2018.11 Spectral (for Cara)

Kindness comes in many colours
From the purple of a hug at the right time,
To the golden-green of eyes catching and holding.
It’s in the silver of a held door
Or the wavetop blue of weights lifted.
It’s the bright pink of a text when the world is grey
And the orange of hot food for bone-deep cold
It’s the gleaming black of a bed for a night
And it’s the smiling yellow of the reminder of worth.
You can find it in hands, eyes, voice, smile -
A magic all its own,
Striking rainbows through you, giving or receiving.
It binds and stretches through distance and time,
A reminder of everything we are together.

2016.7 Small Shaggy Dog

Another #poetrytogo commission:


What good is a dog
Who won't pay heed,
Who tangles herself
When you put on her lead?

What good is a dog
Who can't see cars,
Who eats LEGO bricks
Like a creature from Mars?

What good is a dog
Who thinks she's a train,
Who pulls at you, chuffing,
And leaps in the rain?

What good is a dog
Who slips and slides,
Who slithers while
Other dogs give their folks pride?

You know what - those other dogs
May be quite nice,
Smart, and well-behaved,
But they just won't suffice.

See, the good of this dog
Is the strength of her heart,
And the way that you miss her
Whenever you part.

For the love of this dog
Will be there to the end,
In this bouncing, brown, barking-mad,
Wonderful friend.

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If you'd told me that I'd write a rhyming poem about a dog and enjoy it immensely, I'd've laughed at you. And I would have been very wrong.

2016.6 Can You Spy Mariam?

Another #poetrytogo commission: 


Mariam means Mary
Mary makes the garden grow
Gardens grow up to make parks
Parks wander into forests
This forest hides a mysterious tower
The Tower shelters Rapunzel
Rapunzel reads books
Books that speak of little girls
This little girl loves pink and purple
Purple sunsets summon dreams
Dreams of pets like panda bears!
Panda bears that love to dance!
Dancing makes you hungry
Hungry girls eat lots of sweets
Sweet dreams, Mariam...

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Mariam was adamant that this poem MUST NOT RHYME! You've got to admire that kind of focus at five. I think I managed to squeeze in all her favourite things here...