Marry in Haste - Tony Gardner

She  met  him  on  a  Liner
On  a  Grecian  Islands  cruise
There beneath  soft,  starry  skies
And  quite  a  lot of  booze
They  fell  in  love one  evening
And  before  the  cruise was  done
The  Captain  of  the  ship had  spoke
Making  them  both  one
Back  at  home  cracks  soon  appeared
He  wanted  for  each  meal
Garlic  this  and  Garlic  that
Though  sick  it  made  her  feel
Then  they  were  both  invited
To  his  daughter  to  be fed
But  all  she  got  to  eat  there  
Garlic  chicken,  garlic  bread
She  couldn't  take  it  any  longer
Screaming,  out  the  house  she  ran
Straight  back  home,  she  couldn't  sleep  
And  the  murders  then  began.

Tony Gardner


Image : Pixabay - tigertravel

At Grandfather’s - Richard Fleming

Along the entry
he would come caterwauling,
striking bin-lids with his stick,
through the backyard
knocking over milk bottles.

Up the wooden stair, rolling
like a tar,
to lifeboat-bed and disapproval:
his salty, mermaid wife
growling like an ocean.

On Sunday mornings there,
we children crouched, like mice,
digesting toast and catechisms,
as grandma stepped,
stiff-backed, around him.

He would be still as stone, his bowl
of porridge cooling.

Richard Fleming

Image : Pixabay - aamiraimer

Sons - Richard Fleming

On a yellowed flyleaf, half a century ago,
my mother wrote to say Birthday Wishes
and Mum, that name that buries self away.
I was her firstborn, headstrong, loving,
exuberant, wilfully astray.
My childhood fears, unbidden tears,
the small, lost battles of the day,
she dissipated in her arms.
My daughter holds her sons that way.

Richard Fleming

Image : Pixabay - VaniaRaposo

Head Space - Diane Scantlebury

Cooped up together,
We bicker,
We snap,
We cry,
No reason why,
There’s no space,
No place,
For our thoughts,
We laze,
In bed
Too long,
Without purpose,
No need to rise
We close our eyes,
Every hour
Merges seamlessly
Into the next,
Without plans,
Without dreams,
Nothing’s achieved,
And the day passes
At a pace,
When there’s no space,
No place,
For our thoughts.

Diane Scantlebury

Image : Pixabay - mohamed_hassan

The Choice..... - Tony Gardner

"Me or the dog, -- you'll have to choose,"
That's what she said today.
"I thought I'd found true love at last,
but that hound is in the way!"
It all was swell, so fine at first
I thought I'd found the Mate
That I could spend forever with
A gorgeous girl called Kate.
I brought her home so she could meet
Another dear to me
My old dog 'Jenn', a furry friend
As faithful as can be.
But they took an instant dislike
To each other right away
And Katie said she'd have to go
She really couldn't stay.
She turned to go then gave a yell
Jenn chased her to the door.
That was that, I guess that we
Won't see her anymore.
I miss my Kate, so sweet although
We didn't get a snog.
But I'm not too broken hearted
I've still got my loyal dog.

Tony Gardner

Image : after Pixabay - Gordon Johnson

You I See - Ian Duquemin

I stared into my eyes
Reflected in my view
I hated who I saw
As all I see is you
The scars of life on show
The pain I only see
I grip the razors edge
To cut you out of me

The smile that I now wear
Is torn upon my skin
Reminds me of the child
You locked away within
The little boy long lost
Who never dared to cry
A lifetime torn in two
Who's truth was all a lie

And in my hour of need
You turned and walked away
The memories that remain
Forever in that day
The blood that stains my hurt
A mask that once was me
Yet through these eyes of mine
It's only you I see

I hated who you were
And now I hate myself
You damaged everything
To satisfy yourself
And here I stand alone
A grin that bares your shame
But you will never win
As now I smile again

Ian Duquemin

Depps of Depravity - Donald Keyman

I must admit I’ve hardly slept
Waiting for the latest dirt on Johnny Depp
Another day of lurid pages
Filled with tales of coke-fuelled rages
Is there a drug he didn’t do
Well, ketamine - he denies that too
Love and hate together can go
Sometimes it takes two to tango
For a prank the missus said
That she defecated in the bed
How did things get that sick
Was she bored of his pirate schtick?
The lawyers rub their hands in glee
Every day means a bigger fee
His legacy can’t be a major factor
Let's admit he's not a great actor
Forever now he’ll look back in anger
At these memories - preserved in Amber

Donald Keyman
Image: ©Anders L. Damgaard

Psycho ... (Mummy’s Boy) - Tony Bradley

When I get home these days, I've got the same laments
that my mother often croaked.
"Oh,let me get these stupid shoes off...
bloody rain, I'm tired and soaked!"

Or, sometimes, I just THINK, things she'd say
it's weird, because, for Heaven's sake
She wasn't a good Mother, we were never that close
it just seems a very hard bond to break.

Am I morphing into my Mother? Heaven forbid!
"What a day, I'm as tired as can be...
and that stupid assistant,... be an angel
get your Mum a cup of tea."

