POEMS

 

THE MOMENT.                                                                     Jen chambers

Amid the smoke, the destruction and the decay the soldier pauses.

Fresh from the security of his democracy.

He finds himself misplaced now, in a wasteland of his country’s making.

Opposite the soldier, and some distance away

Two frightened children stand confused, like animals culled from the herd.

The soldier, battle fatigues disguising the gawky youth within

Throws an uncertain smile in their direction.

But it fades-

Lacking the momentum of confidence.

The children return skin-deep smiles of mistrust and fear.

The soldier steps forward.

His trigger finger primed - through habit.

The boy’s stick-thin body twitches.

Unsure, he seeks reassurance.

The girl’s eyes flicker a response

Of what she hopes is comfort.

The soldier pulls back.

Holding the gun in one hand-

He offers the other.

The boy’s eyes are on the weapon.

‘You like it uh?’

Stupid thing to say.

Girl winces.

Boy winces.

Soldier swears.

He can’t say sorry.

The word is redundant here.

The children step forward-

And the boy takes something from his pocket.

He places it in the waiting hand.

Something registers in the soldier’s brain.

And his body shudders.

In his fear he fails to notice

That the pin is still in place.

 

 

 

 

THE MESSAGE NOT MEANT FOR ME

You have no new messages.

You have one saved message.

Message received 3^rd August at 10.48pm

You’ve lost me now Paul

This is it

This is goodbye.

Goodbye Paul

You’ve lost me now

Goodbye…

To call back dial 22

To hear the message again dial 1

To delete dial 5.

MADELAINE FORTESQUE FOTHERING -A humorous offering

Madelaine Fortesque Fothering

Entered the room without bothering,

To knock or to wait,

‘Sorry I’m late

It’s because of the case that we’re covering.’

Her boss raised his head, crossed his fingers and said,

‘Sit down and tell me quite plain.

Did you catch him this time? Or did he just climb

Out the passenger door yet again.’

‘Inspector Sir! That’s highly unfair,

It wasn’t my fault that he legged it.

The door came unstuck, when our car hit a truck,

Besides no-one had told me to shut it.’

For a moment her boss seemed to be at a loss,

His body was glued to the spot.

But he grimaced and moaned and, later on, groaned,

‘Well? have you a suspect or not?’

Madelaine raised her hand, ‘Sir please understand,

While my methods are somewhat obscure,

I have the right crim – It’s definitely him.    

And I’ll give you the details - what’s more!’

Said Madelaine with pride,‘He’s waiting outside.

I nailed both his feet to the floor.

Right next to the spot where you fired that shot,

That blew away most of the door.’

Sir! This lead is the clue and it’s staring at you,

And if you’ll just give me a minute,

I’ll tell you a story quite short and quite gory,

To show that I know how he did it.’

Mad walked with some speed and grabbing the lead,

Held it up to her boss’s nose.

‘Now if you look there you’ll see some grey hairs,

That came from the head of Bill Rose.

The crim he did kill poor defenceless, blind Bill

And also his pet dog as well.

When I reached the scene Bill couldn’t be seen,

But I knew he was there – from the smell.

I went to the bog and saw Ruffles, the dog,

All squishy and bloated and dead.

Then this guy came up, took one look at the pup,

“Take his lead he won’t need it he said.”

I knew that the lead was all I would need,

To prove that this man was the perp.

And when I suggested that he was arrested -

He came along with me – the twerp!’

‘Why PC Madelaine you’re so good at this game.

Could I come along with you next time?’

Said Madelaine with glee, ‘I’m so glad you can see

That I’m pretty familiar with crime.

Could I have a big desk Oh, and one more request

A Detective I’d much rather be.

‘Cos Fortesque Fothering Detective

Sounds better than F F PC!’

These days Mad she fights from Olympian heights,

All manner of crime and misdeeds.

She works from a room that houses a broom

And a million grotty dog leads.

She spends most of her days

Trying to figure out ways

To rid her city of crime,

While those in the know usually go

And do it in half of the time!

Madelaine Fortesque Fothering,

Enters her room without bothering,

To knock or to wait,

‘Cos she’s usually quite late

Because of a case that she’s covering!
 

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HILDA.

Subtitle: The Rookie.

I met you first in ‘81

As a fresh faced rookie.

You lit up the staffroom with your smile, and

You took that smile into the classroom

And planted it in the hearts and minds

Of all the boys you taught.

How well I remember

How filled you were

With passion for the job.

But it never was a job

Not for you, as I recall.

Because you told me way back then

That you would give your all.

And give your all you did and more

In so many different ways

That has really made a difference

To many kids’ schooldays.

And it isn’t just the students

Who have benefited through the years.

As you moved on to other schools

Shared yourself and your ideas

With students, teachers, parents, friends

You made changes for the better.

Not because you did things by the book

Or even by the letter.

But because you organised and planned

To get things done that mattered.

Back in ‘81 when you were young

With your teaching life ahead

You were a rookie with a smile

A rookie, who to me said.

‘I want to make a difference

One I hope will last’

Well you did. You’ve made that difference

And I saw it way back then

In the smile of a rookie in 1981.

JC November 2012