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Big Discrepancy Be grateful if you're bald: your hat (or wig) Is guaranteed to stick. But if your pate Grows hair prodigiously, beware the big Discrepancy in size your locks create. I bought a hat, a closely fitting lid, Snug all around my head. I thought that it Could never blow away, and then it did, Regardless of the snugness of its fit. Exasperatedly, I scratched my head, Peeled naked by the wind, and pondered why A boater that once tightly gripped, instead Now flew so easily away ... Don't buy Close-fitting headgear just before you get Your hair cut—that's the deed I now regret! (First published in the Fall 2026 issue of WestWard Quarterly) |
Clifford's Tower Cams whirr, as tourists, high above a mound, Look out on York from Clifford's Tower where Inspiring views of all around abound For smartphones half a world away to share. From Norman times—a thousand years ago Or thereabouts—till now, this site has been Repurposed frequently. The ebb and flow, Destruction followed by repair, has seen Successive wars, revolts and fires. And all This chequered past is told in panels—set On lecterns: they'd cause damage on the wall. When reading them, you think you won't forget ... Except, you often do. Instead, what you Remember is the panoramic view! (First published in the November 2026 issue of Your Local Link) |
Beast And Beauty Before the tractor, farmers drove the horse. Express coach service likewise ran on hay And water: horses were the tractive force Supporting countless livelihoods each day. Then steam and other engines seized the role. A beast of burden was the horse's lot No longer. It could be unyoked: the foal Dared dream of gallops in a scenic spot Below Ben Bulben, dared to celebrate Emancipation from its need to tow A plough or stagecoach, dared to contemplate Unbridled beauty in its movement's flow— The foal could live in nature's way again ... Yet horses are still sat upon by men. (First published in the Ekphrastic Review on 13th November, 2026 as a response to The Horsemen by Jack Butler Yeats) |