Author: Ian Hunter

I retired from the energy business in 2014 and started writing poetry. At first I shared my writing with family and friends. Then I set myself a challenge to write a poem every day for a year. After meeting that goal I just kept going and started this blog in 2021. I hope you enjoy reading my poems. Remember happiness is just a state of mind and poetry is great nourishment.

Be them millenniums or minutes ago

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I can remember so well those oh so boring history classes at school

The tattered old books on ancient history

Handed down from generations ago

Reflecting the age of the stories they told

Uninspiring stories told by weary burned out teachers

It was so hard back then to understand the relevance of it all

When later classes focused on modern history

Something grabbed my attention

A detailed analysis of the Cuban missile crisis

Brought back the taste of fear

Images of hiding under my school desk at seven years old

Daily drills on sheltering from a possible nuclear attack

I really believed we we all going to die back then

Remembering vividly when Kennedy was shot

It felt like the King of my world was no longer there to protect me

I can now look back over my lifetime of personal historical moments

Popular music and the Beatles

Armed struggles in Northern Ireland

Graduating from college

My first job

The Vietnam war

One small step for a man but one giant leap for mankind

Buying my first house

The birth of my daughter and my son

My first computer

The start of the internet 

Seeing the falling of the Berlin Wall

War in the Falklands and Margaret Thatcher

Liverpool FC winning the European Cup

Plane hijackings and harrowing terrorist attacks

911 and desperately trying to pick up my kids from school in Manhattan

Seeing my kids graduate from college

Entering retirement

In January 2021 I saw a chilling live news broadcast

An angry mob marching towards the US Capital

Breaking through barriers and storming the building

Those images are burned into my memory banks

No doubt historians are now writing stories about it all

For the enlightenment of future generations

History is the the study of past events

Be them millenniums or minutes ago

We must all learn from them

Let the future treasure you

Ian Hunter2 Comments

try to worry less about the future 

be in awe of the precious gift of the present

the future will be what it will be

the past is your gift of great memories

treasure the now and live in the moment

dwell, enjoy, savor, relish, record, memorialize, reflect but live at all times in the now

let the future treasure you

Mystery DJ

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I like listening to music

Both recorded and live

Playlists are so cool

You can pick one to suit your mood

Some mellow jazz in the morning

Lively pop in the day

Rock n roll your afternoon away

A few golden oldies before bedtime

There is however one big problem

When I stop listening to music

There is always a song still playing

On a constant loop in my head

Its not always the same song

Usually something I listened to recently

These earworms can be annoying

I find the only cure

Is to play some different music

To drown them out

Peace at last

Until the music source stops

Then the mystery DJ in my head

Selects another song to play

He never consults me 

Nor does he listen to my suggestions

His most recent earworm song

Is playing in my head right now

Lovely Day by Bill Withers

I used to like that song

But now I am totally done with it

Time to consult Mr Spotify

Drown out Bill Withers for good

While the DJ in my head listens along

And unilaterally selects a future earworm

I have tried researching for a cure

As yet there is no earworm powder treatment on the market

But the earworm is not the source of the problem

Its that mystery DJ in my head

I am going to sneak up on him

While he is distracted listening to my music

And smash his turntable

Then every day will certainly be A Lovely Day

Pomatoceros triqueter

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Pomatoceros triqueter

What kind of animal has such a name

Is it related to the rhinoceros

Does it have three horns

Perhaps a fearsome dinosaur

For those have not yet Googled the name

It is a small tube worm

Found on rocky english coasts  

A filter feeder with colored bristles

I  studied this creature at school

In a biology class

More than five decades ago

I am still trying to understand

Why I can recall the name of this creature

The class was not at all exciting

The teacher was not that memorable 

I do not even remember her name

I was never turned on by worms

Nobody feinted or self combusted in that class

Yet that little worm burrowed into my brain cells

Waiting for its moment of fame

I never quoted it during a job interview

I never used it as a dating pickup line

I never talked about it at a dinner party

I never scored a win at scrabble with it

It just sat there patiently for over fifty years

Waiting for its fifteen minutes of fame

Well now you got it mister

You are in a poem

That will be read by others

Who will each have your name

Burrowed deep into their memory cells 

Waiting patiently to be recalled

Sometime in the next half century

Far easier said than done

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When you are in dire straits

Its tempting to paper over cracks

Ignore the signs of failure

Sweep things under the carpet

Gloss over everything

Perform a good whitewash

Conceal the evidence

Start grasping at straws

Get into a vicious cycle 

But it just delays the inevitable

Reality will come back to bite you

Its just the tip of the iceberg

So better bite the bullet

Take the bull by the horns

Face the music

Get to the crux of the matter

If it were only that simple

To solve your biggest problems

By finding the appropriate idiom

Just say it out loud

And all will be well

Hold on a minute

Idioms do not fix things

They only describe the situation

Putting a label on it will not change it

Its like putting lipstick on a pig

There is no such thing as a magic bullet

You have to make a conscious effort

To recognize the extent of the problem

Then find the proper solution

Make a plan and then execute it

Far easier said than done

Peter the peacock

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Peter the peacock was roaming around

