Poem 140 – Brother Sun (or The Summer of ’22)

Aug 15, 2022Aug 15, 2022 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

Lethargy reigns, the air is all sucked out
We slope around the room, moving as little
As we can get away with, stultified
Regretfully wishing the time away, we long
For rain, an end to endless heat, but then
I know we’ll wish for sunny days once more

A companion to Poem 139 – Sister Moon. I know I said I was taking a bit of a break from writing to focus on my these, but I woke up with the first line in my head. It’s been a long hot summer…
(15.08.22)

Poem 139 – Sister Moon

Aug 14, 2022Aug 14, 2022 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

Last night the Moon hung big and bold and brash
It’s golden face stared down in confidence
In contrast to the crescent which adorned
The darkened sky last week

Then, like a nervous child it peeked around
The shadow that we cast as if it were
Still clutching to its mother’s legs in fear
Of what might lie beyond

I wonder what has caused that reticence
To be replaced with teenage cockiness
And if there is another phase to come
A geriatric one?

A recent fingernail moon was soon replaced by a brash super moon. Both spectacular in their own ways.
(14.08.22)

© Ben Quant 2022

The Pause

Aug 12, 2022Aug 12, 2022 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

I’ve been more than a little quiet on the poetry front recently, and may remain so for a little longer. Let me explain….

Some of you may be aware that alongside writing poems last year, I was also writing my thesis for a DMin (Doctor of Ministry) – I’m a church minister as well as a dabbler in verse. If you read Poem 71 – The Verdict, you would have picked up that it didn’t quite go to plan… My thesis as it stood was failed in my viva, and they sent me away with a year to rewrite and submit if I wanted to. I won’t go into all the ins and outs here, but I won’t lie, I was and am still angry and emotional about this, as Poem 71 might suggest! Still, I’ve got on with it, and am currently crashing through the final chapters. This is taking a lot of time and attention as it is a complete rewrite, and I’ve not got time/emotion to spare for poems alongside this and work (a family wedding was another distraction, but much nicer, see Poem 137!) I’m aiming at getting a complete draft done by the end of September if I can, and so hopefully after then the poems will begin to reappear more regularly.

Today I’m celebrating having completed a major milestone, a significant chapter finished! It suddenly all begins to look a little more possible. Time for a deep breath and I’ll see you on the other side!

Poem 138 – The Sprint

Jul 28, 2022 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

A clicking cadence
Of whirring wheels
Flung bidons bounce
Preparing for pace
At last the lead outs
Peel to reveal
The gurning grimace
As riders rush
One final fling
Across the line
Hands held high
In taking the triumph
To banging barriers
And cheering claps
…Or heavy, hang,
In final defeat

This year’s Tour de France was one of the most exciting I’ve watched, gripping from end to end. Watching it has been an annual ritual for most of my life, and as this season’s joins the memories of others, here’s a verse written in celebration of the sprint (although my favourite sprinter, was sadly absent this year).
(28.07.22)

Poem 137 – At Last

Jul 15, 2022Jul 15, 2022 / BenDQ / 1 Comment

All rise to greet our blushing bride who floats
Along the aisle to meet her grinning groom
Who smiles with pleasure mixed perhaps with nerves
Whilst waiting patiently for her arrival
Meaning they at last can clasp each other
In celebration never to let go

Last Saturday I had the wonderful privilege of marrying my daughter (I was the minister!) The two of them didn’t stop smiling all day…
(15.07.22)

© Ben Quant 2022
Photo J. Pes 2022

Poem 136 – Captain Nature

Jul 2, 2022Jul 2, 2022 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

Life finds a way somehow
Its superhero strength
Will overcome even
The most formidable
Opponent in its path
Yet even superman
Was vulnerable, made weak
By kryptonite struck down
So as the temperature rises
I wonder if we’ll prove
To be Achilles’ heel
Ushering in its downfall

I spotted this sapling impressively bursting through a nearby tarmac path, and it got me thinking about the patient strength of nature.
(02.07.22)

© Ben Quant 2022

Poem 135 – Dimensionally Challenged

Jun 28, 2022Jun 28, 2022 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

This blue police box
Appeared upon
My step
Where did it come from?
Who put it there?
I do not know
But whilst it seems
So small compared
To its surrounds
They say, don’t they,
It’s bigger on the inside
I wonder what
I’d find within
If only I
Could find a way
To open up
Its doors

It’s true, I opened up my fits to find the TARDIS on my doorstep. Quite surreal.
(28.06.22)

© Ben Quant 2022

Poem 134 – Held Tightly

Jun 23, 2022 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

It isn’t long until you tie the knot
Exchange your rings, say vows that bind you tightly
I hope you find them not constraining chains
But liberating promises, security
Like tape that holds a graft firmly together
Until the two infuse becoming one
Releasing you to look ahead not back
To check your knots have not become undone

In just a few week’s time I’m conducting a marriage. This is always a privilege, but even more so this time as it is my daughter’s! Not surprisingly, I’m mulling over the question of what to say and pass on.
(23.06.22)

Poem 133 – In Hope of Wild Flowers

Jun 21, 2022Jun 21, 2022 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

So No Mow May slipped into June
Kneehigh the grasses swayed
And under summer’s sun turned brown
Before I’d turned a blade
I’d hoped for some exotic meadow
An array of blooms
Instead a field of hay fever
And stinging nettles grew
So finally I grabbed the mower
To try and tame this beast
But left it growing at the back
And planted some wild seeds

I’ve always fancied a wild flower meadow and a garden that’s more attractive to wildlife. Alas, it turns out that laziness doesn’t create it…
(21.06.22)

Poem 132 – Shhhh….

Jun 16, 2022Jun 16, 2022 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

Let’s all keep mum, keep schtum
‘Cause careless talk costs lives
So cross your heart and hope
To die, don’t let the cat
Out of its bag

Please keep it under wraps
Don’t tell a soul, just tap
Your nose with knowing look
A wink perhaps no more
I plea, than that

And if not wraps, perhaps
A hat will do the job
Along with poker face
To keep it in its place
Our secret, shhh….

Work has kept me occupied of late, diverting creative juices, but when my Dad announced the theme of his next poetry groups meeting, I couldn’t resist.
(16.06.22)

Ode for the Day

An experiment in poetic doodling