HBM – Happy Bench Monday

Just a little political satire …

“Better to remain silent and thought to be a fool
than to speak out and remove all doubt.”

- Abraham Lincoln

Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=90WD_ats6eE

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN' – BOB DYLAN

Boris and Liz
sitting on a bench
one dressed as a pirate
the other in their underpants
handing over power
is never an easy thing
but tomorrow in the Highlands
they'll stand before the Queen
wonder how that journey goes
wondering what they'll say
Boris with his hair askew
Liz with Cheshire grin, and they
hesitate to talk about
the elephant in the room
the crisis of the cost of living
they'll need a hefty broom
to sweep the heap beneath the carpet
with all their might they'll try
but Liz apparently up her sleeve
has a 'bold plan' by and by
the energy crisis is paramount
on her, as yet, unknown agenda
what will Boris do now, I think
host a party; go on a bender
I'll sit back and watch the antics
of this latest political circus
perhaps dear Liz's bag of tricks
will materialise and surprise us
Heaven knows come Winter
how will we keep warmer
I'm banking on a general election
long live Sir Keir Starmer.

- AP - Copyright © remains with and is the intellectual property of the author

Very sad news that our Queen has died. We are a country in mourning. Our thoughts are with her family.

Copyright © protected image please do not reproduce without permission

Tags:   Zippy SpongeBob SpongeBob Squarepants satire political satire HBM Happy Bench Monday cheese Boris Liz Sir Keir Starmer

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“Maybe I was that last piece of the jigsaw
or maybe I was the broken toy discarded
but whatever I was is nothing
compared to what I'm going to be … “ - AP

Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vcyunW0g5c
JUNE by THE SEPTEMBERISTS

I give my best
To June and all the rest
Until Winter comes and claims me
In its icy breast
And lays me down into my cosy nest
That I may breathe
That I may leave
That I may rise above this final test
And see another Springtime at its best
Serenity
Infinity
The intricacies
Of a beautiful yet fragile life
That more or less
Has given me
Has offered me
A chance to show the world
there's more than death
A life well-lived
A heart well-given
A soul that's shaken
Remains unbroken
Amid the debris of harsh words spoken
I'm not forsaken
I am still me
Eternally
Like days in June
That end too soon
My time is shortened
And yet the Sun
When day is done
Remains the warmth
Of songs unsung
Or half-begun
In Summer breeze
They are hung
Like scents that linger
The soulful singer
A poetess of many colours
Sings the blues
And writes of times
Don't always rhyme
And yet the beauty still remains
Long after Summer ends
And roses petals fall
Cling to the wall
I who had nothing
And yet I had it all
Once upon a time
When you were mine.

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Tags:   Woodpecker bird outdoors outside garden poem poetry colours red green black white

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A Stick is Never just a Stick to an Imaginative Dog
Sometimes it's a cigar! ; 0)

Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.
~Carl Sagan

Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8PAQuyAipo
GIVE ALL YOU GOT FOR LOVE

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar
and a stick is just a stick
Sometimes a guitar is just a guitar
and a brick is just a brick
but let your imagination carry you
beyond the obvious to another plane
where anything is possible
and nothing ever remains the same
I frequent that parallel universe
as often as I can
where mundane things do not exist
and a pan is never just a pan
it can transform to be a hat
and a pen can become a wand
that once you wave it say abracadabra
a rabbit appears and a golden pond
where magic and the most nonsensical things
can make you laugh all day
like when the cow jumps over the moon
and the unicorns dance and play
where little dogs run along the shore
and seahorses leap so high
and barking and neighing in harmony
they float up into the clear blue sky
and look down on all the wondrous sights
that stretch before them below
there is nothing that cannot be achieved
when you can turn the clouds to marshmallows
change the colour of the sky to pink or green
and the sea to red or yellow
make it drinkable and sweet like lemonade
or as turbid as limoncello
now the little dog continues on his journey
so happy with his stick cigar
and later tonight he will fall asleep
and dream of where the good things are
for we can remain in reality
for sometimes it is necessary
but to give our minds a rest we must
surely remind ourselves of fairies
goblins and leprechauns and guardian angels
that watch over us in our house and garden
who spread the joy that they have found
and make our hearts soften and never hardened.

