Tag: dailyprompt

Cities have to happen

How would you design the city of the future?

Cities have to happen

They cannot be just planned

They need a bit of history

A patina of age

Yet buzz with life and energy

Embracing every change.

So cities of the future should

first respect their past

but have the flexibility

to be right up to date.

Within them there’d be ‘villages’

Reflecting different moods.

Twixt work and entertainment

You’d easily commute

Blessed with public transport

And tree lined pleasant routes.

There’d be a retail centre

With space to leisure shop

A place where you could try things on

Support the online shop.

Cinemas, Theatres

an entertainment zone

With galleries and studios

A real creative buzz.

Replace old, derelict areas

With great, green urban parks

And plenty fresh green corridors

Where we can walk or bike.

Modern, airy housing

We’d build on edge of town

With excellent insulation

Good facilities round.

Well planned public transport

An easy route to town.

There’d be great places to mingle

With great big open squares

Ideally be a river and

Water running through.

It’d be well kept and tidy

Awash with trees and flowers

And really excellent wi fi

To keep us all plugged in.

There’d have to be employment

A chance for folk to work

So enterprise and commerce

And businesses diverse.

So that’s my kind of city

The one I’d like to see

But frankly it won’t happen

If you leave it up to me!

You might assume we‘re English

Where did your name come from?

My name is not unusual

You’ll hear it quite a lot

You might assume we‘re English

But in fact my family‘s Scots.

My grandad came from Scotland

North West of Aberdeen

The stretch along the Moray Firth

Is where you’d find our Greens.

There’s plenty in the census

A common local name

Back at least two centuries

You’ll find us Scottish Greens.

But Scots or English meaning

It’s pretty much the same

Most likely lived near greenery

Not much more to the name.

My other name is Andrew

For Scotland‘s patron Saint

And middle’s Alexander

Which was my Grandad‘s name.

So Andrew Alexander

Two quite Scottish names

An Englishman of Scots descent

A very common name.

Less common up in Scotland

But still a common name

Lots of other Andrew Greens

But we‘re not all the same.

Life is inspiration it’s good to be alive

What motivates you?

What’s my motivation

Let’s give this a think

Why’m I doing what I do?

What gives me a push?

It’s too late for ambition

At least in conventional sense

But I‘ve still got stuff I want to do

And who knows how long left.

I want to make the most of life

Rejoice in my good health

I‘ve cash enough for what I want

And that, to me is wealth.

I’ve spent too long sat at a desk

Now love to be outside

Growing stuff or running hard

With good air in my lungs.

Life is inspiration

It’s good to be alive

To feel the rush another day

And just push on with life.

I want to keep on breathing

Have blood course through my veins

The simple joy of living

The motivation to be.

My top ten favourite movies?

What are your top ten favorite movies?

It can be rather difficult

For poets to put stuff in lists

And sad to say it’s a busy day

So have I got the time for this?

The Green Mile is a brilliant film

And Forest Grump another

Chariots of Fire – can’t make it scan

But ‘must have’ for a runner.

Annie Hall still makes me laugh

despite all Woody’s bother

Shape of Water, Parasite

That’s another couple.

Thought Pulp Fiction very good

despite the gory violence

Back to the Future, War and Peace

Oppenheimer very good

I think that’s ten I make it?

Not a well considered list

There’s many more could make it

At least I kept my streak alive

As far as I can take it.

The Next Big Thing

What do you enjoy most about writing?

Writing can be a struggle sometimes but there’s always that dream that keeps us going.

The Next Big Thing

I’m sat here in a coffee shop
Like a J.K Rowling thing.
My book’s going to be the
Next big hit
But I’m not quite certain when.

You’ll be taken by my hero
Quite an amazing chap.
Or he could be a girl
I’m not quite sure
I’ve not cracked that bit yet.

It’s bound to make me millions
All I need’s a plot
Half an idea of what to write
Then it’s certain to take off.

I’ve not quite got it started
I don’t know where to begin
But if I ever write this book of mine.
It’s gonna be the next big thing.

To live beside the leafy Thames

What do you love about where you live?

To live beside the leafy Thames

Is what I love the best.

It lifts my spirits driving home

To catch a sight of this.

