Monday 4 November 2024

 Sadly, many people suffer from Trump Normalisation Syndrome (TNS). It's a belief that somehow Donald Trump must be near enough to a normal and decent person.

TNS is mysterious, contagious and dangerous.

Sunday 27 October 2024


      US election 2024

Will the long nightmare

get worse?

Or, will the bald eagle

fly again?

Saturday 12 October 2024

 In the ancient world, for a long time Jews were thought of as warriors. 

Their second unsuccessful rebellion against Roman rule changed that. Huge numbers of them were massacred; most of those left fled to other countries, changed from an oral culture to a written one, and became "the people of the book".

Now, in Israel, they can have both military prowess and literary skill. The former is greatly respected in the region; let's hope that if and when the Israelis win this war, there will be peace for a long time.

Monday 30 September 2024


      Purpose of poetry

Ask good questions,

ring the right bells,

and somehow the blessings

will come to you also.

Sunday 29 September 2024


 Some Australians have felt like this:


      After travelling

back in the magical country

the great south land

where sunshine cheers

like the best wine

and more innocent histories

give the search for wisdom

a special relish


However, there's a lot more 

anti-Semitism now - in

Australia and many other

countries.

Saturday 8 June 2024

India is a place of possibilities,

particularly if it takes good care

of its ethnic and religious

minorities.

The photo is from Sarmoli,

Uttarakhand.

 India should not be a big Russian

trading partner now.

Sunday 31 March 2024

If Ukraine is saved, other huge challenges should also be manageable.

Saturday 16 December 2023

Some people like a rather 

serious type of religion.

Here's an example of a 

different approach:


    CT Scan

it's okay this time

says the main umpire -

keep playing for good teams

and enjoy the games
 

Tuesday 5 December 2023

    Music

a language

with no translation

yet meaning 

so much -

words can't convey

its magic and mystery

     Toddler

"Kid no longer crawling"

says the crossword clue -

some writers are like children,

some poets are like small children -

a different way of seeing things?



Wednesday 11 October 2023

American support for Ukraine is extremely important.

It accounts for a tiny percentage of the US budget.

Various American foreign involvements have not ended well, but that is one of the best ones since the Marshall Plan saved Europe from starvation after world war two.

Hamas is worse than ISIS, and US help for Israel is also critical.


Wednesday 16 August 2023

                                                         

      Inspiration

good poems

are like children -

they live long

and bring sunshine

Saturday 5 August 2023

                                                                  

     Community

more talking, less typing

ponder the questions

seek solutions

value life's mysteries

Saturday 1 July 2023

                                                                     

                                                             

Music, art and games

can sometimes help

troubled people.

Sunday 11 June 2023

 People in many countries fervently hope that the rule of law continues to prevail in the USA.

Thursday 8 June 2023

                                                                                                     

Sometimes my readers

help me to understand

what to write. Thanks.

My recent blog post

about coffee is the

most popular one

since October 2021.

The humor in it must

be a major factor.
                                                                                                                                                                        

Thursday 23 March 2023

                                                                      

     Coffee

a brew of writers

much better

than many addictions -

for me, a bit like

a medication -

but I'm sane

or I can put on

a good act!

Monday 25 July 2022

                                                          

It's sad to see the big increase in

mental health troubles lately.

Nature therapy may give a quick

benefit with no side effects.

However, some sufferers might 

need a lot more help.

Wednesday 29 June 2022

 


   Confusion

Big beasts fight

in the forest -

can we still

find paths

for you and me?

Monday 4 April 2022


Like some other writers, 

I like to be rather incognito.

The photo is of me as a 

happy and popular toddler.

Some might say that's still

the main side of me! 

I had a very long illness

in very early childhood.  


Friday 11 March 2022

Ukraine's President Zelensky is a great example of leadership, courage and decency. His cause is vital to the future of civilization.

Thursday 10 February 2022

                                                                      

   Another way?

grandpa was a pastor -

moderate, imaginative,

a good man;

can being a bard be

a bit like that

but with more

of the fun parts?


Thursday 3 February 2022

  Healthy humour helps in 

various ways. Some folk

don't understand that. For

example Plato is controversial,

partly because he was very

wary of humour and poetry.

  Did you get the joke in the

November blog post about

English? I didn't at first.

Monday 10 January 2022

   Court jester

Centuries ago

that job was tough -

query and amuse,

but carefully!

Democracy is better.

Tuesday 23 November 2021

                                                                                    

English is an odd language.

