The stone ages

We snacked on nuts and berries, and sometimes ate some grass,
We were pretty flamin’ happy, just sittin’ on our ass.
There were also little critters who tasted rank and sweet,
We tried them all and worked it out, but for some it meant ‘long sleep!’

We knew little of the food chain, but it seemed we weren’t on top!
There were Others living with us, some you didn’t try to stop!
There was Big! and Fast! and Nasty! but we learned to run and hide,
And we sorted out our problems, and found the rule – Survive!

Some of us took shelter, while others loved the rain!
Obviously the beginnings, of what became the brain!
We never had identity – all pretty much the same,
We also had this notion that wasn’t all that plain?
Sex was not an issue, but we had this little game,
Shared between the different ones, when bored or suffering cold,
Life was short and fast, no such thing as old

Of course there were the Young’uns, they never stopped arrivin’,
We learned responsibility, and the way to keep survivin’.

Then we had the Smarties who were full of grand ideas,
How we lived – what we ate – and keeping track of ‘yeers’
It seemed that there were Others, who were leaving us for 'ded'
With tribes and chiefs and ‘weppons’ – and sometimes missing heads!

They said we should have ‘langwidge’ and have some formal order,
And have a tribal ‘colcher’ and some thing they called ‘the border’,
There was even talk of heathens, and a need for law and order.

There was also this religion thing, it seems that our’s is best
Why can’t they stick to eating, and let the whole thing rest?

There used to be a time of day for layin’ in the sun.
Of swimmin’ in the river, and havin’ lots o' fun,
But now they’re buildin’ temples and filling us with fear,
It’s time to up, and make a move, and quickly disappear,
Down the hill and through the pass and clear across the mountain.
A place of green, and lakes and streams, and food that's beyond countin’

Well! we took a hike and tried all this, and what d’yer think we found?
A place of peace and happiness, and kids a’runnin round,
Everything was perfect, a sea of smiling faces,
Skin of every colour, a perfect mix of races!

Yet some damned thing was missing, but no one seemed to mind,
Why was it so perfect? no answer could we find!
Then we finally worked it out, the little flaw that doomed this plan.
The women had excelled themselves, and eliminated MAN!

The cloth of life

The hand on the cradle sets the scene,
Backdrop to a new life’s dreams;
From rainbow threads we choose and change,
the colours bright, through prism’s range.

At Nature’s loom, we strive away,
patterns changing, day by day,
Over and under, across and through –
so goes our lives, as weavers do.

Years go by, a changing tapestry;
often rough, but sometimes running free.
The fabric takes the path we choose,
life’s gains will show, the weft will smooth.

And in the end, we leave a scene,
of what is done, the way we’ve been,
In other’s lives, the weaver’s hand will show,
The shuttle’s path, our life of passing to and fro’.

Caretakers

This mite of earth, ’pon which we serve a watching brief,
A Gracious Womb, that nurtures Nature’s bounteous seeds;
creatures large and small – the air we breathe,
and sustenance for all !

But only for an instant, do we live in greater Time,
and soon tomorrow – no trace of our passing will remain.

Good times

What happened to the good times, that always seemed to roll?
Everybody working, no-one on the dole,
We didn’t have a car, few had a phone,
Your lawnmower needed pushing, but you really owned your home!

Every child was born, and had a right to life,
and soon learned right from wrong – or quickly paid the price!
Schooling was basic, and full of Golden Rules,
Retribution swift!, if you tried to act the Fool!
The cane was always handy, and the schoolmaster GOD!
Spoil the child – Never! always fear the rod;
A visit to his study, was feared beyond belief,
You waited trembling in your boots, and shaking like a leaf!

Psychologists and counsellors, who the Hell were they?
you just did your studies, and then went out to play!
At age fourteen, you went looking for a job,
no resume or paperwork, or career help bods.
Mostly you were lucky, someone had a friend,
happy to engage you, or some good advice to lend;
help for a lad, to earn an honest trade,
even an apprenticeship, and steady weekly wage.

So it was for most of us, life was smooth and sure,
but never really easy – the Wolf was always near the door!
but in time we all survived, and raised a heap of kids,
few were known to fail, or hit financial skids!

This is not an Urban Myth, an ancient Fairy Tale,
no-one found the Golden Fleece, or held the Holy Grail;
That’s the way it really was, till progress had it’s way,
We can’t reverse the process – the Race is here to stay!

Stream of life

How quickly flows the stream of life!
Thoughts of Mother closeness still remain, so clear and yet so far away.
What mystery lies ahead, what more has life to give?
To self and others who are yet to know the pain,
Of frustration and those doubts, that we shed along the way,
but find again come yet another dawn!
Our early steps may falter, but instinct spurs us on;
Some may tarry at a by road, and slowly make their way,

But we who strive, for all things good,
Though we may stumble through youth’s searching times,
and know the fruits of family and maturing years,
To find the journey shorten, as our ageing thoughts decline.
If we could choose to start again, at some point that we could find,
and tread once more those hard but happy years!

