CLVI - Some Assembly Required.

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One Minute Writer had a topic called "Manual"
"If you were to write a manual,
what would the topic be?"
That's where I started but I sort of drifted off topic.

Some assembly required.

I'm really not incompetent
And my wife is prone to agree.
Even standing she'll grant, quite adamant,
That I'm as handy as can be.

But a certain largish company,
Who retails life in kits,
Can quickly send me round the bend
With their wretched box of bits.

It really looks so simple
When you see it in the store.
But assembly demands at least three hands.
Sometimes even more.

You can leave it for some quiet time:
At night, when shops are shut,
It's not just whether you can get it together
But why are you short a nut?

The instructions are quite cryptic,
More useful upside down,
Written, I'm told, by a three year old
And translated by a clown.

Why do we endure this curious pain,
Stressing heart and mind and liver,
When , I have to say, there is an easier way:
Just shop where they deliver.

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© J Cosmo Newbery
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CLV - The Poppies Blow

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This is a rondeau and takes the second half of the first line of
John McCrae's "In Flander's Fields", also a rondeau, as it's inspiratation.
The first line reads "In Flanders fields the poppies blow".


The Poppies Blow

The poppies blow upon the plain
Where countless died, in senseless pain.
They kissed their girls and left with pride;
Young hearts inflamed, by those who lied,
To head abroad and then remain -
One of the many pointless slain;
Youth of our nation, killed in vain.

In memory of those who died,
The poppies blow.

The poppies heard the old refrain,
The soldiers marching to the train,
Bright-eyed youth, a life denied.
Blood red, they dipped their heads and cried,
Knowing we'd do it all again,
The poppies blow.

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© J Cosmo Newbery
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CLIV - A Grain of Salt

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This is a bit 'high horse-y' but,
after a relative sent me an email saying that
'if I forwarded it on to 20 people'
Ericsson would give me a free laptop, I snapped.


A Grain of Salt

While I'm sure it's not intrinsically mean
The web spreads gossip on a massive scale.
Every day when I start the machine
I get another batch of dodgy tales.

It's not my enemies who do this crime,
It's family, friends and neighbours.
They inadvertently steal my time
And disrupt my other labours.

The junk arrived and they believed it
Their brains have hardened and can't extend;
They think it true because they received it
And are far too quick to click 'resend'.

There's the list of Coca Cola's nasty traits,
And there's the racial slurs about nasty habits,
There's free computers, from Bill Gates,
And pills to make you fuck like rabbits.

There are tropical wonders, to give a lift,
And horror stories about mobile phoning.
I wont go on, you get my drift,
I shouldn't burden you with my moaning.

As it becomes harder to know who to trust
Being sceptical becomes a positive fault;
Read what they say, if you must,

But take it all with a grain of salt.

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© J Cosmo Newbery
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CLIII - The Best Bird

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Another photo from Dan Felstead's site.

Use the talents you possess,

for the woods would be a very silent place
if no birds sang except the best.

- Henry Van Dyke.


The Best Bird

Who will sing now Cock Robin is dead?
He sang the best, or so they said.
His voice was pure, the sound so sweet
No other bird dared to compete.
When Robin tilted back his head
The wrens all hoped for him to wed
And fought their way onto his bed
Now he lies beneath a sheet.
Who will sing now?

More hearts than his were cut and bled
When the arrow pierced that breast of red.
Dispirited birds were in retreat
None could sing, but only tweet.
He was the best and now he's dead.
Who will sing now?

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© J Cosmo Newbery
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