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Uploaded April 2016 (3 poems) Click for Readings
Humour Unalloyed
Fall foliage, a log fire and a meal to remember.
Some people were sitting at the bar
near where my wife and I were shown to our table beside a welcoming log fire. We had found this favourite place when looking for a restaurant here in the picturesque village of Stowe and then too a log fire had welcomed us. The fall foliage in Vermont was fabulous on that first visit and we fell firmly in love with New England. 'So you're from Scotland - that's a long way to come for dinner', the waiter said facetiously. And I replied in kind, 'Yes it is, and I know you will make it worth our while'. 'Now the heat's on!' he said. It was then that I noticed her with a half smile on her lips and knew that she had overheard. I thought no more about it until we rose from the table after a delightful meal ('I'm so reluctant to leave!' my wife said) and our eyes met briefly as I walked past. We both smiled and I was pleased that the humour mirrored in our eyes was devoid of mockery's alloy. |
Forewarned
’Before we have learned to be wise'
A fixed-wheel cycle I'd borrowed that day
And thought I had mastered it well But the future failed to conform to plan As I am about to tell. I clearly remember the thought that came As I passed our church and hall A minute before the painful event- 'Pride comes before a fall'. My feet slipped off the pedals that spun And kept on spinning around And try as I might I could not keep control And knew I would hit the ground. Before two women could reach my home And worry my family there I quickly asked to be helped to a phone And rang to make them aware. My father and mother were soon by my side And came to the hospital too Where the size of needle that drained my knee Might well have belonged to a zoo! When the plaster started to clamp my foot My mother was again by my side And little I knew I'd be wearing it still Even till the day she died. She suffered poor health for a very long time Indeed from before I was born; Would actions differ if we could foresee What the future might try to forewarn? An era has passed away since then And I wish we could hope to surmise The painful things experience may teach Before we have learned to be wise. 'Avarice must be our god' Keynes* said 'For a hundred years or more' But how then to slow the pedals down Before crashing to the floor? * Celebrated economist John Maynard Keynes 1883-1946 |
Poverty and Pride
An unequal contest between a minister and the bride's gran.
He was minister* of the local congregation
Where the young couple soon were to wed And the family envisaged the splendour Of the bride in her glory arrayed. The lavishness planned for the wedding Was like something from Vanity Fair While poverty peeping through the keyhole Tried in vain the expense to deter. The minister, who knew the position, With his conscience could not be at rest Until he had tried to persuade them Something simpler would be for the best. Pleased how the young couple listened He felt the situation was saved For their silence seemed to betoken They accepted the advice that he gave. But he failed to notice the granny Who sat in the corner retired Till she broke the silence in anger And spoke like a demon inspired. "Her mither an' me afore her Ne'er a weddin' gown wore Sh's the first bride in three gen'rations And the de'il knows when we'll ha'e more". "So quit your bless'd connivin'" Was the diminutive woman's upbraid With a few well chosen expletives To colour the point that she made. "The ne'bours long will r'member This weddin' with no expense spared" And the fire in her eyes quickly told him That to answer was more than he dared. The minister abandoned the contest Like a dog that was hiding its tail For a peacock that's proud of its feathers Is not the best bird to assail. * my brother knew this minister |