Poetry Time!

Throughout the years, I have written a lot of poetry. It is mainly to express how I feel about certain topics, and for my own edification. I have written poems for others, but it is usually as a gift because I took the time to write it especially for them.

I said I would share some poems, and so here are a selection that make up the majority of this blog post today. Enjoy the read!

Home

Riding along
On a slow blue train
Traveling onward
To destination known
Sun beats down
On the train's metal roof
As it chug chugs along....
I sit and let the ride take me along
And watch through the window
Looking at green fields galore
At the changing topography
Of concrete buildings;
I think my random thoughts
I listen to music
I sip bottled water; I hear
A single note intoned by engines
Whizzing along tracks of iron;
The train chugs along
Taking me closer...
Reminding me that
I'll soon be back
Amongst familiar places
At my own special place
The one
Called
Home

The first impression...

(I created this non-rhyming poem, because sometimes, some of the actions you carry out when someone meets you the first time, may not be the way you usually are, and give a wrong first impression of who you may be, even if you are usually a controlled, gentle, and loyal soul...:)

The first impression
Can sometimes be the wrong impression
Depending on the temperament of who sees it.

How you act may be a rarity in character
That someone may perceive one way
While another sees it a different way.

You may give more then you ought
Because the piano keys in your mind
played a sweet melody in harmony with their bass.

You may give less then you wanted
Because you think that the gaming rules state this
And lose out on a fortune.

Life is entwined with love
Love is entwined with the stability of sensibility
Friendship is entwined with the joy of laughter
Laughter is entwined with the ivy of hope.

It is a gamble when any choice is made
Results are 50/50.
Nothing
Or everything.

Learning to understand
and give a second chance on a wish
Is the antidote to a warlike world.

You win some.
You lose some.

But you learn that
Mistakes can be atoned for
And mistakes can be learned from.

And you hope
You are not written off
Because of that wrong first impression...

If a flower buds too early
Within the wilds of a snowy plain
Is that a mistake?

Or is it showing its beauty to the oyster pearl moon
To brighten the day of the one man who lives on it
And brings joy to many a wintry night?

Unknown

Eyes that see seek what is blind,
Mouths will speak words that mean nought,
Wordless expressions convey nuances that are lost

And time will show what is missing...

A Double U

Waiting
Wondering
Why?

What is?
What was?
What shall be?

Why the sigh?
Why the moan?
Why the grimace?

What was
What is
Will be!

Seasons

To start with the spring of youthful trust
No questioning of the time that's past
Opinion strong, and selfish moves
Designate a life of capricious moods

Then summer comes, and with that blooms
A spreading of boundaries, like redcap mushrooms
And flowers unfurl from small, small buds
You ripen; and life then proceeds thus...

Into autumn, where wistful dreams will bleed
And leaves fall onto carpets of weeds
The soul contracts, to contemplate
Your life's winding path, the steps to your fate...

And winter is reached, the end of your thread
That Atropos will cut to make you dead
The seasons of this life come now to a close
And you start one again, as you decompose.

The Value of Time

Time is a relative, linear thing. It can go fast or slow depending on my perception of it at the time (haha- could not help the pun!). It can be spent in fun (going out for a walk in the local forest) or spent in gloom (lockdowns- horrible but necessary to protect those we care about) or spent efficiently (at work) or spent inefficiently (being late through oversleeping).

There is a form of poem called a Grook, that a Danish polymath called Piet Hein wrote. He wrote many, but here's one to do with time:

Time is a constant but it is how you use it that's important. In my earlier blog post, I said Time Management is Personal Management.

How you manage your time at home should, in my opinion, be similar to how you manage your time at work. If you are always on time at work, what is there to stop you being on time to a friend's get-together or some other event important to others or to you? What excuse do you have for wasting time?

When you are young, you wish for time to make you older and help you do all those things that are taboo to you as a minor. As you get older, you realise how valuable time is as you approach the unknown date of your death. A morbid subject but one that everyone goes through.

You are born, you live, you die. 

Quality of time spent is important. Time could mean money (job related) but time can also mean spending time with loved ones (priceless). 

Giving your time instead of a present is more valuable for someone like a kid, or your grandparents, or your parents and siblings, who, if you have a good relationship with them, will always appreciate that time you give, however limited it is, because it is infused with love.

You could give a present too, which in such a case is a bonus! But if you give a present instead of your time, it's a poor substitute, however expensive the present is!

If you can manage your time in the way you want, that's great. However, if you manage time into a form of procrastination, what are you doing to help yourself progress in life? Do you want to reach eighty and think I could have done that but just didn't get around to doing it?

I feel guilty looking back at all the things I could have done that I didn't, or the amount of time I wasted being late to events like birthdays. However, time moves on, and as I stroll along my life's path, I use those little steps of experience to help me figure out my path in time so I can manage it better. 

I can only ever improve, and whenever I can, I share what I have learnt which is (and yes, I will reiterate it again here):

TIME MANAGEMENT IS PERSONAL MANAGEMENT

Tick tock, tick tock, tick…

Posting after many years...

It is now 2021, and when I see how much time has passed since the last time I posted something extensive, it's 10 years! Seeing that figure in black and white brings home to me how old I have become (but wiser as well) and how much I have changed and developed as a person.

(This blog is and will be unashamedly about me- my observations, my interpretations of all that's around me, and what I have learned. I don't mind who reads this blog, even if a lot of it is personal. My life is constantly evolving, and this blog is where I post some of my thoughts and feelings and, as a bonus, improve my writing and  articulation!)

I've written loads of poems (which I will post here in due time), read lots of books (a given, since I love reading), travelled quite a bit (until covid hit, which has nixed that for now), changed my work industry from business administration to hospitality, and learnt the following useful mantras in life:

- Practice Makes Permanent

- Time Management is Personal Management

- 'Constructive Critisism' is meant to improve your skillset in the workplace, and not meant to bruise your ego!

...and an age-old Irish blessing: May the best days of your past be the worst days of your future!

I am proud to be a life-long learner, and I understand how easy it can be to fall into a rut which is safe but unsatisfying. I have been there quite a few times, and questioned myself a few times too. I've asked myself 'Who am I? Who do I want to be? Am I happy where I am now? Can I change to be better? How do I do this?'

The path to improvement is never smooth, and I've ruffled a few feathers, hurt some people immensely, and perhaps I could have done some things differently, in hindsight. 

Hindsight is hindsight though, and what it does is teach me how to deal with a similar situation in a better way. 

Wth situations I have never been in before, I rely on a mixture of intuition, bravery (though I am probably sh**ting myself inside) and common sense. I know I will make mistakes, and before, I would have beaten myself up for making them.  However mistakes are learning experiences, and if I make that mistake again, I still won't beat myself up about it. BUT if I make that mistake again a third time, that's me being stubborn and a little egotistical and if I am like that, I cannot grow as a person!

I've realised life is about challenging yourself constantly, and making myself do things that I enjoy but haven't done for ages! Like this blog and writing Google reviews. 

By the way, I managed to get a million view milestone on Google Reviews (I was pleased and astonished when I got the notification email on this) and this slight thing encourages me to keep on going!

So, on that note, I shall continue taking those small steps of improvement along my path in life (a bit of a mouthful to say but true) , and say Cheerio until the next blog post!