Bumble - Tony Gardner

Bumble on  the  Bramble blossom.
Busy, buzzing, bumbling  Bee
Blackbird  fluting from  the  branches
Leads  the pastoral  symphony.
Breezes  brush  their  baby  kisses
On  my  skin  to  pure  delight
And  the  summer  sun  is  warming
All  in  this  sweet  world  is  right.
Dancing  in  and  out  of  memories
Like  the  sunbeams  through  the  trees
From  the  long,  hard  years  I've  weathered
Scenes  return  to  sting  or  tease
Running  barefoot  on  the  shingle
Down  towards  that  crystal  sea
Still  I  taste  the  salty  water
Through  the  years  of  history.
Bumble  on  the  Bramble  blossom
Busy,  buzzing,  bumbling  bee
Taking  me  to  where,  I  wonder
Are  you  happier  than me ?

Tony Gardner


Image : Pixabay - Emphyrio

How to make yourself happy - Tony Gardner

Try to tickle a tortoise
Just a tiny tickle each day
He'll titter and smile and be thankful
And take all your troubles away.
For in making other folk happy
You'll brighten your own Life each day
So try to tickle a tortoise
You'll always be happy and gay.

Tony Gardner

Holding Hands - Diane Scantlebury

We still hold hands
You and I,
In quiet affirmation
Of our affection,
A gentle squeeze,
Nothing ostentatious
In any way,
Just a discrete
Silent, public display,

We still kiss ‘good night’
And again,
In the morning
When we awaken,
Nothing over amorous,
A gentle peck,
Neither of us wishing
Each other for granted
To be taken,

Holding hands
Down leafy, dark lanes,
Sometimes together
We’ll walk,
And just occasionally
You’ll try to
Encourage me to skip,
But I’ll laugh and refuse
Then hold on even tighter,
In case upon the rough tarmac
I might trip,

We still hold hands
You and I,
Because we’re comfortable,
Not caring
What others think,
A gentle squeeze,
Or a loving peck
Will haul us happily back,
On miserable days
From sorrow’s brink.

Diane Scantlebury

Borneo, Nature Boy, the Enigma - Bryant Doyle

I'm 66, but still confused
exactly who, or what I am
sometimes I'm brave, as any lion
but often I'm gentle, as a lamb.

I like doing women's hair, and flower-arranging
cage-fighting, and racing cars
I did architecture, and demolition
I've got qualifications, and lots of scars.

I'm Nature Boy, all animals like me
I've got up to some very weird things
I've rounded up loose horses, sheep and cattle
I never get dog or flea-bites, or insect stings.

I'd be happy living rough
in a tent, a den, or a shed
I live in a nice little cottage
I got no woman, so I got no bed.

Bryant Doyle

My Comfort Zone - Janet

It’s safe here in my cocoon.
No reason to fear
the great unknown.
No need to drown
in the sea of doubt.
No locked door
to keep me out.
Won’t put my head
above the parapet.
There’s nothing here
I will forget.
No challenge for me
that I might fail.
Nothing to make me
weep or wail.
I’m safe in here
but, so alone.
Hidden away in
my comfort zone.

Janet

Inside - Lester Queripel and Fred Williamson

I live in a world of wonder
Where music would always play
Herald in the dawn,
Of a brand new day
The mediaus and leglines
The natural energy of earth
The synergy of chemistry
Relating to our worth

Where wealth cannot be measured
By a weight of gold
Never to suffer pain
Or ever to grow old
To walk the land with head held high
With dignity purpose and pride
To be valued for who you are
And for what you are inside.

Lester Queripel and Fred Williamson

The Perfect Clone - Lester Queripel

Here is the perfect example of a clone
They like to sit, they like to moan

They moan when it is noisy
They moan when it is quiet
They moan if they see a protest or a riot
They moan when they are sober
They moan when are drunk and fall over
They moan when they are hungover

They moan if there is nothing to do
They moan about me and you
They moan when they have choices
They like to hear the sound of their own voices

They moan when they are young
They moan when they are old
They moan when they are hot
They moan when they are busy
They moan when they are bored
They never blame themselves
They always blame the Lord

They moan when they are alone
Yet even when they are in company they STILL moan
Are they EVER happy ?

Lester Queripel

Good Feeling - Diane Scantlebury

Where does it start?
How does it begin?
Those first utterances
That becomes conversation,
What prompts the embrace?
That sparks the first kiss
And lights up a new relation,
How does it happen?
What makes us cry?
In expression of raw emotion,
Fall to our knees
Roll our eyes to the sky,
Or give impression of devotion,
What lies beyond the great universe of now?
That can set our thoughts
And imaginations reeling?
Could it be the birth of true happiness
At the dawn of unexpected good feeling?

Diane Scantlebury

Today While You Shine - Ian Duquemin

If TODAY... I make you smile
Then my day has been worth WHILE
As when YOU smile to others bright
The day will SHINE with golden light
And as that light begins to beam
A billion smiles will be seen
All because I smiled at you
The whole world smiled too

Ian Duquemin

Our Beautiful Summer Days - Lester Queripel

The last thing we need on summer days, is a horrible haze.
The kind that blocks out the sun, and deprives everyone.
We’ve had a long winter and we’ve been cold long enough.
So let’s all join together in a communal puff.
Let’s blow away that horrible haze.
Let’s reclaim our beautiful summer days.

Lester Queripel

Can’t Complain - Diane Scantlebury

White rabbit and swan shaped clouds
Across the Caribbean sky chase,
Majestic coconut palms sway and bow
To vapour dragons and galleons as they race,
By the pool lounge the tattooed,
Beer swigging masses,
Their children splashing and cavorting
Draw disdainful glances from the snobby,
Hiding behind their dark glasses,

The sun blazes, waves crash
It’s “happy hour” once more,
By now red, raw and sunburnt
More rum and beer
Down their parched throats they pour,
Before the scene gets too boisterous
Just in time comes the rain,
Like the beer
It’s cool, wet and refreshing,
So none can grumble or complain!

Diane Scantlebury

Poem From The Hippie Days - Kathy Figueroa

You've gotta have a cause
Whatever that may be
Something to bide the time
..And use that en-er-gy

You don't need a career
A good hobby will do
To exercise the mind
And make a buck or two

So dig that nine to five
Earn some cash, stay alive
Or, if you don't want to
Go to work for the man

Just sing on the corner
And then shake that tin can!
Sell your wares on the street
To help you make ends meet

Move out to the country
With a good friend or two
Then live off of the land
Groove and play your kazoo

Bop Bop Be Bop
Wa Wa Wazooo

Do what you want to do
And be what you will be
Ev'ryone needs a cause
To keep 'em feeling free!

Kathy Figueroa

Contented Soul - Diane Scantlebury

An unencumbered life
Free to roam as I choose,
No debt, no assets
No Monday morning blues,
Clear of responsibility
No baggage, no loans,
My office is wherever I am
In a hotel or at home,
I’ve enough to be generous
There’s no ancestral pile,
I consume only what I need
Greet the world with a smile,
No guilt, I’m not greedy
No fear of youth or of growing old,
Love and loved by friends and family
I’m a contented soul.

Diane Scantlebury