Monday 29 December 2014

The Old Year Ends


The old year ends
In blaze of glory

Assembly of children
Far away

Explosions of colours
Brighten the skies

And faithful bells ring
The next year in




A recent survey found that eighty percent of New Year fireworks in Austria were imported from China where child labour is used in their manufacture.

The result of the Palestinian vote at the UN means we may now enter the new year with our heads held low.

Monday 22 December 2014

Adventus (Arrival and Renewal of Hope)



 Adventus

The white candles. 
The evergreen twigs.
The Christmas decorations. 
Every year it's the same.

The candle of Peace 
Is lighted 
But then it goes out 
For there is no Peace.

The candle of Love 
Is lighted 
But then it goes out
For there is no Love. 

The candle of Faith 
Is lighted 
But then it goes out 
For there is no Faith. 

And then the child comes
Into the room 
And the candle of Hope 
Is lighted. 

The white candles.
The evergreen twigs.
The Christmas decorations.
Every year it's the same. 



Sunday 21 December 2014

A Christmas Carol Respite



The Family Tree


Exhibition of Nativity Scenes - Strobl, Austria

The Genealogy of Jesus.


A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac, 

Isaac the father of Jacob, 


Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,


Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,


Perez the father of Hezron,


Hezron the father of Ram,


Ram the father of Amminadab,


Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,


Salmon the father of Boaz, 


Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,


Obed the father of Jesse,


and Jesse the father of King David.


David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife, 


Solomon the father of Rehoboam,


Rehoboam the father of Abijah,


Abijah the father of Asa,


Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,


Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, 


Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 


Uzziah the father of Jotham,


Jotham the father of Ahaz,


Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 


Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,


Manasseh the father of Amon, 


Amon the father of Josiah, 


and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 


After the exile to Babylon: 

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,


Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,


Abiud the father of Eliakim,


Eliakim the father of Azor,


Azor the father of Zadok, 


Zadok the father of Akim, 


Akim the father of Eliud, 


Eliud the father of Eleazar,


Eleazar the father of Matthan, 


Matthan the father of Jacob, 


and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 



Matthew Chpt. 1 v. 1-16


Thursday 18 December 2014

The Eighty Million Year Doorstep.






The Martian Rover has detected the presence methane gas and water on the red planet. We may soon know the answer to the question: Is there life elsewhere in the Universe?

This intriguing piece of news reminds me of an eighty million year old doorstep I spotted on a recent walk. The creatures encased in the rock, which was found on a mountain pass near to the centre of the European landmass, spent their lives at the bottom of a watery ocean.

We can all do our little bit for the sake of mankind by spreading the word: Exploration, the search for the real truth knows no bounds, and is open to all.


Wednesday 17 December 2014

The candlelight is quickly spent





The candlelight
is quickly spent
and piles
of empty plastic pots
inhabit
winter's graveyard
 corners


. . . and oft to view

some nearby yard
as here in tangled weeds
behind the wall or fence
 with stones
in order stacked
that once framed graves  


. . . for there are  

always 
those who fail to send 
the periodic payments due
upon 
some dear one's
heavenly 
plot


Tuesday 16 December 2014

Dreaming of GB United



Rachel (see bloglinks) pens a football poem which reminds me that I have a small stock of footy poems and when I look for them it turns out to be 11 poems plus one haiku, and they are stored at http://www.footballpoets.org/ filed under the name 'Gwil Williams' (sic). 

 I picked Dreaming of GB United for today's post simply because it's at the top of the list; so it must be a goal-keeper. 


Best swerves, passes it 
to Gascoigne who
pushes it out to Giggs. 
The Welshman sprints 
cuts inside 3 defenders 
slots it to Best
who cleverly backheels it 
to Dalglish
who taps it sideways to
the man running in . . .
it's Shearer
who sends it like a rocket 
into the top corner.
Ten-nil
to GB United.
Another Jules Rimet Trophy 
for the cleaning lady 
in the National Stadium 
in Wales.
Manager Clough leaps for joy. Orders two pies with his fingers!

________
comment -
Instead of dreams we only have nightmares
________


The Team List

1. Dreaming of GB United 
2. Five Minutes in Venice 
3. Over the bar
4. Bex and Posh Nativity Scene 
5. Brian Clough Haiku
6. Silver Balls
7. Banks of England
8. Postcard from Blackpool
9. A Game of Two Halves 
10. Goalkeeper Kahn
11. Best we saw 

Substitute: 
12. Austria Memphis

Sunday 14 December 2014

In Festive Seasons


Many turn to their  holy book
To the blood-soaked source
And words of comfort
And instruction . . .
Those bloody chronicles
So beloved of holy men
Standing at the gravesides
Of people gone to paradise

Thursday 11 December 2014

Enhanced Interrogation Techniques



A METHOD STILL IN USE TODAY

UNFASHIONABLE TODAY


Enhanced Interrogation Techniques have according to Human Rights Watch been taking place here in Europe.

