Riga Cathedral, Riga, Latvia | Woongyoung Park, Google Maps
Collateral Peace
by John Yeo
‘
‘Thou shalt not kill:’ Intoned the priest.
‘Father!’ A small clear voice interjected from the congregation. ‘What about the weapons of killing stored in the cloisters?’ There was a sudden stunned silence as the venerable priest continued preaching, regardless of this uncalled for interruption. ‘Father do these cannon not signify a breach of the sacred teaching constituting a manifest hypocrisy?’ There was a loud ripple of voices drowning the flow of the sermon. Then another voice loudly exclaimed. ‘Indeed Father: Cannon are indiscriminately fired at anyone, threatening, killing and maiming.’ The priest raised his hands to silence this diversion from his teaching, after a brief period of quiet, he replied. ‘The cannon are used to emphasise our strength and are a simple deterrent. Should they ever be fired any collateral killing would be the work of the cannon balls. There would be no blood on our hands or our conscience.’
LUCKY NUMBER ~ A little revision with a slight deviation from the usual subjective vision. Take a four-leafed clover and break off a leaf then subject yourself to much derision. Such is the usual consequence of breaking the mold.
LUCKY NUMBER by John Yeo
There were three witches stirring the broth Of the cauldron of fabulous fortune. Three wise men stared into crystal balls. A trio of wizards studied the runes. Three answers to my question gave birth To my tri-universal problematic equation.
~
The significant number with firm proof You will need to follow wherever you roam, A number that will always be with you; The key to your future in a third dimension Wherever you roam in Sea, Sky or Earth. Look to the cycle of a mystical threesome.
~
Your lucky number will be with you forever Engendering three branches of fortune Three spins; Good, Bad or Indifferent. Look to the leaves of a four leafed Clover Then break of a leaf and feel the power. Of this harsh sometimes brutal world Where luck lies with the accident of birth.
Life goes by like lightning as the happy years unfurl and seem to drift by at the speed of light. The cruising holiday went well, we toured around some popular ports around the Mediterranean Sea. The food was plentiful and available in many forms. The carefree consumption of many high fat, high risk food didn’t concern me. I have always been an extremely fit man, indulging in some healthy exercise on my allotment, in our garden and on the club bowling green. With an always optimistic outlook on life I was sure I would contentedly go on forever.
We were at our Bowls Club when the first signs of something untoward occurred, although I suspect the signs and warnings were already there, silent and unrecognised. I stood at the edge of the bowling green where I suddenly became aware of a strange pain in my chest. I immediately sat down and began to take some deep breaths, I suspected I was suffering from a bout of indigestion. My wife Margaret, asked if I was alright and I nodded and said,
“Don’t worry, I have a funny pain, probably just a touch of indigestion.” I took a drink of water and after a few minutes the pain seemed to disappear.
We played a great game of bowls together, we were drawn to play on the same side and we gave each other the support we needed to win the match.
We returned home and enjoyed a super-tasty chicken meal, prepared by Margaret. After an evening spent watching television we went to bed.
At 01.30, I woke with a pain in my chest and neck, about ten times worse than the pain I had suffered at the Bowls Club. Margaret woke and became concerned, “Do you have pain radiating down your arm?”
“No!” I replied. “just a funny pain in my chest and my neck.”
Margaret then decided to immediately telephone 111; NHS Choices. Margaret spoke to an efficient operator, who advised I take 4 Aspirin, chewing them as opposed to swallowing them for a faster effect. The operator then telephoned for an ambulance. A paramedic arrived within 10 minutes closely followed by an emergency ambulance. My pulse was taken, my blood pressure was measured and an ECG was done which proved to be slightly abnormal. The ambulance personnel then informed me I would have to go to the Norfolk and Norwich hospital for further tests. Margaret decided to drive herself to the hospital to give me some support. On the way to hospital, I had a further four ECG readings which were still showing an abnormal reading, with many other tests. The young lady paramedic was polite and caring and extremely efficient, as she filled in her forms collating the readings and information.
The ambulance arrived at the A&E department, where I was subjected to a barrage of further tests and several blood samples were taken for analysis in the lab. I waited on a trolley for around half an hour before Margaret arrived, bringing several things for me in case I was admitted to hospital. I was really happy to see her. After about another half an hour doctor arrived and said,
“You have had a heart attack, we are waiting for some results of blood tests from the lab. I am afraid you will have to stay in hospital for a few days.”
The doctor then turned to Margaret and said she should go home and sleep as things may take a while from here.
An hour later, after a further chat with the Doctor, I found myself in bed, in the male admissions assessment ward. This was an experience that I will remember for a long time to come. I was shown to a bed next to a window, with a pleasant view of the greenery in the hospital grounds.
It’s a sunny day in the popular seaside resort. Michael is constructing a garden shed for a customer of his DIY store, when his pager goes off. He scans the device briefly then turns and starts running. His colleagues are not surprised. They’re used to it. Within minutes he arrives at the local lifeboat station on the southeast coast. Soon he and the rest of the crew are at sea, powering towards the rocky cliffs, where two swimmers are trapped against the rocks by a heavy swell. It’s a tricky operation to steer the rigid inflatable boat close enough without it being smashed against the rocks. The team have to bring it in quickly then hover, balancing carefully at 90 degrees to the swell. The crew hoist one man out and manoeuvre the boat round for the other man before turning for home. With both men delivered safely to the emergency services, the lifeboat is rehoused, washed and prepared for the next incident. Within hours Michael is back at the store. This is just a solitary incident in the life of an unpaid ordinary member of the public who devote their time and efforts to saving lives at sea. Imagine for a moment that you’re part of the crew on a lifeboat. It’s 2.30am on a freezing January morning and the pager’s just woken you from a deep sleep in a snug warm bed. You then head out to sea in complete darkness and 10m waves rise and fall around you, ready to swamp you at any moment. Strong gale force winds throw the lifeboat around like a toy. Most lifeboat crew members are volunteers, ordinary people who simply and selflessly want to save lives at sea. When the pagers go off, they drop everything and are regularly called away from their families, their beds and their work, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A donation to to the RNLI, is always money well-spent, to enable this important rescue work to continue.
