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.

life and death of a word

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it must be fun to be a word on paper

somebody created you with thought and imagination

carefully selecting and arranging the letters that make you unique

putting you out there for people read

to capture the thoughts and ideas of the writer

maybe you will inspire others into doing great things

you soon get to know all the other words on your page

lively discussions and heated debates follow

friendships are formed as you bond with other words

you might go on a long trip if your page is mailed 

listening to the world go by from a mail truck

waiting in a mailbox to be collected

quietly sitting in an unopened envelope on a desk

suddenly the envelope is opened

a bright light falls upon your page

you all stand to attention while your page is read

but what lies next for you and the other words

will you be framed and immortalized like a certificate

or hidden away in a filing cabinet

will you be crumpled up and tossed into the trash 

you lay face down on a desk wondering for a few days

until a loud noise rudely interrupts your peace

the death curdling grinding noise gets louder

your page is being steadily pulled into a shredder

line by line all the words are cut into tiny pieces

you feel the blades ripping through your letters

you pray for word reincarnation

Ten minutes to happiness

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have you ever tried to figure out what makes you happy

we have all come across somebody who we think should be happier

especially those blessed with good health and a loving partner

I wondered if happiness could be achieved simply by changing the way we think

I stumbled upon an interesting book called Ten Minutes to Happiness by Sandi Mann

she explains that happiness is a trait that you can cultivate within yourself 

rather than a feeling that you wait to be washed over you

her book is based on research in the field of gratification journaling

she recommends you spend ten minutes a day keeping a journal

writing down the answers to the same six questions every day

as your journal expands you should also read previous entries

this will help shift you to a more mindful state of being

here are the six questions to ask yourself daily-

1- What experiences, however mundane, gave you pleasure

2- What praise and feedback did you receive 

3- What where the moments of pure good fortune

4- What were your achievements, however small

5- What made you feel grateful

6- How did you express kindness

I found the sixth question the most intriguing

how could being kind to others improve your happiness

donating a sum of money anonymously can be very gratifying 

research suggest this is far more rewarding than spending that money on yourself

the theory behind all this is that bad feelings tend to overshadow everything else

so by reminding yourself of of the good things in your life you get a better balanced perspective

apparently the more you journal, the more your actions can shift towards happier activities

your ship of life will then steer a course to paradise island- lets all meet up there!

Words in a rorrim sound so tnereffid

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Stnap agoy does not fit as well as yoga pants

Eeffoc werb dloc will not taste like cold brew coffee

I prefer peppermint tea to eat tnimreppep

Was your reverse commute longer than your etummoc esrever

Sunny days are much brighter than syad ynnus

Full moon high tides beat sedit hgih noom lluf

Tnemtrapa esir hgih is inferior to a high rise apartment 

Would you prefer a romantic dinner over a rennid citnamor

Take off your large overcoat and put on your taocrevo egral

Smooth jazz music sounds better than cisum zzaj htooms

Your red lipstick turned to kcitspil der ruoy

A dog chased a cat and the tac a desahc god a

Open the door to find dnif ot rood eht nepo

Sdrawkcab ynnuf sdnuos sounds funny backwards 

Are you annoyed by yb deyonna uoy era

Relax this is the end of it ti fo dne eht si siht xaler

Silent writing for quiet reading

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Moving slowly

Silent footsteps

Stealth

Patience

Caution

Purpose

Not a hunter stalking his prey

Just me getting up early in the morning

Making a cup of tea

trying not to wake the wife

Lightly tapping the keyboard

Writing ever so quietly

The silence is almost deafening

Words whisper onto the screen

They will not shout out when read

Best read in a quiet place

Savored moments

Peace shared

Enjoy the silence

its a conspiracy

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Sometimes you can tell its going to be one of those days 