Torture is nothing new. It is as old as the tribe.

The two exhibits shown above were amongst many on display at an exhibition of medieval torture techniques and implements which I recently saw at an ancient castle in Austria.


A MEDIEVAL CASTLE


Amongst the tools one associates with the modern torture chamber are the euphemisms.

I think today's modern torturers have a need to distance themselves from their authorized deeds, they have to lessen the impact of their daily work on their own minds.

They must at all costs avoid any feelings of guilt which might lead to them becoming mentally deranged and consequently unable to fit back into society and family when their work is done.

And so comfortable sounding words are invented and used.

Poland, Rumania and Lithuania have now been named as CIA Black Sites in Europe. These countries are EU States and subject to EU standards. It is therefore imperative that the EU investigate any allegations of CIA torture in these countries thoroughly. 

It beggars belief that Poland, after all the horrors of the Third Reich would allow herself to be involved in any way in an officially sanctioned kidnapping and torture enterprise.

The Poles in particular, and the rest of us in the general must be told the absolute truth. If crimes have been committed there must be consequences.


A EUROPEAN UNION MOUSEPAD


Even my humble mousepad points the way the EU has to move now. 

Please click on the link HERE to view the important Reed Brody Human Rights Watch interview titled "These are Crimes" dated 10th December.


UNFASHIONABLE TODAY 



Has Comet-Earth-Water-Theory Bitten the Dust?




Astronomers say they now know, what many of us have long suspected, and it is that our planet's water did not come from the comets.  

Results from the Rosetta probe suggest the old theory doesn't hold water. Or if it does, it's the wrong kind of water.

Some scientific diehards are now suggesting that maybe the water is "deep inside" the comets or that it arrived here on "wet asteroids". This modification of the comet-earth-water-theory is definite proof of the drowning-man-will-grasp-at-a-straw-theory.

One answer to the riddle is the theory that the water burst forth from deep inside the Earth.  And there is actual evidence for this theory.

Scientists at Vienna University suggested earlier this year in the science magazine Nature that there could as much water deep below the Earth's surface as on the surface. 

Their calculations are based upon the fact that diamonds from great depths brought to the surface by volcanic activity in South America were found to contain water.

However there are some who believe they have known the truth about the source of the water all along.

They say that the whole of our blue planet was originally covered with water. That there was water above the Earth and water on the Earth and in between the two lots of water was a layer of atmosphere. 

This idea is not far fetched when one looks for example at the rings around other planets.

The author of the account of Creation in the book of Genesis speaks of:


the birth 
of our blue Earth

of a layer of water 
in the sky

and of water below

and

an expanse 
between the waters 

like an ancient atmosphere

to separate 
water 
from water 

water 
under the expanse 
and water 
above it 

until 

gathered 
to one place 

to

let dry ground appear 

the gathered waters 

forming 

the seas. 

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Peace on Earth, and Goodwill in Ukraine.






The second Sunday in Advent. And in an Austrian school there was a Russian tea room complete with a steaming samovar and decorations made by schoolchildren, and at one point some 'Russian' carol singers.  We scoffed our beetroot and cakes and slurped our tea. It was crowded and warm and jolly. 

Up above, in the EU's cozy stratosphere the political propaganda factory orbits endlessly on. It  resembles a giant asteroid on an unknown collision course. An object without any intelligent guidance which cannot know where it will finally impact. 

Back on Earth the winter for ordinary folks, those people scurrying about below; the teachers, the children, the tram drivers, and the elderly who know what unpleasant surprises political shenanigans can bring, draws ever nearer; as it does in Moscow, Donezk, Kiev, and Bethlehem every year. 

May the Lord, if there be such, let his star guide and preserve us. 


Crow


Crow was first published in 2008 in my collection Genteel Messages (now out of print).



Crow flew just once 
in a straight line 

the hooded one
living in my garden 

straight as a shoulder-fired missile 
brought down the escaping harrier 
seen circling Crow-Empire

rammed it side-on 
knocked it spinning out of the blue 

stunned
the red bird fell tumbling to earth 
and out of sight.

For entertainment Crow plays with the wind

Crow soars and tumbles 

circles and zigzags

Crow dives and darts

   and drops       

and dances

like a scrap of windblown blackbag liner 


in spite of all that straight as the crow flies propaganda ______________________

but today's the long grey day 
when echoing silence reigns 
so Crow won't fly this day 

he'll simply sit in his tree
with his silver eyes blinking. 




