Poems By Mary

Decade comes decade goes
The road travelled a road ahead
On one’s journey the odd bump on the road
On the horizon a hill ahead
The climb is necessary to navigate
pointless sitting staring into space
Upwards and onwards only solution
Leaving behind a road not worth travelling
with regret
The plus and the minus put in boxes
A cup not half empty A cup half full
Meeting of minds can create a schism
the odd bump in the road
Is overcome and not to return
A fire in the grate coals therein
Giving warmth
If stirred can give off heat
A heat too hot to handle
A natural response to this surge of heat
To step back
Coals stirred that create discomfort
To step back is the solution
The flame generated burns
A lesson for life
Don’t go to close keep cool is the answer
A conversation not
A tirade with no respite
Introvert the opposite of extrovert
The middle road best to travel
Lends well when journeying on the road ahead
The odd bump or bumps are there
Wary is as wary does
Too cautious can be negative
Over caution is unhealthy
decade comes   decade goes
A learning curve  is not one too many
A road travelled a hill climbed 
trains the mind
the bumps avoided  the skill enhanced
Are you finished?  Dismissive?
A conversation not
A tirade with no respite
The coals therein
The grate with coals nestling
giving warmth
decades past  cannot train an elderly dog new tricks
Acceptance is as acceptance does
The coals in the grate giving warmth
Too near can be too hot
An arms length says it all
Communication is essential
Yet can be a Bridge too far ?
Bridges can be crossed if sturdy
Crossing one that lacks strength
Foolish is as foolish does
A human error not to prepare
A road travelled not straight with too many bumps
A human error not to prepare
Mistakes replicated 
A mistake one too many
The penny drops
The world does not stop at one’s front door
Sitting on one’s Laurels
No more lessons to learn?
Age is no barrier to reflect upon mistakes of the past
Don’t revisit
Peace is the panacea to all ills
The perfect world is unattainable
The road ahead worn with time
Potholed here and there and needs resurfaced
Ongoing is the name of the game
Hope is as Hope does
Keeps on hoping that the learning curves
The key may be with the generation ahead
reflecting
Mistakes made not to be replicated
Centuries come  centuries past ?
The human error ?
The road ahead is travelled with hope
The bumps on the road
Avoided?
One can only live in Hope
Potholed here and there inevitable
Resurfacing is an ongoing chore?
Mary G. Douglas

We all come into this world
Not swathed in a shawl
Making known our entrance
A squeak to a squall
The cord is cut linking mother to child
The first step towards independence
Yet interdependent
Survival is dependent on nurturing
From its mother
A bonding that is a legacy for Life
A road travelled together
Give me the child , dependency transient
I will show you the adult
Freedom to travel the road mapped out
A road that has many twists and turns
A bridge crossed?  A bridge too far
Toil of ploughing one’s own furrow
Planting seeds
The seasons four pass by
Decades come and decades go
The harvesting of the seeds planted
Years of nurturing? reaping rewards
Toil of ploughing one’s own furrow
Growth is a mental and physical challenge
Parental influencers
The day arrives when reflecting
The child of yesterday has reached a point of no return
An awakening of a tomorrow that is the beginning
Freedom to travel the road yet not mapped out
The foundations solid
The walls to house one’s future yet to build
The structure to protect one from the elements
The winds of change , can blow one of track
Cementing well
The building bricks of learning
Childhood an apprenticeship for Adulthood
Ploughing one’s own furrow
seeds of learning planted
The seasons come: the seasons go
The winds of change
Climbing a mountain unseen
The nuclear family ties ?
The day arrives when the pinnacle is reached
The yearning within
To search for another path to explore
Leading to horizons new
Climbing a mountain unseen
The day arrives when the pinnacle reached
The explorer is never at rest
Looking for another mountain unseen
The nuclear ties now divided
The bond unbroken unseen
The desire for climbing another mountain
The pinnacle not yet reached
The desire to plough one ‘s own furrow
Planting seeds
Let not this ever be a chore not wished
Is now a journey travelling
words are the building blocks that house
the thoughts put down on paper
Mary G Douglas

