Tuesday, 15 November 2022

 I wrote this poem to remind me that I walked away from someone I could have given a helping hand.
London is busy and unforgiving, there are many youngsters like the boy in the poem and since then I have supported a charity for such despairing youngsters.
However, I am still ashamed that, at that moment, I just walked by.

Boy in the Underground


Just me plus countless other 'achievers'
Decamping from a tube train
A cruddy, mobile tin can
No human contact during the journey
Only the desire to keep some personal space
And not to look any fellow passenger
Directly in the face.
 
Then came the rush for the exit
Down narrow walkways
No place for the lame
Making some money was the only game
Business meetings and appointments to keep
So that each individual could reap
Some reward from this anonymous day.

But in the way
Huddled in a corner, not begging
Just squatting with hands shielding his face
Was a desolate member of the human race
A boy, probably unloved and rootless
Collateral damage from a broken home
No one cared as he bared his soul.
 
I thought about stopping, giving a kind word
Plus a 'tenner' for food...but I didn't
I too had become a drone
Just like all the other travelling clones
Cities are cruel and I was a selfish fool
Because that day I overruled... 
My humanity. 


Copyright © Peter Wheeler 2016.

All rights reserved.






 
                                                         This poem is from my new collection entitled

                                                                    A message to Father Time






If you would like to get more information on how to download a copy to your kindle/laptop/tablet or own the paperback, click here.
 
 
                                               

                                  


 
 

 



 For me nostalgia kicked in around my mid thirties, it mainly centred around those last care free days before work and a career slowly and imperceptibly took over my life. This poem reflects some treasured moments spent with good friends while we were all still living at home with our parents. Slowly but surely and one by one we moved on, a close friend moved to the USA, I moved to London and thus the chain was broken. I didn't realise until later what great moments they were. So I am very thankful that the human brain has a memory function. 


  Cider Pub in Brighton

 

No beer pumps in this pub
Just plastic barrels on the bar
Serving 'scrumpy'
Strong enough to fuel a car,
But its main purpose
Was to exterminate brain cells
No matter how many billions
We possessed
It was only a matter of time
Before this potent, cloudy slime
Would conquer all before it
And leave us topers
Dumb but sublime.
We stopped going
When our pay went up
Drank pasteurised gunk
From aluminium tubs
And other chemical muck
In theme pubs
Trying to pull ‘birds’
But there was always the longing
To go back
Have a real drink
Get brainless
Put sixpence in the jukebox
Sing along to ‘Jumping Jack Flash’
But those days are gone
So are my mates
And so is the pub.    



Copyright © Peter Wheeler 2016.

All rights reserved.


                    

                                

                                          


 

                                      This poem is from my new collection entitled

                                                A message to Father Time






If you would like to get more information on how to download a copy to your kindle/laptop/tablet or own the paperback, click here.

Wednesday, 26 June 2019

Glastonbury

Glastonbury has had a remarkable transformation from its roots as a counter-culture rock festival.
Nowadays it is an essential part of the summer social scene and attracts huge media coverage. Celebs fly in to spend the week in a luxury yurt, rock royalty are booked to perform, but can it still manage to retain the original atmosphere of youthful (and not so youthful) rebellion.
This poem takes a wry look at the modern Glastonbury.


Glastonbury




The last bastion of the hippy dream
Now part of the upmarket social scene
Justin and Josephine
On leave from their bank
Pretend to be 
Part of the 'family'
But only for a few days
No drug-fuelled haze for them
Only the best wine is good enough
For the 'creme de la creme'.

And middle-aged rock bands relive their past
But their songs of rebellion sound daft
Now they're part of the wealthy elite
Their anarchist posing sounds so effete
The passion is gone from a song
Where their hearts no longer belong
They're too rich now to berate
And they can't sing about owning
Plush mansions and estates.

Some of the stars now wear a hat
So you'd never guess that...they're bald
And bulging stomachs only add to their woes
Never mind about not seeing their toes
How can they look raunchy
When they're getting old and paunchy
As for those high notes, they're best left alone
Ironically proving that ageing rockers
Can still lower the tone.

The audience have the same problems too
Who?..in later life
Would want their wife
Sitting on their shoulders
Waving a flag
At a lead singer
They perhaps wanted to shag
Thirty years ago
And unbeknown to you
Maybe did so too.

But this middle-class...
Middle-aged partying needs a shot of new blood
So come on you young ones
Forget about getting a mortgage
Let's have some rebellion please
Remember how punk
Made us all ill at ease
Reclaim your territory please!
Then us counter-culture oldies
Can rest in peace.


Copyright © Peter Wheeler 2016.

All rights reserved.






This poem is from my new collection entitled

A message to Father Time






If you would like to get more information on how to download a copy to your kindle/laptop/tablet or own the paperback, click here.

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

Boombass Kid

You can hear them, before you see them. They only appear in the warm weather (otherwise they'd be deaf), when they can have all the car windows open just so that they can share their awful choice of music with you, at a zillion decibels. I wrote this poem as I think these types crave attention and need the safety of a car to avoid public outrage, imagine if they did it as pedestrians. However, I bear no real malice, we're all different in the way we behave to fulfil our human desires, so enjoy the poem and hopefully have a giggle.



