Category Archives: time

Aging Disgracefully

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First, I lost my wisdom teeth,
Thought that quite unfair.
Found I still could eat my lunch,
Guess I’d teeth to spare.

Next, my hair abandoned me,
Left me in despair,
Showed my head no loyalty,
Now my dome is bare.

Then, my waist expanded,
Or, perhaps, my belt had shrunk?
My pants joined the rebellion.
My resistance soon was sunk.

Quickly was the victory spread,
My few loyal hairs turned grey.
Restful sleep departed
As my bladder joined the fray.

Rising from a comfy chair
Became Olympic sport.
Sorry, I forgot your name,
My memory now is short.

My face tried to slide off my skull,
My chins applied the brakes.
Relief is mapped upon my face
In contours, roads, and lakes.

Where all this is headed,
I’m afraid I could not say.
So, I’ll get on with living,
Won’t let age get in my way!

Stephen Tomkins
Airborne (as a passenger) between Singapore and Sydney
16 August 2025

Recalibration

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Like leaves on the breeze,
The years rustle by
And a decade can pass
In the span of a sigh.
Seconds and minutes,
Licenceless, fly
And the passage of seasons
In the blink of an eye.

In a dense cloud of details
We all muddle through
And, despite good intentions,
Compelled to make do.
Immersed in our screens,
We will miss vital clues:
The Sun still illumines
Our Earth’s vibrant hues.

Then during our lunch break,
The years have passed by,
The kids have grown older
As friends say goodbye.
And those we love most,
Before they too fly,
Should be in no doubt
They’re the sun in our sky.

Stephen Tomkins
14 February 2025
Singapore

Time is a State of Mind

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Though it may seem Spring’s taken hold,
Late Autumn’s in disguise,
Betrayed by flakes of falling gold,
All borne on gentle sighs.

Indifferent, now, the trees may seem,
Still wrapped in gold and red.
Stoic, untold winters seen,
Their wisdom left unsaid.

And though the darkness soon may reign
As faithless Sun retreats,
Stone-like sentinels remain,
Another year completes.

Seasons fly like autumn leaves,
And as my autumn calls,
Summer memories fill my heart,
As Spring peeps round the walls.

Stephen Tomkins
4 January 2023
Tokyo

Life in a Minor Key

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We speak of life just like the weather,
Act as if we’ll live forever,
Judge by looks and bold pretence,
Consider wealth our best defence.

We hold our life within our hands,
While it slips through like silken sands,
And focussed through a camera’s portal,
Part of us becomes immortal.

Life’s finest crystal, softly wrought,
Only once it’s gone is sought.
Passing through just like a thought,
Life can be sold but can’t be bought.

And as life turns another page,
We tango with advancing age,
And pay again our yearly wage,
Until it’s time to leave the stage.

Stephen Tomkins
21 September 2020
Sydney

Killing Time

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Killing Time drawing

Time, you may know, is not a bad guy;

Sometimes he will tarry, sometimes he will fly.

He never forgets you not lets you slip by,

Remembers your birthday, though I’m not sure why.

 

When I spoke of wasting, I now must lament,

I simply assumed that you knew what I meant.

For sometimes, I’m sorry, but time must be killed

But not by machine gun – I don’t want him drilled!

 

For time is the one thing that everyone spends,

At work or at home or maybe with friends.

Like it or not, time will never sit still –

So, spend it or waste it, we’ve all time to kill.

 

Stephen Tomkins

21 January 2020

Melbourne