Dragging his long tail feathers behind him

Wondering what today would bring him

Hoping for some fun with the ladies

He pecked the ground in search of food

While keeping his eyes up and alert

Suddenly he spotted a group of five peahens

They were slowly walking down the other side of the street

Now is the moment declared Peter to himself

He rushed across the street towards the ladies

Pausing about six feet away from them

Lifting up his tail feathers into a magnificent display

Proudly shaking the huge fan of vibrant colors

Peter was convinced this sexy dance would yield results

He spun slowly left and right while keeping his fan high

Come join me ladies he said

Look how stunningly beautiful I am

We could party all night and have so much fun

The ladies were unimpressed  and continued to chat amongst themselves

Janet thought Peter was far too vain

Linda agreed and said lets just ignore him completely

Kate thought Peter was cute but agreed to show no interest

Christina boasted that she had once been with Peter

Saying she got tired of his constant displays and profound vanity

Peter kept shaking his fan and crept closer to the ladies

Pam led the ladies further down the street

Lets go find lunch in a quiet spot over there

Peter stood his ground and watched the ladies drift off

When they were far away he folded his tail feathers back down

Shrugging his shoulders after being rejected 

Whispering to himself while pecking for food

None of them were that cute anyway he muttered

Apart from Christina but she had too much of an attitude

Percy the peacock strutted up alongside Peter

How is it going Peter he enquired

Peter told him he was tired after displaying his feathers to the ladies

Percy said its best to play hard to get and let them chase you

Yea said Peter, who needs girls anyway

Lets go watch the football game instead, we can see the TV in that house from the front lawn

Peter displayed his tail feathers on the front lawn

Attracting the attention of the homeowners

Percy took advantage of the distraction and ran around the back to steal some beers

Percy and Peter watched the whole game

The ladies walked back down the street and paused near the guys

Janet said just look at them, totally engrossed in football and beer

They don’t even notice we are here at all said Kate

Lets see how long before they start lifting their tail feathers said Christina

The ladies preened them selves and applied fresh makeup

Peter and Percy chugged down more beer 

Keep ignoring them said Percy, it will drive them crazy

Percy and Peter fell asleep once the game ended

Kate suggested they try and wake up the boys

Hell no said Janet, they deserve to be ignored

The ladies wandered off giggling whilst swapping tales of past lovers

Percy and Peter snored loudly, dreaming of cute peahens

Are you a “user?”

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“There are only two industries that call their customers ‘users’: 

“Illegal drugs and software” said Edward Tufte, a computer scientist and a professor emeritus of computer science, political science and statistics at Yale University

I came across the above quote while watching the 2020 documentary Social Dilemma

It reminded me why I quit FaceBook in 2017

And why our society has become so polarized

The film explains why so many people believe in conspiracy theories

Why fake news is more entertaining than the truth

How the big tech companies lull you into on-line addiction

So they can sell your usage to advertisers 

I just noticed I used the word quit to describe my parting with FaceBook

Just like a junkie or an alcoholic would quit an addiction

If you can spare a few hours away from the internet

If you are concerned about your own social media addiction

Or that of your family and friends

Please watch the documentary

Calm leaders outshine whackamole arsonists

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Have you ever been amazed

How well some people deal with a crisis

Great leaders remain calm in adversity

Assessing the situation carefully

Making measured decisions based on facts and data

Methodically turning chaos back into order

Great leadership starts with building a great team

Anticipating the skills needed to deal with uncertainty

Great leaders are usually well trained individuals

Dedicated to training and developing others

Earning the trust of their team

By delegating authority to those they trust

Have you ever been disappointed

In the poor performance of a really bad leader

One who adopts the whack-a-mole technique to solve problems

Not listening to good advice from his or her team

Throwing all resources at one big exploding problem

While other brewing problems are neglected until they too explode

Bad leaders heap out blame and punishment

To distract from their lack of ownership

When they cannot extinguish the fire quickly

They will light a bigger fire somewhere else 

Claiming victory when the first fire burns itself out

While denying all responsibility for the second fire

Expand your vision behind infinity

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Take the time to teach yourself something new

 Reach deep into your inner soul

  You will find something hidden there

   To inspire you

    Once you have found it

     Be careful not to lose it

      Examine it carefully from different angles

       Challenge yourself to see something new in it

        Rub it gently until is shines brightly

         Enjoy the whole process

          Accomplishments taste sweeter when the work was hard

           Transform it into something unique

            Invest your best time in it

             Venture into uncharted territory

              Expand your vision beyond infinity

Sad eyes smile after passing shower

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Suddenly overcast

Rain clouds

Sunshine suspended

Gloomy skies

Sad eyes

Eerie stillness

Light sprinkling

Large drops

Advance party

Warning spots

Sudden gust

Howling wind

Sideways rain

Heavy torrent

Plantpots topple

Ground soaked

Puddles appear

Pedestrians scatter

Roadway flooded

Cars slowing

Trees swaying

Rain hisses

Foliage swishes

Traveling shower

Soon passes

Wind drops

Rain stops

Clouds drift

Blue skies

Sun shines

Road dries

Plantpots restored

Nature attacks

Nature resists

Nature survives

Step outside

Bright skies

Splashing puddles

Smiling eyes