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For Jennifer and Keith
with love and in memory
of Tyson ❤

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“This my dear, is the
greatest challenge
of being alive :

To witness
the injustice
of this world,

and not
allow it
to consume
our light.” - CREDIT : @oxherdboy (Instagram)

Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEoPVV__7jk
WALK BESIDE ME – Celtic Woman

It's difficult for most people to understand
what it is to be a stranger in someone elses land
where English is your second language
and you're tongue-tied trying to say the sounds
The bay in which I find myself
is made up of half stones half sand
I venture to cross an invisible border
nothing that I do is planned
A little girl who seems familiar
takes me by my outstretched hand
and smilingly she leads me
further up upon the silken sand
Above the tide line are two turtles
heading towards the sandy dunes
the wind is whispering old love songs
and some childhood nursery tunes
the tide line is a tangled mess
of shells and stones cast out like runes
I ask the child who are the turtles
carved out so carefully with spoons
she says the big one is her mama
and the smaller one is her
I ask where then is the other turtle
the one that represents her father
she points across the stretching sand
where the tide recedes so far and wide
to touch another distant land
that borders another and another beside
I squint my eyes and try to see
but like a mirage in front of me
the landscaped hills appear to be
just smoke stretched out horizontally
He had to stay behind to fight
to keep our homeland free she said
I marvelled at her understanding
her matter-of-fact account sans dread
but her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears
her comprehension beyond her years
but without the words to express her fears
I heard her tangibly and felt so clear
the turtles telling her story

- AP - Copyright © remains with and is the intellectual property of the author

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“And I write poetry on anything that comes to hand .., pink paper with yellow lines all creased and crumpled and slightly torn; brown paper bags that once contained Shiitake mushrooms for a soup; my favourite dark chocolate with sea salt cardboard wrappers and empty envelopes with stamps from far-off places where I will never go or never go again. Poets write on anything that comes to hand.
And I know the anxiety of being a wallflower
and I know all the perks.
And I know all the jerks that passed me by
or those that tried to prise me from the wall.
And I know what the cold is like
when I'm on the outside looking in.
And I know who will be there to catch me when I fall.
And I know what it's like to be a lost soul
wandering alone in the Universe.
And I know what it's like to find a friendship
that fills up all the gaps in me;
completes me like nothing else could ever do.
And I know what it's like to lose myself when I lost you
and the Universe imploded in on me.
And I know what it's like to miss you every day to Infinity and Beyond … simply é …
And I know more much more ...” - AP

Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK7vrLY1dto
Lights & Motion ~ "We Are Infinite"

CIPRIAN …

Eyes so brown with flecks of yellow
nutbrown struck by sunlight
walk through fields of Springtime meadows
wildflowers swaying in delight
arm in arm and minds on nothing
living dreams that lift our souls
stop to eat when we get hungry
sip mushroom soup from chipped and yellowed melamine bowls
exchanging glances shyly hesitant
small smiles turned up at the corners
I did not know this was goodbye
that I would be an absentee among the mourners
how many years has it been now
it feels like only yesterday
still I think I'll one day see you
when the rain storms come and slant my way
I left the crucifix to dangle
to keep me safe on the less-travelled road
I think of that small clip from that film I did not show here
that one entwined within our code
we talked in shorthand when we spoke
or with a smile or with our eyes
the friendship rose and fell again
then rose again just like the sunrise
some things may always be left unspoken
sometimes words are not enough
but we knew that friendship lasts
beyond infinity although it's tough
I still read your poetry
still read between those beautiful lines
and browse through your photography
so much deleted those words of mine
but not your fault but deep within me
was something broken and you could see
and though I did not realise it back then
you protected me from knowing your destiny
I can thank you for many reasons
for being there throughout my trials
a rock a guiding hand held out through all four seasons
remembering your beautiful smiles
to feel the love you had for life
still tangible though you are gone
I can feel you close beside me
whenever I need to be more strong
I rarely met anyone else like you
whose aura was so bright
you saw behind my eyes of blue
to the sorrow that denied my light
you never gave up on me I know
you wanted me to know what life is for
I try to remember all you taught me
I miss you always and simply more …

- AP - Copyright © remains with and is the intellectual property of the author

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Dedicated to my beloved friend, Ciprian
A poet and the most beautiful human being you could ever wish to meet. To know him was to love him and when he passed he left the biggest hole in the Universe. I don't think I shall ever see his like again in this incarnation anyway …

Two long years and I still miss you though you are everywhere
In the rain and in the yellow
To Infinity and beyond … simply é …

Iubirea mea pentru tine nu va muri niciodata

We spoke mostly in French, but I did try to speak Romanian sometimes and he would smile indulgently. He recognised the child-like innocence in me that wants everyone and everything to be alright. He encouraged me in my writing and indulged my childish tantrums because he knew that like all things they would pass and he knew the reasons for them and accepted my brokeness because it is part of who I am. That was Ciprian … all-accepting; never just loving one small part of me, but embracing all of me with all the frailties and complexities within my nature. Oh, and one more thing, he loved cats and I would have loved him just for that ; 0) There are many different kinds of love. Our love was pure. The love borne of friendship and shared love of poetry and our minds always questioning everything.

I send my love and respect to dear Ciprian's wife who made his life so very happy. She was the love of his life and he of hers. If I feel the loss of my friend so deeply I can only imagine how hard it is for her to bear. My heart goes out to her on this day, the second anniversary of his passing.

Tags:   AP Poppy Cocqué Ciprian remembrance poet poem poetry cat light lantern inifinite infinity self-portrait art artwork memoriam rose flower bloom Lights & Motion We Are Infinite 4

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