OK so Shakespeare it aint but I had written a poem. The first poem in seventy years. WOW I was pleased with myself.

But this was just the first of many.

A poem can not be written to order.

Poetry comes from the heart and not from the mind.

A poet laureate is nothing more

than an Agatha Christie of rhyme.

My poems are rubbish,

we all know that.

Instantly forgotten once I am gone.

Chaucer, Shakespeare, Wordsworth,

no not me.

But my poems are not written to order,

they come from the depths of my heart

then turn into words on paper

when my heart is ready and not before.

As of the end of yesterday, Saturday 3rd July 2021, I had written 158 poems.

Here are a couple from yesterday:

Poem 157 – Saturday 3rd July 2021

 

DID YOU KNOW

 Did you know I was Jeremy Corbyn’s bodyguard ?

History will say I was too good at my job !

I was Richard Branson’s hair stylist

until Boots ran out of dye !

I was Lewis Hamilton’s tyre fitter,

too much like hard work !

I was Donald Trump’s speech writer

but he said sparrows tweeted better than I did !

So I’ll stick to writing rubbish poems instead.

 


Poem 158 – Saturday 3rd July 2021

 GOOSEBERRY CRUMBLE

 Goosegog crumble.

Do people still eat such a delight ?

I do !  Yummy scrummy !

Yummy scrummy bubble gummy !

This year my garden gooseberries –

a bumper harvest.

The birds they nick the strawberries.

The squirrels nick the raspberries.

But the gooseberries they are all for me

Served with thick scrunchy crumble

and hot, thick custard.

Goosegog crumble

Yummy. scrummy, bubblegummy.

A double helping that’s for me !

 


When I write stories I write them for my own fun and enjoyment but there is something else, I hope that when someone reads what I have written they will say to themselves: I could do better than that ! Then to go on and write something for themselves. That is how it is with poetry. Throughout the three anthologies I have so far published:

Dave's Poetry – Volume One – Published 12th March 2021

Dave’s Poetry – Volume Two – Published 20th April 2021

Dave’s Poetry – Volume Three – Published 28th June 2021

I constantly joke that my poems are rubbish. So what if they are ? I can assure you they most certainly are rubbish but I hope having read the rubbish someone, somewhere will pick up a pen and do better.

William Shakespeare gave the English Language some wonderful words including IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE PLAY ON. I have changed that to this.

If poetry be the food of love

can I have a double helping please ?

From Wordsworth upon Westminster Bridge

to Blake and his tyger burning bright.

If poetry be the food of love

I’d like mine served with fresh whipped cream.

A million housewives every day

pick up a tin of beans and say

Anyone seen the can opener ?

Nah !  I don’t like beans

But……

A Mars a day helps you

work, rest and play.

If poetry be the food of love

is it on offer at Tesco this week ?

 


A lot of my story writing is tongue in the cheek and as you can see so is my poetry.

On YESTERDAY’S BLOG I said for my seeking to claim the title of the world’s most prolific writer of Amazon Kindle e-books between 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2022 I would:

Write a total of five million words

Wrapping these into two hundred e-books

Now I need to consider a target for poems. How about ?

Five hundred poems

Yesterday my total writing for 2021 came to 995,028. Today I will hit the magic million. I can then add in last year’s total of 528,254 then get into the challenge proper.

Google Blogger ! Yesterday’s blog attracted 7 readers which given Google Blogger’s worldwide pattern of failure and this being my first blog in a new series I guess that aint too bad ! I wonder what this will achieve.

Reemember if you want to contact me you can drop me an e-mail at: dashford566@gmail.com or hit me up on Facebook. If you would like to check my Amazon Bookshelf CLICK HERE.



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