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.

Travel Blog finale

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Street party for the Queen

We paused the travel blog while we spent three weeks catching up with family and friends. Today we are flying back to the US so its a good time to reflect on the last three weeks in the UK.

Its hard to describe the pain of being physically separated from loved ones for three long years. For sure we kept in touch virtually throughout the pandemic but its not the same as being together. With the lifting of lockdowns, travel restrictions and quarantine, we planned this three week trip across the pond. We took trains, planes and drove a rental car to be greeted with long hugs from loved ones. We broke bread, drank wine, sipped on many wee drams of fine single malts in front of real fires as we treasured every precious moment of being reunited with our family.

We visited our favorite places in the Scottish highlands, making new memories while reminiscing of previous adventures together.

My daughter moved out of London during the pandemic, taking advantage of remote working to relocate to the beautiful countryside of East Sussex. We fell in love with the Downs, cliffside walks and cute medieval villages there.

During the height of the pandemic, we listened to the Queen of England promising that we will endure the separation of lockdowns and one day all meet again. How fitting that her platinum Jubilee occurred during this trip. We celebrated in style with 5,000 people in the UK’s biggest street party spanning 1.7 miles of the Morecambe promenade. My sister’s jam scones tasted devine as we sat waving Union Jack flags while sipping warm English beer. God Save the Queen.

We shall indeed meet again.

Red cushion breaks the code of silence

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The red cushion was resting peacefully

On the teal blue leather chair

A prime position in the room

To witness all that happens

I asked him boldly to tell all

He remained tight lipped

Refusing to break the honorable cushion code of silence

I offered him a stiff drink

In the hope it would get him talking

After three more he started to loosen up

He leaned close and in a low whisper said

They usually start drinking before dinner

He makes those cocktails way too strong

They switch to wine with dinner

Piling the dirty dishes in the sink

The poor dishes stay unwashed until late the next morning

Drowning in cold water

They usually stay up very late

Binging on Netflix into the wee small hours

The both drink scotch after dinner

Most nights they fall asleep watching TV

Usually she goes to bed first

She turns off the TV

Leaving him snoring

He crushes that poor yellow cushion

Who winces every time he slumps in the recliner

Eventually he drags himself to bed

Leaving the poor yellow cushion gasping for breath

I asked him if they ever behaved really badly

Oh you would never believe it

I have seen things go on that would make your hair curl

I filled up his empty glass

Hoping for him to reveal more

But he suddenly remembered his code of conduct

Shaking his red head in defiance

I sensed he was about to clam up

I asked if anybody else in the room might talk

He pointed to the carpet

With a strangle look of intrigue on his face he said

Just ask the carpet about that huge stain in the corner

The rose journey

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On a cool morning in Bogota Columbia

A beautiful red rose stands proud in a large field

Bathed in sunlight

Nurtured by experienced growers

Its time to harvest

The rose stem is cut

It joins a bunch of roses

Packaged in a large box

Shipped by truck to the airport

Flown to the US

Trucked to a flower store

Arranged in a chilled display cabinet

Purchased by a loyal customer

Driven from the store to his home

Presented to his wife

Lovingly placed in a vase

Celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary

He always bought her red roses

He gave her a card

Inside she found a note

These roses have travelled far to be with you

Now is the time

For us to visit their home

There were also two plane tickets

A few days later they flew to Columbia

A driver took them to Bogota

She smiled when she saw the fields

A sea of red roses she beamed

The farm manager gave them a tour

She stopped to smell the roses

He cut a bright red rose for her

For the journey home he said

She held the rose in her hand

All the way to the airport

She carried it on the plane heading to the US

They were stopped at the border and customs control

The officer spoke apologetically but firmly

So sorry Mam you cannot bring flowers into the country

The confiscated rose was tossed into the trash

An unceremonious end to its short life

His wife shed a tear

Never mind said her husband

I will buy you another rose

Lets drive straight to the flower store

She smiled and squeezed his hand

On a cool morning in Bogota Columbia

A beautiful red rose stands proud in a large field

Zip it up

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zip up your pants

hopefully the zip does not jam

its a long way to walk home

with your hands covering your exposed crotch

zip up that dress

its very hard to do alone

especially if the dress is way too small

and shows off all your slippage

zip up the tent flap

to keep the bears outside

bears do not know how to operate a zip

its now safe to cook bacon inside your tent

zip up your mouth Mr Politician

its not about the amount you speak

the quality of your words is unacceptable

unzip only when saying something meaningful  

zip up that big family portrait file

its too big to send via email

the file will be creased and wrinkled when unzipped 

the faces in the photos will look much older

zip up that history lesson

the inventor of the zip was a very sad man

he never recovered from a broken relationship

he spent the rest of his life seeking closure

Barry the brick

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Barry the brick was made in 1940

he sat in a yard for a few years waiting for somebody to buy him

maybe I will be in the facade of a grand building he thought, or perhaps near the front door of a small family home

he hoped it would be somewhere with lots of activity

one day in 1954, a truck pulled up and a man started loading bricks

the bricks were all excited and looking forward to an adventure

Barry was fortunate to be loaded on the side of the truck where he could see out

the inward facing bricks asked Barry to tell them what he could see

Barry told them they were passing open fields where cows and sheep grazed

we are going down a lane towards an old derelict farmhouse, they seem to be in the process of rebuilding

the truck stopped and all the bricks were unloaded in a pile

they started chatting about who would end up where in the wall and who would have the best view

the next day the bricks were picked and placed next to a wall

one by one they were cemented into the wall, they were all facing outward and had a great view over the farmyard

