Submissions by Astyanax (Ceejay)
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
As a poet, I am an observer and a commentator, never a preacher.
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
26th Oct 2018 10:15am
26th Oct 2018 10:15am
November 2018
Their voices all are still - none yet remains;
Their Present now is History's sad tale,
A tale of battles, strategies, campaigns,
And youth consumed by slaughter's ceaseless flail.
From sepia prints they look us in the eye,
Together, cocky, smoking, mate by mate,
They grin at us, tin helmets tipped awry,
But tears rise from our knowledge of their fate.
We...
Their Present now is History's sad tale,
A tale of battles, strategies, campaigns,
And youth consumed by slaughter's ceaseless flail.
From sepia prints they look us in the eye,
Together, cocky, smoking, mate by mate,
They grin at us, tin helmets tipped awry,
But tears rise from our knowledge of their fate.
We...
#soldiers
580 reads
0 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
19th Apr 2016 4:58pm
19th Apr 2016 4:58pm
Walney
Curled around the thumb of Furness like a protecting palm
lies Walney, first landfall for the Western waves
heaving their cold, grey bulk across the Irish Sea.
Merciless, relentless, untiring,
they crash upon the shore at Sandy Gap,
smoothing sharp rocks to pebbles,
grinding smooth pebbles to sand.
Their ruthless friend, the wind,
tears into hair and eyes and clothes,
turning coats into flapping wings
and snatching caps to hurl them to the skies.
Brave Walney endures the realpolitik of weather
intent on total war,...
lies Walney, first landfall for the Western waves
heaving their cold, grey bulk across the Irish Sea.
Merciless, relentless, untiring,
they crash upon the shore at Sandy Gap,
smoothing sharp rocks to pebbles,
grinding smooth pebbles to sand.
Their ruthless friend, the wind,
tears into hair and eyes and clothes,
turning coats into flapping wings
and snatching caps to hurl them to the skies.
Brave Walney endures the realpolitik of weather
intent on total war,...
912 reads
4 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
8th Sep 2015 2:31pm
8th Sep 2015 2:31pm
For My Father
We said farewell to my father
On a day of blue sky and sharp sunlight.
In the middle of a week of hard, grey rain
And cold January winds,
That day shone
Like the sudden opening of a bright, clear eye.
He was a man of wry, soldierly humour,
And when we parted on that cold, clean day
There was no raucous lamentation.
The sun etched black, bold shadows
Beneath the sprays of flowers
Blowing bright against the turned, dark soil.
He will be missed by friends and family;
Like most of us, his loss will not be mourned
By movements,...
On a day of blue sky and sharp sunlight.
In the middle of a week of hard, grey rain
And cold January winds,
That day shone
Like the sudden opening of a bright, clear eye.
He was a man of wry, soldierly humour,
And when we parted on that cold, clean day
There was no raucous lamentation.
The sun etched black, bold shadows
Beneath the sprays of flowers
Blowing bright against the turned, dark soil.
He will be missed by friends and family;
Like most of us, his loss will not be mourned
By movements,...
747 reads
1 Comment
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
2nd Aug 2015 9:01am
2nd Aug 2015 9:01am
Two short poems
Synergy
You+Me=We
Arc of Life
Hello
Cry
Grow
Die.
Goodbye.
You+Me=We
Arc of Life
Hello
Cry
Grow
Die.
Goodbye.
751 reads
0 Comments
DARK POEM
Published
14th Apr 2015 5:00pm
14th Apr 2015 5:00pm
A Dreadful Peace
The blackened landscape tells the tragic tale;
No leaf, no flower remains, no beast, no bird,
The only sound the poisoned wind’s low wail,
Across the land, no human voice is heard.
What monstrous force could thus plunge Earth in fire?
Could men not rise above their ancient hate.
Suppress their pride, control their fatal ire,
Could they not be the masters of their fate?
