Poems By Mary

A chair chained to a routine
Fingers flying to and fro
The world is one’s oyster framed within a screen
Virtual travel within the comfort of one’s own home
No need to face the elements
The wind in one’s hair
The kiss of the sun on one’s forehead
Grass green the spring of one’s step
The beauty of nature
Balm to the soul
Memories impregnated , banked over decades accruing interest
The gains over time, balancing the losses
Life has a plan for us
A path taken can lead us up to the peak of a mountain
Or lead us down a garden path
The reality being
Daily embrace the ups and downs
As there are no pockets in a shroud .
Mary G. Douglas

There are those who go through life troubled
No matter what
They don’t look for the positives in others
Choosing to search for the negatives
Does this say more about who and what they are ?
Who are they to make judgments based on a hypothesis?
Look in the mirror? Reflect well?
Do we see another? As we don’t see within ourselves?
Is this the troubling seed of discontent ?
Planted within
Once rooted it flourishes, if nourished ?
The world is rooted deep within the crust of social fabric
Nature produces beauty
Flora in abundance that if one goes to close
It has a barb unseen
The jellyfish of the seas have ready their own self protection
The Octopus spews forth a nasty message
Keep your distance say they
If one has the courage to face up to a tiger or a lion
Meeting eye to eye, not flinching
The tiger or lion turns aside
Takes off into the wilderness from whence came
The human when giving the signal of friendship
If cannot communicate eye to eye? without shifting gaze straight and true
what troubling soul is within ?
the eyes are the mirror of what lurks behind
the smile
Headlines in newspapers or adverts feeding the eye
Money jingling in pocket, notes in wallet .
If drawn in without reading between the lines
or listening to what is being said ?
One is soon parted with the tools of survival
The soul is one to own for one’s survival
In the jungle of life
The eyes of another?
Do they partner well ? With the smile ?
If one is to survive the troubling souls whose aim is to dispose of the weight carried
the shoulders of another accepting the burden
in the jungle of life
Interdependent is what we are
Out in the wilderness and on the streets of life
Trouble is trouble, troubling is more rooted and difficult to overcome
Out there in the jungle or closer to home on the streets of life.
Mary G. Douglas

Do you know who l am ?
Does anyone know who anyone is ?
The child comes into the World
Innocence of the new born
Are we destined to be the adult we become ?
The tiger out there wild and free
hunts for food
Nature is as nature does
Prays on those weaker in strength and speed
The cat hunts for those weaker in strength and speed
The cat plays with the mouse
When born a child’s lungs heralding to all
I have arrived.
The natural instinct of a need for survival
Not to be silenced until given the milk from its mother
Once satiated falls into slumber
The cry of the child is demanding,  it’s needs for sustenance must be met
The gut instinct for survival uses the lungs.
Trumpeting with gusto
Relentlessly upwards and onwards from the cradle
Non stop until its needs are met
What then? Is the point of knowing and understanding?
The power of ‘ using the simple need for nourishment
As a tool for controlling if not steered on a path towards enlightenment
The Feral instinct for survival knows no boundaries
In the Jungle the Lion teaches its young, the skills for survival
The Seagull teaches its young the art of diving into the seas
The fish swimming searching for plankton
The food for survival of the species
The chain reaction
The fisherman standing on the bank of a river
Casting his rod and line with bait
The salmon unaware of the danger
Takes the bait
Give me the child
Is the adult destined to nurture or destroy
Who will conquer or destroy if not given the tools of understanding
The rights and wrongs of its power to protect
itself and others from harm and discrimination
Give me the child of the world we now live in
The confines of parental rights now eroded
What then? do we become the adult ?
The power of rhetoric can be used for and against
In family relationships, friendships nurtured?
Nature of the need for self survival and the desire to control of others.
Leads to the question at home and overseas
Do you know who l am ?
Mary G. Douglas

What was it ? That fanned the flames ‘

A careless match? leading to the devastation 

of a forest ‘  a season of dry heat ‘ 

What is it ? that nurtures within ‘ a heart grown

cold ‘ the build up of resentment’ over the years 

A torch ‘ lights the way ‘ on a path taken ‘ that is strewn with debris ‘ 

A lifetime of picking one’s way through a storm of events 

tempered with ‘ seasons of joy 

The chance remark ‘ overheard when walking into a room ‘ that sparks off ‘ 

a chain reaction ‘ of smouldering thoughts’

Nestling within a beating heart ‘ 

Chipping away ‘ a flicker of one’s imagination 

Who was the intended victim ‘

A careless slip of the tongue ‘ or one of deliberation ‘

A glance of envy ‘ in the eyes of a companion 

planting a seed of doubt ‘ friend or foe?

torching the mind ‘ with concerns 

What were the thoughts ‘ of pain and sorrow 

shared with a colleague ‘ a sympathetic ear ‘

now overheard ‘ 

The beads of sweat ‘ 

a momentary relapse ‘ years of regret 

A decision made ‘ to go on a journey’  

A journey of discovery ‘ bulldozing the mind 

with a train of ideas 

Leading to a point of no return ‘  a change of direction ?