But no! Life has but once to run, and memories will remain,
It is for us to hold our future dear, and trust that our fulfilment is attained.
So let each day be treasured, for whatever it, may bring,
For we will not pass this way again.

Sad

A wild bird dies and I am saddened,
but why has this so touched my thoughts?
Is it because it fed from my hand but yesterday?
I think not. It’s quiet body tells of a life ended;
Suddenly I truly see my own mortality,
when life is run, a final heartbeat.
Through the years we see our friends depart this life,
until we almost stand alone, the survivors of our generation.
A life ended becomes the tolling of a bell,
how long before it’s nell will be for me?
Are these thoughts once foreign to my mind,
a part of Nature’s endless pattern?
A warning that our life must end, if not tomorrow, in a time to come!
I must not yield to this sadness,
I’ll place my feet once more upon the path of life,
and take the first step to the end of my time.

Old Nick

If the Devil is among us, you can bet he can’t be seen!
He’s probably taken female form, and dresses like a dream;
With a figure most would die for, and innocence to boot,
Unisex and heterosex, and loaded down with loot!

He may number in the millions, in every race and creed,
There to seek and plunder, and fill his sordid needs.
Then maybe he’s a banker, or runs a tourist line,
Never had a proper job, or earned an honest dime;
But with a smile so pleasant, and manners sweet and cute,
You’d bring him home to share your life, your wife you’d introduce!

The pleasant gent awaiting, to cross a busy street,
Beware before you take his hand, he may have cloven feet!
The salesman in the new estate, who cons the Sunday lookers,
The girls in tight and scanty wear, widely known as hookers.

Never take the easy road, it’s here he lies in wait,
Offering a life of ease, with goodies on a plate!
The ever friendly office girl, the salesman selling cars,
The fancy guys you see in clubs, holding up the bars!

Old Satan’s all around us, in the most unlikely places,
He’s in us all and every one – keen to show his paces!
A part of our whole make-up, just waiting for his chance,
It’s in our power to beat him, and stop his merry dance!

Beware of all that glitters, and promises of gold,
Tread the straight and narrow road, and make it till you’re old;
Stick with Mother Nature, and all her bounties share,
Light a path for others, and show you really care:
Travel with the rest of us, and lend a helping hand,
Then maybe there’s a real good chance,
We’ll find the Promised Land.

Sex education, the old way

Me muther said, ‘It’s EVIL!’
Me teacher said ‘JUST DON’T!’
Me father said, ‘I’ll belt yer son!’
Me girlfriend said, ‘I WON’T!!’

Her girlfriend said, ‘Just come around, yer won’t regret a thing’;
Me little mate, said, ‘Go for it!’ and even seemed quite keen?!!

I said ‘I’m bloody scared – I’m just a simple lad’,
but in the end, I went – and found it not so bad.
Then this sheila told me girlfriend,
Who went and told me Dad!

I never copped the beltin’, and me girlfriend changed her mind,
Now I had her – and her girlfriend, to occupy my time!
I found I couldn’t keep it up, but the girlfriends never knew;
keeping two girls happy, was a thing I couldn’t do!
So I had to leave the district, and start my life anew
– older and much wiser – and educated too!!!

The satellite

A boundless sky and I, a countless age divides us,
and yet through Autumn’s midnight chill, there is a link that binds us still;
This soundless night that’s bathed by Luna’s brilliant orb,
no cloud or errant light disturbs, the curve of Nature’s perfect vault.
But, then a moving spark appears;
and man has made his mark across the endless skies!
A mirror of our age, a reflection of our brash resolve,
a signal that we live; And yet pollute our very soul!

Young generation

I note with indignation – that the younger generations,
despite their education that is funded by the nation, and enhanced by computation,
appears to leave a lot of them with no imagination, and little conversation,
of intelligent foundation!

But! light up a computer with a program full of games, a dozen eyes glaze over,
focussed firmly on the frame, one genius makes the moves with total concentration,
the other zombies spectate with mild appreciation,
as the player steers a course, of grand annihilation!

His efforts come to grief, with cries of exaltation.
The board is quickly taken and the game goes on anew!

Yet what of all the children, of generations past?
they too were educated, with a system made to last,
their leisure hours were happy, without these hi-tech games,
A stick, a ball, an open space, a pile of drums and planks,
an endless source of childish fun, and non aggressive pranks.

A child of today, loses innocence so fast, it often makes me wonder,
if they have the strength to last!
Their pace of life is rapid, but filled with great frustration,
their schooling goes forever, far past the point in time,
where their goal in life is settled, and maturity begins,

Their time is spent in idleness, a quest for constant cool,
to me the word is wrong! The spelling should be fool!
Maybe they’ll rise above all this, like generations past,
but to this ageing oldie, they have a monstrous task!

With barely formed ambitions, and a generation gap,
that doesn’t look like closing, to bring the old times back,
There’s nothing wrong with progress, but somehow it’s gone wrong!
we’ve lost a good ingredient, for some it’s all too late,

Let’s hope that soon we find it, and a better day will dawn,
the world become a better place, with some common sense the norm!
the pace a little slower, with time to find a place,
once more at one with Nature, let’s hope it’s not too late!