Bury Me Standing - Ian Duquemin

Bury me standing up on my feet
As I have spent a lifetime upon my knees
Praying to gods I may never meet
Yet doing my best to abide and please

Bury me standing beneath the ground
So I stand with pride like the ancient trees
Reaching above through the sacred ground
To the heaven that only a dead man sees

Ian Duquemin

Under The Midnight Sky - Lyndon Queripel

The spring tide is not turning
It’s still on the rise
It’s never been so high
There’s another bridge burning
It no longer sighs
The flames begin to fly
Under the midnight sky

The wind of change is moaning
How it howls and cries
Here is a fear I can’t deny
Now the Earth starts groaning
There’s tears in my eyes
But my mouth feels so dry
Under the midnight sky

Lyndon Queripel

Wailing at the Wall - Stephen A. Roberts

I sit and admire the sweep of the bay
from the doomed old zero-star café
a mug of hot tea and a slice of cake
it's safe to eat 'cos the rating's fake

In the salty wind my eyes both swim
the view is good but the outlook grim
as the timber creaks and the plastic flaps
they carry on selling their Novichok baps

Like the dance band on the Titanic
they've been condemned by bad planning
between the rocks and a hard place
this poor treatment leaves a bitter taste

Ask yourself: are they selling poison gâche?
because this no-star rating doesn't wash!

Stephen A. Roberts

Bordeaux Boys - Richard Fleming

From Bordeaux sea-wall children leap
into, what must be, chilly sea.
At high tide here, water is deep,
far, far too cold for you and me
despite the July evening heat
but, nonetheless, young boys compete
for smiles from girls, respect from peers,
and never seem to feel the cold.
They laugh at us, our groundless fears:
we must seem crotchety and old.
When young, from other walls we dived,
incautiously, yet we survived.

Richard Fleming

Jules and Jim - Edgar Allan Poet

Jules forgot to feed the tiger,
which was very careless of him.
He worked at the Circus Zeiger
with his trustworthy colleague, Jim.
There, Jules would feed it Tiger-Mix
while Jim would teach it to do tricks.

Just a inattentive blunder
but, oh, its consequence was grim.
Jim, poor Jim, was torn asunder,
then Raj the tiger swallowed him.
It’s obvious, it must be said,
that hungry tigers should be fed.

Edgar Allan Poet

The Keeper - Diane Scantlebury

She knows
Which side her bread’s buttered,
She sits
Her long manicured nails, pristine,
Tap tapping
As she mindlessly types,
She sees all
Hears and knows everything,
She was there
When he promised to love
And to cherish,
She was present
When
He said he’d be faithful,
She knew
But turned a blind eye,
She listens
To every conversation,
Says nothing
As each day’s drama unfolds,
Web spin,
Spinning lies and deceit,
She’s a keeper
And he’s her boss,
She’s a keeper
A keeper of secrets.

Diane Scantlebury

May the Devil not notice you sneak into Heaven - Tony Bradley

Life is like the finest of wines
it's really fermented, only, when ready
each one individually has it's own 'best years'
unless the decanting's steady, it could 'heady.'

All the young fruit begin their milling
some are lost, in the distilling, some spilling
but if one is willing, it really is thrilling
the whole act becomes quite the top of the billing.

Tony Bradley

Grandma - Tony Gardner

Grandma will you walk with me
A little while at least
Life used to be so simple
But this growing up's a beast
Mum and Dad are great but they
Don't always understand
Grandma knows me better
So, Grandma, hold my hand.

Tony Gardner

Undiscovered - Ian Duquemin

The light cascaded beautifully
Upon the silk sheet bed
The candle threw its shadows
On the wall above her head
She looked much like a sculpture
With her features all on show
Exuberant and unrestrained
Amidst the candles glow
Her eyes were so magnificent
Like jewels not yet discovered
Yet here she lay in full display
The greatest gift uncovered
And then the slightest breath beside me
Proves that she is real
As never could a dream express
The love in which I feel

Ian Duquemin