Author: Katherine

I like art, poetry,history, literature,cooking,doing nothing to music.And conversation

Confusion is a pool but not a lake

With words. he pulled some in and pushed some out
He wanted love but still encountered doubts
Should he make commitments then feel trapped?
Should he disappear from lovers’ maps?

He joined an online dating site and smiled
His profile photo strong and slightly wild
He got ten ladies asking for a date
Did they want a lover or a mate?

He gazed upon their photos,felt confused
Did he want a wife or perhaps a muse?
He could not bring himself to use the phone
Spent the evening time at home alone

He fell into obsessive thought and dreams
A new friend may be party to a scheme
Could he trust his judgement or their truth
Soon he lost his temper, gnashed his teeth

Should he seek a therapist for aid?
Was his mind withdrawn or in decay?
Should he join a gym or grow a beard?
Was he what they wanted, what they feared?

In the end he thought his life away
He died in bed alone one autumn day
It does not matter deeply what we choose
But life is more important than these clues

What control

Photo by moein moradi on Pexels.com

Seems the seven plagues are coming back
Now we are in Lockdown for control
Of care for others, seems there was a lack
Oh, the seven plagues are riding back
We never saw the swift and silent rat
Where are those lost entities called “souls”?
I say, the deadly plagues are fast and wreck
The total Lockdown. who then will console?
Noone will admit they knew the facts
Killing any virus is a knack
Both high intelligence and smooth sweet tact
Suddenly I hear the thunder roll
What’s the good of weeping by a crack
Noone worships tears in sugar bowls

Is evil de rigeur?

Why should we do evil if we care
Care about the world and humankind?
What is evil, what is good, what’s fair?

To feel we’re God, implacable our stare
Igniting terror in a human mind
Why should we do that if we do care?

Some do evil deeds to show they dare,
Making their own heart a place malign
What is evil, what is good, what’s fair?

The truly strong are anxious and aware
Letting their love flow in reason’s time
Why should we do that if we don’t care?

The good are like the tortoise not the hare
Slowly with perception ,impulse reined,
Acquainted with the evil ,good prefer

The true mind is the one refined by pain
Seeking no revenge,but to so learn
Why should we do evil if we care?
There is evil, is it de rigeur?

Try better

Would you like a waiter?
No, thanks .I am a vegetarian

I’d like water
Mine or from the river?

Would you like your tea in a pot?
i’d prefer it sitting on my chair

Can tea sit?
No, but it can lie
Lie!
On your food


Do you want milk in your tea?
Who is this Milk?

Did you learn Greek at school?
I just picked it up.Is there a vaccine?

Was it ancient ?
It seemed fresh to me.But the ancient is safer

Why did you give up history?
It seemed like nonsense
Now everything seems like that
Well,I can’t give up Everything.

Can I hold your hand?
Act like a man.On second thoughts, No.
Why not, since I adore you
You don’t even know me
Make the most of that
I do try.
Try better

Why do women have their toes sucked?
They like a man at their feet
I think it’s very common
Indeed, vulgar.
Do you like it?
I can’t lift my foot to my mouth
Can I help?
No, my joints won’t bend
The only answer is to cut yout feet off.
I’d rather bite my nails
Very wise.
Be off or I’ll bite yours.

Are you British?
I sadly admit I am
It’s not your fault Boris’s great grandfather was Turkish
Did they come in a dinghy?
No, on an inflatable mattress
It’s still illegal
Was it illegal then?
A magic carpet is better
For what?


It kept the rain from Emile’s eyes

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When the weather turns out wet
Emile has to wear a hat
Mary bought it in a Sale
Making sure it was for males.

Yellow with two cotton ties
It keeps the rain from Emile’s eyes
Mary has her own hat too
Bought in Orford, it is blue

Emile as he is a cat
Up a tree does love to sit
But when he’s leaping tree to tree
With his rain hat , he can’t see.

Mary said, “well stay indoors
You can help me with the chores
I’ll make a harness with a cart
You can carry soap.dear heart.”

