Entertainment

Poem 531 – Farewell Hot-Lips

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Farewell Major Houlihan,
The rose within ‘The Swamp’.
I never understood just what
You saw in Major Frank.

Or how you coped with Hawkeye Pierce
Or B. J. Hunnicutt,
The crossdressing of Corporal Klingor,
The madness of the camp.

But this I know, without your heart,
And mastery of stitching,
Our MAS*H would tear itself apart,
Its characters conflicted.

I was saddened to hear of the death of Loretta Swit, famous for playing Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in MAS*H, today.
(30.05.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Image Public Domain

Poem 472 – Watch the Date!

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Spaghetti trees and panda eggs,
Flying penguins pass in packs,
Des Lynam praises staff behaviour,
As fists land blows behind his back.

Planetary alignment weakens gravity,
Trampoline aisles in supermarkets,
Anton du Beke joins Ant and Dec
My favourite April Fools Day pranks

Some classic childhood favourites (and a newer one).
(01.04.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Denis Agati on Unsplash

Poem 468 – Side A

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I slip the vinyl from its paper sleeve,
carefully cradling it with my outstretched fingers,
holding it gently like a newborn babe.

Placing it tenderly, I dust it with a cloth
then brush the needle clean. This tactile ritual
just as important as the sound produced.

The customary crackle. ‘Hello old friend’, I smile.
The soundtrack of my youth plays on with only
the occasional interloper interrupting.

Have I reached the groove at record’s end
that leaves us turning on an endless loop,
or does the promise of a second side remain?

Working late today, listening to Roger Taylor’s ‘Outsider’ album. The record may be fairly new, but the voice is a long familiar travelling companion.
(28.03.25)

© Ben Quant 2025

Poem 463 – ‘Hannibal’ Moments

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Remember those sliding puddles?
I had one as a child. Too many
hours spent moving numbers back
and forth to get them all in order.
The temptation to prize them out
with a screwdriver was always present…

Often life can seem like that;
sliding a piece into the right
place causes others to drop out.
Occasionally, however, there are wonderful
A-Team moments when everything falls
into place and the plan comes together!

I’ve been fighting with the mix for the livestream of our services. Getting everything balanced and at the right volume has been a constant challenge. Today, however, it all dropped into place.
(23.03.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Image Micha L. Rieser, used with permission

Poem 445 – Motormouth

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The Young Ones are
not quite so young.
Alternative?
Not quite as much.

Blackadder has
gone over the top,
the Thin Blue Line
gone out for lunch.

We Will Rock You
has left the building,
and growing older
means losing touch.

But when all is said
the show is over,
motormouth Elton
still packs a punch.

A busy day has been perfectly capped with an evening out watching Ben Elton. Nostalgic, certainly. Generational, sure. But something to say? Definitely.
(05.03.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Germany license https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:BenElton.jpg

Poem 407 – A World in a Word

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Sometimes a simple name can conjure a sound,
produce a tone or mood, or evoke a colour.
Try John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock,
Cannonball Adderley, Wayne Shorter, Charlie Parker.
Say them out loud to enter a world now gone,
where bands chase the elusive rhythm of
adrenaline beating, coloured black and white,
and tinted blue.

Spent this afternoon working to a soundtrack of Blue Note Jazz.
(26.01.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo William P. Gottlieb, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Poem 405 – Rhyme Around The Clock

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Better late than never,
My daily attempt at rhyme,
This stab at wordsmith rhythm only
Squeezes in on time.

A jazzy slate of syllables,
Alliteration rock,
It finally makes its debut on
The last seconds of the clock.

The metronome helps meter
Iambic beats combine
And with a crash of consonants
We make the end bar line.

Home alone, I got distracted playing my guitar, and almost forgot my daily poem…
(24.01.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Kobby Mendez on Unsplash