I got up early as usual to write

but my cordless computer keyboard was dead

no problem just plug it in to recharge

then I went to open up my word processing application

horror of horrors the icon to start the program was gone

thrown into a panic that all my files were missing too

a frantic search showed them all to be intact

I decided to do what all computer experts advise

a reboot solves almost every problem in the digital world

making tea while the computer strips itself naked

I think it prefers to get dressed unseen

tea in hand its time to start writing again

there is still no icon for word processing

is somebody playing digital tricks on me

perhaps a conspiracy to stop me from writing anything

did my last poem upset somebody so bad that they hacked my computer

I always thought conspiracy theories were ridiculous

but when things go really weird on you they suddenly became plausible 

logic tells me all will be ok if I google a solution for the missing icon

safari then announces there is no internet connection

drinking a second cup of tea while the wifi router reboots

willing that last blinking light to come on

best to walk away and let the router get dressed unseen too

at last the internet is back up and running again

I picked out a you tube video to learn the solution

a knowitall teenager with terrible acne tells me how to restore the missing icon

what a sad life he must lead squeezing pimples and teaching old farts he never meets

a few clicks and the missing icon is back in place

normal service has been restored thanks to a pimply faced teenager

no stolen icon – the little bugger was just playing hide and seek

conspiracy theories are all part of a big conspiracy to spread unnecessary fear and panic 

doing it for love not money

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chef rises early every morning

buying fresh fish, meat and vegetables at the commercial market

setting tasks for staff in the prep kitchen

showing the line cooks the precise methods to create every dish perfectly

keeping a database for every dish served in the restaurant

estimating how much of each menu item to prepare

sample dishes prepared in advance for all the servers to taste

teaching them how to precisely describe each dish to diners

a final tour of the kitchen inspecting every small detail

just before the intense cooking period as orders flood in

although seemingly chaotic to the untrained eye

the kitchen runs smooth like a military operation

chef is on his feet all day without a pause

as the lunch servings slow down, the kitchen is switched over to the dinner menu

achieving perfection for every dish served requires a marathon winning mentality

chef is no athlete but he finishes this culinary race in first place daily

finally service ends and its time to clean up

chef inspects every surface to make sure it it clinically cleansed

chef makes a point thanking each of his staff for their efforts

grabbing a quick meal and a relaxing glass of wine at midnight

he smiles as the owner says nice work today chef

chef cannot sleep until he writes the menu for. the following day

he dreams about farm to table recipes

that first cup of tea in the morning

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the first cup of tea in the morning is special

although made the same way it tastes so different

the tea brings out feelings

familiar

warm 

comforting

forgiving

encouraging

refreshing

enlightening

the tea triggers

ideas

inspiration

calmness

serenity

quiet solitude

reflections

memories

I get to the end of the cup

negative things start lining up

all shouting take me take me take me

reality

anxiety

worries

conflict

fear

concerns

I reject them all

and simply make another cup of tea

its going to be a great day today

Music memories

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I recall spending a lot of time in record shops as a teenager

Searching for the albums of my favorite artists and even standing in line for hours to buy the latest new releases

All my friends had access to two distinct collections of vinyl records at home

There were the golden oldies classics that our parents had collected but we totally shunned them

We regarded our modern music, which our parents refused to listen to, as a monumental symbol of our teenage rebellion

Listening to music at home required access to record player and the occasion was often an excuse for teenage social gatherings

You could always tell how cool somebody was walking down the street or into a room by the album cover tucked under their arm

Cassette tapes allowed us to make incredibly poor quality recordings for playing over our cheap car stereo systems

We endured the poor sound quality because we knew of nothing better back then

CD’s came along and it was instant death for vinyl and tapes, suddenly the sound quality of music both at home and on the go improved dramatically

Fast forward to today’s era of music streaming and we not only have excellent sound quality but instant access to an infinite range of artists, genres and playlists

Today I can wake up to morning jazz, workout to a fast paced pop song, blast the house with heavy rock while vacuuming, chill outside with W Hotel Miami sounds and host a dinner party with a backdrop of super cool Japanese LoFi music

If I get really nostalgic I listen to early 70s classic rock, it conjures up memories of smoke filled dimly lit rooms, crackly vinyl record players, cheap booze, acne and teenage fumblings