Sitting here on my chair with the sound of the wind howling in my ears
Thoughts permeate within
The winds of change are visible to the eye and ears
not fixed by invisible threads
The power is in the hands of those who seek answers
Not appreciating staring them in the face
Who is the Keeper of their Soul ?
A question now out there in the city streets ?
Eyes down unseeing? Ears plugged with little plastic worm shaped modern technology devoid of hearing the sound of the wind ?
Peripheral vision limited over years of neglecting
Now adding to this dilemma
A crick in the neck honed over years of not listening ? to the signs and symptoms of Why?
A Crystal ball is not a necessity?
The warning signs of a change of direction in the sounds of what is to the left ? What is to the right ?
Being fed one’s desire for knowledge of whatever ?
The Theory of this that and tother ? Often found to be speculation of gloom and doom
Placards flaunted round the necks of a loner recalled from the distant past
‘ The end is Nigh ?
Decades come and decades go heralding in a Century new
Fear is transient often baseless giving freedom to plan ahead
I can see ?  Said the man with sightless eyes
Using senses left to slumber of those who can
Decades ago made a visit to a factory marvelling at the dexterity of a woven basket made to perfection
the fingers flying hither and thither
His eyes blue shining with joy as he presented me with the finished article
I no longer have this basket made by him
The memory lingers on of that visit made
Those who lip read with expertise
Born with sight that can read to perfection see
what is beyond the Horizon
Now reflecting on those with iPhones of all shapes and sizes
Decades into the future when the senses are challenged
Amongst those whose peripheral vision has been left to diminish through lack of use
Eyes down never looking ahead or left and right
The ears spending decades plugged with white plastic worm shapes poking out
The senses of those whose eyes could not see
Sharp in their senior years of knowing what is said and from where ?
The senses of those whose ears could not hear
Sharp in their senses of knowing what is being said just by reading the lips of others
What then for the generation of today’s world of technology
In their senior years with poor peripheral vision
In their senior years dull of hearing owing to the unseen connection to the iPhone in pocket over decades
The youngster who uses a turbo charged scooter to boot
The action of walking to and from when outdoors going from A to B and B to A
In their senior years with lack of strong muscle
The long term wheelchair user
The elderly with walking aid going on and off buses trains and planes
The youngster of today from childhood onwards progressing to using a car for local shopping and beyond
Working from home now lacks lustre
Online shopping reducing the need for moving out of one’s own backyard
Now reality setting in? From the stay at home to those in government?
Is the world going to end at our respective front door?
In the world of the seagulls who dive to eat ?
found losing their skills to teach their young
Stay at home humans whose need to leads their own backyard
Throwing scraps of food from their online shopping out for the birds ?
The wild becoming bolder leaving off hunting
Why bother when food in abundance dropped here there and everywhere except in the refuse bins
A full stomach no need for hunting the deer or the hare or the rabbit or mole by those in the wild as the chain of survival has increased their chances of living to a ripe old age
The rifle now banned for game hunters to take out there on the hills valleys and woods : beaters and stalkers out of work ?
Introducing wolves and bears to the wild in Scotland ?
The intrepid walker with rifle at the ready
His own survival is on the line .
Will they need proof that they shot the deer or the wolf of the deer in defence of being attacked
The rabbit as rabbits do multiply and move as one
Stripping all in their path ?
Acres of green to supply the retail shops with food for humans to buy to feed themselves and their hungry brood ?
Clothes on their back made from cotton grown on the fields and gathered by humans ?
What then ? The shoe of survival is on the other foot ?
As more and more of the freedoms of the humans is curtailed
The freedom to roam by the powerful in the wild stalking and killing the weak
Scotland was a land covered in Forestry and overgrown predatory plants who survived by evolution into deadly poisonous to ingest or have a sting equally so .
Is this the future of Planet Earth ?  Centuries coming and going in their millions ? billions or more?
It is ordained that Robots will reach a point of turning on each other ?
The Wasteland of Earth and other planets in our galaxy come to Pass .
One day a creature from the depths of the ocean
Searching for freedom from the over population of his own kind
We up there? somewhere looking towards Earth
Wish had invested in a company who built rockets for those who will one day scramble for a seat to blast them off to pastures new
As found ourselves last in the queue ?
Be of good cheer?
Fantasy unlikely to be a Reality over the next Millennium?
Fear is debilitating.  The strength of survival is encompassing within us all
Our today is our yesterday and tomorrow is another day
Seize the day and enjoy
If worry ? If don’t ? So why worry :
The problem surmountable by deed or by action or by chance
The solution is there: taking the first step to forge ahead is within us all .
Mind over matter can move hills: mountains
to climb
That and acceptance of what cannot be changed
That is the key
Mary G. Douglas