Tony Bradley

A Little War - Ian Duquemin

If you find... That you might need me girl
I'll come running to your cheating arms again
Oblivious, to all the hurt you'd cause me
I'm still stinging from those vast amounts of pain
When you hit me... Well, I deserved it
As I know I wasn't wild enough for you
Every punch... You aimed, and threw upon me
Were ones I guess, deserved and overdue
But baby, I still love you
And I know that deep inside, you love me too
If you need a little war, that some call loving, in your life
Then I'm here to do the best that I can do

Your gifts of scars and bruises, I still cherish
These wounds that time itself may never heal
They show me that our love, was more than heaven
As heaven is a thing you cannot feel
And here we are apart, but always joined in what we had
Like a never ending battle, that we share
The pain in which we suffer, tells the story of our past
And that story tells how much we really care
So baby, I still love you
And I know that deep inside, you love me too
If you need a little war, that some call loving, in your life
Then I'm here to do the best that I can do

Ian Duquemin

Sorry Situation - Ian Duquemin

There ain't no point denying, I ain't lying
That our love affair was real
Or how could I explain, this kinda pain
That's how a broken heart should feel
If I can't sleep at night, or hold you tight
It never was infatuation
I wait here all alone, for you to phone
And that's a sorry situation

I never thought you'd go, so you should know
That wasn't ever my intention
And if I made you cry, then say goodbye
I guess that I forgot to mention
That I'm in love with you, I thought you knew
I was as stupid as a fool could be
Now I'm longing for the kiss, I've come to miss
So won't you please come home and back to me

If you should stay away, another day
You know I'd understand your reasons
But not to have you here, is like a year
Without its ever changing seasons
The rain would fall all day, and come what may
There wouldn't be your inspiration
These words to you I send, in hope to end
This sad and sorry situation

Ian Duquemin

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

It Just Took Once - Tony Gardner

We met at a party, we laughed at the same things
We drank the same drinks and we got on just fine

I'd just lost an old love, she'd just done the same thing
We felt good together and stayed close 'til the light

Of a big, new, old morning awakened our tired eyes
Yawning, embarrassed, sober we realised

There is nothing to build on from a tipsy one-nighter
The best thing we could do was just to move on

But something kept niggling, I called up the number
She had written in case there'd been words left unsaid

Some magic was drawing us closely together
Some higher power far wiser than we

Where we are heading for no one can tell us
We're happy to follow where ever we're led

We both are grown up and no longer childish
But we both agree, Fairy Tales are not dead.

Tony Gardner

Testament - Richard Fleming

Forget the florid words
and speak in language, commonplace,
of what our brief connection made
of us, our lives, how we were changed.

As for myself, I am enhanced.
For you, perhaps the same is true.
I only know a better man
emerged: a testament to you.

Richard Fleming

Crooked - Tony Gardner

A crooked little man with his crooked little wife
Lived a little crooked but a happy sort of life
Laughing at the troubles that his crooked life threw up
Ignoring Life's ill temper like a happy little pup

This crooked little man with his crooked little wife
Smiled at every trouble, and sneered at every strife
They grew stronger with each hardship, with each adversity
And vowed to make the best of it than give in to misery

Twisted roads before him fell straight with common sense
And balanced all the bad times Fate often would dispense
Though seldom down that crooked road he glimpsed Luck's golden smile
The crooked man, his crooked wife seemed happy all the while

Tony Gardner

Open Wound - Diane Scantlebury

He couch surfs from friend to friend,
Who walk softly on egg shells
With sympathy quietly spoken,
A long term relationship bites the dust,
Sad and newly lonely
Another poor heart unexpectedly broken,

She almost took it all,
But callously cherry picked the best bits
When off she ran herself to discover,
She took the dog,
But left the kids behind
As she fled to the arms of her lover,

In the emotional storm that followed,
The windows of his soul
Shook violently and rumbled,
Then cascaded in tiny splinters to the ground
As the walls of his domestic castle crumbled,

When the sun of love and hopefulness
Crashes and burns,
There’s never a happy end,
Just a personal injury that festers
A painful, resentful open wound,
That’s never forgiven and never mends.

Diane Scantlebury

Condomnation - Lyndon Queripel

Together our love was feather light
Lost in dreams of a starless night.

Lyndon Queripel

A Present Worth Having? - Diane Scantlebury

If I gave you a box
All tied up with string,
Decorated with pretty paper
A beautiful thing,
Think how disappointed you’d be,
When you looked inside
And nothing could you see,

Long ago I made a promise
You made one too,
But time eroded your memory
Honesty and faithfulness
You just couldn’t do,
Now I’ve moved on
And no longer resent,
The box of empty loneliness
You left for me,
Or the wasted years spent,

When a gift is offered
Surely you’d agree,
At most it should be given with love
And at least sincerity,
I decided not to judge you
Although countless others would,
For a present is only worth having
If the giver's intentions are good.

Diane Scantlebury

Over - Trudie Shannon

I turn over to occupy the space
You have just vacated
And realise, in the pit of my stomach
That the receding warmth
Is the closest we get to each other.

Trudie Shannon

Death On An Axminster Carpet - Vic Gamble

she went blubbering into
the bathroom
& spliced her wrists with his razor,
her beautiful & delicate wrists,
as if they were rotten saplings…
as if they were  romantic molten wax
of candles…

her husband found her in an incidental barrage in,
left, & locked the door
& called an ambulance as if it were a shout
for pest control,
as if a predacious animal had been found,
his voice croaking with need
for mesmerising lights of blue
and other flashing toys of emergency.

“Don’t save me” she cried, “He lied”
& the ambulance man leaned close,
like an angel, and said,
“Don’t worry honey, he just didn’t want more blood
on his new bloody carpet”

Vic Gamble

Sold the Gold - Diane Scantlebury

I have sold all your gold,
The baubles and rings
The frivolous things,
You gave me in happier times,
Or maybe they were gifts of guilt
A salve for your conscience,
Diamonds and pearls to distract me,

I have sold all your gold,
Because material things
The glittering bangles and beads,
Have no worth or meaning
Without love or sincerity,
And can’t cover or disguise
Deception and lies,
Did you think I could be bought so easily?

I have sold all your gold,
To pay the bills
Not for pleasure or thrills,
Because you left me nothing
Only shiny, superficial trinkets,
A wounded heart,
And empty promises.

Diane Scantlebury