We suddenly became aware of
his lonesome presence not far away.
Perfectly still, he perched mere metres
from where we sat behind the glass.
He gazed disdainfully at us through
his alien eyes, dismissing us,
before, with a casual flick of his feathers,
launching himself from the plum tree branch.
We had an unexpected visitor in the garden the other day.
(20.12.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo Muséum de Toulouse, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The contented sound of bike wheels whirring
The lights remaining green
A slice of toast that’s browned just so
Remembering a dream
Predictive text that gets it right
Recalling someone’s name
A cup of tea that hits the spot
Unwrapping a new game
Holding an audience in my hands
The ridiculous neck of a giraffe
The sound of sparrows playfully squabbling
An innocent toddler’s laugh
A guitar that’s stayed in perfect pitch
Finding the end of the string
This is a list of some my
All time favourite things
Waking up before the alarm
And seeing your face smile
Realising there’s time to look again
And waiting there awhile
When Google reminds me of a memory
I actually want to see
A carefree day that’s spent with you
There’s nowhere I’d rather be
I’ve just finished Harry Baker’s poetry book, ‘Wonderful’. One poem is a list of things that bring him pleasure. Here are some of mine.
(19.12.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Nel Ranoko on Unsplash
That strange out of body feeling,
As you venture out for the first time,
To find the world has continued without you.
Peripheries blur in slow motion.
You float above your advancing steps,
Wondering if Armstrong felt like this.
Someone has switched gravity off,
Time is definitely running slow,
But being out? That’s one giant leap forward.
Having written a poem a day every day since the start of August, the momentum finally went last week when we all came down with the flu. Back into the fullness of life this week as we head towards Christmas.
(18.12.24)
I could have done without the flu,
This early Christmas gift that’s left
Me having to choose between the things
I should be doing, and disappointing
Those I’d said I’d help.
The timing could have been better….
(08.12.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Oh, the irony
Of developing symptoms
Whilst we’re watching House
Hoping sleep will see this off…
(07.12.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
In bed, Storm Darragh wakes me
Blustering down the chimney
Rattling window panes, and
Disturbing creaky doors
I picture leaves outside,
Spinning, like tossed salad,
Awakened with a dousing
Of nocturnally sprinkled rain.
Is that the sound of waltzing
Wheelie bins joining plastic
Bags in promenading
Gracefully around the lawn?
I worry walls might join
The dance, with flirting fence
panels. rockin’ and rollin’
To the rhythm with wild abandon
And as the show crescendos,
Car sirens sound in rapture
And trees applaud, their branches
Bowed in adoration.
It was a noisy night last night! Thankfully, all was ok when the morning came.
(06.12.24)
I made it to the 6th
with not even a hint
of you know what…
But then, before Storm Darragh
hit, George Michael tapped
my careless shoulder.
It isn’t fair! Even
storms these days come
with warning.
I didn’t stand a chance…
(05.12.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Leo Wieling on Unsplash
There’s a certain symmetry
to walking the streets
delivering cards
These cards depict
the familiar scene
of Mary and Joseph
They’re kneeling beside
the only famous
manger known
Here the newborn
Christ-child lies,
come to walk in ours
I’ve been delivering the church’s Christmas cards around our local streets today, pondering the Christmas story as I did so (John 1:14).
(05.12.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Image by Andreas Böhm from Pixabay
Sometimes a poem arrives unbidden
You’re simply minding your own business
And in it barges unrequested.
On other occasions you start to write
And hunting with your pen you stumble
Over it’s fully formed treasures.
And sometimes you have to fight for it
Like Jacob, refusing to let go
Of it until you receive its blessing.
Inspiration is a slippery thing…
(04.12.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash
I patched, I pumped, I pedalled.
Like Caesar’s veni , vidi , vici, today I triumphed.
(03.12.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by paolo candelo on Unsplash
Ode for the Day 