Weary Wednesday
Too far from the weekend
Lets figure out a new system
Maybe have 1 Wednesday a month
But that would mean uneven weeks
Wednesday should be abolished completely
Leaving a 4 day working week
Thursday will come around faster
Lets rename Thursday junior Friday
So after working 2 days
You have 2 Fridays
No more weary Wednesdays
Just Monday Tuesday double Friday
Then its the weekend again
Oh bonnie Scotland
I do miss you so
Your beautiful glenns are calling me
Memories of long hikes through the heather
Often battling through rainy days
Warding off the nasty biting midges
Being rewarded when the sun returned
Big mountains stepped out from the clouds
Raging rivers fed the huge lochs
I have felt the energy of your rugged landscape
It builds strong characters
It shapes a nation of hard working people
Who craft the finest single malts
Proudly displaying their heritage
Fiercely guarding traditions
I can smell the steaming haggis
I can taste the single malt
I can hear the piper playing
I can see the glenn
I can feel gentle rain they call scotch mist
I feel the urge to go back
Oh bonnie Scotland
I do miss you so
Today I woke up early as usual
Instead of writing I rode my bike
Along lanes lined with crops of tall corn
Beside dew ridden fields
The sunrise was spectacular
A wayward fox glanced my way
I rode long and fast
Dark clouds loomed
Rain approached quicker than the weather man promised
I raced home chased by the storm
Light drizzle for the last 10 miles
Finally home safe
Minutes later the heavens opened up
So what did I learn today
Firstly never trust the weather report
Early morning is a great time to exercise
I can ride longer and faster than I ever believed
Especially when being chased
Self preservation is an instinct
Its harder to write in the evening
My thoughts are drowned in fatigue
drink a minty lime fizzler with friends
garnish a salad dish with fresh mint
sip on a mint tea before bed
make a mint smoothie for breakfast
sprinkle mint on yogurt with berries for a healthy lunch
freeze some minted basil pesto for a future gourmet dish
make mint ice cubes for fun drinks
mint cake with lime chocolate after dinner
roast lamb with mint sauce for dinner
minty sugar snap peas side dish
raspberry mint jam on your scones
minty watermelon and cucumber salad on a hot day
couscous tabbouleh with mint on a cold day
minted beet salad best eaten with a napkin and a bib
lemon mint curd dessert please
mint cucumber tomato sandwich snack
strawberry mint chicken will raise an eyebrow or two
put lime mint jelly on your Caribbean roast lamb
munch on warm toast with minted butter by an open fire
drink mint juleps while watching the Kentucky Derby
deliciously delightful
increasingly frightful
nighttime wonders
daytime blunders
finders keepers
grim reapers
silent whispers
truth twisters
politicians lies
rebels vandalize
hopeless homeless
hapless hostess
mobile phone
spying drone
pandemic rages
dark ages
virus spreading
unknown heading
social distance
masked resistance
hope lost
dreams tossed
businesses closing
presidential dozing
vaccine trials
hopeful smiles
covid waining
stop complaining
English summers are all about cricket
The sound of willow on leather
Players in crisp white flannel uniforms
Overweight umpires giving the ‘out’ signal
Frequent delays for rain or bad light
Always a break for afternoon tea
Deck chaired spectators dozing on the lawn
Woken by cheers from the occasional boundary six hit
But everything changes in late August
Football (AKA soccer) season kicks off with bang
This is not a sport for dozing seated elderly gentlemen
Its in your face screaming tribal warfare
Rival fans pack the stadiums taunting each other
A heavy police presence prevents violent clashes
The teams take the the pitch and battle commences
Its a game of passing and constantly moving
A mixture of strategy and elegant movement
Patterns created by the constantly changing formations
Its speed chess on steroids mixed with heavy metal music
The ball bounces all over the field seeking a goal
Suddenly an opening appears and brilliant pass is made
The striker runs on taking the ball goalward
The goalkeeper spreads large in a desperate last defensive move
The striker delicately chips the ball over the goalkeeper
It rolls into the net as the crowd goes wild
Loud chanting erupts as the winning fans celebrate
The losing side battles hard to equalize
Intense physical tackles with frequent trips are penalized
Players go down like 9 pins writhing in agony
Only to jump up seconds after the referee awards a yellow caution. to the offender
Fans are whipped up into a frenzy as the gladiators fight it out
It all ends after 90 minutes of play and a victory is declared
Mud splattered players walk off to shower and gloat
Winning fans go home singing about victory
Losing fans go home in silence plotting revenge
