Ghazoggerel….

I tried to write some sort of ghazal for Carol Rumens GU thread. The intention was to produce my usual sarky, cynical piece with a sour punchline but it didn’t turn out that way….heck, it’s not even a ghazal, although its influence is still reasonably obvious….

On-line

Tangling webs that we all love to weave
Practising daily our fake make-believe

Summoning spirits to speak in our name
Encouraging others to play a new game
Searching for ways to confound and deceive

Arguing, ranting, debating and quibbling
Looking for love or its more sordid sibling
Panting, romancing and hunting for Eve

Talking to those we’d pass by in the street
Making good friends we’re unlikely to meet
Clumsily offering help as they grieve

Questing for facts just to settle a quarrel
Reading hot gossip on people immoral
Proving ourselves to be rather naive

Giggling shamelessly each time we pun
Hoping that others are sharing the fun
Knowing it’s late, but you don’t want to leave

Dreaming of readers admiring our writing
Provoking our foes and enjoying the fighting
Forgetting reality, just being me

Today and yesterday….

A shame today’s wars have no parallel,
No yardsticks to compare the history
Of now with then. We are now free,
Free to ignore, free to forget the hell
Our yesterdays suffered. They fell,
We rose, climbing over them ruthlessly.
Of course we did! That’s what happens as we
Advance. Evolve. Whatever. We did it well.
We could have done better. We could have learned
The odd lesson along the way; improved
As a species. Maybe we could have turned
Away from violence, selfishness; proved
We really are evolving: is it that hard
To ditch the politician, keep the bard?

Poetry?

Lost Friends

Those lost friends. Where have they gone?
Best man at my wedding,
Best ear at confession,
Set as the sun.

Old friends, eh. Where are they now?
Dropped for doing better,
Stopped the Christmas letter,
No longer fun.

I remember the old friends.
The one who took to drink,
The one who let me down,
And me; the fool.

Friendship is a two-way thing.
I’ll remember next time.
Friends need not be perfect.
Where am I now?