NEW POEM - 'SPACE JUNK'

They say

that bits of rusty satellite

float around

the sky at night,

that up there, just beyond

the earth’s atmosphere,

hunks of broken debris

drift forlornly.

So I look up and think:

what else

might be stuck there

longing for warmth and love?

An alien’s

homesick teddy, perhaps,

or an astronaut cut loose

from her spaceship.

Maybe there’s a block

of cosmic moon-cheese,

or the spent match

that lit the Big Bang.

If I squint hard enough

I think I can make out

Saturn’s missing

wedding ring

and a lost

love letter

from Neptune

to Pluto

just beyond

the earth’s atmosphere

up there

                        drifting.

 

NEW POEM - 'HERO'

I read a story in the news a while back about a man who tried to convince people he was a soldier, despite never having served in the military. Apparently this is fairly common - you can read an article about it here. Anyway, I decided to have a go at writing a poem about one of these guys. I chose to use the sonnet form. Here goes:

HERO

He never braved the bullets, that’s for sure.
Nor waded he through trenches sopping wet.
This ersatz GI never fought a war
(if we are talking literally) and yet

he dresses in a soldier’s uniform.
'He's never known the meaning of a fight’
rage headlines in the papers, there’s a storm
of protest. He is wrong and we are right.

But isn’t he a hero, in his way?
When we pretend, we don’t go to his length.
We all hide our true natures as we play
at soldiers; this guy has the will and strength

to fire no gun and cause no death or grief
whilst wearing his deception on his sleeve

PARADIDDLE POEMS

A paradiddle is a pattern in drumming. If 'L' denotes the left hand and 'R' the right, a paraddidle goes: RLRRLRLL. You can watch a top drummer performing them and talking about them here.

A thought occurred to me the other day: the sticking pattern of the paradiddle could equally apply to poetry. In other words, you can write a 'paradiddle' poem with the rhyme scheme ABAABABB. Here is my attempt at a paradiddle poem. If any readers want to have a go at writing a paradiddle poem, I'd be delighted to post them up on this blog page (poems will be posted below the image of Dave Grohl attacking his drum kit).

Paradiddle

Can you hear the echoes growing?

Can you hear each pounding beat?

Can you hear the tension flowing

as excitement’s fist starts throwing

punches? Can you feel the heat?

Can you hear alarm bells going

as the monsters prowl for meat?

Music! Music! What a treat. 

Storm by John Foster

Wild winds blow

Trees thrash

Torrents grow

Rivers overflow

Lightning’s flash

Thunder’s bellow

Boom and crash

Storm’s smash.