It has some strange spelling,

some words have two very

different meanings, etc.

In spite of such things, it is

the world's main language.

Is there symbolism in that?

Saturday 30 October 2021

                                                                    



    Maxims for living

Understand and persist.

Enjoy being useful.

Friday 1 October 2021


    Good walks

in a big city

on a bus route

some lucky passengers:

an oval,

a corner near

a river,

a median strip

wide, with greenery -

way to go! 

Sunday 21 February 2021




    Democracy 
we sing 
different songs 
from the same
big page; 
the tunes 
aren't perfect 
but other pages 
may bring horrors

Tuesday 29 September 2020

   Environment
earth, air and water
they seem so vast
and us so small
much have they changed
without us
yet now the pace
is so much faster
and ours
the onus
lest dreams
become nightmares

Monday 24 August 2020


Some things are always important.


    Journey
she and I
together so long
giving things meaning
by sharing                                                     

Wednesday 10 June 2020

                                                   
Small children and good poets
have a lot of questions.
Beware of those who claim
to know all of the answers.

Friday 5 June 2020

                                    
The scenic photos on this blog
are from various countries.
I didn't take them. I hope
you find them enjoyable
and inspiring, as I do.

Saturday 16 May 2020

                                            
In these tough times, we need
inspiration from various arts
more than usual.
This might work in some places
(outside, with social distancing):

     Poetry reading
bards and triers
a venerable tradition
the audience listens
looking for magic

                                                                                                                                                            


I'm lucky enough to be living in
a place where the management
of COVID-19 is going very well.
Of course, our ancestors also
faced huge challenges including
wars and plagues.

Saturday 14 March 2020


    Other heroes
doctors in pandemics
firefighters in bushfires
whistleblowers in corruption
mothers who manage much

Friday 6 March 2020

The human mind is the
most complicated and
mysterious thing
known to science.

     Humanity
bring the band
and sing great songs
armies of robots
can't kill poetry

Tuesday 15 October 2019

   Teeth treatment
braver than usual
and more repentant?
memories flow
and time passes

Monday 5 August 2019

Samuel Johnson opined:


"No man but a blockhead ever
wrote except for money."


I beg to differ.

Saturday 15 June 2019

I had polio for eighteen months.
Here's the story:

    Not all bad
when a toddler, illness forced
a fearsome confinement -
hours of therapy daily,
no contact with other kids;
the compensation has been
that restriction reluctance
kept me out
of jail and hospital!

Sunday 21 April 2019

 Some universities have
Confucius institutes. There's
a lot of postmodernism and
identity politics around. Maybe
more should be taught about
Shakespeare, the ancient Greeks
and Western civilization generally.
What do you think?

Saturday 15 December 2018

Here's a new poem of mine
which might apply to various
times and places:

    Political fog
tread carefully
and know who to follow
horrors may be near
but light should come

Monday 1 October 2018

   Manual for poets
See like a child,
yet be a useful adult.
Love language.
Seek sagacity.
Enjoy the marvel of creativity.

A newspaper with about 600,000
readers likes that poem of mine.

Saturday 23 December 2017

My poem below is in two print magazines - the usual one and a church one.

    Hope?    
so many adrift, endangered -
can they lift their horizons?
to see something bigger and better,
to help themselves and others

Monday 4 September 2017

I hope you enjoy my blog. That seems more likely if you don't like most modern poetry and do like good photos.
Poems favored by the poetry "establishment" would seldom be popular with most folk.

Saturday 12 August 2017

Rhyming poetry isn't fashionable,
but sometimes draws big crowds.
Each to his own!

Thursday 10 August 2017

My recent poem below is
also in "Positive Words".
It's a good magazine!

    Campfire yarns
memories and stories flow
as the flames fly;
an ancient way
to grander dreams

Thursday 8 June 2017

Below is one of my earlier poems. It's in the internet magazine.

    Dreams of a poet
will the storms clear
and the warblers sing?
can the love of wisdom
bring the wisdom of love?

Friday 3 March 2017

Here's another poem of mine from the print magazine:

    What could help?
well, said the bard -
I can't stop wars
or build good cities
or clean the air
but perhaps my words
will make your heart sing

Saturday 21 January 2017

Of course, visual art goes back a
very long way in human history.
So does poetry. In every culture,
there was oral poetry before
writing was invented.

Thursday 19 January 2017

Here's one of my poems from the internet magazine:

    Mystery
who can explain life?
don't try too hard
logic should be
a servant of love