Unreal City

(Picture Credit - Chichester Rd, Cleethorpes from Geograph org uk)

Running the gauntlet down Midchester Road,

A veritable suburb of Gleethorpes City,

You pass a line of house-castles

Of the well to do.

But don’t be fooled

By what you see,

For I know someone

Who lives there.

And he will tell you,

Of bountiful gardens

Stripped bare

And concreted over

So that families can park their fleets

Of expensive cars.

See those conservatory extensions

And widened pavements.

A lady poses,

Doing her best

To emulate the Kardashians.

Money attracts

No end of thugs

And dodgy dealers:

Swarming parasitic wasps

Around the honey pot.

Nights of drunken revellers

From the local pub:

Swaying from trees

And kicking cans about.

Boy racers tearing down the road,

Music systems booming

With a mindless

Moronic drumming.

“Where has reality gone?” asks

My despairing friend.

They have their money

Their riches,

Expensive toys

But few of them are Happy.

What happened to “Goodness” and virtue

And dreams of Utopia?

Where are the heroes

Inventors and creators?

Instead we have a world of celebrity,

In which true talent – even genius

Is ignored and undervalued.

“Where are we going?” my friend exclaims.

Things get worse and worse,

The world all in reverse.

For it’s “Unreal City”,

Far from pretty.

So have a think,

Don’t let yourself sink

Even further into the mire.

Just get real,

You know the deal,

It’s you I’m trying to inspire.

Paul Butters

© PB 2\8\2019

(With help from a bloke who lives in such a place).

The Purpose of Life

(Picture Credit - Cone Nebula by Space dot com)

Since ancient times crowds of men have asked:

What is the purpose of life?

Me included.

Since my later teens and into my sixties

I have wrestled with this question.

To me, it was never about wealth or status.

People waste their time

With such things.

So what should we do

That is Really Good?

WHAT is “Good”?

For me, Life as such is Good.

What use is the Universe,

With its sprawling galaxies

Of fire, rock, dust, water:

Incredible vistas

Shock awe

Eternally Infinite

What use without

A Witness?

We are that Witness,

But should we be much more?

And all I can think

Is to cherish all that lives,

As life itself

Is the most wondrous thing

Of all.

Our purpose then is to nurture

Life at it’s best:

To make it better and better:

Stronger and brighter

More intelligent

With more Love and compassion.

Some will say

Why ask?

Extraterrestrials may have

Another View.

We may be but bacterial infestations

To be cleansed away.

Yet other “Aliens” may well agree

With every word I type.

And like many of us humans

They may be warning

That we must take

Much better care

Of this Paradise

We call Earth.

I call myself a “Lifist”

A believer in

Christianity at it’s best

(But Not it’s worst),

And other Religions too…

So let’s take the best

Of these Beliefs,

Nurture Nature,

Love Life

And just

Get on with it.

Paul Butters

© PB 31\7\2019.

Sensations

(Picture Credit - "Uncharted book cover by sylvain sarrailh-Exploring Character Design" fr Pinterest)

Beautiful Sylvain valleys and grassy savannas sooth my soul,

As here within my compact brain-cave

My mind wanders

Though a Multiverse

Of Realms.

From unfathomable gorges and deep down oceans

Up to soaring skies,

My inner eyes take in

Vistas of Infinity.

Imagination has no limits

Being a blessing and a curse.

Endless dreams of gold and honey

Opposed by fears of monstrous evils

Too horrific to ponder here.

My Id keeps churning up all manner of memories

And creations of the brain,

While in the background

Music plays

Punctuated only

By my Inner Voice.

Words, words keep welling up

From subliminal springs

Deep within my head.

Words, images, sounds

Feelings, tastes and smells,

Reality processed and reformed.

Reality recreated indeed

In finest detail,

A confusion of sights and sounds.

Give me those balmy days,

High in the hills

And low on the plains.

Let me bask in glorious sunshine,

Take a slumberous siesta

Then quaff that golden nectar:

Any brew will do.

Lets be kings and queens

Of the poetic landscape

Enjoying all

That The Muses

Will sing.

 Paul Butters

© PB 26\6\2019.

Glory

(Picture Credit - Unsplash com)

Do not take glory from conquests and wins

Or climbing stairways into ivory towers.

Rather, take glory in Mother Nature’s work

And glorious sunrises and sunsets.

Oh those sun-down colours: reds and golds,

Deep purples backed by azure blue hues.

Every sunset unique

Like every swirl of clouds.

Yes every sky is different.

My mind makes pictures from those clouds

Except on days of formless, fathomless mists.

Beneath these skies

We have a lovely vista

Of trees and savannah.

Satellites show us a wondrous world

Full of amazing sights.

But best of all we have

People

And animals

Of all kind.

Folks with whom to share

This glory

The real glory,

Every day we waken

To greet the new bright day.

Paul Butters

© PB 29\5\2019.