Poetry

Poems

To Unravel the Brexit Conundrum

To unravel the Brexit conundrum
You are first to consider the source
For the man at the seat of the problem
Was putting the cart before horse

Silly David thought this ought to show them
I’ll put the whole thing to a vote
And then when the dust has all settled
I’ll stand in the clearing and gloat

But David was smug and conceited
He hadn’t considered the cost
Of losing support of the people
Their confidence in him was lost

So when you’re unsure of your status
And you’re worried of things going south
Don’t call for a new referendum
Just shove your whole foot in your mouth

The next one in line was Teresa
She didn’t know where to begin
Delay was her ultimate tactic
Defeat was her ultimate end

And now the baton passed to Boras
The future is dim to be frank
Expect him to focus on money
Whatever his buddies can bank

To unravel the Brexit conundrum
We need to return to home rule
Not put our reliance on puppets
Politicians, time wasters and fools

And think with concern and with courage
And act with compassion and heart
The masters at last of our future
What we should have done form the start

                        Joel Mason Houck 30/09/19

First of October
Sad news from an old friend
Brings floods of tears

I remember Harpers Ferry
Sitting together with our coffee
In the innocent arrogance of our youth

Though we are many miles apart
I would miss you terribly
If you left this earth

Broken Glass

Architecturally speaking
It’s bizarre to say the least
And no matter how you flatten it
It’s now forever creased

And there could be a diamond there
Amongst the steel and brass
But you would never know
Because of all the broken glass

I Want a Coastal Rowing Woman

I want a coastal rowing woman
One who is strong and brave
And does not behave
The way other people think she should

I want a coastal rowing woman
Who doesn’t care If her roots are showing
Or if the wind is blowing
As long as she can get on the water
Not because she has something to prove
But because it doesn’t even occur to her
That she should need to

I want a coastal rowing woman
Who is brave and strong
And can do no wrong because
She sets her own rules

Who knows a clove hitch from a sheet bend
And does not bend my words around
            To make me sound wrong when I’m not
Because what would be the point

I want a coastal rowing woman
Who jumps out of the boat first
Into knee deep freezing water
For no other reason than
She is furthest forward in the skiff

            While Biff and Ken and Barbie sit
Cowering in the spray of an otherwise beautiful day
And say, nay bray, “I want a café latte”
Oh for god sake, belay that shit! Ok.

That’s why, at the end of the day
I want a coastal rowing woman

                        Joel Houck 06/04/2019

Wednesday Last

On Wednesday last the modern stoic changed his mind
That he was not a drifter but in fact a bedouin
And suddenly he was home

Life

Life moves on
And lessens the weight
Of living

A Cheeky Poem

Though I no longer see your face
Your Kind humanity and grace
Are stored within this lovely vase
I keep upon the mantel

Kim

Lying by your side
I feel
My heart
Made whole again
Alive inside me
Once more

Awake

In the dim light I trace
The gentle curve of your hip
Made more graceful with living
Deeper and
More beautiful

Come old shoe
And nest thoughtlessly
In my strong and failing arms

Lying by your side I can do anything
Anything but sleep

Odo to Sligo Youth Theatre

Amidst the war and pain and yelling
There is a cure for social ill
An aide administered by telling
All our hearts and minds to fill
          With stories of our own

And they will make the rivers run
The forests spread beneath the sun
And they will make the mountains rise
The youth of County Sligo

The beauty waiting in our souls
Is handed down throughout our past
Its power hot like burning coals
Is hard to find but made to last
          And stand the test of time

And they will make the rivers run
The forests spread beneath the sun
And they will make the mountains rise
The bards of County Sligo

The daily news is good to hear
And passes quick from day to day
But more important to our ear
And more important still to say
          Are stories of our making

And they will make the rivers run
The forests spread beneath the sun
And they will make the mountains rise
While kings and gods with thunderous cries
Salute the youth and spread the word
The greatest stories, warmest songs,
And theatre, it all belongs
To those along the Garavogue
The mythic bards of Sligo
          Joel Mason
          August 25 2002

I've never posted someone eases poem to my page before but I am very proud to include this one. My friend Eileen and I share the unfortunate circumstance of having Parkinson's and Eileen expresses one of it's frustrations so simply and so eloquently.

Mistaken Identity by Eileen Blackwood

"Is that Parkinson's?"
Said a man on the bus
I wanted to turn but
I'm stiff and don't like fuss

"Yes", said a woman
Who seemed to know
I wanted to turn and
Tell them "No"

It's Eileen, with Parkinson's
That you see
I may have Parkinson's but
I'm still me!

I lie awake listening to the sound of my heartbeat
Softly, quietly, slowly
It pumps my life's blood

In cinematic perspective
The camera zooms in

Pause

Fade to black

Heartbeat continues
Softly, quietly, slowly

And stops

Nothing

No meaning
No redemption
No persecution
No afterlife

Nothing

The purpose of life is to live
Have fun, and leave the world a better place than when you found it

And, oh yes, Love

Five hours to Harrisburg

Five hours to Harrisburg I think it was
A bucket of chicken and a counter clerk fishing for a tip
Full tanks of gas, another laugh in a long line of running jokes
Tired eyes and cheeks burnished bright by jovial comradery
Like cowboys pushing matter-a-factly on to the next thing
Oblivious to the concept of nine to five or mine and only mine
Living moment to moment as if that’s the way it was supposed to be
Alone on the road in the company of so many that have gone before
Alone in the habit of being men, or at least being guys
Boys, the sons of our mothers
Living the secret lives of boys, laughing and joking and deep down inside feeling
Comfortable together on mars on our cattle drive
Driving our facts, fictions, and faults before us.
jm 24/01/02

Legacy

I could feel your heart beside me
As I began to realize
And then the sight of candlelight
Reflecting in your eyes

We talked into the evening
I walked you to the stair
You kissed my cheek so gently
I left the future there

The timing wasn't for us
You stepped behind the do0r
It closed without our wanting
I never saw you more

Now many years asunder
With oh so slight a shove
Your memory like thunder
Still inspires me to love

Some Time From Then

It doesn’t last for ever so enjoy it while you can
That’s what they say to newlyweds with knowing smiles and sheepish glances
To their own mates

But in those glances you can read
A deepening a tiny seed
A caring of another breed
A love that’s still expanding

Adjusting to a different life
Is full of things you cannot see
With lots of little ups and downs
And sometimes very big ones

But every day I see in you
The girl I saw across the floor
The graceful woman dancing past
Who drew me from a distant shore
And every day I love you more

Though life is full of ups and downs
And sometimes very big ones

We enter in a richer phase
With smiling glance and sheepish gaze
And I will gladly spend my days
In love that’s still expanding

jm Feb 2005

Common Ground

Truth and might seldom found
Both upon common ground

Meet the beast fox the hound
Here upon common ground

Duty calls honor bound
Try it on common ground

Choose a side gather round
Right will win on common ground

Facing fate life unwound
No such thing as common ground

jmh 15 July 2015 10:59 am

A Moment More
By Joel Mason

No one ever pointed out
That being someone's wife
Would mean that every morning
I'd wake up and you’d no longer be
The man whose words would lift me
To the first step of the day

I wish I could have known
How much I love you when it counted
Let me be your little girl
For just a moment more
Come hold me in my daddy’s
Arms for just a moment more

Finale

UNTIL THE END OF TIME

The love in my heart passed to you
Ensures that I live on
Today into tomorrow
Into all the lives that follow
Until the end of family line
Until the end of all known time
Until the end of endings
Every reason every rhyme
And so shall I forever live
Until the end of time

(8:30 – 9:02, 16 February 2012)