Tag Archives: poetry

Tell Me Why? – A Tribute to the Fallen

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Molten face and vacant heart,
Slowly, I’ve been ripped apart.
On misty window, torrents stream.
In vain, I pray it’s just a dream.
A crumpled letter, trembling hand,
At last, I think I understand:
The thing I dreaded has come to pass.
The whole damn war’s a bloody farce!
My son, my boy, my little mate
Stepped upon a pressure plate.
A bang, a flash, there was no pain –
Another death, so little gain.
He’s coming home on Wednesday night
Aboard a scheduled Air Force flight.
I’ll miss his hug, his cheeky grin –
Forever changed, the world has been.

Stephen Tomkins
2 May 2015

Fully Sick, Bro!

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“Cure your ills with these here pills,
As easy as can be.
With my prescription in your hand,
You’ll soon be fit as me!”
The Doctor, smiling, showed me out
And took me by the hand.
His Secretary, smiling too,
Then charged me seven grand!

I hastened to the Pharmacy,
They welcomed me right in.
And when they saw my list of pills,
They wore a hearty grin!
“These pills aren’t on the PBS,
So sad, you’ll have to pay!”
I grabbed my pills and paid the bill,
Still shaking with dismay.

I found my way to Medicare
And settled in a chair.
The crowd of people waiting there
Near drove me to despair.
When my turn came, they shook their heads
And said it’s just the rule:
The scheduled fee is very small,
The refund’s minuscule!

Thankfully, the pills did help,
I’m working overtime.
When I was sick, the bills I paid
Were really quite a crime!
So when someone you know’s taken ill
And turns a little green,
And says, “I can’t afford to be sick!”
You’ll know just what they mean!

Stephen Tomkins
15 November 2014

Roam

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We fall asleep and then wake up –
There’s nothing new in that.
It’s where we go when somewhere else
That’s worth a little chat.

It seems that slumber sets us free,
Just how we’ll never know.
Our spirits wander far and wide
To stage their nightly show.

We find ourselves as Presidents,
As tyrants and as Kings,
As heroes and as fugitives,
And a thousand other things.

We fall asleep, we fall in love,
We fall off mighty cliffs.
We save the day, we play guitar,
Composing catchy riffs.

And all the while, we stay at home,
But nothing ever changes;
While round the globe and into space
Our spirit freely ranges.

I like to think, when life is done,
And night becomes eternal,
I’ll find myself still free to roam,
Released from chains nocturnal.

Stephen Tomkins
20 October 2014

Solemate

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There was a girl I used to know,
She, past my desk, would to and fro,
Delivering mail and other things,
A whiff of perfume, I’d have wings!

Infatuation ruled my life
And soon I found myself in strife.
Distracted from my work was I
As back and forth she’d catch my eye.

One day I took my chances, and
With racing heart and trembling hand,
Caught her attention as she passed
And asked her out: she smiled and laughed.

That night I picked her up at eight
On what, I hoped, was our first date.
She said she couldn’t stay too long:
There was a sale on heels.com!

I should have seen the warning signs:
Her interests lay in shoe designs!
She loved her pumps, I now can see,
And leather boots much more than me.

Aghast, I finally understood:
I’d lost her heart to clogs of wood!
So happy did she seem that I
Could only smile and say goodbye.

Stephen Tomkins
2 April 2015

PS. Before I left unnoticed, I left her a note that said:

“I wish you and your shoes many happy years together”.

 

Let’s Be Friends

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I say one thing and mean another,
Treat you like my long-lost brother.
And all the while, within my mind,
I hope, in you, that I will find
Someone to use for my own ends.
Or what’s the use of being friends?

I play the game so very well
That all the while you’d never tell;
Though one fine day you might just twig
And see that I’m a selfish pig.
Around the world, the people using,
With my tactics quite bemusing.

Gaining wealth by lies and stealth,
I fail to see I’ve sold my self.
Now in luxury’s lap I’m sitting
While a life I’m counterfeiting.
Alone I am and unfulfilled.
For company, by hour I’m billed.

Stephen Tomkins
2 March 2015

Singapore Storm

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The heavens blackened, down it came!
It never slackened, just the same
The lightning flashed, the thunder roared,
And all the while, the torrents poured.

My ears protested, all in vain
As I ingested airborne rain.
Umbrella useless, shelter nil.
The air took on a nasty chill.

The sun admits defeat and sets;
The moon remains in bed and frets.
Sloshing home, knee-deep in water,
Lightning bolt now poised for slaughter.

Unscathed, I somehow make it back
Without a jump-start heart attack!
In steaming tub, I’m thawing out,
There’s zero chance there’ll be a drought.

Stephen Tomkins
14 March 2015

Guess where?

Lanterns

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Paper lanterns,
Swaying gently in the breeze,
Light my way
As icy night replaces
Grey and friendless day.

Nebulous clouds above,
Inconsolable,
Quietly vent their sorrow
On the indifferent figure hurrying below
As, one day done, they contemplate
The morrow.

One frame from a life now snatched,
Clinical and detached,
I observe the scene:
Hastening and serene,
Rushing from, yet rushing to,
Is one day ever really through?

Stephen Tomkins
7 March 2015

Narita, Japan

Eventually

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Eventually the sun will rise
And I will don my slick disguise.
Eventually I’ll have to prise
Myself from bed, my act reprise.
Eventually I’ll see the sun
And realise life’s just begun.
Eventually I’ll find some fun
That pierces my desire to shun.
Eventually my heart will heal
And I’ll allow myself to feel.
Eventually I will unseal
My soul and my true self reveal.
Eventually I’ll understand
That pain will end, not reprimand.
Eventually I will disband
Excuse, pretence and live firsthand.
Eventually I’ll win the fight
If only I can survive this interminable night….

Stephen Tomkins
3 February 2015

Dinner For One

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The restaurant was quiet but not for very long.
The volume still was building and now it’s loud and strong.
A flock of eighteen women claimed the tables next to mine,
A-clipping and a-clopping and a-looking very fine.

A gentle wave of perfume softly found its way to me,
A pleasant fresh aroma, an aperitif for free.
The laughter and the chatting, like an endless flood of sound,
Gossiping and joking and occasionally profound.

It seemed to me as though all at the same time they were talking,
Gesticulating, nodding and occasionally some squawking.
They must have paused for breath but just when is not so clear.
It’s very entertaining – a cabaret of cheer!

Stephen Tomkins
12 September 2014

Keys

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Through the window, sun is peeping
On the people gently sleeping.
Alarm clocks, phones and other means
Abruptly shatter crazy dreams.
Rising from their comfy beds,
They wipe their eyes and shake their heads.
Inserting keys into their backs,
They wind them up with clicks and clacks.

Doing this first thing every morning
Seems to help stop all their yawning.
Winding til they reach the stop
And off to school or work they hop.
Some fail to wind up all the way
And have to struggle through the day.
Others wind them way too tight:
Fly through the day and half the night.

Fewer still have broken keys:
That is what we call disease.
A sorry few, their keys have lost
As they will find out to their cost.
They scarcely make it out of bed,
Their hearts now filled with fear and dread.
Makers of these keys are few,
So please guard yours with the care that’s due!

Stephen Tomkins
10 February 2015