In my attempt to
Write a poem everyday
I will not write haikus
When writing a poem a day, it is tempting to turn to the haiku with its short format. It’s a great chat for a busy day. I will try and resist.
(21.01.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Mud in my eyes
Mud in my fingernails
Mud in the tongue
Mud in the insoles
Mud in the eyelets
Mud in the treads
Mud in the laces
Mud in the stitching
Mud in the cracks
Mud in the crevices
Mud in the cloth
Mud in the plughole
I wonder how
There’s any left lingering
In yesterday’s
Most muddy fields
Today’s task? Cleaning the muddy boots from yesterday’s mucky walk (see Poem 408).
(19.01.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Martin Martz on Unsplash
Your call is important to us
So we’re placing you in a queue
And playing some lovely music
For you to listen to
Your call is important to us
So we’re recording every word
We’ll listen back to it often
To learn from what we’ve heard
Your call is important to us
Along with the other ninety-nine
We’re looking forward to speaking to you
When we finally have the time
Your call is important to us
We’ll hang onto every jot
We’re sorry to leave you waiting
But abruptly this call must
I’ve had the joy of feeling with a few call centres recently. Occasionally one comes along that is great (thank you Indra), but often it’s a nightmare.
(17.01.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by LumenSoft Technologies on Unsplash
It always sounds straightforward
in the manual. Simply
remove the packaging,
undo the bolts and then
attach the pipe and hose.
Turn on the water. Pray
(it doesn’t say this but
I find I always do).
It always sounds straightforward
but bolts stick then they snap.
Attaching pipes requires
amazing acrobatic
acts behind the units.
Despite how tight you tighten,
the water always leaks.
I swear then pray some more.
This evening I installed a new washing machine. I think it’s sorted, but I won’t know until we use it. Of course to check all’s good, I’ll have to get behind it yet again to look for puddles…
(14.01.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Leif Christoph Gottwald on Unsplash
The postman delivers a set
of new mats for the car,
to stop me from wiping the mud
from my feet on its floor.
These mats all resemble the one
that we’ve put by the door,
to stop us from wiping the mud
from our feet on the floor.
My feet seem to cause so much grief
everywhere that they tour!
There must be a much better way
to keep mud from the floor…
Perhaps I’ll stick mats on my feet
with some string from our drawer?
And with no more contact there’ll be
no more mud on the floor!
I did receive new mats today…
(08.01.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Dmitry Ganin on Unsplash
This year I will not leap out of
a plane for charity,
nor scale a tree topped mountain summit
or swim across the sea.
I bet my debut novel still
will probably not get written,
and surely I won’t be packing theatres
with jokes and witticism.
I will not gain a medal or
some gong in the New Year’s Honours,
I plan not to feature in the news
for being some crazed wrong ‘un.
Instead my New Year’s resolution
is simply to see it through,
and on the way to write a poem
every day or two…
This year, other than getting grants for the church redevelopment, I have no special objectives or challenges planned, except the personal challenge of regularly posting poems throughout the year. Can I do one a day throughout 2025?
(01.01.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Vincent Burkhead on Unsplash
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
Slouched on the sofa
Watching programmes on the box
With my other half
It’s the weekend. A night to relax.
(29.11.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Michael DeMoya on Unsplash
This
Is
Not a
Nonet. It is
A Fibonacci verse, in honour of
Fibonacci Day. Get it? No? Check the date –
Unless you are British not American, in which case I fear it’s nonsense!
The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence in which each number is the sun of the previous two, starting 1,1,2,3 just like today’s date (ignore the year).
(23.11.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Original photo by Hans-Peter Postel, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
The source of so many lessons:
Do not climb up the slope
or throw yourself from the top.
Take your go in turns
and don’t push others off.
Use your head but always
descend the slide feet first.
Make sure the way is clear
before taking flight.
Expect to be involved
in a collision if you play at the bottom.
Toy cars pushed down with force
do not have workable breaks…
It was Toddlers this morning, which always makes great people watching, especially if the smaller variety!
(13.11.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Ode for the Day 
