Let The Acorns Grow (For Acorns Children's Hospice) And when all our hopes were dashed And no comfort could be found, The earth once more began to live, Sprung from acorns in the ground. The saplings silently grew, To a full and verdant leaf. A canopy of embrace, For all enclosed beneath. Yet while the earth was sodden With our collective tears. The seeds of kindness were sown, Dispelling all our fears. So let the acorns grow And turn to mighty oak. So let the acorns grow And

Sea Fearing Fearing every wave, The swell, a watery grave. Dinghies and destinies. Salt water stings, Whimpers and screams join The cruel caws; the seagulls sing. Oh the sea sounds, as Ink blacked waves pound. Thrashing and crying as Face down, Hope floats away. Life sinks and slowly drowns. _____________ I can not begin to imagine the fear of refugees, who entrust their lives to a flimsy dinghy, overloaded and crossing treacherous seas, the English Channel, the Mediterranean

The Haters Where in the world Did you learn to hate? You do it so well. The ascerbic, bilious, Irascible and dispicable. The venoumous, toxic and simply inexplicable Stream of unpleasantness You wilfully pour forth. The shocking, mocking, Undisguisable scorn. Shorn of morals Sensitivity or empathy, Bereft of sympathy. Consciously hurting Wilfully blurting out Diatribes and streams of abuse That sting and burn And reduce the recipient To ashes. Where in the world Did you learn

Sea Fears And all my anxieties Suddenly appear. A sea of friendly faces And I am drowning in fear. _________________________________ Social anxiety. I have had it for many years. Sometimes I can cope. Others times I can't. Sometimes a crowd of friendly people, welcoming faces, can be as unsettling as being faced with disdain or rejection. All your thoughts are negative, you want to escape, leave, run, hide. But it only takes one person to speak to you, gentl

Social Kindness? Twitter spat Facebook fight Insta squabble, this can't be right, Or healthy or helpful or productive or nice If all we do is bicker and snarl and insult and smite Those of whom we may disagree Over how to make a decent cup of tea (It's teabag, then water and then the milk) But we rant and shout and curse their ilk Screaming and swearing at those who declare remain! or leave! Dishing virtual verbal (typed) smacks in the mouth to all who displease A

I Have Friends I have friends in hijabs I have friends with beards I have friends who are funny I have friends who are weird I have friends who are Asian, African, American and Australian I have friends who aren't from 'round here', I have friends who are alien. I have friends who speak French, German, Spanish and Hindi. I have friends from Istanbul, Rome, Caracas and Rawalpindi. I have friends who kneel in churches, synagogues and mosques, I have friends who re

Mind The Gap Mind the gap Between intelligence and stupidity, Between ignorance and creativity, Between arrogance and humility, Mind the gap. Mind the gap Between truth and insincerity, Between kindness and cruelty, Between happiness and misery, Mind the gap. Mind the gap Between rage and tranquillity, Between selfishness and generosity, Between intransigence and possibility, Mind the gap. Mind the gap Between admiration and envy, Between comfort and poverty, Between unde

Blame The Immigrants Blame the immigrants, For it is all their fault And always was Never ours, just because We need someone to blame In the face of our shame For our failures and loss Find someone else to blame At any cost Remember the 70's, 80's, 90's past Good times flowed Shame they didn't last. When we bathed in a glow of perma-sun-rays, Of halcyon days and happy memories. There was no three day week, No miners' strikes, No winters of discontent, No inflationary price

Bound Bound and tied, Access denied. Unable to escape The ropes that choke And hold you. Bound and tied To society's view Of who you are And your place, Your value, Your worth, On this blessed earth. For we are all the same Whether free, Whether chained. It takes the eyes and minds And hands of compassion Of kindness To unravel those ropes. To free you and Release the potential, Embolden the person No longer trapped But unbound, untied. _____________________________ In t

News Feed On Click Read Anger Reaction Aggression Exasperation Cage rattling Name calling Chest thumping I Know More Than You You Don't Know Anything Snowflakes and Gammons Ooh you're hard Behind your keyboard Swearing and threatening Red faced swearing frenzy Hate spewing aching fingers Raging, ranting, shouting SHOUTING BANG Same time tomorrow? Have a good day Spleen vented Rage gone Relaxed Smiling Calm Off _____________________________ Just another day on Anti

Kindness and Light Absence of kindness Hardens the heart to black stone Impenetrable But kindness is all That it takes to welcome light In the darkest place #kindness #mindfulness

The 'C' Word I'll put this out there, don't know if you've heard, About the first mutterings of that hushed 'C' word Those distant weeks will soon fly by Like antlered reindeer against night skies So ho ho ho, here we go Christmas comes early, enjoy the show. Halloween has just been and gone And Bonfire Night has not yet begun. But it's carte blanche for festive times, Let adverts ring and sleigh bells chime. As Aldi and Asda and Argos compete For pounds and pennies on deso

Walk On By They walk on by. Pass someone sat on cardboard mat, Wrapped in layers thin and threadbare; Bearing a face in an endless stare Of hopelessness and despair. Walk on by and unsee That person..that person. Who is not a shape or a forgotten moment. But a name, a past, a present. But what future holds... Bundled in dirty blanket cold. Lifeless eyes flit at an endless parade Of legs and heads, Desperate to catch those lifeless eyes, That try and fail to

Inside where life is safe Outside where life takes place Inside trapped in thought Outside where you ought to be But can't and won't Because you don't feel You really belong But step outside breathe deep and smile You'll see you're wrong No matter what you think they think of you You belong....you really do _____________________________ Life with anxiety is intimidating and worrying...concerned how others see you, perceive you, judge you....what they think or wo

Life Focus The haze of Tired stressful days Life blurred at the edges Muddied clouded distorted Disorientated confused Goals aborted Life directionless Life complicates When we lose focus on the simple things Family friendship health Not wealth and greed Feed the soul Nourish grow Life in focus, attainable Enjoy the joy of others Dispense with hate Remove jealousy Appreciate others Spread kindness Savour the days and Delight in the world around A