“Otherwise go visit Anne
Eat the curry in her pan
Scratch her doormat,sniff for mice
Eat her cake and churn her rice”

I think I saw Stan on the stairs
It’s that velvet coat he wears
I may go and have a rest
I can lean upon his chest

Shall we visit him tonight?
Emile,dear, you must not bite
If he is a spirit now
You may only give a bow

Annie came in looking flushed
By the milkman she was kissed
One more man and she will die
Mary says she needs meat pie

Then the ladies make some tea
Gossip till their minds are free
Mary wants to write a book
If dear Anne will learn to cook

Stan is hiding in the coats
He is checking what they write
Then an angel flies to him
God wants enemies within

So practise love and hope and faith
Even though you have no grace
Say God is dead but do not taunt
Jesus preaching on the Mount

Be you friend or be you foe
Through a needle’s eye we go
See, you’re full of love and grace
Now go home and wash your face

Going to church

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Daddy went to Mass at 12 oclock
I followed him and crossed the busy road
I was wearing my best Sunday frock
I was only three,I knew no code.

I went down Melbourne Road and saw the church
I saw the trees. a robin and a wren
Mothers went to early Mass in thirst
Taking holy wafers now and then

Daddy disappeared and so I cried
The verger knew my family by sight
He lifted me above the gentlemen
I saw Daddy smile at me again

He carried me on his own shoulders home
Mammy said,I wondered where you’d gone

My grate art

drawing genrleman.jpgHow much does it cost to get a hair cut?
Sorry, we don’t do  just  one hair.

How much is a shampoo and set?
Ten pounds more than you expect.

How much is a blow dry?
Sorry, I am out of breath.

Can you dye my hair?
I can dye it but I shan’t

Would red hair suit me?
For what?

Will a perm attract men?
No,  they are too impatient.

How shall I look when I’m dressed up?
The same.

Am I overweight?
No, under-height.

Do you like my new coat?
Stop phishing for compliments.

Shall I have a full body massage?
No, get married again

I can’t get married again
Why not?
I have never been married

Can I date on the Internet?
In theory.

Do you have to pay for joining Soul Mates
You’ll pay with your heart

Why are pronouns important?
To or for whom?
I see

Never store your water in a shoe

Can we change our point of view alone?
What can give perspective to a poem?
Shall I outline what we ought to do?
Shall I sketch the patterns,are you blue?
Move your eyes and you will move your soul
Looking at the men queue for the dole
Do you want to mix the colours first
Oh,I drank the water, what a thirst
I shall use my tea and this gouache
Let the colours wander as they splash
Women nursing babies need good food
If you have no children, do not brood
When Hitler went to Munich in a rage
We got a new perspective of the age
I didn’t go myself for I was framed
I was just encrypted ,it’s no shame
Never use a rubber when you’re wrong
Never kill a blackbird while it sings
Never go to bed with any one
Make it two or three, we need some fun
Never use art pastels on your cheeks
Never use a water jar that leaks
You must be spontaneous as a rule
To produce cartoons, you must be cruel
You must learn techniques and then forget
Never tell the Universe we met.
Remember every line I draw for you
Never store your water in a shoe


The last card

Self improvement ends when we depart
On the final train ride of our life
Silent is that little clock, our heart

When we lose our teeth that is the start
When we have no man to make us wife
Self improvement ends when we depart

When we reach the edges of all charts
Unknown oceans, crossed by unknown lines
Silenced is that little clock, our heart

Can we be improved by self regard?
Can self help kick us up till we’re divine?
Either way it ends when we depart

No more tricks as we play our last card
All that I possessed, no longer mine
Silenced is that little clock, our heart

How peaceful is the dust, it does not strive
Nor agitate itself about soul stained
Self improvement ends, we die, depart
Silent are the speeches of our hearts

Do not ask



Astounded by love’s impact, my tears fell
As if a door was opened up by you
The reservoir of grief, the flooded bell,
The marble on the shore, the hidden view.

