Hero’s Return – a sonnet:

We count the body-bags as they come home,
And grieving widows face new poverty,
After the corpse is shuffled to his tomb,
And she becomes a liability.
The army give her a support package,
But they leave home, school, their locality,
And round broken hearts tight wind a bandage,
A soft shield against life’s cold cruelty.
It’s much better now than it used to be.
They received a telegram at the door,
If lucky the vicar would come for tea,
With kind friends who had seen it all before.
A hero’s widow’s lot is a hard one,
Not much that’s good comes from using a gun.

Youthful Dissonance:

The cow stood, leaning slightly against the gate and looked him

Straight in the eye.  Very slowly, as though speaking to an idiot

She asked him what he thought he was doing, staring at the herd

Like that?  As he stood there, somewhat surprised, his mouth

Slightly open, she spoke again, enquiring whether he was deaf

Or stupid?  He shook his head, rather at a loss, but managed to

Pull himself together enough to tell her he was just passing by, 

And apologise for any offence given, saying it was unintended.

She nodded and then told him to just bugger off and mind his 

Own business, and that cows most certainly weren’t part of that.

He bobbed his acceptance, straightened his hat as opposed to his

Dignity and walked on with what he hoped was a touch of style.

As he did so he could hear the unmistakable sound of the herd

Laughing at him behind his back.  That was really unnecessary!

…………………………………………………………………..

She sighed, staring at the exquisite, freshly cut flowers she had 

So carefully arranged in the vase just moments before.  The now 

Drooping stems and half dead blooms made her think them like 

Elderly aristocrats bent by time, their faces blurred recordings of 

Former, youthful glory.  There had been another temporal slip.   

They appeared to be happening more frequently, but she could 

Not be sure.  She would probably miss any which occurred as 

She was sleeping.  She wondered, yet again, why it was always 

Happening to her but apparently nobody else.  When she tried 

Talking to others about it, they obviously thought her crazed!

She rubbed her eyes tiredly.  When she opened them again she 

Saw a vase of flowers which were in full bloom, their fragrance 

Filling the room.   She smiled.  This, she remembered clearly, 

Was the display she’d made when her twin sons were about to 

Celebrate their fourth birthday.  Now, this would be wonderful!

…………………………………………………………………...

They stood, awestruck, watching the waterfall cascade up the 

Cliff face to the lake where earlier they had seen a Portuguese 

Submarine torpedo a large brigantine proudly baring the name 

Mary Celeste.  Their tour guide told the hushed group that it 

Had not always been thus, and it was said that in bygone days 

Waterfalls had fallen, which is why they were not, as neat logic 

Would clearly dictate, called waterups.  The group collectively 

Shook their heads in disbelief, and turned to lumber back to the

Waiting coach.  They entered, took their seats, placing their feet 

On the peddles, and on the guides sharp call of, “1, 2, 3, go!” all 

Pressed down in unison and the charabanc lurched forward and 

In so doing woke the drivers, smartly dressed but lugubrious 

Bears, both heavy smokers, taking it turn about to roll cigarettes 

Which on ignition magically sent clouds of sparks heavenward. 

…………………………………………………………………...

He looked at his wife and could see she wasn’t happy.  He asked 

Himself if he’d done anything wrong and decided not.  He next 

Asked himself if he had the time to listen to whatever it was that 

Was troubling her, scanning the mental horizons for clues as to 

Whatever it might be.  Checks all made, he went for it, asking if 

She was somewhat troubled.  To his high relief she said she was 

But it probably was just something she was allowing to get out 

Of proportion.  He waited and then softly asked if talking about 

It would help.  It transpired she was worried about young Jah.  

Oh, he was working hard at his creations and he showed many 

Skills well in advance of his years but … she paused.  Sensibly 

He, as expected, asked her, but what?  With that encouragement 

She continued, saying that she was immensely proud of him, 

And he showed a real talent, ensuring that their family business 

Would be in safe hands in perpetuity but … he did weird things 

With his creations, constantly putting the creatures in bizarre 

Situations to study how they’d respond, and she wondered if he 

Wasn’t being somewhat cruel.  He smiled reassuringly and told 

Her not to worry, it was just a phase male gods went through 

And he’d for sure settle down in another billion years or so and 

Eventually leave them to develop naturally.  She nodded, rather 

Relieved, and returned to observing the creatures in her newest 

Work learning to cooperate and domesticate animals.  She was 

Really well-pleased with her latest creation she had named a cat.

She’d done her very best to mould it exactly in her own image.