Northern Love Fester Bryan 2006

Polar wind blows fierce against my body
Ice forms at the slightest breath
My furs are like a string vest
And its minus twenty five
But a steady pilot light
Gently glows at my core
Where the thought of you
Flickers forever
Ready to ignite into the passion flame

The Smart Arse by Lauren Beziers

Old Bill we called him
Solid build and choppy tempered
Played with the kids
At the temperance bar
Called us names and we didnt like that
Old Bill was a Feisty Smart Arse

Locked in battle with his demons
Drink and tobacco in vast quantity
Old Bill snacked on the talk he could get
At a railway station
In Gwent

I met him outside Wales
In a far away village called Wendens Ambo
It had the stately home of Audley end
And a station to Cambridge
He liked that little station
and the curved bus that trundled to
Saffron Walden

So, he says to me
You are you and me is me
And we are all together
The clock chimed three
And the late train was later still

I wanted to have the little blonde boy
That was mine
At home, sitting on my lap
While I write a piece on the computer
And drink my tea
listening to Talk Radio or a CD

But here I was with Old Bill
That noisy old fool
Coughing and spluttering his way
Through a pack of Handy Andies
And an ounce of Golden Virginia
With green rizlas

Oh to be at home
Without this beer guzzling nut
Carlsberg Special Brew advocate
And Arsenal fan
Of all the people in the world to chew the fat with
I have to end up with you
You git !

Ah! some espirite de vie my sweet
You protest too much
Let me tell you
In
A
Wor....d

Death overcame him and became him
I was befuddled and bemused

Good bye Old Bill

LB 2006

Cold Snap by Fester Bryan

Tight snug in the woolly hat
With your head down to the breeze
Tight face aching all the time
Pink skin and whispered mist

A faint smile but your head still down
Giving it your intrepid march across snowy wastes
The pattern on the dress is Victorian
So back to the old school house

Warm winter logs
Coal and rain
The bits of rubbish by the old shovel
Next to the broken down coal bunker
More leaves in the drain

Drips of rain falling from the ivy
The ginger cat runs in fast
The old sculpture has lost its head
The snails crunch

A ball is popped and wet
Where cherry blossom once fell
And the stones have not all been removed
From the fortress at the bottom of my hill.

Fester Bryan 2006

The Toothpaste Race - by Gary Hargreaves

The day my toothpaste raced the cat
Was cold with spots of rain
Tabby was hot and sweated alot
And the toothpaste ran like a train

Over the pans and skittles and pins
The two of them battled all day
Not one to shirk, I'd been to work
To earn my daily pay

At half past five I entered my flat
And saw the feline stood
Paws up high, twinkle in eye
Just like a winner should

I looked around for the loser tube
But to my great dismay
The over raced spearmint paste
Was squashed so I threw it away.

Gary Hargreaves 2006

Whisper - a poem by Godfrey Bletch

Faint murmurings like wispy lace
Are swirling round my brain
I arch my neck and lift my face
To feel the pouring rain

I drink the acid water pure
Then belch a dragons flame
I'm angry, and there is no cure
A rage I cannot tame

Who are these foe who meekly plot
With whispers of my doom
They are so rancid, full of rot
I must not give them room

Will I fight for ever more
These fiends I cannot spy
Or will I find a distant shore
Where in peace I'll lie

Godfrey Bletch - 2006