Boombass Kid


It's all your fault!
When I walked down the street
You just wouldn't notice me
Even though I sported outrageously dyed hair
And dressed like a prat
You would not acknowledge that
I was posing assiduously there.
Being left with no choice, 
I was bound to try something more drastic
To make you realise I'm fantastic
So I bought an 'old banger'
With a throaty engine roar.

Then fitted a sound system so loud
That even a deaf person would be cowed.
Just what I needed
Now my presence has to be heeded
As I drive up and down
The High Street in my little market town
With the car windows fully wound down,
'Club' music blaring
And everyone staring
I've succeeded brilliantly
Because all I ever wanted
Was for someone to notice me.



Copyright © Peter Wheeler 2016


All Rights Reserved.







This poem is included in my new collection of 65 poems entitled

'A Message to Father Time'




If you would like more information on how to get a download of my new collection on your PC/Laptop/Kindle, or obtain a paperback version, click here.






Monday, 23 July 2018

The Bridge

This poem reflects some of the most cherished memories of my father. 
When I am able I like to go back to my childhood haunts, usually beginning at the bridge mentioned, and when I do they trigger-off memories of what would now be called 'bonding' between dad and me.
He really enjoyed taking me out on his bike for a long ride around the countryside, there wasn't so much traffic then and anyway the roads were rural backwaters so the journeys were peaceful. I think, for him, it was an opportunity to talk to his kid as I was a captive audience and now I am older I realise that he wanted to school me into being the kind and caring person he was.
As I grew up I also discovered that not everyone had such loving parents as I fortunately had, so my gratitude towards him grew and grew with age. 
I miss him every day and hope that I have not fallen short of his ideals.


The Bridge


Now and again
I revisit the little bridge over the Loddon,
Look down at the bank
It's where I played as a little boy
Caught tiddlers in a jam jar,
My own tiny aquarium.

Memories flood my brain
Of innocent, uncorrupted youth
Father as the hero
The teller of all truths
Provider of unconditional love,
Safety, warmth and wisdom.

I recall dad putting his little boy
On a crossbar mounted saddle
Ready to go on a long bike ride
Around verdant Hampshire farmland 
His arms, in order to reach the handlebars
Cradled me, as we went on tour.

Past Stratfield Saye, to view
A monument to the Duke of Wellington
Another Nelson's column
But bizarrely in a rural scape
More modest, less triumphant, private
Just like my father’s quiet courage.

Although he died a long time ago
I am still on that bike,
Dad safely steering
Whispering in my ear:
“Be a good person, then you will have wealth
That no one can steal...and nothing to fear.”

Copyright © Peter Wheeler 2016

All Rights Reserved.








                       

This poem is included in my new collection of 65 poems entitled

'A Message to Father Time'




If you would like more information on how to get a download of my new collection on your PC/Laptop/Kindle, or obtain a paperback version, click here.











Shiny New Bank

I wrote this poem when a local bank was refurbished. People were very curious while the work was undertaken and hoped for a bank providing an improved service in a modern environment.
The disappointment when it re-opened was crushing. The interior resembled the flight deck of the Starship Enterprise and there was only one service counter. The staff that previously had been tellers were redeployed to explain to those customers without a degree in Computer Science, how to enjoy the amazing new experience of doing their own transactions.
I went in on a Saturday morning when the system had crashed and the only option for customers was to besiege the poor teller manning the 'International Only' counter, who was pretty pissed off.
Sometimes progress is not progress.


 Shiny New Bank


I guess it’s progress and technology
I should thank
For this refurbished, shiny
And soulless new Bank
Not a teller to be seen
Just a daunting collection
Of uninviting, unfriendly 
Computer screens.
Customers walk in
But they don't know what to do
How do you form a queue
For machines that don't acknowledge you,
But when your turn comes
Everyone is watching
Waiting for a mistake
You're certain to look a fool,
So it's pointless trying to be cool
Those distressed electronic beeps
Will draw heaps of unwanted ridicule.
OK so HQ want less staff...
More money for the bonus pool
But the day I went in
There was chaos and confusion everywhere
The computers were having the last laugh
They were almost human 
And had learnt the trick
That when it's Saturday morning...
You ring in sick.

Copyright © Peter Wheeler 2016


All Rights Reserved.









This poem is one of 65 from my new collection entitled

'A Message to Father Time'


Visit my Author Page for more details

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Thursday, 19 July 2018

Hot Hatch

 Women tend to give their cars names, as if they were pets, but men, when they get the car of their dreams treat it more like a mistress. I wrote this poem about a Vauxhall SRi, which at the time was a hot, hot motor. It was my favourite ever company car and the poem recalls the day it was delivered to me.


Hot Hatch


Car number C43 GND
You'll never know how happy you made me
You were made from metal
Cold-hearted, but beautiful
And you gave me everything a man could want
Amazing torque 
With the speed of a hawk.

You were waiting for me, 
Hanging around in the street
And when I first saw your body
So aerodynamic and sleek
In its gleaming metallic light blue
I instantly knew
That I was in love with you.

And when I came to pick you up
You had two wheels on the pavement
A raunchy, teasing angle
So I just couldn't wait
To grab your keys and penetrate  
Your lush interior space
Then drive you back to my place.


Copyright © Peter Wheeler 2016

All Rights Reserved.





This poem is included in my new collection of 65 poems entitled

'A Message to Father Time'





If you would like more information on how to get a download of my new collection on your PC/Laptop/Kindle, or obtain a paperback version, click here.