The poems of Brian Bilston.

[Tony.Williams]

"Driver, hello driver... Get your train the fuck out of my station!"

[bindeweede]

RESIGNATION

It is with great regret
that I must resign
myself today


to watching
the country
in total disarray.

[bindeweede]

Limerick



There was a young harpist called Niamh,
who would wear her heart on her sliamh.
But then she plucked Sean
(he played the French hean).
They married before New Year’s Iamh.

[bindeweede]

Off on a slight tangent, my copy of Brian Bilston's first novel has just arrived - "Diary of a Somebody". With a quite amazing sense of timing, I ordered the hardback edition - discounted to £10 - the very day the paperback edition hit the shelves.

Not surprisingly, the novel centres around poetry. From the dust jacket - "It's January 1st and Brian Bilston is convinced that this new year his New Year's Resolution will change his life. Every day for a year, he will write a poem. It's quite simple."

[Ketchup]

Not sure when this 'yesterday' was ... apart from it being the day before BB wrote this poem:

READ A BOOK DAY

Yesterday was Read a Book Day apparently – as it should be every day. Anyway, here’s a poem to encourage such an activity.

[bindeweede]

Valentine’s Day is Over


They’re taking down love in the supermarkets.
It was best before by February 15th anyhow
and love is something that can’t be left on the shelf.

They need the space for other public displays
of confection, for the thanking of the best mum
in the world ever, and the laying out of chocolate eggs.

Romance may have had it’s day but there’s always
something to celebrate; Washington’s birthday,
some saint, All Saints’, All Souls’, April Fool’s, armistices,

rare diseases, women, men, children, animals,
pirates, poverty, pancakes, independence, not to mention
Diwali, Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Ramadan.

It’s a wonder we find time for love at all.
This poem has been especially commissioned for
International Poetry About The End of Valentine’s Day Day.

(2015)

[bindeweede]

Roger’s Thesaurus


In order to grow, expand, widen
his lexicological corpus,
Roger bought, acquired, purchased
a synonymopedia, a thesaurus.

Soon, presently, without delay,
he no longer ran out of things to say,
speak, utter, express, articulate,
give voice to, pronounce, communicate.

This was all very well, fine, great,
wonderful, super, terrific
but his friends, mates, pals found him
boring, tedious, dull, soporific.

So let this be a warning,
an omen, a sign, a premonition,
it’s all very well to show learning,
education, knowledge, erudition,

but here’s a top tip, a hint,
a suggestion, some advice,
don’t ever let it stop you
from being concise,

brief, short, clear, pithy,
succinct, compendious, to the point,
compact, snappy, laconic.
Breviloquent.

[bindeweede]

Here’s a reworking of Kipling’s poem ‘If’ (Eton College version).

[bindeweede]

THIS IS NOT A POEM

it is merely
a few words

to wish you all
a merry Christmas,

presented
in such a way

to make it appear
as if it is

even though,
as I mentioned

at the beginning
of this poem,

it really is
no such thing

[bindeweede]

(July 14, 2021.)

[bindeweede]

Cant imagine who this is referring to.

[bindeweede]

[bindeweede]

"America is a Gun". The poem dates back to 2016, but tragically topical.

England is a cup of tea.
France, a wheel of ripened brie.
Greece, a short, squat olive tree.
America is a gun.

Brazil is football on the sand.
Argentina, Maradona’s hand.
Germany, an oompah band.
America is a gun.

Holland is a wooden shoe.
Hungary, a goulash stew.
Australia, a kangaroo.
America is a gun.

Japan is a thermal spring.
Scotland is a highland fling.
Oh, better to be anything
than America as a gun.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/america-is-gun

[bindeweede]

[bindeweede]

Today's Climate Forecast.