A gradual disappointment

Before I begin this poem I must tell you

I have just collected a letter

From the unable to deliver registered letter office

And now I am at the tyre repair shop

To see what they can do about the slow puncture

Which the nice man at the festival pointed out

Anyhow, back to the letter, I can tell

From the franking machine stamp that it is

From the masters course in the East of England

This I have already determined to be

One of those opportunities which I shall reject

I sent an email to that effect, yesterday

But it would be daft, wouldn't it

Not to take a look, to see once again

The times ahead that I am not now to share

Yet what purpose does that serve; what richness

Does it endow on my person or my personality

What regret is amplified, or stored for future use

I took the decision, not to go

Carefully, I weighed up the pro's and con's

Then, in the briefest single moment I chose no

The letter is still unopened

A part of me, perhaps the undiscovered artist

Would choose to see it simply gather dust

But I know myself better than that

And in this regard I think I know you

I will open the letter

But for now I have to have a new tyre

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Letting go

One more

And then I really must go

It's like my birthday

Like sledging in the snow

Yesterday

Or a while ago

I condemned that word

No more like to say

Like how daft is that

How absurd

So back it is

Just as again I say

Once more

It is a new beginning

Today there are no rules

The wicker basket

Is full of notes

Of indignation

I say was it you

That doth protest

Skip

Smile at the beautiful girl

Touch

The sails of forgiveness

Let all be well

For tomorrow

Believe me, please

It truly is a new beginning

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An odd almost unlikely condition

In the middle of the night

After delirium and without warning

It was not a clever thing, but still a task

Nevertheless, completed with clear insight

In the middle of the morning after

Dreams of laptops and megabyte computers

It was not a clever thing, but a choice

Nevertheless, made with logical laughter

In the aftermath of yesterday

When raindrops caught me on a faraway theme

It seems such a clever thing, the gift of love

Nevertheless, a treasure forever to play

In the behemoth of tomorrow

With sunlight across the meridian mean

It seems such a clever thing to sift

Nevertheless, the past of afterglow

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It's always easier not to bother

I am not Billy Collins, or Roger McGough

Or Simon Armitage

Or even me

Anyhow three's a crowd

And I would not like

To barge on in

Lad

Better for any words

Fatter or thinner

I read the phrase 'good poetry'

Twice today

On neither occasion

Did I care

For that particular

Turn of phrase

Lad

Better for any words

Fatter or thinner

You might not be Baudelaire

Or Neruda, Keats

Or even me

But don’t let that stop you

Introvert or inverted

Extrovert

Lad

Better for any words

Fatter or thinner

Say what you feel

Say bugger

If so you like

Let it out

Go on

Steam on in

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Investiture

The best form of attack is defence

That is

To set your stall out

Make your position precisely clear

Really; to sew up all the options

A moat, a drawbridge to be drawn

Soldiers on the turrets

Now let them take offence

Oh, yes

Well of course, no

That was not exactly my point

But now that I am incarcerated

What  do you expect

That the more intellectual academic

Man would do

Well

You could let the peasants through

Draw down your drawbridge

Become open to persuasion

Negotiate

Capitulate

If you like understand

Or whatever

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