A red balloon
Heart shaped
Helium filled
String attached
Valentines gift
Clings to ceiling
Defying gravity
String hangs down
Does it mean
your love
Will fly away
When unattached
Does it mean
She tugs on
Your heart strings
Very very lightly
Does it mean
Those without balloons
Are unloved
And unwanted
Does it mean
She loves red
Gas filled
Plastic bags
Does it mean
You were duped
Into purchasing
Commercialized junk
It does mean
No respect
For the environment
Discarded balloons kill animals
A few days ago I had my second shingles shot
The side effects were pretty severe
Muscle pains and fever knocked me out for 36 hours
I wanted to understand why my body was reacting this way
So last night while sleeping I asked for a meeting
I requested somebody in charge of my antibodies to explain everything to me
A nice chap called James showed up
He introduced himself as the COO in charge of my body’s defenses
James explained that he has been working diligently since I was born
As I new baby my defenses were under developed
Daily attacks from viruses, bacteria, toxins and pathogens threatened my existence
James said that each attack was fought off by front line soldiers in my white blood cells
They are the white knights who engage in hand to hand combat with these enemies
Over time they build up experience of which weapons work best for specific invaders
The white knights have access to huge armory of weapons stored in my body
I asked James what the shingles vaccine was all about
He reminded me that I had chicken pox as a child
The white knights spent a couple of weeks slaying most of the chicken pox viruses
But a few escaped and went into hiding in remote parts of my body
They can reemerge many years later in the form of a shingles virus
Nobody wants the extreme pain and discomfort of shingles said James
He congratulated me on deciding to get the shingles vaccine
I sent out extra white knights to battle with the shingles viruses
They captured multiple virus particles and brought them to the armory
Shingles weapons were developed and manufactured in the armory for future use
I asked James why I was so sore after the shingles vaccine
He explained that the vaccine distributed inert shingles virus particles all over my body
The white knights set out to destroy them and evict their remains
Unfortunately the intense fighting creates inflammation in your muscles
The massive activity in your blood stream raises your temperature for a while too
James said this only lasts a day or two at most
Then the new shingles weapons are put back in the armory in case of future attacks
I thanked James for his explanations and suggested he give the white knights a day off
Sorry I cannot do that said James, that would allow the enemy to sneak in and make you sick
James explained that my white knights work 24/7 to keep me alive and healthy
I asked James what I could do to help the white knights do their job
Eat a good diet, exercise and try to sleep well without too much alcohol or stimulants he said
Oh and never pass over an opportunity to get vaccinated he stressed
Think of the vaccination as a training exercise for your white knights
Having more weapons in their armory improves your chances of living a long life
I thanked James for the meeting and slept soundly the rest of the night
Depression consumes you
Eats away at your soul
There is no escaping it
Sleeping is no cure
Demons wait for you to wake up
Stomping all over you
Your body aches
Pills are not the answer
Your mind has been hijacked
Negative thoughts squat
Refusing to be evicted
You just want to be alone
No interest in working
Exercise is unappealing
Even eating is a chore
You have reached rock bottom
Time slows down
You stare into empty space
Nothing in focus
You take a deep breath
This is endless
You feel totally numb
What is that sound
Music is playing
Its your favorite song
Negative thoughts melt away
Happy memories float in
Bright ideas queue up
Patiently waiting for you
Your aches drain away
You feel energized again
Your next breath tastes so sweet
Color returns to your vision
That smell of cooking is so good
Tactile touches make your fingers dance
You just got your life back
Hold onto it tight
Do not let those demons back in
Its not easy being a dad
Babies are hard to read
You have to guess a lot
Try to keep them happy
Sometimes you guess right
Other times they cry a lot
Babies often cling to their mother
Dads can feel they are superfluous at times
Dads worry about their babies
its not easy being a dad
Toddlers are more fun
They ask lots of questions
Soak up knowledge like sponges
But most dads have to work long hours
Leaving little time to be with their young kids
Missing many important days in their lives
Dads regret not being there for them more often
Dads are too proud to ask for parenting advice
Dads have to provide for the whole family
Dads have to fix up the house and the car
Do all the manly things while still finding time to be a parent
Its tough being a dad
Teenagers are really hard work
Rebelling and testing boundaries
Soft dads give in too much
Their kids get out of control
Tough dads make a stance
Dishing out the discipline when needed
Risking that their kids will pull away from them
But praying they will turn out right
Dads get no awards for just being a dad
You are still a dad when your kids are all grown up
Hoping they plot a good course in life
Now giving fatherly advice only when asked
Wondering what kind of parents your own kids will be
