january joy
it’s the first month of the year (2024 — 😀 on the assumption this blog may still exist in years to come!) but here in Portugal the weather is unseasonably spring-like…Sun currently shining is mild and tempting all the usual frolics and fecundity of the coming season to erupt a little early: January Joy Percussion […]
inner space
Many people spend a lot of time wondering about what may be going on in ‘outer space’… The Terra-forming of Mars… The progress of Interstellar probes and telescopes… And whether there are aliens ‘out there’, and if so where are they? And so on… We don’t spend so much time thinking about ‘inner space’… But, […]
happy new year 2024
post-festive, post-covid, post-flu, almost post-human… the muse seemed to be on extended vacation the suddenly she returns with an ironic riposte… Happy New Year Stressed, depressedAnd lacking restBathed in a lakeOf disinterestPost-festive malaiseBesets my daysThrough half-formed thoughtsIt weaves its waysMisdirecting my moodThrough an endless mazeMisbegotten areThe games it playsAs it twists my mindLeaving joy behindMy […]
two lessons: the devil may be in the detail but heaven could be the result
Ricky Gervais the comedian and atheist has a (to me) very funny stand-up routine that pokes fun at the inconsistencies in Genesis and what appears to be the obvious flaws in allegorical tale…but I also like to think that at its heart Genesis has a ‘key thought’ that seems to be increasingly relevant as humanity […]
tolkein the talk | poetic overture to an imagined sequel
inspired by the idea that tolkein’s elves might one day return from Valinor to aid the failing race of man… and then perhaps, after all, the elves might also be equated with angels returning at the end times… a time when man in his infinite folly, having apple-eyed his knowledge but suffering from insufficient wisdom, […]
why we love bees | a poem for children of all ages
originally published in the children’s book ‘Why We Love…Bees’ by A Graham Smith and available for kindle or in paperback here why-we-love-bees
christmas day 2020 | a sad poem
Those out there who know the pain and inconsolable grief associated with having an alienated child might best relate to this poem — and also understand why I am unable to read this poem out loud to make an audio version, like other poems on this site: (You can ‘right-click’ with the mouse on this […]
medicine walk music
with acknowledgement for the inspiration to try and articulate this poem, ‘medicine walk music’, on the occasion of attending a beautiful weekend retreat and course run by the barefootshaman, Dee Kyne and hosted at naturalma venue in Portugal. This is a somewhat ‘finessed’ version of the rapidly composed original — and I felt compelled to […]
what is God? or what if God is…?
So, what is God? Or rather What if God is…? Some would suggest it’s a ‘big’ question but …here is a simple record of a recent social media post (I made) and the ‘beginnings’ of some philosophical musings about what (the thing that some people refer to as) God may be… If you’d prefer you […]
H. sapiens: species of distinction or extinction?
Having just watched a short summary of extinction events occurring over the past 500 years I was inspired to observe: An interesting summary… It tends to support what I have increasingly thought… that the answer to the question: “What is the purpose of life?” is simply “To beget life” The meaning of life… (For H, […]