The cycle continues twice a week for 10 months
Until you once again hear willow on leather in summer
I have always been curious how things work
as I child I disassembled my toys
wanting to know what was inside them
I soon learned how to reassemble and repair them
my first bicycle was an old wreck
I acquired many abandoned bikes
swapped out components to customize mine
it had spring forks and chopper style handlebars
my dad bought me a car before I could legally drive
that mini sat outside our house while I rebuilt it
a full engine strip down and repainted body
I knew every nut bolt and washer on that car
it was a given that I went to engineering school
learning about the science of what makes things work
doing fun experiments with jet engines and heat pumps
I worked part time building oil tankers in the local shipyard
my bachelor degree was in mechanical engineering
I became a development engineer in the nuclear energy business
in my spare time I built a fully fledged racing car
I became a weekend racing driver and mechanic
home ownership brought new challenges
I soon learned how to fix plumbing and electrical stuff
I designed and built additions to that house
creating more space for our growing family
my first computer was a basic BBCB
I spent many hours taking it apart
as a self confessed geek I had to know how it worked
I moved on to build my own desk top computer
in later life I developed a fascination with human biology
I became a volunteer EMT with the local fire department
I learned how to stabilize sick and injured people
fixing the human body is the ultimate challenge for a geek
Cycling is a lot of fun most of the time
Especially in rural areas
You can quickly get off the beaten track
Cruising along open countryside
This morning I saw a wild turkey hen
Stepping out into the road ahead of me
Seven chicks followed her close behind
Racing for cover in the trees on the other side
I joined my riding group 5 miles in
Setting off on a 30 mile ride
Mostly on quiet roads next to farmland
The cornfields were high and lush green
The soy beans were growing fast
We saw plenty of deer in the fields
Startled by our stealthy silent approach
Formations of geese filled the skies
Each one taking a slight aerodynamic advantage
The one at the front doing most of the work
We do the same by cycling a tight pacewline formation
You can see a lot from a bicycle
On the main roads there is a constant stream of litter
Mostly crushed discarded been cans and fast food wrappings
Evidence that passing cars toss out their trash on the move
We have to navigate carefully around these hazards
Especially the broken beer bottles
Unfortunately today one was hidden in partial shadow
Resulting in a slashed tire and instant blowout for one of our group
Cycling is a lot of fun most of the time
Except when you encounter shards of discarded glass
Passenger: I think its up here somewhere
Driver: what side is it on?
Passenger: not sure, I think maybe on the left
Driver: OK just tell me when to turn
Passenger: left right here… be quick!
Driver: do you mean left or right?
Passenger: turn right here!
Driver: I am making a right turn
Passenger: why didn’t you turn left like I told you?
Driver: because you first said left then changed it to right
Passenger: no I didn’t
Driver: yes you did
Passenger: no I didn’t
Driver: yes you did!
Passenger: I told you to turn left right here
Driver: next time you drive
she stepped out into the crisp early morning spring air
birds singing the dawn chorus to greet her
the pale blue sky had been delicately painted onto the calm waters of the bay
the marsh was starting to shed its brown winter coat and change into green for the summer
the sun was not up but the cloudy eastern sky was orange ablaze in anticipation
a lone waterman glided over the mirror like surface
speeding towards crab pots with hopes of a bumper catch
rhythmically flowing ripples ran from his boat to infinity
carving up the perfectly reflected sky painting into a torn canvas
when the boat was well gone and the ripples were just a gentle swell
the sky began to gently repaint itself on the water
she treasured these still moments that touched her soul
she loved way the bay and the marsh gifted her changing portraits
the pre-dawn era was brief but seemed never ending
the sun burst over the horizon with enthusiastic abandon
dormant still air was nudged into movement by the warming sun
gentle breezes began a whispering dance over the bay wiping out the reflected sky
she took one last breath of the intoxicating morning air before going inside
with a gracious thank you she she sealed the images in her mind
it was time to face another day laced with work, chores, family and errands
mixing with the poor souls who have never learned to worship these wonders
she will return for her daily dose of bayside nature tomorrow
Cheeky Monkey Poetry 