LIFE AND DEATH

I'm not scared of dying
Far from it,
As I'm more frightened of life,
It tests one's mettle
Like kissing a nettle
Or scratching your eye
With a knife.
Life can be a ball ache
A never ending fight,
Only reaching some finality
After years of drudgery
Toiling and banality
Death suddenly
Extinguishes the light.

Once lay in the ground
Or scattered in the breeze,
My space taken by another.
They'll breathe my spent air
Maybe sit on my old chair,
Though we didn't share
The same mother.
A conveyor of flesh
That grows, ages and rots
Like fruit from a gargantuan tree.
Every life and death
Exhales a last breath,
And so, do we go anywhere after?
Well, let's see.

Phil Hall October 2017
Copyright:Philthepoet61.blogspot.com
Picture: Crapart by Phil Hall 2017

PIG IN A FIELD

They say there's now't as queer as folk,
Scratch below the surface
And see what's revealed.
It's said that a pet is a reflection
Of the its owner,
Though I'll say nay lad
Not if they've a pig in a field.
Cat owners should be strung up
But it's keepers of dogs
That need a good slap,
Who on earth would be dragged
By a mutt on a lead
Then have to pick up their crap.
Iguanas,  tarantula,  chinchillas
And even rats and piranhas
Have all in a way appealed.,
But,  the person who wins my vote
Is the young lady in East Yorkshire
Who owns a pig in a field.

Phil Hall. December 2016
Copyright philthepoet.blogspot.com

ALWAYS

Although I cannot hear
You're always near,
Although I cannot see you
You're always dear.
My father, my hero, my dad
To think of you
I'm glad
Sometimes sad,
Always with me
The days we had.
You shaped me
Moulded we,
Made the family
To what we'd be
Our rock

Our oak tree.
Far off days
Memories
Of the old ways,
Respect and regard
Always,
My father
Until the end of days.
Thank you father
Thank you dad
I miss you.

Phil Hall.  February 2016
Copyright philthepoet61.blogspot.com

HAVE A WORD

I want to have a word
A word with myself,
But, not as I am today
No no no.
I want to talk to the youth
The boy I once was,
Full of fire, flights of fancy
And bursting with vigour.
Wildly optimistic,
Forever unrealistic,
The world to me
Just a playground.
I burned with notions
Smouldered with emotions,
The future was over there
So very far away.
I was young, fit and strong
I was never wrong,
There was no time for tomorrow,
All that existed was today.
I'd tap myself
On the shoulder,
Converse with authority
Clear voiced, not too loud,
Your world is here
Not up there in the clouds.
Tell me of the places been
People met
And wonders seen,
To work out who I am
And what life means.
I want to have a word
A word with who I was before,
As I stand here with greying hair
Bemused expression
And withering stare.
Creaking joints and aching bones
Voice stentorian, even monotone,
This is what you've become
The final portrait
The answered sum,
I'm not you anymore
What is it you see?
This is your future
Do you really want to be me?

Phil Hall.  January 2016
Copyright philthepoet61.blogspot.com

Mousehole

REFLECTION

At a time of happiness
Why am I sad?
When all around is jollity
Faces glad.
Where health and wealth
And friendship had,
My mind in pain
For blood gone bad.
At this time of plenty
I cannot see,
Because the nest is quit
Scattered family.
The glue has loosened
Upon now fallen tree,
But, what did one expect?
It's not all about me.
I see the past
All the lost years,
I feel the pain of age
And it's attendant fears.
My reflection smiles
Though it masks the tears,
Sadness wells inside me
I miss my peers.
The reflection fades
Sunset quickly follows dawn,
Tiredness and lethargy
Aching bones and stifled yawn.
The faith in my soul
To which I was sworn,
Has comforted me
Since the day I was born.
My sadness always arises
At this time of year,
With the coming of Christmas
And all its warmth and cheer.
The yearning for the past
Misty memories, thoughts unclear,
But those fading pictures
Once again bring my family near.

Phil Hall
Copyright. Philthepoet61.blogspot.com
December 2015

THE WALK

I'll walk with you
Talk with you,
If you were a bird
I may even
Squawk with you.
I'll walk in the park
With you,
Lark with you
And if you were a dog
I'd probably
Bark with you.
I'll walk by the sea
With you,
Just to be with you
And even if
You were wrong
I'd agree with you.
I'll walk on by
With you,
Lie with you,
Hold your hand
And even cry
With you.
I'll walk a mile
With you,
Climb the stile with you,
See the world
Taste it's delights
And smile with you.
I'll walk with you
Talk with you,
I'd toast us
By pulling a champagne cork
With you,
But above all
I just want to be
With you.

Phil Hall    January 2016
Copyright philthepoet61.blogspot.com.