Barry was placed high up and had the best view

when the construction was finished, the bricks watched the old farm being transformed into a vineyard

they saw grapes being harvested and wine being bottled

soon there were daily visitors, wine tastings, parties and live music

they watched the vineyard being passed on to other generations as time rolled on

by 2019,  a few of the bricks became loose enough to sneak off the wall at night and steal wine from the tasting room

they would bring it back to share with all the other bricks in the wall

they had wild parties and told stories late into the night

Barry got so drunk one night that he fell off the wall and smashed into the yard below

Barry never recovered but the other bricks held a celebration of his life

he had seen a lot during his 79 years

RIP Barry the brick. 

Bridezillas and a piece of rock

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Diamonds are just stones

Hidden in rocks

Yet they take on a new meaning

When mined cut polished and mounted

To the extent where they become

An absolute must have for most of us

A typical engagement ring 

Costs two months salary

Thats a huge chuck of change

For a piece of rock

That you can easily lose

Over the course of a marriage

If you could measure your marriage commitment

By the price ticket of your engagement ring

Then surely the wealthiest couples

Would have the lowest divorce rates

Unfortunately studies have shown 

That those with more expensive engagement rings

Have higher rates of divorce

Maybe its not such a wise choice

To spend a college education budget

On that bridezilla wedding

With an expensive shiny rock on her finger

Would you care more about 

The size of your daughters wedding ceremony

Or the happiness and duration of her marriage

Enjoy the ride

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sometimes life is like being a tightrope

a constant battle to balance everything

one slip and you face eternal doom

however many careful steps you make

you can never seem to get beyond the middle of the rope

the end is in sight but you just cannot get there

you might see carefree people dancing on their rope

others walk their rope with eyes closed oblivious of the dangers below

when something makes you lean over to one side

it takes enormous strength to keep yourself upright

if you can find your equilibrium its an easy journey

so what is the secret to keeping everything balanced

you would not choose to ride a bicycle carrying a heavy bag in one hand

wearing a back pack will help keep you balanced as you pedal

riding uphill is less effort if you discard all those unnecessary items

so think carefully before taking on any new tasks or burdens

when you do take on a burden keep it well balanced

celebrate the gift of riding your bicycle along the tightrope of your life

enjoy the ride and marvel at the beautiful scenery along the way

Fun Time, a zip ode by Sam

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Today we are proud to have a guest poet

My 9 year old grandson Sam wrote a special poem for you all today

Its a Zip Ode poem which uses his zip code to determine the number of words per line

We hope you enjoy and we look forward to posting more of Sam’s poetry

2 Fun times

14 let’s head down to Lovely Up Farm it’s always fun and exciting go now

8 we will have a party with cheese puffs

6 and drinks with bubbles and food

8 sandwiches with ham and cheese and cucumber slices

8 colorful balloons filled with helium and plastic streamers

10 monster slippers everywhere, go on wear them, try something new

Happy Cheeky Monkey Birthday!!!!!

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Cheeky Monkey Poetry is one year old today!

We have posted 379 poems and attracted 160 followers

Its been a fun year posting something every day

A big thank you to Addison and Abby for creating and maintaining the website

Many thanks for all your comments and feedback, they mean a lot

We have decided to keep up the challenge of posting daily for another year

Stay Cheeky!

Dare to read a map

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GPS navigation makes it so incredibly easy to get around

Ask your phone to find a place and let it guide you turn by turn

You hardly have to look at the map on the screen

You will get there without knowing exactly where you are long the way

Its very practical but robs us of the joy of map reading

I remember being taught map reading at school

Using contour lines to see the shape of a mountain

Learning the symbols for overhead power lines and monuments

With a bit of practice anybody can navigate well with a map

That hike through a new area becomes less daunting

You can chart your own path with a pencil line

Spotting the landmarks along the way to stay oriented

But then comes the fun part of discovery

Oh look there is a lake over to the side according to the map

You might deviate from your original course to get there

Perhaps discovering a real gem of a place to hang out and enjoy

Somewhere special that you will mark on the map

To revisit many years later to discover how much it had changed

Noting how maturing trees had blocked the view of the water

Spotting new roads and buildings that were not on your old map

It gave me an understanding of how things evolve with time

I learned a lot from those days of wandering with just a map and a compass

It was fun to plan a journey to a new place

Taking a train to a town you have never been to

Asking directions to the nearest bookstore to buy a detailed map

Charting out a walking path to the next village

Meandering along river banks and canal tow paths

Stopping to smell the roses and take in the view

Dare to turn off your GPS and wander somewhere unfamiliar with just a map