Remember

My first effort at an acrostic verse is based on the letters of my name Alistair Parker and inspired by Lewis Carroll’s acrostic verse “A boat beneath a sunny sky” of which the first letters of each line spell “Alice Pleasance Liddell”, the full name of his character in the tales of Alice, or rather his muse.

Agony is hard to bear
Like whiplashes on the skin
Insubordination is the cause

Stutter not if to be heard
Talk loud and clear and state your aim
Always fight your cause

Irreverence will not do
Revealing lack of faith
Peace is but a dream I fear

Attrition beckons death is nigh
Retribution fear ye not
Knowing seeing not forgot

Enemies we seek to forgive
Remember this day remember

In remembrance of those to whom we owe so much on this important day...

11.11.16

A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky - Lewis Carroll

A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July —

Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear —

Long had paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die.
Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream —
Lingering in the golden gleam —
Life, what is it but a dream?




Lewis Carroll 1832 - 1898

This is an acrostic poem - one in which the first letter of each line spells out a word - A Boat Beneath A Sunny Sky a tribute to Carroll’s young muse Alice Pleasance Liddell, who inspired the famous subject of his stories.

Love is a Cuddle

Love is a Cuddle

A cute black ball
Of fun and cuddles
Rolls about
Curls up in huddles
Favourite place
All snuggled down
Mournful eyes all
Deep and brown
Tickle me
You know where
Roll me over
Under there
Paw that touches
Grips you tight
Sleeps close by
All through the night
It's more than that
Not just a dog
Someone to love
Someone who loves
A friendly wag
A knowing look
We settle down
And snuggle up, with Daisy

Inspired by Daisy, eldest daughters 5 year old miniature Schnauzer, who has become a much loved member of the family.

Written 14th October 2016.

What’s in a beard?

Crumbs from breakfast
Bits of egg
Sticky Jam
And hint of ham

Slurps of tea
The smell of beer
Coffee Cocoa
Completes the set

Scratch it
Lick it
Suck it pot
Or save for later
That’s beardy joy


The second of two poems inspired by a visit to my local Barbers Shop.

Alistair J Parker
12th September 2016

Beards

Hairy chins
Curly chops
Scrubby stubble
Fluff face

Manly moustache
Matey bush
Bushy sideburns
Hairy Muff

Twiddle pointy
Handle bars
Up they curly
Down they droop

Full set navy
Chin strap guards
Goaty artist
Stubble brush

Van Dyke swanky
Verdi twirl
Balbo pointy
Bandaloz the works

Trimmed and tweaked
Saucered and blowed
Oiled and waxed
Good to go

One of two poems inspired by a visit to my local Barbers Shop

Alistair J Parker
12th September 2016

Walk by the River

Rustling grass
Waders call
Chatter swooping
Probing mud
Grassy banks
Muddy flats
Rotting wood
Of staging posts
Boats are lying
On the mud

River wanders
Flowing down
Ripples swirling
Flowing fast
Tranquil placid
Limpid pools
Sky reflected
Curling clouds
Stretching seaward
Round the bend

Trees bent over
Walking past
Muddy feet
Pick carful route
Peaceful stillness
Waving reeds
Grasses rattle
Sky lark sings
Peaceful river
Calms the soul

Inspired by listening to a programme on Radio 4 “Playing the Skyline” about composing music inspired by the River Tyne.

Alistair J Parker
8th August 2016

You Walk Along the Sandy Beach

You walk along the sandy beach
The grains crunch nosily beneath your feet
They shout and rave before the wave
Crashes down and washes back
To turn them over upside down
To jumble up and down and down and up
Causing chaos every time the water rolls
Into a wave to wash along across the sandy beach
Waiting till the tide does turn to quiet again
So the grain can settle down to snuggle up
To flatten out with just a ripple to be seen
To see the sea along the shore stretch to the clouds
From sand to sky and way beyond the sea the shore
Footprints in the sand says someone but it says who
Scrunchy sand beneath their feet before
They go blown away or smoothed by sea
Like an acquaintance meant to fade
Not like a friend that’s there for ever
Cemented into rock that lasts and lasts
Weathered down by rain and wind
And sea washed waves into the grains that
Tumble round in waves and land upon the shore
Rearranged at every tide they come and go
Ground down and thrown up into dunes
To blow away as wind does blow to
Slip and slide and scrunch no more
Away from sea and into land
The sand of time is running out
We wander here and wander there
Going somewhere know not where
Walking onward into the sky
Like sea and sand and shore

Inspired by The Dong with the Luminous Nose – Edward Lear. I think it was the two lines in the first stanza that did it,

” When the angry breakers roar, As they beat on the rocky shore”

Alistair J Parker
2nd July 2016