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.

Put some travel in your belly*

Ian Hunter4 Comments

I have been so fortunate to travel extensively

exploring many places and seeing spectacular sights

tasting some incredible food along the way

the pandemic put a big damper on all travel

I had to find other ways to satisfy my travel urges

travel documentaries are fun but its not the same as being there

I seem to gravitate toward travel shows with a culinary theme

then the penny dropped

I can still travel around the world while staying at home

I just have to eat my way to different places

some nice fresh sushi sends me to Japan

moussaka magically has me mingling in Greece

nasi goreng has me noodling around Indonesia

swedish meatballs send me to Sweden

a rice and beans dish races me to Mexico

pho floats me all the way to Vietnam

pizza and ice cream puts me firmly in Italy

Irish stew with a Guinness has me shipped to Ireland 

kibbeh kicks me over to Lebanon

ceviche has me salivating in Peru

I can sip a fine port and be pondering in Portugal

a spicy chicken vindaloo curry whisks me off to India

magret de canard with a glass of Bordeaux makes me go to France

tapas takes me straight to Spain

moules frites has me mulling around Belgium

doner kebab delivers me to Turkey

poutine has me plodding around Canada

hot dogs heroically have me habitating in USA

Peking duck propels me to China

roast beef dinners religiously deliver me to England

haggis and a fine single malt heave me all the way to Scotland

pad Thai puts me perfectly into Thailand

dim sums deliberately drive me to Hong Kong

when my travel belly gets really big and pendulous

I check myself into solitary confinement for some dreary travel free dieting

Gerry the crow*

Ian Hunter3 Comments

my name is Gerry and I am a crow 

we are members of the corvid family

my cousins are ravens jays and magpies 

us crows are very intelligent birds

smarter than some primates

probably smarter than a lot of humans

if you see us all falling about laughing

its probably over the dumb antics of a human 

we do get a bad rap from other birds

I admit that we occasionally steal their eggs 

but they always lay plenty more

to be sure their own species survives

crows are despised by humans

they use our name to insult women

we crows are much more civilized

I married Dahlia three years ago

I would never stoop so low to call her an old human

we are a devoted couple and will stay together for life

unlike other birds who are polygamous

you will never see a crow at a bird swapping party

why do so many humans cheat on their partners

no wonder almost half human marriages end in divorce

we crows are civilized and live together in a family group

our sentries keep a lookout for owls and hawks

humans call a group of crows a murder

another example of how rude they can be

we crows use tools to get food

dropping hard shells onto rocks for example

some humans cannot even open a can of beans

humans are so wasteful with their food

we know how to open trashcans to get their leftovers

our ancestors were persecuted by humans

they tried to shoot us all to extinction

crows would never participate in such ethnic cleansing

we got smart and moved to the cities and suburbs

nobody shoots crows in urban areas

we often witness humans shooting each other though

Rock on

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I like rocks

they are good to hold

rough ones are originals

bits of broken mountain

carried around by ice age glaciers

abandoned when the glaciers melted

buried in soil for thousands of years

a time capsule waiting for you

collect enough and you could 

rebuild that old mountain

smooth ones have been shaped

by centuries of tumbling in rivers

pick one up and examine it

feel the history in your hands

telling stories to your fingers

put it to your ear

listen to that ancient music

of roaring rivers and babbling brooks

collect a bunch of them

listen to them all together

have a rock concert

I want to be an Eastern Shore Cowboy

Ian Hunter6 Comments

my first car was a Mini

it had an orange roof

that little car brought me lots of luck

but I have never owned a pickup truck

my next car was a beach buggy

made from a trusty old VW beetle

people always stopped me to take a look

but I have never owned a pickup truck

my next car was a Triumph Dolomite Sprint

a tow car for my Mini Cooper race car

back then I was still a crazy young buck

but I have never owned a pickup truck

my next car was a Ford Capri

sleek lines and two tone metallic finish

some said the paint job was simply yuck

but I have never owned a pickup truck

my next car was a Ford RS2000

A highly tuned yellow noisy beast

one day it was stolen and boy that really did suck

but I have never owned a pickup truck

my next car was a big boring Volvo 240

because my kids came along

it developed a lingering smell of baby muck

but I have never owned a pickup truck

my next car was an NSX

my mid life crisis mid engine supercar

I took a girl for a fast ride and she was totally awestruck

but I have never owned a pickup truck

my next car was a Japanese SUV

lots a room and a soft couch like ride

4 wheel drive just in case you got stuck

but I have never owned a pickup truck

I want to ride on the beach like an Eastern Shore Cowboy

annoying country music playing ever so loud

shotguns in the back to shoot some wild duck

my next car will be a pimped out big ass pickup truck

Float days are fun

Ian Hunter4 Comments

its good to have plans

establish milestones and goals

set objectives to meet them

diligently work on tasks towards your goals

pause when you have reached a big milestone 

bathe in the glory of achievements

but only celebrate for a short while

then get back to working on tasks

however, there will be some days when you can’t seem to focus

maybe your energy level is low

or you just can’t get motivated

if you have the flexibility, give yourself a day off

declare a float day

a day to float around doing almost nothing

turn your phone off and stay off the grid for a day

let your mind float too

keep it empty of worries about things to be done

let your thoughts float freely

dream a while as you are floating

at the end of your float day, pause to review your plans

determine if they are taking you where you want to go

adjust your plans and get back on task

it’s not healthy to be running full steam ahead all the time

you can still get there with a bit of floating now and again

float days are fun

Don’t throw away all the memories

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his wife was complaining about all his stuff in the attic