Today is the final day of the 2019 April PAD Challenge, but come back tomorrow for the first Wednesday Poetry Prompt of May and stay for Poetic Form Fridays, the next WD Poetic Form Challenge, and so much more!
It’s time for our fifth (and final) Two for Tuesday prompt of the month! Pick one prompt or use both…your choice!
The pangs were gnawing away inside As we hungered for days gone by. The biggest casualty was our pride.
The life force of rain has been denied We couldn’t stop them however we try, The pangs were gnawing away inside
Our food supply now long gone we hide Our principles begging for food we belie The biggest casualty was our pride.
Hope with charity and kindness beside As the children and our elders began to die The pangs were gnawing away inside.
Finally our bodies racked with pain we cried. Out for mercy from the blue sunlit sky The biggest casualty was our pride.
Our senses were dulled when food finally arrived. The torrid sun baked the soil bone dry The pangs were gnawing away inside. The biggest casualty was our pride.
WHEN I GROW UP AGAIN by John Yeo today’s prompt, take the phrase “(blank) Again,” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then write your poem. Possible titles include: “Here We Go Again,” “On the Road Again,” “Stumped on What to Write Again,” and “Doing the Wrong Thing Again.”
For today’s prompt, write a remix poem. That is, remix one of your poems from earlier in the month. There are many ways to do this. Turn a free verse poem into a traditional form (using lines from the original poem). Or use erasure to cut down a long poem into a short one. Or expand a short poem into a longer version. Get creative with it.
28th April 2019
DAY TWENTY-EIGHT
Robert Lee Brewers Poem a Day Challenge
COMPLETE EXHAUSTION by John Yeo
A dash of yellow and black Signalled the cheetahs approach. Flashing across the plain. Driven by hunger for blood.
The deer was on full alert. Her ears pricked up in alarm, Speeding away at full speed Racing away from danger.
The chase was harsh and savage As the deer was quickly run down. She was caught and fell in pain Overcome with sheer exhaustion.
For today’s prompt, pick a direction, make that the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. There are so many directions: north, south, up, down, left, right, over, under, etc. But there are also more specific directions like “Across the Way,” “Through the Woods,” and “Beyond the Clearing.” Or give directions like “Clean Your Room,” “Tie Your Shoes,” or “Get Over Here.”
Saturday 27th April 2019
DAY TWENTY-SEVEN
Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-A-Day on Writers Digest
Which direction shall we choose?
FOLLOWING A LIFE
by John Yeo
The trail is very obscure,
Many twists and turns
Billions have come this way
The path is very well worn.
Across the seas, another shore,
There are many signs,
Many corners, many directions,
Many examples to follow.
One door unlocks another door,
The instinct quickly learns
The only way is forward,
Be kind, be gentle, be firm.
Your trail began at birth,
Already the myriad clues and signs
Were building a pattern to follow.
The learning never ends.
For today’s prompt, write an evening poem. A poem about or during the night. Or take evening a completely different direction and think of evening the score or making things more even (or fair or whatever).
Friday 26th April 2019
DAY TWENTY-SIX
Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-A-Day on Writers Digest
‘SEE, ONE LOVES THE SUNSET WHEN ONE IS SO SAD‘
Quote from ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
SUNSET
by John Yeo
The sun rises in a blaze of glory,
Sunrise warms the Earth.
Children are born and breathe life.
The sun circles the globe bringing a warm glow.
People live, love, bathe in the rays.
Survival and intellectual growth develop
As life begins when the sun starts the day
Lighting the clouds and bringing joy.
Birth, Life, Joy,
Sunrise, Happiness,
Midday, Evening, Tears,
Sadness. Sunset.
‘You see, one loves the sunset when one is so sad.’
One loves the sunrise at dawn when one feels happy.
Happiness, when the balance is in harmony,
The day full of joy with love and warmth.
The sun brings the evening and sadness approaches,
Depression when the balance of the mind is upset,
The day seems black, nothing to feel,
Night brings sleep and stilled thought.
‘You see, one loves the sunset when one is so sad.’
For today’s prompt, write an exile poem. Exile is a noun, a verb, and an American rock band from Richmond, Kentucky. A person, animal, or object can be exiled. But people and animals also exile others–or even exile themselves.
Thursday 25th April 2019
DAY TWENTY-FIVE
Robert Lee Brewer’s Poem-A-Day on Writers Digest
BREAK-UP
by John Yeo
The reason I have to suffer in exile
Escapes me, life can be so cruel,
My response is to live life without a smile.
You set your trap with craft and guile
I was putty in your hands when I left school
The reason I have to suffer in exile.
We started to live out our lives in style
My emotions swirled an awakening
whirlpool,
My response is to live life without a smile.
I refused to walk down the marital aisle
You twisted my words to catch a fool
The reason I have to suffer in exile.
I was found guilty without a fair trial
I feel as if I’m a subject for ridicule
My response is to live life without a smile.
You seduced me with your wealthy lifestyle
Using my innocence as a tool to refuel
The reason I have to suffer in exile.
My response is to live life without a smile.
johnandmargaret1607 