I have so much to be grateful forYou’d think life should not be so hardBut life is not that simpleHow was my day? Don’t askI’d have to explainWhy mum held meIn her armsWhile ICried#notasbadasvogons Continue reading MOP 2022 Day 23

BecomingOne stepThen anotherClimbing reachingResting breathingBegin againOnward upwardAlways forwardLeave behindUnneeded unhelpful Yesterday’s thingsNot forgotten Learned fromCarry onwardPast lovesTreasured piecesBuilding blocksLinking shapingUnfinished foundationKeep moving Curious hopefulCompassionate kindDiscover tomorrow Familiar unexpected Rueful resoluteWiser proudThe personYou areBecoming#notasbadasvogons Continue reading MOP 2022 Day 22 – Saturday challenge: two-worder poem about becoming

Once my dreamsWere all about flyingI’d run downhillSometimes for funSometimes escaping An ill-defined threatBehind meToo hard to see clearly While fleeing Downhill Through the treesThat I remember being plantedIn the groundsAt my primary schoolThey had magpies living in themIn later yearsRunning faster and fasterFlight requires a certain momentumBefore feet will leave the groundAnd frantic kickingLaunches a body into the airInto freedomExhilarationNot at all easyBut it workedWhereas throwing oneself At the ground and missingDidn’t I knowDream me tested itMy dreams aren’t like that nowThere’s no speedNo exhilaration No freedom It’s all struggleFrustrationConfusionUphill battlesThreats I can’t fleeMy body almost irrelevant I’m arguingPersuadingProblem … Continue reading MOP 2022 Day 21

A Shadorma for Lapsang Souchong steam coiling dancing as tea poursfrom the potfragrant warmthsweet pine smoke earthy comforthands cup heat, breathe, drink #notasbadasvogons Continue reading MOP 2022 Day 19

Did you knowThat when what you aim forIs actually within your reachThat suddenly Even the hard stuffBecomes easy?This is okI am contentWhat I have hereAnd who I am nowIs enoughTomorrow I will likely forget thisAnd I will believe againThat I ought to be doing moreWanting moreBeing morePerhaps having written it downWill help me rememberAnd this moment of peaceCan hold fastAgainst the endlessRelentless Barrage#notasbadasvogons Continue reading MOP 2022 Day 16

It’s our first week back at workAnd I sit behind the reception deskSo people keep asking me“How was your Christmas?”Or greeting me With “Happy New Year”Which is confusingBecause Christmas wasn’t And New Year was months agoSurely?I’m very bad at lying I hesitate Then tell the truthThe short version With the worst bits left outWhich turns out to be okLots of the people askingThen share their own talesOf a less than perfect holiday seasonSo many of them grandparents Who couldn’t be with familyAnd we laugh together Saying “Could have been worse!”Which is true#notasbadasvogons Continue reading MOP 2022 Day 13 catch-up

A Triolet For Troubled TimesMy family’s phones shout “Covid contact!”But I can’t find a RATest anywhere Though I know my own risk is slim for a factMy family’s phones shout “Covid contact!”And I feel beholden to the social pactTo test just in case ‘cause it spreads through the airMy family’s phones shout “Covid contact!”But I can’t find a RATest anywhere #notasbadasvogons Continue reading MOP 2022 Day 14

It will happen, one dayThat all the lost things Will be foundThere have beenToo many yearsOf losing thingsThe urge and inspiration to make things Ways to be part of creating fun for othersThe key for the sewing cabinetIn which the sewing machine is lockedRendering it unusable My copy of Swallows and AmazonsThe rest of the Christmas decorations The habit of listening to musicSinging along knowing every wordAnd being soul fed by itThe charger for my Go-Tcha Those very expensive sunglassesMy Nana’s trifle bowl I was sure I’d keptAnd the recipes written in her handOn yellowed sheets of paper The last … Continue reading MOP 2022 Day 12

A tanka for my first day back at work in six weeks The biggest problem With a very long work break?The pain when it endsBut then oh how wonderful Finding it’s actually fun#notasbadasvogons Continue reading MOP 2022 Day 10