he reluctantly decided to go through all the old boxes

stuff that had been put away for years

obviously not needed but for some reason never been discarded 

he sifted through the contents of the first small box

a tin box full of foreign coins

memories of his traveling days flooded back

places he had visited on business trips and vacations

images flashed through his mind for each coin he touched

an old watch that no longer worked

it was of no value except it belonged to his father

he wound it up and it started to tick

he could hear his father’s voice again

he missed him so much

a notebook from many years ago

containing wish lists of things to do and places to see

they had written it when first married

he read off each item slowly

pausing to recall the joys of each achieved wish

trying to remember why some never happened

bunches of keys from previous dwellings

he held a front door key tightly

remembering opening that door many years ago

seeing his young children run to greet him

they are grown now with kids of their own

a big old bulky calculator he used in college

reliving the hours he spent solving problems with that

the stressful times of exams

he could remember all those long hours of study

he did find some bits and broken pieces

and a collection of old pens and pencils

he carefully put them in a paper bag

before closing the box

he had removed less than ten percent of the contents

over dinner that night his wife cornered him asking if he had cleaned out everything in the attic as promised

he hesitated before saying he had cleared some of it from one small box

she pushed him harder wanting to know why he was keeping all that junk

he insisted that it might be a small box of stuff but it contained a lifetime of great memories

she could see he was getting upset and gave him a big hug

whispering to him softly “I am so sorry, please keep your boxes full of memories”

he replied “thanks, I did clear some space for us to make a few more memories”

The light switch*

Ian Hunter4 Comments

the light switch flicks on

to bathe me in light

and will equally switch off

to plunge me into darkness

always obedient

never judgmental

totally dependable

the light switch never lets me down

patiently waiting

happy in either state

non discriminatory

welcomes anybody to operate it

then came the smart switch

voice operated by Alexa

void of human touch

this switch has a brain

to control its actions

but brains can be unreliable

they don’t always hear what is actually said

Alexa turn on the bedroom light I command

I don’t know that skill she answers

I tell her she is not so smart

she thanks me for the feedback

I start to curse Alexa

as she gives me really smart answers

but the light stays off

in desperation I unplug the smart switch 

revert to manual control

the light switch lives again

forgiving my foray into the smart world

obeying every flick of my finger

without ever answering back

smarter than a smart switch

I love my light switch

The marsh

Ian Hunter3 Comments

Betwixt dry land and the brackish eastern shore bays

Lies a place where human footsteps are unwelcome

A no-mans land invaded twice daily by tidal water

Drenched vegetation thrives

A haven for wild birds seeking food and shelter

Sturdy grasses cover these wetlands

Changing colors with the seasons

Lavish green in warm summertime

Brown is the fashion for cold winter and spring months

Occasionally snow covered

Frequently lashed by high winds  

Still air hovers between gentle breezes

Shrubs anchor to the ever soaked floor

Welcome to nature’s water treatment factory

Mussels cling to the fragile shoreline

Crabs feed in the shallow pools

Small fish hide from hungry birds

Ospreys swoop in to grab nesting material

Black snakes patrol in search of unsuspecting rodents

Ticks crawl onto any passing mammal

Mosquitos emerge to seek out blood

The dreaded green-head flies attack with no mercy

Bullfrogs sing through the night

Raccoons wander around looking for trouble

Herons strut to their favorite ambush place

Noisy geese invade the silence

A fascinating place to visit and observe

Constantly threatened by development and pollution

Watched over and protected by the Assateague Coastal Trust 

This is the marsh

Boating at sunset

Ian Hunter4 Comments

sunsets are so special when you are boating

drifting in a gentle breeze

sipping wine and playing soft music

watching the sun kiss the horizon

as she reflects in the water

and paints the clouds pink

slowly falling out of view

her last gasp is almost audible

before the night sky creeps in

the moon becomes the bright queen of the night

stars and planets emerge from the sunless sky

night time is also special when you are boating

until you hit a crab pot while cruising in the dark

More stuff

Ian Hunter3 Comments

I need more stuff

cannot get enough

stuff it in a drawer

no room for more

buy another drawer

where has my can opener gone

just buy another one

I need more stuff

cannot get enough

buy stuff in a store

buy online for sure

cabinets are bursting

no time for cursing

I need more stuff

cannot get enough

stuff on the floor

no room for more

cut to the chase

rent a storage place

I need more stuff

cannot get enough

I said to myself

we need another shelf

cannot find the right tool

feeling like a fool

Amazon is so cool

click click bought another tool

I need more stuff

cannot get enough

house is full of clutter

I must be a nutter

its just a problem of scale

house is now for sale

bought a bigger home

to the store I roam

stuff I must buy

please do not ask why

I need more stuff

cannot get enough

ran out of cash

credit card splash

within a short minute

hit my credit limit

I need more stuff

cannot get enough

piling up debts

repossession threats

people taking my stuff

I need to get tough

no money left to buy

I sit around and sigh

I need more stuff

cannot get enough

the idea of stealing

sounds so appealing

I denied and protested

but still got arrested

innocence pleas no avail

judge put me in jail

sitting in an empty cell

feeling slightly unwell

recognizing my affliction

admitting my stuff addiction

I have had enough

I do not need any more stuff