Christmas 2020

 

(Pic Credit - Merry Chritmas Images dot info)

 

Thank Goodness Santa was exempted

From Covid Travel Rules,

So he could go and deliver

All those presents and shimmering jewels.

My great nephew and niece all smiles:

Look at their happy faces.

Santa did all those miles

And got to so, so many places.

 

He even brought me mine

Disguised as mail delivery.

Giving his reindeers time

To rest, for a while,

In their Lapland livery.

 

Top of the Pops at noon.

It was on so very soon.

Some nice tunes and jingles

Like a box full of Pringles.

 

Not quite Rock and Roll,

But still a hint of Soul.

Meaningful lyrics

And some atmospherics.

 

The Queen gave us Hope

With her speech at three.

No time to mope

Here in the land of the Free.

 

Trust you all enjoyed this festive day some way.

And let us all pray

That things get better

From New Year’s Day.

 

It’s time to conquer Covid:

About time I hear you shout.

It’s DNA decoded,

Vaccinations all about.

 

So twenty-twenty-one

Is coming very soon.

When this year is all done,

Let’s fly up to the moon.

 

Let’s fill the world with Love,

Holding hands again.

Goodbye to twenty-twenty,

Goodbye to all the pain.

 

Paul Butters

 

© PB 25\12\2020.

 

(Last two lines changed at the suggestion of Norman Stevens 27\12)

 

 

(Original final two lines were:

“It’s not a matter of whether,

Only a matter of when.” ).

Earth After People

 

(Picture Credit - Mythbuilders)

The wind and wild hounds of hell

Howl in unison

Over a desolate landscape.

Only a handful of us

Remain

Survivors of a cataclysm

That almost wiped out

The whole human race.

 

Now grand lady nature is taking back

Everything she ever lost

Or was robbed of.

Ivy, vines and other creepers

Clamber over the crumbling concrete castles

That once were our homes.

 

Roads crack asunder:

Cleaving city ravines where subways

Have collapsed –

New rivers for new times.

 

Angkor Wat has nothing on this:

City after city

Lost in tangled jungle.

Animal pets run wild,

Mating with wolves and wildcats

And God knows what,

To add to their strength.

 

Where nuclear power plants exploded

Unattended by humankind,

All is winter desolation,

Yet even there Nature is fighting back,

Reclaiming her grounds

Inch by inch.

 

Take a closer look at all these lands:

Nature is now flourishing:

Free of pollution

Carbon emissions

And Global Warming

Caused by “Man”.

 

The world has lost its top predator

And destroyer.

Meerkats and monkeys are the brightest now

Or maybe dolphins.

Dogs and cats are quite smart too.

But all in all

The world is so much better:

A vernal Paradise

For all

Except Humanity.

 

Paul Butters

 

© PB 21\12\2020. For Norman Stevens.

Pipistrelles

 

(Picture Credit - Hampstead and Highgate Express)

 

In bitter winds the little Pipistrelle bats

Flitter hither and thither

Into the hills,

Around tree-timber limbs

With brittle twigs.

They wing their way

In thrills

Of twists

And turns.

 

Meanwhile, deep down below

The cows moan,

Roaming through the range.

They moo while they chew the cud,

Ruminating their food

Grazed earlier from prairie meadows.

 

Through the long day

They are accompanied

By flocks of birds

Twittering and tweeting,

Much noisier than the bats.

A feather flung chorus

Singing operas and arias

Amongst the misty trees.

 

Word composers love these things:

Mother Nature wrapping us

In her arms

And filling the air

With sights and sounds

That sooth the soul,

Sending us soundly to sleep

While those bats

Come out to play.

 

Paul Butters

 

© PB 26\11\2020.

Blue Sky Sunny Day

 

(Picture Credit - 123RF com)

 A blue sky sunny day

To help us work rest and play.

As good as the old Mars bar,

It’s bound to take us far.

 

There’s nothing like some sunshine,

To put us onto Cloud Nine.

Filling us with glee.

Time for a cuppa tea.

 

Better still a beer,

I do wish you were here.

Can do the garden too.

Oh so much to do.

 

But the river keeps on flowing,

On to who knows where.

No idea where we’re going

Whenever we sail down there.

 

See that ancient ruin

Telling of times long past.

Something worth pursuing,

Longer may it last.

 

All is better for that sun.

We can have such fun.

Don’t just stand and stare,

Get out in that fresh air.

 

Paul Butters

 

© PB 23\10\2020 (3).

Life's Purpose

 

(Picture Credit - Unbridling Your Brilliance com)

Is The Purpose of Life

Just to be the first

To beat or cheat Death?

 

For The Grim Reaper stands supreme.

Some trees have endured

For nearly five thousand years.

And so-called immortal jellyfish

Can regenerate

Back to childhood

Sort of like Doctor Who.

 

But no-one has achieved mortality.

All we can do is pass the baton

Of Life

To the next generation.

On and on.

 

Smart science may yet allow us

To modify our genes

And make Regeneration

Real.

Or maybe transfer

Our Consciousness

Into some computer

Or Virtual World.

Who knows what our technology

Might do for us?

 

The Spiritual Way

Remains our only hope

Of Salvation from Death

Unless…

 

Paul Butters

 

© PB 23\10\2020 (2).

Mothers

 

(Picture Credit - K U Haessler on Shutterstock)

Mummy sparrow leads her chick

Into the garden.

A fluffy baby bird

Shivering

Vulnerable

Beak wide open

Demanding food.

 

So mother duly catches a grub

To drop it into

That wide open

Clamouring mouth.

 

Meanwhile, indoors, mamma dog suckles

A crowd of pups

All clambering at her belly,

Grabbing nipples

And sucking like there’s no tomorrow.

 

And in another house

Mother cat is feeding her kittens.

Indeed all around the world

All sorts of animals

Are getting fed by Mum.

 

But ah, I must stop writing.

My own Mum has called me to lunch:

Glorious stew and dumplings –

Dumplings so soft

With a hint of crust on some.

Followed by her tasty sponge

And custard.

Gran has helped her too

And brought us sweets

For later.

 

Mums and grandmas:

You can’t beat them.

 

Paul Butters

 

© PB 23\10\2020.