Dolwyddelan

These strong stone walls, a fortress

From the restless moaning wind

After the cold, this warmth is bliss

The peace brings chaos to an end

The buffeting force of the gale outside

Gives way to the quiet of this inner space

The thick stout stones a place to hide

From the weather in this rugged place

Outside the land is wild and rough

Though beautiful in the shining sun

Inside the shelter homely enough

A towered defence for a prince long gone

11.11.11

The last of the heroes are gone
from that terrible war long ago.
The memories fade one by one,
but the scars that remain still heal slow

As distance and time travel on,
new heroes are made and pass by.
The white stone looks down on them all
and the mothers and children still cry

So what have we learned through these years,
have the lessons, hard taught, touched us yet;
or is the pain washed away with the tears
so that we just forget. Lest we forget.

Portchester Castle

These sunkissed stones drenched in the past
the vast weight of centuries within this space
The hardened flint, the distant masts
the rippling water, the parchmarked lawns
This open ground within these walls
holding memories of two thousand years
The tiled Roman patterns, the hard Norman Keep
the Church still used after all this time
The laughing children, a family day out
the people of tomorrow greeting those of yesterday
The everyday world beside the wonders of the ages gone
a memorial kept to educate the world to come
In stillness I can hear the tread
of those that passed this way before
Emperors, kings, prisoners, rich and poor
their footsteps fade and I am alone once more

A share of the blame

A good meal and all fire is quelled
no room for ire when the belly is full
no agitation or revolutionary angst
just the bliss of being fed well
But what of those who do not dine
upon the feast we call our life
those shut out from our banquet
those who know only hunger and strife
Do I spare them a thought
as I fill my ample gut
can I deny a share of the blame
for those who die at my feet

Dinner at the Holiday Inn

The peaceful setting sun
the tinkling water's soothing fall
the dappled grass, green and yellow
the sunlight warm upon my face
The gentle hum of conversation
so different from the night before
music in the background bringing back memories
of a childhood and home now long gone
The conversation swells as more diners arrive
yet still a sense of calm I feel
writing these words as I wait
for my meal to come

Haiku on flatulence

Sound like a gunshot
An explosion of foul gas
The room will soon clear

Sympathy for Saddam

This man had done great evil
I daresay he deserved to die
But when I saw him go to his death
it almost made me cry
I know that the blood of his victims
cried out that justice be done
But seeing him standing there helpless
I saw only some mother's son
Should I pity a merciless tyrant?
Can I pity one such as he?
Yes there's room in my heart for such pity
Because God first felt pity for me
How can I pity the pitiless?
Because I am a better person