I stayed still and by you I was held
In your golden cloud, I felt embraced
You covered me with warmth,I was your child
A candle in the gale,a shining face

I was silent,I was even dumb
They who see a face can not unknow
Love is not a method nor a sum
Nor can logic point the way to go

Do not ask for knowledge or belief
Do not ask reprieve from human grief

A metaphor

There is a green hill far away
There are hundreds, let’s make hay
We don’t mow our hills for grass
They have heather tops alas
No local birds do a fly past
If the lower fields are green
There will be worms at work unseen
From Winter Hill we saw North Wales
The hills aren’t green, they’re hit by hail
They have snow and they have rain
The Irish Sea must take the blame
The green hill is a metaphor
Blessed is the God who saw

Oh,mother

Oh,mother dear wherever have you been
To leave a cat all day is very mean
Emile,I need my freedom now and then
I can’t love Dave but I would like a man
I must go out to buy a handsome coat
Cognac is the colour I love most

Emile cried, whatever do you think
I saw some frogs a-courting in the sink
I was on the draining rack up there
They asked me to avert my amber stare

Are frogs faithful, don’t they just leave spawn?
They are cold towards tadpoles unborn
We saw them by Moss Bank in shallow pools
Mary wonders if all frogs are cruel

Stan came in with his angels right behind
They are tired of heaven, they’ve resigned
Here’s a pin upon which they can dance
Mary was delighted and entranced

Do you need a dinner now you’ve died?
I wouldn’t mind a steak, the old man sighed
Some buttered new potatoes and a fool
Rhubarb or vanilla would be cool

I have done no shopping, Mary cried
I have no money for the food you like
Shall I get a pizza, fish and chips
That will put some colour in your lips

I am only joking, Stanley said
I shall merely visit you in bed
Emile wept with joy to see his Dad
What a spirit, is he going mad?

In came Annie in her long green coat
Her eyes were black and scratched was her throat
I fell into the Croal when eating chips
See the bruises on my purple lips

Never walk on water,Mary screeched
Even when you cross all Southport Beach
Stay away from danger,I’ll ring Dave
He will dress your bruises with his gauze

Annie did not tell them all the truth
She had fallen off the sloping roof

With good will

At last my one ambition is fulfilled
I have a desk where I may write at will
No more the dining table or a board
A two desk family is safely moored
Men must have their study if they write
Though grandad was a coalminer at night
And Father was a writer in gold paint
Embellishing the Churches with quotes quaint
He also did The Stations of the Cross
Then he died, what torment ,oh what loss.
We went to see his grave and said a prayer
Jesus was so quiet, hardly there.
But I believe in love and always will
Now I’ll write my poems with a quill

The valued sin

If you need to find the perfect man
Find one who’s a good companion
For as we age we are not acrobats
Preferring to dance slowly as we chat
If you can go further, keep it quiet
Or all your lonely neighbours may cause riots
Very few lack a last faint desire
Eying others in the Oldies’ Choir
But when at home we like to read and talk
Take the cat out for his daily walk
Only jealousy revives the beast
So with a married women flirt at least
There is value in all kinds of sin
Whatever life you choose, you’ll always win

Keep a cat

The writer told me psychopaths love dogs
Those who murder rarely keep a cat
I wonder if a thief might love a frog!
The author told me psychopaths love dogs
Cookbook writers might go the whole hog;
Sad ghouls enjoy the company of bats
The writer told me psychopaths keep dogs
Those who murder never love a cat

Thieves

The thieves took only one of my blue mugs
Spode, I think,from Holt where cars break down
I still keep my wildflowers in the jug
The thieves took only one thing, sweet blue mug
My husband gave me China.so he browsed
All Spode, I think,in Holt where we broke down
The car was large but caused frustrated howls
The thieves took only one thing, a blue mug
My gifts from Holt, the bed ,the wedding gown

The Sun Sinks

The sun sinks but it burns like a  great fire;
All the sky’s aflame with  fierce intent;
Who thinks of death as weakness, is a liar
Before the end  our glory must be spent.

The  graphics of the branches look Chinese
As  blackened brush is drawn across red silk
Infinite yet countable  my days
Running like a river without silt

Thus I am not transcendent in myself
But joined to all that lives I feel I am.
So in conjunction we will find our health
Ambivalence contains both lion and lamb.

The fire of  orange leaves me with a glow
As into night I with all creatures go

Amber eyed

Amber eyed, the cats hunt in the night
The smallest creatures shiver, try to hide
Eyes like ours can’t see the quivering grass
Set to music by the mouse that passed

In the day time,slumped on cushioned chair,
Jeremiah breathed the heated air
Slept all day while we worked for the cash
To feed this cat with more than mere green grass

I went to post a card, the winter dark
Miah followed me, oh, cruel car
That struck the headlong beast, without a pat
Gone the much loved animal, my cat

Remember cats will follow where you walk
The cars kill more than hunters from the Ark