But no, the dice were thrown, the game begun,
The missiles launched, the planes sent on their way,
And Armageddon blotted out the sun
As billions perished on...
No leaf, no flower remains, no beast, no bird,
The only sound the poisoned wind’s low wail,
Across the land, no human voice is heard.
What monstrous force could thus plunge Earth in fire?
Could men not rise above their ancient hate.
Suppress their pride, control their fatal ire,
Could they not be the masters of their fate?
But no, the dice were thrown, the game begun,
The missiles launched, the planes sent on their way,
And Armageddon blotted out the sun
As billions perished on...
1017 reads
2 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
8th Jan 2015 1:16pm
8th Jan 2015 1:16pm
Alf and Phil
Alf and Phil,
Both small men, both East-End boys,
Growing up in that Thirties world
Of black-and-white films, crowded pubs, street corners,
Women in pinafores, men in caps.
Phil: skinny, fast-talking, irreverent,
A cockney joker, and no mistake,
Whose tales of authority upset and pomposity confounded
Would dissolve into helpless chortling.
Alf: neat, grave, dignified,
A measured raconteur, who’d fix you with a steady eye
And end his tale with a solemn, ‘Oh yes,’
Before flooring you with a dazzling smile.
Alf was Artillery,...
Both small men, both East-End boys,
Growing up in that Thirties world
Of black-and-white films, crowded pubs, street corners,
Women in pinafores, men in caps.
Phil: skinny, fast-talking, irreverent,
A cockney joker, and no mistake,
Whose tales of authority upset and pomposity confounded
Would dissolve into helpless chortling.
Alf: neat, grave, dignified,
A measured raconteur, who’d fix you with a steady eye
And end his tale with a solemn, ‘Oh yes,’
Before flooring you with a dazzling smile.
Alf was Artillery,...
820 reads
4 Comments
OBSERVATIONAL POEM
Published
8th Jan 2015 1:09pm
8th Jan 2015 1:09pm
Coming Home
A few words of explanation: During the Iraq war, our war dead were brought back to a military airfield, then a convoy of hearses would transport the coffins to a military hospital where they would be handed over to their families. The convoy passed through a small village called Wootton Bassett, and each time a convoy came through, all the villagers would line the main street in silent tribute to the fallen. This is what I wrote at the time:
No take-off nerves, no in-flight drinks,
No airline meals, no raucous badinage;
They come off the back of the plane
Like cargo,...
No take-off nerves, no in-flight drinks,
No airline meals, no raucous badinage;
They come off the back of the plane
Like cargo,...
776 reads
0 Comments
UPBEAT INSPIRATIONAL POEM
Published
28th Dec 2014 2:50pm
28th Dec 2014 2:50pm
A Rime for the New Year
Now ‘tis the brave New Year, a gladsome time,
When churls and lords alike do raise a cup,
And crying ‘Cheers!’ swill down their pints of ale,
Of which the half-pint measure doth least harm,
(Unless thou drinkst it with a swinish thirst).
But let’s not think on that, now is the time
To raise a glass and sing a jocund song,
Mayhap ‘Ye Promised Land’ or ‘Maybelline’,
Or something by Ye Stones, a famèd band,
Much loved for songs of Afric maids, I trow,
Whose lay of Sugar Brown would cause much stir
And divers acts of foolish terpsichore
Like they...
When churls and lords alike do raise a cup,
And crying ‘Cheers!’ swill down their pints of ale,
Of which the half-pint measure doth least harm,
(Unless thou drinkst it with a swinish thirst).
But let’s not think on that, now is the time
To raise a glass and sing a jocund song,
Mayhap ‘Ye Promised Land’ or ‘Maybelline’,
Or something by Ye Stones, a famèd band,
Much loved for songs of Afric maids, I trow,
Whose lay of Sugar Brown would cause much stir
And divers acts of foolish terpsichore
Like they...
