The Last Dance

A sad poem this one. I was at a dance last night, and I imagined this scene taking place on the dance floor



Reflecting from the ceiling
the strobe light lit her face
as she leaned into his shoulder
and the teardrop left it's trace
She worried lest her make-up
should give away a sign
that her heart was near to breaking
but she couldn't cross that line
He'd wanted her to leave with him
to leave behind her life
her family and her husband
and live to be his wife
She knew she couldn't do it
she couldn't even try
she'd never ever come to terms
with living such a lie
She'd have to tell him sorry
the affair was at an end
and the way that things were going
He'd not even be her friend
This dance would be the last one
they'd linger on, and then
her heart would beat for no-one
they would never meet again.

Do You Mind?

Not if you don't.

It has been said that I'm losing my mind
but I'm not sure I had one in the first place
As a child I was told
I didn't have a mind of my own
but I was frequently asked
to make my mind up
so I did
then someone shouted "Mind out!"
so I got rid of it.
then someone else reminded me
but not liking that one
I changed my mind.
I started to wonder
where my mind was.
That question
was on my mind for ages.
Was it inside me?
Nope - they said
I must be out of my mind,
so I guess I must have been inside it
at one time.
Unsure of my position,
there came the dreadful realisation
that possibly
I was in two minds.
While searching for it
my boss told me my mind
wasn't on the job
I told him to mind his own business
so he gave me a piece of his mind
and a sack to put it in.
I didn't mind
it was mindless work anyway.

© R King 2012

Another Poem

Don't ask me where the idea for this one came from - I know not. 

It just started with that first line

Jack the tramp

One foot before the other
that was all he ever did
just one foot, then the other
all intent and purpose hid
the direction didn't matter,
nor the speed at which he moved
but he had to keep on roving
through this country that he loved.

The weather never held him back
to his comfort gave no thought
the faded coat upon his shoulders
fitted where it caught.
its pockets jammed with treasure
that he'd rescued from the ground
amazing bits and trinkets,
a record of his round.

He lived from Nature's bounty
along with gifts from those
who've known him all his walking life
who'd chat, share food and clothes.
some were touched by envy
of his unencumbered ways
but few would follow in his steps
in Winter's sullen days.

He'd been travelling this road for years
he'd witnessed so much changed
the changes too had witnessed him
as constantly he ranged
the metalled road beneath him had both
chilled and warmed his feet
but nothing stopped him, nothing would
'til his life was complete

and when one day his body
is found stiff beneath the hedge,
or curled up in a corner
covered o'er in snowy dredge,
The word will hasten through his round
that Jack's finally reached the edge
of the Kingdom he'd been searching for forever.

His friends will gather round him
when comes his funeral day
and they'll pay their last respects to his
coffined body as it lay
in the finery they'll have clothed him in
to warm him on his way
as he sets out on his final,
final journey.