They’ve pulled our town about a bit

There are no decent shops

But walks along the riverside

Make up for such a lot.

Boats along the river

Or bobbing in the lock

People come from miles around

To see what we have got.

It was so for generations

As a famous painting shows

A place of recreation

Where Londoners would go.

And yet we can escape the crowds

Walk further up its banks

Enjoy the ducks and river life

And quietly say our thanks.

And neighbouring towns and villages

Are just as nice as this

Nestled on the riverside

Are sights you shouldn’t miss.

Majestic Windsor Castle

Or Henley’s rowing eights

The bustling town of Marlow:

Cliveden, Maidenhead.

Our town is far from perfect

There’s things I’d like to change

But I just love our riverside

Known as ‘the jewel in the Thames’.

Mostly I’m just satisfied

What positive emotion do you feel most often?

I’d like to say it’s gratitude

Or unrelenting joy

But have to answer honestly

Such gushings not my style.

I screw things up, I get things wrong

I do that all the while.

When things go right I’m ‘satisfied’

Allow myself a smile.

Of course I’ll get excited,

be happy, have my thrills

But they’re not things for every day

They happen when they will.

Mostly I’m just ‘satisfied’

I rub along ok

Nothing went too very wrong

It was an ok day.

You have to have your ups and downs

And plain old ordinary days

It makes the good days special

It’s always been that way.

Goals, goals, goals!!

How do you plan your goals?

Sadly there’s no strategy

Goals, objectives plans

I’m past my best before date

And I’m simply clinging on.

There’s things I fill my day with

There’s things I want to do

But as to life objectives

I’ll leave them up to you.

I could have made a bucket list

Of things I’ve left undone

But I take each day the way it comes

And try an’ enjoy each one.

Don’t consult a poet

Create an emergency preparedness plan.

In case of an emergency

Don’t consult a poet

They’re not much help to anyone

Unless you want a sonnet.

But by happy happy chance

You’ve found one who did planning.

I’ll do my best and try to help

If you don’t mind it scanning.

First you need to make a list

Of all that could go wrong.

Pick out the most likely things

Or it will get too long.

There’s natural disasters

mighty winds or floods

Or they could be man made

accidents and fires.

Or perhaps a loss of power.

What would we do then?!

Think of your security

burglars breaking in

Or medical emergency

a heart attack or stroke.

Now you have depressed yourself

The planning can begin.

First make out a contact list

The people you would call.

Everyone should have a job

And know what is their role

Plan how you’ll communicate

And keep them all in touch.

Importantly a meeting point

You’ll run to if you must.

What about emergency kit

essential things you’ll need?

Drinking water, food in cans,

first aid, batteries, medicine

And not forgetting cash.

Personal stuff like clothing,

blankets, toiletries.

Not forgetting documents,

insurance and ID.

Plan evacuation

How you’ll all get out

For different situations

Like intruders, flood or fire.

Prepare yourself with training

Try to learn first aid.

Know resuscitation

and how to care for wounds.

Once you have

prepared your plan

plan for its review.

Updating regularly

Is what you need to do.

Hopefully your alright now

the pan will not be used.

And I’ll get back to poetry

As I prefer to do.

I’m like ……well you know

What is a word you feel that too many people use?

So I’m like ‘absolutely’

And he’s like

‘You know what I mean’.

The trouble is I don’t know.

So I’m like try and explain!!

So then he goes like

‘You know’

And I’m like

No I don’t!!

And then he uses ‘awesome’

And he’s driving me insane.

So I’m like

I hate ‘awesome’

It means reverential fear!

And he’s like

Well he’s ’you know’

‘You get what I’m sayin’?

I don’t!

I hate these conversations

Words that are overused

Words aren’t punctuation

‘You know’s’ just a pause

An irritating habit

Of people lost for words.

So I’m like please don’t do it

And ask if he knows what I mean.

So he says ‘absolutely’

When the word he needed was ‘Yes’.

So here’s my little hit list

Of irritating habits and words.

Please, please, please

Don’t use them

Their overuse absurd.

‘Like’ is like the worst word

and one you shouldn’t use.

‘You know’ is so lazy

You might as well not talk.

Don’t say ‘absolutely’

if all you mean is yes.

And DON’T say things are ‘awesome’

if you only mean quite good.