Did you really leave a lasting impression on them
Did you guide them into better opportunities than you had
Could you have been a better dad for them
You cannot turn the clock backwards
Its not easy being a dad
Sometimes things do not go as planned
The unexpected turns up
Or somebody lets you down
Its OK to be annoyed
But not for long
You have to move on
Find a way to fix it
Before it consumes you
Nil bastardo carborundum
That is urban Latin
Look it up
I remember so well our first dance
That led to our steamy romance
It started with a mundane conversation
Your voice gave me a strange sensation
Your words were dancing in my ear
Your intentions became ever so clear
I led you to the crowded dance floor
A place you had been many times before
The rhythmic squeezing of your hand
Totally in tune with the band
Your feet were smoothly gliding
Your inhibitions no longer hiding
Our bodies twisting and turning
My heart beat out the yearning
The evening flew by ever so fast
I wanted it to forever last
Then came the last slow number
Your head on my shoulder in a mock slumber
Your breath felt like fire on my neck
Your lips planted a discernible surrendering peck
My grip on your waist went tighter
We both knew this would be an all nighter
Food
Thoughts
Food for thought
Thought for food
For thought food
For the love of food
For the food of love
Love of the food thoughts
Thinking about the food you love
Thinking about the love you feed with food
Feeding your thoughts about your lover and food
Knowing that your food will be loved forever in your thoughts
Forever thinking of your lover feeding your loving food thoughts
Your thoughts of love can be everlasting just like your appetite for food
If you don’t eat you get hungry for food but you can still love somebody
If you stop loving you might lose your appetite for for food without feeling hungry
If you and your lover share the same love of food then you will never go hungry for food or love
Somebody knocks at your door
They know you are home because they can see you inside your house
You go to the door and see a man there but decide not to open it because you do not recognize him
You are now both looking at each other through a window next to the door
He points to the door gesturing a request for you to open it, you write down a note
“what do you want?” and hold it to the window
He reads it and writes a note back “I am your new neighbor”
You write another note “hi nice to meet you” and he writes “can you do me a favor please”
You make him wait ten minutes and hold up another note “what do you want?”
He writes “your car is blocking my driveway, is there any chance you could move it please”
To be sure he is genuine you go back inside and look up home sales to verify the house next door recently changed hands
Then you go upstairs to take a look if your car is indeed blocking his driveway
All this time the guy is waiting outside your door
You eventually go back and write him a note “ I need to find my keys, I will be there in a few minutes”.
Forty minutes later you open the door and introduce yourself to your new neighbor.
This all sounds ridiculous but we do it all the time with cellphones
Screening the caller ID before we decide whether to answer or pausing before responding to a text
Remember the good old days when you always tried to answer a call before three rings?
Before smart phones, If you called somebody on a land line you had a very high expectation of actually talking to a person at the other end
Today everybody has a smart phone in their pocket but its so much harder to speak to them
Imagine how it feels for somebody to see you posting on Facebook while you ignore their calls and texts
Perhaps we consider paying a thousand dollars for a smartphone a worthwhile investment because it comes with a free bad manners App
her face was at the window
watching the rain gently fall
counting the raindrops on the glass
watching them slowly slide down
she wished you were inside one
wondering why it all went wrong
wishing she could turn back time
suddenly your face appeared in a raindrop
pressing her hand to the window
hoping you would feel her love
praying you would stay a while
she watched you slip away
her tears chased after you
you never looked back
she had lost you forever
He woke up in a cold sweat
It was pitch black
He did not know where he was
Frantically searching his memory
Unable to recall anything of the evening before
He felt slightly groggy
Concluding he had been drugged
He stepped out of bed
Stumbling around the room
Eventually finding a light switch
The blinding light hurt his eyes
After a few moments he could see
Bloodstains all over the wall
Dark red blood on the bed cover
Blood stains on his hands and shirt
He went to the bathroom to clean up
Discovering a lifeless body in the bathtub
A large knife embedded in her chest
He ran to the door but it was locked
The windows were all bolted shut
Shutters outside prevented him looking out
He broke the legs off a chair
Binding them with strips torn from the bedsheet
Wedging the bundle between the handle and door frame
The bedside table was heavy enough to smash down onto the wedge
The door frame exploded open allowing him to step outside
He came across man in a white coat holding a clipboard and a stop watch
The man looked up and said you set a new record James at 2 minutes 42 seconds
He realized it was all a training exercise for his new job in MI6
The fake corpse walked out of the bathroom and winked at him
Cheeky Monkey Poetry 