It’s time to hang your hat, sir.
Your work has come to an end.
Harry S Alford My Grandfather the Postman
I’ll miss the hand waves and the bells
of a much beloved friend.
Seeing you early each morning
counting out the coloured cards
placing them through each letterbox
with a smile, wink and kind regards.
Rain or shine, you were always there
the glue that held the villages
together with paper and ink
and postcards of flowery bridges.
But, the wheels of time push progress
and you have been found wanting.
Time, she has made you redundant
and so Death has begun knocking.
It’s time to hang up your hat, sir.
Your work has come to an end.
We’ll remember you in our scrapbooks
and label you, a long lost friend.
Poem was inspired by an article in The Age:Are you ready to abandon snail mail?
Back in the days of jeans and bandana’s
I would tip toe along the old stone brick walls
taking a swing on the old iron gate
into the old tennis-racket shaped road.
We were the children of the River Bourne
playing happily above our ancient wood
cycling in circles around our bubble
waiting to venture down the unknown path.
We created chalk worlds on the grey pavement
where our art reflected our village life
of summer carnivals and bonfire nights
bringing this circle into another vibe.
I remember standing outside my home
eighteen years of me imprinted in those bricks
echoes of laughter bound through the parish
as I waltzed into the woods, goodbye.
The 90s children have all grown and gone
new pedals and canine friends take their place
but the brown robins are still all twittering
like the old ladies down by station house.
The road I grew up on belongs elsewhere
in a time of jeans and bad bandana’s
when dancing to ‘Under the Sea’ was cool
and dinner was hot curry sauce on chips.
Inspired by Pooky’s Poems where today’s challenge involved writing a poem to the rhythm of a song you enjoy. I chose Des’ree ‘You Gotta Be’ because this song has been stuck in my head since the first day I heard it back in 1994; when I was a nine year old English village girl getting up to mischief in her ‘Little Mermaid’ roller-skates. I kept the chorus because I feel as though it’s always been my life lesson.
This is who you are today
brown eyes on a summer day
stepping our from behind Grandpa’s knee
Your friends, they will grow with you
fly with you to Timbuktu
live, laugh, dance, this planet
young birds flying free.
You gotta be…
You gotta be bad, You gotta be bold, You gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, You gotta be tough, You gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, You gotta be calm, You gotta together
All I know, All I know, love with save the day.
Listen to want Des’ree said
seal the words inside your head
cherish every chapter cherish every line
some will teach you how to be
but all you need is family
my oh my, yea, eh eh
You gotta be bad, You gotta be bold, You gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, You gotta be tough, You gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, You gotta be calm, You gotta together
All I know, All I know, love with save the day.
I know you’re only nine, but life is beginning
story’s start – moments of time and space
the years keep on turning
they won’t stop; they will find you
one day you will wake up to another face
whoa-oh-oh
You gotta be bad, You gotta be bold, You gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, You gotta be tough, You gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, You gotta be calm, You gotta together
I see you in our little coastal town
a photo awakens a reels of memories
of childhood antics on rocky beaches
and Welsh mountains that we would race down.
A traveller of the last century
I remember how you could spin a yarn
We would laugh at your terrible acting
every moment you made legendary.
Written across a tattered birthday card
printed like a human type writer
said the infamous words “Carpe Dium”
words that are tattooed in my mind and soul
as the world twists and turns without you.
Inspired by We Drink Because We’re Poetsprompting us to reawaken a so-called dead language via a Latin proverb. I chose ‘Carpe Dium’ meaning to Seize the Day.
Ever wondered what everyone else is up to at any given time on any given day? The following was written for / inspired by the 1 Day 1 World Projectrunning from May to October (24 weeks) where each week will unveil a particular hour around the world.
Charlie Ann Alford 
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