Surviving portaloo roulette
And alcohol rub on broken skin,
Finding faith and hope in doubt,
And old friends, new friends, heavenly kin.
Chatting with the poet Paul
(See I can name drop too although
Predictive text turned that into
Babe drop but that’s no place to go).
Martin Joseph apologising
To George whilst summoning the sun,
Avoiding all the forecast rain
Until it all came all at once.
Singing Bohemian Rhapsody in
The dark until the power returned,
Helping strangers push their buggies
Stuck in the post-storm muddy churn.
Singing along with men from Leith,
The main stage headline show
All treasure found in the field beneath
Us even as we let it go…
Some if the highlights from today’s Greenbelt.
(28.08.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Author: BenDQ
Poem 985 – Let It All Go
I started to strip on the A1:
Flung off the keep moving facade,
Peeled back the constant focus
On nothing but the urgent,
Discarded the pretence
That everything was fine.
These layers were left everywhere,
Leaving me feeling vulnerable,
Unnerved but somehow open.
Outside the wipers washed
The windscreen clean again,
Allowing me to see.
The rain began to clear.
It’s been a bit of a year with one thing and another, but Greenbelt has always been a chance for me to reset and recharge. The theme this year? ‘Let it all go’. This feels strangely apt.
(27.08.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Poem 984 – Another Day Done
One word at a time
A poem for every day
A habit is formed
Keeping the streak alive
(26.08.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Poem 983 – Life on Ice
Life’s like ice skating
Sometimes it feels like you’re flying,
Moving so freely through the days
With effortless style and grace.
Other days you get caught in a rut,
Find yourself wobbling violently
Or crashing headlong into a barrier.
Sometimes it’s not even your fault (but sometimes it is!)
Both occur to all of us.
Be kind to yourself, don’t scream and rant.
Pick yourself up if you need to
And don’t hate the one who glides past – next time it may be you.
That snapshot, that moment in time
When you pull it off, or you fall in humiliation?
It is only that moment. It does not define
What came before or what happens next.
So don’t judge yourself or those surrounding you.
We are all Torvill and Dean sometimes
and for those who remember,
Todd Carty in Dancing on Ice…
Went ice skating today…
(25.08.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash
Poem 982 – Za Za’s Bazaar
Senses are assaulted by the noise
and colour in this street of food.
It seems as if a thousand tongues resound
around us along with colour, scent and sound.
A flash of flame elicits gaps of joy
as frying noodles are skillfully tossed for show.
Children pile their plates with beige while adults
are tempted to test their pallets with something new.
Somewhere Za Za must be happy watching
customers in his raucous world of food.
Enjoyed a stunning lunch at Za Za’s Bazaar today.
(24.08.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Poem 981 – Solsbury Hill
We climbed the slopes of Solsbury Hill,
So steep, they made our hearts go boom.
But oh, the view! No eagles here
But rolling hills beneath the blue
And twinkling lights reflected on
The windows far below, the crisp
And crescent shapes of Bath, a song
of angelic soul and limestone bliss.
Enjoyed a walk with friends up Solsbury Hill today (yes, that Solsbury HIll!). What a glorious view.
(22.08.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Poem 980 – The Wake’s Men Laugh (The Ballad of the Wake cont.)
‘The Conqueror has it surrounded,
This dreary isle of Ely,
His men have marched around its bounds,
No one is free to flee here.
Before too long they will drawn in
And squeeze this human noose,
Be wise your fools and join with us,
Or gasping you will lose!’
At this the Wake’s men laughed aloud
At Warenne’s men’s attemps,
To lure them from their loyalty
To Hereward, to across the sea,
An impotent act of conspiracy,
That inevitably failed to ferment.
‘How long, you wretch, will you moan on,
And try to turn our heads,
We won’t betray our Lord, be gone,
And whine at him instead.
Withdraw in haste and tell your man
The one he seeks is here,
Now run away as fast as you can,
Or our javelins you’ll fear!’
Hereward’s men are not for turning!
(21.08.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Bohdan Hyrovych on Unsplash
Poem 979 – Place Holder
I will not be defeated
By a lack of meter,
Or abandon rhyme
For a lack of time,
And so this offering,
Although a little thin,
To keep the juices flowing
As now I must be going
That’s all folks…
(21.08.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Poem 978 – Ready, Steady, Retreat
Packing for Greenbelt
Stripping back to the basics
God and rain ready
Canvas is beckoning!
(20.08.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Poem 977 – Contentment
Sat in the back of a foodbank van, the sun
is beating on my face. Right now this is
a happy place. I note the irony.
I tell myself it doesn’t matter what
you have, that things don’t fill a soul or make
you whole. That’s easy to say when you have things.
I have things. Too many things it’s true.
So many things I freely throw them in
the dump. That’s not a boast but a confession.
Once, a wise man found the secret of
contentment in plenty and in debt. Perhaps
I need to find it. …But maybe not just yet.
Musings whilst sitting on the back of the foodbank van today…
(19.08.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Autotrader UK on Unsplash
Ode for the Day 