Four Games to Go: A Villanelle

They need to put on a show
Win a few games to nil
There are four games to go

The whistle does blow
And the ground it does fill
They need to put on a show

The ball is struck low
The first goal is a thrill
There are three games to go

A last second throw
They all know the drill
They need to put on a show

The anxious looks grow
Then the whistle is shrill
There are two games to go

Score with head, shin or toe
Triumph by sheer force of will
They need to put on a show
There is one game to go

Draft version 1.0, 20/4/2012. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission.

Somewhere in a parallel universe I am Brian Cox

I just realised, somewhere in a parallel universe I am Brian Cox
Replete with high tech camping gear and fluffy thermal socks
I stand astride a mountain range
and flick my luscious locks

Somewhere in a parallel universe I'm Jeremy Clarkson
Explaining how a Ferrari is the best car by none
I stand astride a tarmac road
till all the cars have gone

Somewhere, parallel, et cetera, I'm the bloody pope!
With original sin and charity and a smattering of hope
I stand astride a corrupted church
and rule science out of scope.

Draft version 1.0, 22/3/2011. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission.

My Life in Cars

Red mini, black roof, colours of a childish youth
Convertible Audi, bright red too
Reminds me of summers spent with you


Alfa Romeo, one-five-six, filled with wrappers from the pick-n-mix
And that white estate we bought
For carrying two travel cots.


VW Polo, my first car, no brakes, no lights, would not go far
But it had rear seatbelts and a rear wash wipe
But it wouldn't race without a go fast stripe


They sometimes crash, sometimes jackknife
and the form memories, they're a part of your life
Quick 15 minute little drive, revive the feelings be alive.


Draft version 1.0, 21/3/2011. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission.

A season of Rugby

The season ends, the sport is done
Fourteen lost, a couple won
Broken limbs and dizzy heads
For the hooped up souped up white and reds

This is the year that the beer beckons
A pint at first then a jug for seconds.
Never enough food and not the right type
The beer's too flat or it smells too ripe.

The ref's a homer, the ref is blind.
The team's too dirty, they should all be fined
Never mind.
Next week hopefully it won't be raining
And don't forget your subs at midweek training

The season's over, the games are done.
A few games lost, a few games won.

Draft version 1.0, 20/3/2011. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission.

Dusty West Coast fault line USA

I'll push out a note, it should reach
you straight away on a twitter of facebook
as it flies through the internet
Not till I can swim through the night underneath
the bigger moon will I consider it complete


The San Andreas fault may go any time
and the coast line will fall into the sea
No more Pacifica or Route one
all of these landmarks will have gone
to the sea, the sea, to fill the continental shelf.


West Coast USA is doomed one day
They reclaim and grow and will restore
And the have gained from the past
But it really won't last for the next hundred years.


Draft version 1.0, 20/3/2011. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission.

Managers over my shoulder

Do you need your manager at the meeting?

What does he bring? Experience or lack of clarity?

Deflection of criticism, weight of ages?

Not if he is as old as you.

How many managers do you take?

One for the money, two for the show

Three for the coffees, go boys go?!

Or do you let them know after it's over.

If there are three, how many of you will there be?

Two or one or none.  My preference, ah!

Has it all gone, is it important,

I'd probably take me plus one.

Draft version 1.0, 18/3/2011. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission.

Two task full weekend

It's the height of the sporting season in March
The last few football games, the six nations Rugby
The start of F1 and the Cricket World Cup
Enjoyment and revelry in the unpredictable

It is a busy time, it's getting lighter and time
can be spent on other pursuits, it's two task time
Can I watch and read, or watch and write, or
exercise and watch, or read and listen?

What does it take to enjoy these moments?
Stop. Sit back. Reflect. Do Nothing.
Pick out the rhythms of the sport and
disengage at that point from other activities.

Relax.
Enjoy.

Draft version 1.0, 18/3/2011. Please do not copy or cite without author's permission.