1082 reads
4 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
11th Oct 2014 1:00pm
11th Oct 2014 1:00pm
Love Poem
So come now to me,
Je t’adore, ma chérie.
The touch of your cheek
Feels so magnifique,
Your eyes, très jolis,
Speak volumes to me.
Should you go away
I’d be so désolé,
It would darken ma vie,
So please stay, ma chérie,
And let each day with you
Be like now - déjà vu.
Je t’adore, ma chérie.
The touch of your cheek
Feels so magnifique,
Your eyes, très jolis,
Speak volumes to me.
Should you go away
I’d be so désolé,
It would darken ma vie,
So please stay, ma chérie,
And let each day with you
Be like now - déjà vu.
875 reads
4 Comments
LOVE POEM
Published
10th Oct 2014 2:37pm
10th Oct 2014 2:37pm
Love
Love - what is it?
It is the wind which blows away your senses,
The storm which destroys your mind.
Like an army, it occupies you against your will;
Like an illness, it overwhelms you, and there is no cure.
And yet....and yet...
Despite the pain of love:
Poets glorify love,
Young men die for love,
Young girls dream of love.
Why? Could it be because we are in love with love?
It is the wind which blows away your senses,
The storm which destroys your mind.
Like an army, it occupies you against your will;
Like an illness, it overwhelms you, and there is no cure.
And yet....and yet...
Despite the pain of love:
Poets glorify love,
Young men die for love,
Young girls dream of love.
Why? Could it be because we are in love with love?
1048 reads
3 Comments
MISCELLANEOUS POEM
Published
8th Jul 2014 1:38pm
8th Jul 2014 1:38pm
Passing Deer
Driving through Richmond Park today,
We stopped to watch the deer pass.
They took their time,
Pausing to sniff the wind,
Making as if to cross, then stopping to crop the grass.
A stag sauntered on to the road,
Then stood to look our way,
Not at us, for in our little shells
We were as rocks, or mounds, mere shapes,
Insignificant bumps in the landscape.
No, in all his antlered pomp,
He looked above us, over us,
Into the grassy, tree-thronged distance,
And, having surveyed his demesne,
He walked slowly to the...
We stopped to watch the deer pass.
They took their time,
Pausing to sniff the wind,
Making as if to cross, then stopping to crop the grass.
A stag sauntered on to the road,
Then stood to look our way,
Not at us, for in our little shells
We were as rocks, or mounds, mere shapes,
Insignificant bumps in the landscape.
No, in all his antlered pomp,
He looked above us, over us,
Into the grassy, tree-thronged distance,
And, having surveyed his demesne,
He walked slowly to the...
1326 reads
4 Comments
UPBEAT INSPIRATIONAL POEM
Published
28th Dec 2013 2:15pm
28th Dec 2013 2:15pm
Time's Defier
Time mopes and sulks, disconsolate, in his lair -
Try as he might, things just aren’t going his way.
“It shouldn’t be like this, it isn’t fair,”
He grumbles, hour by hour, day after day.
“I run the world, I bend it to my will,
If I say ‘Fall!’ things fall, if ‘Cease!’ they cease.
I freeze the seas, I lengthen winter’s chill,
I set the lengths of wars, the dates of peace.
So why does she defy my mighty power
By staying beautiful, year after year?
Her loveliness continues yet to flower;
I chide her, but she doesn’t seem to hear.”
...
Try as he might, things just aren’t going his way.
“It shouldn’t be like this, it isn’t fair,”
He grumbles, hour by hour, day after day.
“I run the world, I bend it to my will,
If I say ‘Fall!’ things fall, if ‘Cease!’ they cease.
I freeze the seas, I lengthen winter’s chill,
I set the lengths of wars, the dates of peace.
So why does she defy my mighty power
By staying beautiful, year after year?
Her loveliness continues yet to flower;
I chide her, but she doesn’t seem to hear.”
...
990 reads
2 Comments
DU Poetry : Submissions by Astyanax (Ceejay)
