Just for fun

Poem 301 – Mind the Gap

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Please mind the gap, tread carefully or
Risk falling through the grasping crack.
Beneath the step awaits unseen,
A doom which hides below the tracks.

You hear the scream of biting brakes,
But nothing is as it might seem.
That sound? A mighty creature’s roar,
As along the tracks it eagerly streams.

This beast that lurks unlit by light,
Over the eons has gone berserk.
And now its hand your ankle grasps,
To pull you down with just one jerk.

There’s not much time, so please act now,
Don’t hesitate, and you’ll be fine.
Don’t hang around, because you’ll find,
Upon your bones he’ll gnaw and grind!

I had a meeting in London today, and wrote this on the tube; the phrase ‘mind the gap’ demanded some form of comic verse. To be read out loud with expression!
(23.09.24)

© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Tim Hüfner on Unsplash

Poem 300 – Aaaargh!

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All this jostling and bustling,
My to-do list is hustling,
Tasks shoving and pushing,
To get the first look in.

The long-term and urgent,
Are scarily convergent.
They’re shouting, demanding,
Screaming, commanding.

They’re fighting and scrapping,
Wrestling and grappling.
Practising mad tricks,
With devious tactics.

I can take it no longer,
It’s driving me bonkers.
I swear there’s no doubt,
It’s time to scream out…

‘Form an orderly queue,
All you things to do,
There’s no need to run,
I’ll get you all done.’

But the truth of the matter?
The list’s getting fatter,
And by the close of each day,
The end’s further away!

For a whole variety of reasons, September to December is always the busiest time of year for me, with one thing following hot on the heels of the previous! Experience tells me I’ll get it all done, but there are days when it feels more than a little daunting.
(22.09.24)

© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Ryan Snaadt on Unsplash

Poem 292 – The Weekend

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There’s nothing so sweet
As the Saturday treat
Of lying in bed
Such a lazy head!

Off to church Sunday morning
No doubt I’m still yawning
Singing songs to our maker
There’s nothing much greater

But when Monday comes
And the alarm starts to drum
And pounds in my head
Oh how I long for my bed!

A rare treat of a lie-in this morning. Much appreciated.
(14.09.24)

© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash

Poem 275 – A Day in Haiku

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Does TV beckon?
Time travel thirty-two years
Serve at the foodbank

Write a daily thought
Prepare a final goodbye
Do Toddler accounts

Cook veggie curry
Stick to a difficult no
Tidy the kitchen

Reflect on Greenbelt
Catch up with the family
Write today’s poem

It’s been a varied and busy day, not unusual in my line of work (church minister). When trying to write a poem a day, on days like this the haiku comes to the rescue. Here are four of them.
(28.08.24)

© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Eric Rothermel on Unsplash

Poem 270 – Lilian’s Boast

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Last night was the night
that the storm came to town
shouting, ‘I’ll huff and I’ll puff,
and I’ll blow your tent down!’
But we weren’t deterred
by the threats that she made
we gathered here regardless
ignored her tirade.
So she huffed, and she puffed,
with all of her might,
she blew at the tent,
through all of the night,
it wibbled and wobbled
like one of mum’s jellies,
it lost all its structure
like a middle aged belly,
but every single time
that she thought she had won
it would pop right back up
to the place it’d begun!

Storm Lilian visited Greenbelt last night, with 40mph winds. The star this morning is a slow one as the site is made safe – much festival kit was not put up beforehand just in case. It’s not going to put use off though!
(23.08.24)

© Ben Quant 2024

Poem 266 – Distracted

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I’m at my desk with pen in hand
or fingers on the keys,
I really ought to be getting on
instead I feel unease.

There’s something squatting in my mind
right where my work should be,
a mental barrier holding back
my productivity.

I keep on putting it aside,
whilst grasping my mind’s reigns,
only to discover that
I’ve picked it up again.

Perhaps the perfect answer to this
wretched predicament,
is to give in to it and to give it all
until my joy is spent.

My fear, however, of this tactic,
is if I give it a go,
the joy will never ever cease
and ever onwards flow.

And so to solve it instead I wrote
a poem about my plight, and
now back to work I must return
and hope it’s put to flight!

Returning from holiday to work is always a challenge… especially when another break, this time at Greenbelt Festival, soon beckons.
(19.08.24)

© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash

Poem 254 – To-Do

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[ x ] Today’s
[ x ] To-Do list
[ x ] Is nearly
[ x ] Done

[ x ] Just one
[ x ] More job
[ x ] To do
[ ] My poem

I’m going on holiday soon, can’t wait! The catch is this means a longer to-do list this week…
(07.08.24)

© Ben Quant 2024

Poem 253 – Too Many Games?

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I’ve games all about collecting birds
and games about surviving in caves
I’ve games that are about belonging to the herd
and games about driving trains

I’ve games that are set in outer-space
and games in a sprawling city,
games about the future of our race,
and games about its history

I’ve games that feature mechanical robots
games about King Arthur
games about goats that are racing to the top
and games that are full of laughter

I’ve games about architects, assassins, kings,
and even bishops too,
and Romans, Scots, Merlin fighting
and Picts all daubed in blue

Boardgames, boardgames everywhere
and not one have I won.
What else can I do for my breakthrough
but buy another one!

I have invested in many boardgames over the years and keep getting beaten. This doesn’t seem to quell my obsession though.
(06.08.24)

© Ben Quant 2024

Poem 235 – Reboot

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I tried another way
But found it didn’t stick
So starting from today
I have abandoned it.

I must regain the habit
Of writing every day
Because life becomes drab if
All work, no rest or play

I’ve changed the way I’ve been working recently, embracing the wonder of Obsidian md to organise and link together my work and ideas. I thought it would be great to write my poems there as well, but somehow this simply led to me stopping writing. I’ve now reverted to scribbling them in Google Keep, which makes it easier to write in odd moments and on my phone.
(09.03.24)

© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by John M. Smit on Unsplash