Henry Normal

2 days ago

A poem requested from my latest BBC Radio 4 show "A Normal Communication'. If you have any other requests for particular poems do let me know.

A SECOND BOAT AMID THE STORM

A second boat amid the storm
shouldn't sail too close
waves are harsh enough
without a clash of bows

A second boat amid the storm
shouldn't drift in the dark
you may be their only salvation
they may be yours ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry Normal

2 days ago

Two more requested poems of mine.

NEED

If need was currency
who could buy you
from me ?

YOUR FAVOURITE MUG

Foolish I know
but I feel protective towards your favourite mug
I leave it around the house

as though you were still between sips
as if your lips were just out of the room a moment
and would soon enter and caress its brim

Alone at bedtime
I hold it gently, feel its warmth
and drink you in once more ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry Normal

3 days ago

IS IT TIME TO STICK OR TWIST AGAIN
LIKE WE DIDN'T LAST SUMMER ?

It is almost a year since you
stood under a different roof
over a year since you sat under one

I've examined the dentist's ceiling
entered the post office and the bank
masked

There are only 3 days a week now
bin day, delivery day
and all others

Our meals, clothes and jigsaws
are on a rota system
shaving optional

Our stomachs have expanded
with compensation and diversion
Quality control now Quality Street

We spin through the news cycle
on our exercise bikes
repetition being the new variant

Our schedule -
a vitamin blister
like a healthy advent calendar

Daffodils alert us
once again
winter is receding

Crocus's brave
the possibility
of late frost

We are fed numbers
when what we remember
are names

How are we to celebrate
these anniversaries
of corona ? ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry Normal

3 days ago

Here's another requested poem. It needs a bit of updating as John Terry doesn't play anymore. Who should I name instead ?

CARDIGANS TO THE MIDDLE EAST

I have a dream
of a world without armies
A world of peace
where everyone wears cardies

Attack is ONLY the best defence
for those who lack sartorial elegance
It creates an impression to lessen aggression

Hooligans with lager cans
are never dressed in cardigans
Dr Who in his Tardis
was never invaded by Daleks in cardies

You never see a pit bull
in a nice bit of wool
Attila the Hun
never wore a cardigan

The Marquis de Sade he
never wore a cardy
John Terry wouldn’t be such a hard man
if he had to play in a cardigan

Better than a sweater or a bullet proof vest
you never see a cardy in battle dress
The UN troops would make proper guardians
If they swapped their berets for light blue cardigans

This paragon of haute couture
could ensure an end to war
So strengthen your defences
with Marks and Spencers

I have a dream on behalf of man
where the symbol of peace and love
is a white dove
in a cardigan ... See MoreSee Less

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