Like grains of sand ‘ a build up of passion’ 

for the storytelling over the years of childhood 

a book in the making ‘ 

The maturity of Time ‘ the beginning of fears ‘

A virus ‘ stopping all ‘ in its tracks ‘

The wheels in motion ‘ with no end in sight ‘

Two years and more of isolation for many ‘

Hibernating ‘ cut off from all that is familiar ‘

A void ‘ in one’s thoughts for planning’

Emerging from a wilderness’ a threat to us all ‘ 

at home and abroad ‘filling one’s life with 

despair ‘

The wonderful career ‘ with a long term view ‘ 

Now set for life?? with now a  stirring of the pot of insecurity ‘ centuries old 

Lowering our sights ‘ and joining the queue ‘

of hope’ 

The word of mouth ‘ the advert ‘ apply within ‘

on reflection ‘ out of adversity ‘ an awakening 

a new beginning ‘ 

A shock to the system ‘ a deeper understanding of the old adage ‘

Don’t rest on your laurels ?  long term plans ‘A nest egg for the future ‘ think again ‘

The ingenuity of the human race ‘ knows no boundaries 

The race is on ‘ the hurdles’ looming ahead ‘

Community of spirit ‘ ignited ‘ has united us all ‘ at home and abroad ‘

We are another chapter of Life’ 

That gives us the book of knowledge ‘ on how to survive .

History in the making ‘ our  today ‘will be  tomorrow’s yesterday ‘  

Building bridges for a new generation ‘ and ‘ memories for those ‘ in advancing years ‘ 

An appreciation ‘ of much we took for granted ‘

The mundane, the value of friends ‘ family and ‘ not to ‘ sit on our Laurels’ 

Mary G. Douglas 

I am a cake celebrated on memorable occasions
I am a cake that sits in shops windows
I am a cake that all want a piece of
Divide by four is quite a mouthful
By eight is is more subtle
One can always ask for seconds
Caked in mud is less appealing
When one has fallen into a puddle
There are those who want their cake and
eat it
Greed is found in all walks of life
Sleight of hand at a game of cards
Winner takes all
Those left with no appetite for another
Caked in fear of facing bankruptcy
Vowing to change
No more longing for a slice of the action
Addiction for wishing for a piece of the cake
and eating it
Throwing the last of hard earned cash onto the table
Caked in fear of being the loser
Now cloaked in despair
Morosely making his way home
After all it is his birthday, he brightens up
The table set
He opens the door of his abode
He is met by his loving wife
Standing in front of a table laden
His face caked in fear of her wrath
His gambling addiction has a price to pay
He pulled out his pockets to convey his message
His loving wife with a face caked in fury
Turned her back on his silent confession
His promise never to gamble all
She pulled out the candles one by one
The splendour of the cake laid bare
The icing on the cake with a message
Happy Birthday
The ending of this poetic narration
Predictable
The gambling all his money had a price to pay
His aim to have his cake and eat it
With the last throw of the dice
He got his wish as he stood there
Facing the wrath of displeasure
He got his cake and the eating of it
Did not have the taste of winner takes all?
Mary G Douglas

Childhood memories are the bedrock
The rest is grist to the mill
The house built containing all
The joys the fears and disappointments
Give the clue to acceptance
When one reaches the age of seniority
We own what has gone wrong
We own what has been fulfilling
We can forgive ourselves for errors of judgement
Judge jury and redemption
Ageing being a process with a price tag
No one can turn the clock back
Time can be cruel or kind
The child within us all’ never leaves us
The mountain we climb
Is not without its challenges
Is not without its achievements surpassing all
When standing at the pinnacle
Surveying all
Forgiving oneself is a cleansing of the Soul
Circumstances can mould or destroy
Sculpting a stone
With tools of the trade
Childhood is an apprenticeship
However long it may take ?
The age of consent for accepting one’s past and date of redemption
Can take a lifetime
The unfinished article within us all
Perfectionism is not Realism
Knowing who and what we are
Is the key
When standing at the pinnacle
Surveying all
The road we travel is not without its obstacles
Yet the road gives respite for recharging
Leaving behind regrets that cannot be surmounted
Is the key to salvation for us all

Mary G. Douglas