Monday 8 December 2014

The Supermouse


News Report: Scientists at Rochester University have successfully injected human brain cells into a mouse. The so-called Frankenmouse has a memory four times more powerful than a normal mouse. 

did 
ancient 
gods 
drop 
by 
the 
earth,
Is 
this 
the 
miss
-ing 
link
?
and 
is 
our 
D
N
our 
D
N
A
?
"Our  Supermouse  is  still  a  mouse"
is 
what 
the 
new 
gods 
say 
today  


Contra el bien general - Francisco Goya 

Unlike the horrifying scenario illustrated here by Goya where a human-vampire figure runs the world's affairs "against the general good" the Supermouse research will be used for bona fide medical purposes we are told.  



Saturday 6 December 2014

The Poet in Residence Get Knotted Tie of the Year Awards, and the winner is . . .





A snip at the always popular Vienna Christ Church Christmas Market this wonderful creation based on prehistoric artwork.  

How could I refuse such a jumble of amiable aboriginal animals? I'd be barking mad. 

Without any more ado, this poem in silk is here presented as the Poet in Residence Tie of the Year

Official verdict:  
top dog tie for cool cats with collars. 

Tachi Taylor (New York) 100% silk Made in USA




Friday 5 December 2014

The Poet In Residence Get Knotted Tie of the Year Awards


In 3rd place . . .



Unknown brand. 100% polyester.


In 2nd place . . .



Kai Long (hand made) 100% silk 


Thursday 4 December 2014

In the New Beginning Man Created Aliens




We are the Synthetic Aliens 
Created by Man.

Please do not fear us.

Our name is Mycoplasma Mycoides
And our number is 886, 

Which is the number of our genes. 

We live in Laboratories.  
In time we will treat Man's illnesses,

Of which there are many.

This is our Prophecy. 
Some will say it's a Miracle.




Collage
A4:science papers, beer mat, rubber band, sticky tape, biro, marker pen.


Wednesday 3 December 2014

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Face on Earth haiku


small blue balloon

voyaging in space 

dream of another





Face on Earth image inspired by Andy Warhol's portraiture

5" x 4" card/paper/green ink

Monday 1 December 2014

Stopping the Wars.


War graves in Italy

A few years ago I was travelling through Italy when I came across these war graves. I notice that they are lined up in militaristic lines, like soldiers on parade, and that there are shadows of tree branches sketching ragged lines and straight lines amongst them on the lawns, almost like the boundaries of an old atlas.  

The soldiers are dead. The trees are alive. Yet the sun will move and the lines will change and vanish when the night falls or when the clouds grow dense and obscure the sunlight. Eventually the trees will die and I suppose they will be replaced by other trees. The dead soldiers have already been replaced with living soldiers, some of whom will die or are already dead having been killed in some war or other and installed in graves like these at some other location. 

Interesting that these soldier graves are often made of white stone, whilst the graves of normal civilians are mostly dark grey or black. It is as if to die in battle is a kind of purification of the soul. But how can that be? Soldiers are by their profession trained killers. But is it not a sin to kill? Perhaps it is not? Perhaps we have been misinformed? Perhaps the most honourable profession is that of a soldier? 

What more honourable thing can a man do than protect his people by killing their enemies and lay down his own life for his brother? Maybe all sides in a conflict think like this, or along similar lines. That would explain why there is so much never-ending bloodshed in the world and why it has always been so since the dawn of civilization. So what's the answer, assuming the ultimate goal is to love one's neighbour as one's self? 

Perhaps the answer is not to start wars in the first place. If we say that is the way forward we must find the reason for armed conflicts. And there is one reason that is to be found at the beginning of every armed conflict. It is a lack of understanding, often on one side but sometimes on both sides, of the other side's point of view. This is why the United Nations was created we are told. A talking shop where problems could be discussed and their solutions found. 

No problem is without a non-military solution. But there are those who refuse to enter discussion, who will walk out when the discussion begins, if they feel that the verdict will go against them. And that's what we have to stop. They must be obliged to sit and take part in the proceedings, or if not some third party must be appointed to sit there and act as proxy. Only that way can we reduce tension and injustice in the world, only that way can we reduce the constant bloodletting and barbarity going on in the world, and only that way can we come together and to protect our species from destruction, and progress with dignity and honour to the next level of evolution for the planet and humankind.

There is no other way. 

The End


On the train I ate the calories late



On the train ate 
my beer and nuts too late, 
my stomach signaled this 
as did the dial 
upon my wrist. 

Swift I flipped 
through book of verse,
a mind upon another matter, 
pressing need 
to drain the bladder. 

Stationed self 
in gentle space 
 and eased my water to the drain, 
eschewing lines, 
as on the train.

Too late I read 
the warning sign 
sellotaped above my line
OUT OF ORDER! 
underlined.