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.

A perfect day

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I woke up restless

Bad thoughts filled my head

The dawn light was breaking

Wife was beside me sleeping soundly

Reality snapped back in

All was good, it was just a bad dream

Slipped out of bed to make tea

Birds were singing outside

I made a high protein breakfast

While hydrating to excess

Checked over my bike in the garage

Pumped up the tires and tested the brakes

It was time to get dressed

Heart monitor strap went on first

Then my bib n brace and cycling jersey

Loaded the bike with 2 full water bottles

Filled my back pocket with emergency supplies

Added a couple of energy gels

Bike shoes and helmet donned

Took the wife some hot tea

She was only half awake

Rolled out to taste the air

It was super hot and very humid

Started to pedal steadily down the empty streets

Soon met the rest of the group

We set off in a pace-line

Wheel to wheel matching speeds

The rider in front dictated the pace

While pointing out hazards ion the road

I took my turn at the front

Pushing hard into the strong wind 

Riding mostly on back roads with virtually no traffic

Great conversations as we whizzed by farmlands

We reached the half way rest stop

Time for a comfort break and a snack

More hydration and chatting ensued

Back in the saddle for the fast ride home

Mostly downwind so we could fly

Made it back home safely

34 miles on the computer

Lifted the bike onto the wall rack

Ate protein, showered and took a short nap

Tackled the rest of the day with vigor 

Did tons of stuff in the afternoon and evening

A perfect day

Sizzle sizzle

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No breeze

Oppressive heat

Horribly humid

Stale air

Energy sapping

Go shopping

Hot car

Sizzling seats

Short drive

Inside mall

Air conditioned

Smiling faces

Happy shoppers

Food court

Ice cream

Sticky children

Frazzled parents

Wander mall

Shop more

Buy stuff

Step outside

Humid inferno

Load car

Seats burning

Drive home

Stay inside

Well hydrated

Watch TV

Weather reports

Heat advisories

Global warming

Painfully evident

Cold winters

Fading memories

Sizzling summers

Endless heat

monster madness

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Monster trucks

Monster deals

Monster bargains

Monster meals

Monster houses

Monster debts

Monster mortgages 

Monster regrets

Monster politicians

Monster candidates

Monster elections

Monster debates

Monster earnings

Monster thieving

Monster poverty

Monster grieving

Monster problems

Monster sadness

Monster depression

Monster madness

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