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Poem 475 – Friday

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At the end of the walk
look back at the route,
Retrace your paths
and steps, recall
the twists and turns,
the detours taken.
Remember the views,
and picture the scenes
that stopped your breath
and brought you life.
Recount steep paths,
successfully navigated;
gain strength for those
ongoing climbs.
Rest tired limbs;
the satisfying ache
of journey’s end –
at least for now.
Give thanks for those
who’ve walked with you,
and those you have
accompanied.

Tomorrow will bring more hours and challenges, but for now it’s Friday evening, and time to stop, take stop, and give thanks.
(04.04.25)

© Ben Quant 2025

Poem 473 – Two Heads

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An honest conversation,
A sharing of opinions,
Through letting our guards down,
And trusting one another.

Revealing ignorance,
And asking searching questions,
Opening to the other,
Two heads better than one.

I’ve had a day of activities and meetings today. A common thread has been a series of cracking conversations where we’ve genuinely learnt from each other.
(02.04.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Johaer on Unsplash

Poem 398 – Call Centre Blues

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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

Poem 392 – Boardroom Betrayal

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Today, all day,
I sat in a meeting
And found myself
Wondering

Wouldn’t it
be more fun
If someone was
A traitor…

From time to time
We’d break into
Subcommittees
And scheme

And then we’d draw
Our pens and cast
A suspect out
Before

The constitution
Affords the traitor
A chance to veto
Someone’s voice.

After a six hour meeting, it was good to come home and catch up with Traitors, a complete contrast!
(11.01.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Poem 383 – January 2nd

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It transpires that January the second,
the day after the day before,
is a day for dealing with odds and ends,
for answering messages, emails and texts,
for finishing jobs and filling out forms,
finalising funerals and foodbank calls,
for sorting out servicing cars and schemes
for redeveloping kitchen floors.
In many ways this day feels like
the day before the day before…

A clear day in the diary has, after a lovely sunny walk, turned into a day of diving into and catching up on admin! It looks like 2025’s to-do list is going to be as endless as 2024s…
(02.01.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Poem 366 – Currently 2-0

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I should be writing a poem,
But it’s been a busy day,
Dealing with toddlers,
Shifting food,
Discussing the Bible,
Talking to church members,
Now the day’s done, and
Liverpool are beating Madrid,
So this will have to do.

Hopefully that’s game, set and match (to mix sports!)
(27.11.24)

© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Jannes Glas on Unsplash