Listening is the receiver of much in life 

Found in environments where it is required 

When one walks through the door to work 

Their private life with its share of ups and downs 

Are left behind 

When one walks through the door to go home 

working life with its share of ups and downs, are left behind 

An ethos essential, as this golden silence ,

is the oath of silence 

the thread of life that must not be broken 

without this bridge of silence , we would not survive 

hill walkers, climbers in isolation, leaving no trace of where heading 

Swimming off limits, ignoring signs . beware of the bull ? until it is too late 

the dog walker who allows their favourite pet off the lead 

don’t worry says the owner , my pet is friendly 

to be obeyed 

after all. I know my pet well , good natured 

as one is encircled 

Who dare question the wisdom of such advice 

mentally thinking of the state now in 

paw marks and or the contents of their desire to make contact 

with those met on their daily walk to and from the park 

listeners are those who are caught up in the space betwixt them and another 

the world out there is full of those who want to be heard 

The world out there is full of those who do not wish to listen 

by deed, by letter card or by phone 

we all in this world of ours , there is this fine line 

The l need , l want, l must have , when faced with adversity 

The wind of change is fascinating 

We are all guilty of being one or the other 

some more guilty of being more of the other and less of the other ?

The hustle and bustle over one’s years from 

birth to toddler to teenager to adult to middling to senior , over the decades 

listening of many in one’s working life span

is par for the course ‘

after all , this is the career that one feels giving 

a value to humanity 

the thread of life that must not be broken 

without this bridge of silence , from the listener, when one desires to be heard ‘ when their need for a listener essential for their survival 

the longing within us all , when reaching the day when no need for an alarm 

choice is as choice does’ turn over as have all day to lie longer 

the conundrum hits us hard , when the choice is as choice does , turns into a nightmare of boredom 

no work and play filling the day 

the bridge of silence , essential for survival 

making sense to the listener ‘ 

when one has need to be heard 

the wall of silence is another matter ?

when one clocks off, homeward bound for the meal on the table 

an evening or weekend at our disposal 

to do with as wished 

On the day one clocks off ‘ knowing it is the final act 

The awakening of the fine thread broken of communication with one’s colleagues ?

valued as giving as well as receiving over decades 

No one is given an apprenticeship on how to be a Retiree? 

the apprenticeship begins on the first day of freedom 

Freedom to chose ‘ on how to spend one ‘s day , week , month, year respectively ahead 

A journey to be embraced 

Mary G Douglas

Caravan life on a farm out in the Styx is fun 

City life is not for me , might be for thee 

The noise of Street life ‘ can give one a rude awakening 

Country life with an odd moo here ‘ with a baa 

there 

Not a problem ? they sleep when l sleep 

Early morning l rise with the sun in winter low on the horizon 

High in Summer ‘ lighting my way from the high ground to where car is 

Unfortunately l found myself with a neighbour 

Whose night life was disturbing 

Sleep was not for me ? 

This neighbour was oblivious to my need for rest 

It’s residence under the step of my abode ?

Too too too much to cope with

This neighbour not taking up too much room 

It’s only crime ? was being awake when l should be sleeping 

It had to go ? 

