Why would God save Donald Trump
But let the Kennedy’s die?
He doesn’t spare young children’s lives
When bombs fall from the sky.
Why if God can intervene
Is he never given blame?
I don’t blame God for my dead son
Our God’s are not the same.
My God’s a God of suffering
He wept alongside me
I don’t think he’s Republican
Or up for taking sides.
God doesn’t rule our every day
We make our own mistakes
I’m sorry Donald Trump got shot
But it don’t make him a saint.
What do you listen to while you work?
Music is for dancing
Or chilling when with friends
I wouldn’t want it working
I listen to my head.
Not that I work much now
I’m thankfully retired
You’ll find me in the garden
Or doing household chores.
I’m happy in the garden
Fingers in the soil
No need of distraction
Pleasure in the toil.
Household chores are tedious
So I’ll listen then
But news and conversation
More my sort of thing.
If I’m on a long drive
I’ll listen to a book
More a fan of audible
Than mindless DJ talk.
Never wear my headphones
If I’m on a run
Monitor my pace and breath
And how I’m getting on.
I love the sound of silence
The thoughts inside my head
Music just gets in the way
I kind of lose the thread.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
I have so many comfort foods
It’s very hard to choose.
They have to fill your belly up
And fill in all the cracks.
Perhaps the meal that does this best
The humble Shepherd’s Pie.
An easy meal not hard to cook
Why even I can try!
First some onion in the pan
Perhaps for me a chilli
Then you fry some good minced lamb
Until it’s brown all over.
Maybe add some carrots, peas
And then some canned tomatoes.
Bring the whole lot to the boil
Then turn it down to simmer.
Cook the mince at least an hour
To bring out all the flavours.
Stuff all in a casserole dish
And then for mashed potatoes.
Boil the spuds and mash them well
Don‘t want any lumps in
Spread it now across the dish
To give the thing a topping.
Stuff in the oven now
I’d guess around 180.
Give it round bout 45 min
Until it’s brown and tasty.
You want it crispy on the top
That’s the way I like it.
It’s a meal to fill you up
Nice and rich and meaty.
Simple stuff not hard to do
But makes a meal that’s hearty.
What’s your favorite game (card, board, video, etc.)? Why?
I’m addicted to Fantasy Premier League, a game about a game. With apologies to Mr Paul Simon this is my song.
I’m just a fantasy manager
Though my story’s seldom told
I have squandered my persistence
For a paltry rise in rankings
Such are fantasies
All lies and jest
Still a man picks who he wants to pick
And disregards the rest
I neglect my home and family
Like I’m no more than a boy
Competing against strangers
To the glare of my PC screen
I’ve repaired
Laying low, seeking out the differentials
That no one else will know
Looking for the special players that only I will know.
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Asking only for green arrows, they seemed a decent lot
But I do no better
Just a come-on for one pointers from half the ruddy team
I do declare, there were times they were so gruesome
I would wildcard then and there, la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Now I’m laying out pre season picks
And wishing it would start, picked a team
The ‘Green’s Park Rangers’ winners won’t be bleeding me
They’ll be leading, coming home
In the clearing stands a manager
And a fantasist by trade
And he carries the reminders
Of each mistake that ever laid him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
“I am leaving, I am leaving”
But the manager still remains
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
Lie-la-lie
Lie-la-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie, lie-lie-lie-lie-lie
I love you
What foods would you like to make?
I don’t cook very often
My wife is much too good
But we eat food in season
And mostly what we’ve grown.
There’s purple sprouting broccoli
Broad and Runner beans
Fresh beans and asparagus
Potatoes all you’d
There’s parsnips
And there’s beetroot
And winter squash
Run riot.
Soft fruit grows on bushes
Several different kinds and
as if all this were not enough
We’ve several different trees.
There’s apples and there’s quinces
Pears and also plums
And perhaps the most spectacular
A host of apricots.
We spin the changes meat or fish
Cooked in various ways
But see them as accompaniments
To all that fruit and veg.
We maybe steam our veg
Or have it simply boiled
Or roast it in the oven
With spices, olive oil.
Potatoes can be roasted
Sautéed, boiled or fried.
There’s many different ways to cook
But home grown’s always nice.
Dogs or cats?
I neither want a dog or cat.
Pets for me are too much faff.
Tie you down, make travel hard
and tell me why? For what reward?
I don’t like dogs that trip me up
Or cats that scratch when on my lap
I’ll stroke them when it seems I should
To please their owners
That’s polite.
But save me from ‘dog friendly’ pubs
And animals round me while I eat.
Please don’t lick or much worse bite
They aren’t sensations I much like.
I’d rather have
my garden birds
Than cats that prowl,
disturb the peace.
And as for dogs
They make a mess
And make you careful
Where you walk.
And as for walking
I like it best
If I don’t carry poo
In a plastic bag.
Which activities make you lose track of time?
I wish I could say
I lose track of time
But truly
I do not.
It’s truer to say
That I’m obsessed
And my watch
Is seldom off.
I’m checking my watch
Most all the time
I have to pace
My day.
I’ll check my watch
If I wake in the night
How long have I left
To sleep?
I’ll wake up early
Be off and out
Time for the morning run.
Couldn’t run
Without a watch.
Have to have it on.
Constantly checking
Time and pace
How far have I run?
Back to the house
To shower and dress
Analyse my times.
Coffee and breakfast
That comes next
When do we need to be out?
Count down now
Till time for lunch
How long till we eat?
I wish I could say
I lose myself
But I never do
Find it hard to concentrate
Other stuff to do.
Time for dinner
Clearing up
Then maybe watch TV.
Don’t mind so much
Just what I watch
But what time will it end?
Counting down the time for bed
Must get eight hours sleep.
Off to bed my favourite place
And then we start again.
What bothers you and why?
You say, ‘What‘s the matter?’
I say, ‘What d’you mean?’
‘Then why do you look like that?’
I shrug. I’m just fine.
Why must you bother me?
Leave me alone.
It was perfect, OK
Till you came along.
Now I am questioning
What could be wrong?
What’s on my mind
Could be troubling me?
I’ve plenty of worries
If I bring them to mind
But if you left me alone
I’d be perfectly fine.
You ask if I’ve seen
The look on my face
I can’t help my looks
It’s the face I was given.
You ask what is bothering me
Sadly it’s you
Leave me alone
And I’ll just muddle through.
I don’t want intrusion
Into my thoughts
You make me confront them
And then things get fraught.
List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.
Few things are certain but first must come death
All things that live will one day find rest.
The second is that time will ever march on
You can never take back what has already gone.
We can only get older our youth won’t remain
All were once children but we can’t be again.
No one is perfect we all make mistakes
But when will we learn- how long will it take?
There‘ll always be poverty, misery and war
These things are certain so that’s a few more.
Which brings us to seven
Whose keeping the score?
There’s so much we don’t know
That’s certainly true.
So that’s number eight and there’s two more to go.
I’d like to be certain that night follows day
And ten follows nine so I‘ll be on my way.
Are you seeking security or adventure?
If you start a race too fast
You won’t sustain the pace
But linger slowly at the start
You‘ll never make it up.
It’s wisest both to push yourself
But stay within your limits
It’s fine to be adventurous
But not to overdo it.
Get out of your comfort zone
Try things that are different
But don’t live life too recklessly
For fear you will regret it.
I won’t say I’m adventurous
But neither am I cautious
I like to think I’m doing stuff
That once I thought I couldn‘t.
Andrew Green's Poems 