The act of ironing a shirt
Can be a form of meditation
Each line and sleeve become a prayer
Crisp creases bringing satisfaction
A busy day, ending with some housework, means just a short one again today.
(26.02.25)
Work
Poem 433 – Two Days
Driving, packing, moving and assembling,
Scrubbing, scraping, sweeping, lifting, mending,
Two days non-stop moving until now,
And I’m never going to move my bones again.
That’s it, the job’s more or less done. And so am I.
(21.02.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Poem 432 – An Ode To White Van Man
Two men and a van
Bish, bash, bosh, hurrah, job done!
Put the kettle on!
Today’s removal men for our daughter were fantastic! If only the flat pack furniture was as straightforward…
(20.02.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash
Poem 398 – Call Centre Blues
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
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)
Poem 383 – January 2nd
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)
Poem 366 – Currently 2-0
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
Poem 341 – A Happy Exchange
This face is weary but its smile
Expresses it all having travelled miles.
To finally arrive and leave behind,
The travails of demanding times,
Exchanged for days of expectation,
Of sunny days and relaxation,
Lightens the step and lifts the soul
Brings life and joy and hope all told.
Day one of our holiday in Portugal. The 4.15am alarm call was not appealing, but was totally and utterly worth it.
(02.11.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Poem 337 – Hopefully-Not-A-Talking Heads Haiku
We’re on the road to…
Somewhere, but we don’t quite know
Exactly where yet!
The second day of our church movement’s annual conference is done, and so am I – I help run it and only ever make it through with a combination of adrenaline, caffine and prayer! We’re on a journey over the three days of thinking about where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we might be heading next.
(29.10.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQiOA7euaYA
Photo by rafa espada on Unsplash
Poem 336 – Completed
The exhalation as shoulders relax,
Quiet satisfaction from being spent.
A sense of peace from a task discharged
Being completed when at last the job’s done.
Embracing the tiredness when you finally stop,
And finding sleep when the dark night comes.
If you’ve been following my poems, you’ll be aware that I’ve done a few on the Countess of Huntingdon recently. I’ve been reading up on her, in order to give a talk on her legacy for our ‘denomination’. Today was the day, and it went well. It’s good to have it done.
(28.10.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Anna Pascale on Unsplash
Ode for the Day 