How does one deal with an unfriendly neighbour 

without creating a misdemeanour? 

The answer is to set a trap ? 

How cruel am l ? My conscience will not allow me 

It’s nightly behaviour driving me to distraction 

Drat it ‘ had enough 

Rat has to be routed ‘ sent packing ‘ find somewhere else live 

The hunt was on , every nook and cranny searched 

This rat was not making it known , where he had taken up residence 

Two weeks of disturbance of my need for sleep 

Bleary eyed each morning , was disconcerting 

Worked out he was thirty feet away from where l slept 

Yet his nightly capers , affecting my nocturnal need for sleep 

Had to be ceased for my mental health and physical well-being 

Driving to work at Dawn was not much fun 

All because of the nightly capers of this Rat who had taken up residence nearby 

Aha ? It was residing under my front door 

under the step ? 

Investigation over ‘ now location of where he was living ‘ he had to be evacuated 

The step removed , a clean out of the nest it had made ? 

Entrance to his abode sealed 

My conscience clear , no rap trap required 

My longed for a night sleep , prayer answered 

Rat had been scuppered 

Awoke this morning ‘ up at the rise of Dawn 

A night sleep was mine 

Rat had packed his case , off to pastures new 

Goodbye Rat and good riddance 

Off to work this morning , eyes wide open 

There is nothing worse than having a Rat in one’s life 

Underfoot and undetected , noisily scurrying around 

Peace now reigns ‘ without having to resort to using a rat trap 

Conscience clear ‘ a life spared 

 A rat is entitled to be on this planet but not living under my step 

A step too far 

Mary G  Douglas 

I said , you said , he said , she said , they said , we said , they said , 

Four letter word of finality , don’t argue with this word 

A word that can be the precursor to war being declared 

The child of five told if he behaves , he will be allowed a treat 

A treat thinks the child , behaves all day with 

anticipation 

 Bedtime all thoughts of behaving gone ?

A troubled child with little understanding of 

the fickle nature of the adult 

Dawn breaks , the child awakens, his memory fixed on disappointment 

A promise is a promise not to be trifled with 

The day starting off on a bad footing 

She said? the child pondering over this word 

If a person has said a promise ? why do l feel unhappy 

To say the word said ? is a damaging word when 

preempted by the promise of a treat 

Said is a word that can alter a child’s perception of his world ?

The disappointment of when first used 

leading to a child losing faith in a promise made 

Does this lead to the expectation of the child 

whose young life has been one of promises never fulfilled 

Adulthood with deep seated resentment 

If you work hard you will reap the rewards? 

said by his parents 

Neither the parent/s nor the teenager appreciating 

why there are those in society who distrust ?

Adults whose lives are blighted because of a word short in length ?  ? yet can cause long-standing damage 

Heads of State fall from Grace ? All owing to a speech when all said & done 

Goes down in History as the cause of going to War 

Reputations spiral into oblivion?  All because of the usage of  the following word said ? prefixed with a you? 

Millions  lost when the word said ? the nod and the wink to sink one’s inheritance? ending up living in poverty 

The horse in the paddock ? Said to be a certainty as winner of the race 

Who said ? as the horse falls at the first fence 

The wagons of the Wild West 

There is gold in them thar ‘ hills said ? 

One hint of this said ? leading to a promise of wealth for life 

The ship that sails ? it said ? Weather forecast 

said it would be ideal conditions ?

Only to have the ship scuppered ? as what was said , did not anticipate conditions would change 

The power of the word , said ? can win the day or lose a fortune at the races 

The lottery with one number mistakenly changed ? can be the difference to wake up one morning a multimillionaire 

or wake up and find on checking ? an error of 

one number changed ‘ not the case 

The word’ said ? with few letters can create a multitude

The beginning or the ending of faith in the word ‘ when said ? 

Food for thought ? well to be said, is a word that can lose one’s appetite for much in life .

Mary G Douglas