Poetry

 

"PIGGY IN THE MIDDLE"         Illustrated Poems by a Nottingham police officer;  ISBN 1-872758-00-2;   £4.00 each

We all write poetry at some time in our lives.  Mine was a way of coping with the depression  of working among the drunks and homeless on night and day shifts as a uniformed police sergeant in a busy UK conurbation with no apparent hope of escape.

(Published by Ventus Books)

“Nottingham, famous for lace and Robin Hood, has another face
Less romantic, pretty or good, a pity more don’t see,
And would you like to come with me among the late night revelers?
At ten o’clock the Friday journey starts
And Friday hearts beat fast beneath blue serge bravado at the Central Police Parade Room;
The noise of smoking, joking men subsides at the arrival of the Inspector
And numbers are called, not names, the game is on, fixed points allocated
For men to stand and hands reach out for life-preserving radios;
So on with policeman’s hat and coat and walk with me
Along a darkened corridor that leads to fluorescent night …”

 (The above is part of a longer poem about night shift in Nottingham)

 

“THROUGH SUNSHINE AND THROUGH RAIN”  A book of Illustrated Poems ; ISBN 1-872758-20-7 ;   £4.00 each

We all have periods of happiness and sadness in our lives.  This collection sums up one person’s different moods and hopefully leaves a mark of a life lived

THE JOSEPH COAT

Make me a coat of many colours, make me a Joseph coat of dreams,
Fashion me a garment that glistens and shimmers,
The likeness of which never before has been seen,
Travel the length and the breadth of the kingdom,
Over the mountains and over the seas,
Search high and low for the finest of materials,
Join them all together then and bring it back to me

Colour it: blue from the summer sky, lark-sung and cloudless;
Yellow from the ripening corn swaying in the breeze;
Green from the unexpected view high above a valley;
Red from the setting sun at the end of a perfect day;
Take the colour of children’s laughter and mix it with shades of stranger shaking hands with stranger,
Find the glow that comes from the heart of the friendly deed done without asking payment,
Overlap the distinctive shades of nation mixing with nation in a community that values difference,
Cut away the parts that are not needed - the yellow greed for wealth, power and position,
The green envy of material possessions and the steely blue indifference of eyes that are socially superior,
Make the proportions of equal value, a garment that has balance, cut and flair, where each single part is as important as the next,
Join it all together then with the stitching of truth and justice running throughout the whole,
Make the pockets deep enough to carry the coinage of gifts to the needy, sick and widowed,
The lining warm enough to wrap around the orphaned child at the height of the winter storm,
The sleeves ample enough to hide within them magic tricks to bring a smile to the face of the bedridden child,

And when you have made this coat, this coat of many colours I shall put it on and wear it and walk among the people
And when they see it they will all be blinded by its colours, its beauty, and its proportions,
Their fingers will itch to caress the silks and suedes and they too will want to wear such a garment.