Stats - Day 25

poems written = 41
poems written per day = 1.64

poems remaining = 9
required poems per day = 1.8

50PoWriMo - XLI

why don't you?



being a teacher
the best few hours of my week
but i can't do more

mentors should be wise
skillful, calm and confident
that's not who i am

50PoWriMo - XL

the same joke i make every year




whenever
anyone asks me
what i'm thankful for
i tell them
i'm thankful
that i'm not
american

Stats - Day 24

poems written = 39

poems written per day = 1.6250
poems remaining = 11

required poems per day = 1.8333

50PoWriMo - XXXIX

attest



i sometimes wonder if i should hide
that ten-year-old boy inside
that will always set my heart
racing in the hours before the start
of a test series
but as each one looms i fear his
influence will never fade. we go
deaf to all but the radio
tms soundtracks my every summer day
and somehow away
series elicit a more illicit thrill
finding myself still
awake and duvet-wrapped and half past three
hanging on every ball of commentary
transporting
me to sporting
contests in venues too far to ever visit
no matter how hard the child inside may wish it

50PoWriMo - XXXVIII

i get a little upset when people i don't like seem to like me



we work hard
at letting you know who we are
so that you know that who we are
is not like who you are
and we like to know who you are
so that we know that who you are
is not like who we are
if we don't like who you are
we know that you don't like who we are
right?

Stats - Day 23

poems written = 37

poems written per day = 1.6087
poems remaining = 13

required poems per day = 1.8571

50PoWriMo - XXXVII

meta



just because a poem is slight
a few compact lines
doesn't mean it can't hold some great insight
sadly not the case this time

50PoWriMo - XXXVI

one hundred thousand pounds




thirty-five point six tonnes of pennies
it's hard to picture than many
piled up into a shiny wall
over seven hundred days
(not quite two man-years) at minimum wage
six times the national
debt per head of population
or adjusting for inflation
two grand in 1939
could a man raise ten to the fifth quid if he
suddenly needed extra liquidity
not by selling anything of mine



thanks to @sallonoroff on the twitter for the title (i need all the help i can get)

Stats - Day 22

poems written = 35

poems written per day = 1.5909
poems remaining = 15

required poems per day = 1.875

50PoWriMo - XXXV

twenty years ago today




i remember hearing
a quiet collective cheering
when we heard that she'd withdrawn
and within days she'd be gone
for the first time in my lifetime
i'd live under a new prime
minister although
i'd just assumed she'd never go
we're doing our best to forget her
we knew things could only get better
(though evidently only a tiny bit)

50PoWriMo - XXXIV

to the incredibly loud and annoying girl who won't shut up




trust me darling, you are not
as funny as you clearly reckon
nor for that matter as hot
as you make out with all that make up
(though that battered vintage homburg
and insufficient skirt's a bold fashion
statement) i'm so tired from work
so shut up, grow up - you might wake up

Stats - Day 21

poems written = 33

poems written per day = 1.5714
poems remaining = 17

required poems per day = 1.8889

50PoWriMo - XXXIII

making promises to my son



i can't promise to be someone you're proud of
but i promise to be proud of you
whenever you deserve it
(and to believe that's always)
i can't promise to be a model man
but i promise to be a solid base
from which you can build your own manhood
i can't promise to know what you need
but i promise to teach what i know 
i can't promise to protect you from all harm
but i promise to always be there
to help you pick up the pieces
i can't promise you'll always like me
but i promise i'll never
stop loving you

Stats - Day 20

poems written = 32

poems written per day = 1.6
poems remaining = 18

required poems per day = 1.8

50PoWriMo - XXXII

i've been awake since 4am




the caffeine in my bloodstream tries
to stop me closing up my eyes
although it's all i really want to do
life and children have conspired
to need me awake - though i'm so tired
i'll have to go and make my 13th brew

Stats - Day 19

poems written = 31

poems written per day = 1.6316
poems remaining = 19

required poems per day = 1.7273

50PoWriMo - XXXI

untitled (for my wife)



you are sleeping in my arms
as peaceful as a closed flower
the warmth of your breath
diffusing across my chest
like an ebbing tide
dancing away from the sure
i try to match
the rhythm of your lungs
out of phase to minimise
your rise and fall
the warmth of your closeness
a comfort i cling to

it is in moments like these
when i need you least
i treasure you most

50PoWriMo - XXX

i might get that ...




once there was a girl
with a tattoo on her left cheek
that read
"something this true can never be vain"
her face thus adorned
she made her way through society
leaving in her wake
a trail of doubt and confusion
to what did her bold statement refer?
was it a statement of fact
     or a philosophy?
was there a level of irony
     or was there a flaw in the logic?
was there an absolute truth?
could there be a comparative truth?
for that matter
     was there an absolute vanity?
was it some sort of in-joke?
were they no longer cool enough to understand?
was it real?
     did it hurt?
          would she live to regret it?
but noone ever asked her
they just stared and wondered
because the sort of girl
who has a tattoo on her face
might be too scary to talk to

Stats - Day 18

poems written = 29

poems written per day = 1.6111

poems remaining = 21

required poems per day = 1.75