The World is Spinning

The world, my friend, is spinning

Around a fire as hot as hell

And the thread that keeps you down to earth 

Is a gravity well

 

But if the Earth was hanging

By a silken thread
Would you cut it?

 

For we can see the scissors in the science

As we watch some money-grubbing fools

Snipping away 

At the blanket that keeps us cool 

 

And so the fates would have us hanging

By a single silken thread

So, will you cut it?

 

 

A.J. Ponder 

 

Hope you enjoyed this one, it's been sitting half-finished for quite a while. 

 

But that's poetry for you. Fickle. :)    

But 
There  

Sunlight and Monsters

I can see a world. 
A green and blue marble
of clean seas
and emerald forests
and cities that sparkle in the sun 

Can you see it?
A world where you can live your best life
and no child is bombed or starved, but free to grow
free to wonder at the dinosaurs below 
and the twinkling stars above
free to explore with the sun on their face 
and the wind at their backs

Or are you trapped in a never-ending night
with a shadowy hulk 
sunning itself in its gas lamps
as it extends its tentacles
deep into every aspect of
our lives?

Don't imagine better, it whispers from the shadows,
tentacles gently strumming the deep dark web
to conjure fear as it wraps the world
in hatred and bigotry 
like a tasty scapegoat
drenched in tar

Whatever you want to hear, it will tell you.
Whoever you want to hurt, it will hurt gleefully
even as it tentacles reaches out for you
with eagerly questing suckers 

It's so hungry
hungry for what you have
hungry for what your neighbours have
your country has
this world has

A tentacle flicks by, so close now...

Stay quiet, 
I am the monster under the bed, and in the closet,
tighten your belt until your ribs show
and I might take you last, 
after I've blocked the sun 
strangled the trees
starved the children
murdered the innocent and the brave
and left you hollow and complicit

And still I see the light beyond the monster
the brave people waving flags to welcome the day
the world of plenty, that we could have, should have, would have
if we stopped feeding the monster

Can you see the sunlight?
Can you touch it?
Can you taste it?
Can you vote for it?
Can you walk for it?
Can you open your doors and demand your representatives stop feeding it, or letting it feed them?

I can see a world
free from the monster

A world of life and love and light
where everyone's needs are met
but it's slipping away
in a puddle of oil

 

 

Queen of the Chair

Victory is mine!
Claws and fur are top of the pecking order

All the childless cat ladies rejoice
As we protect our couches from so many threats...
Just not our cats

 

Photo of Maisie atop her favourite chair

P.S. Technically, if my children have grown up am I still a childless cat lady? I suspect not. But who cares? Well, aside from those who get their kicks out of controlling others. 

Have a great...until I post again.
Kia kaha

A.J. Ponder

Other poems with cats:

The Piano Twins

Cat-World Problems

Accounting for Herbert

 

 

Indelible

I have no patience for poetry
The lines are grey
And writhe in meaningless sludge

I have not the stomach for poetry
How many people died today
Heartsick for birdsong?

I have not the will for poetry
Pretty words on a pretty page
Made from the bleached bones of children

And yet here the ink flows
Indelible

A.J. Ponder

 

Just finished this one. It's been here for a while, sitting with its sadness and horror. And yes, I was riffing off this protest verse from Marwan Makhoul:

'in order for me to write poetry that isn’t
political, I must listen to the birds
and in order to hear the birds
the warplanes must be silent’

 – Marwan Makhoul, Palestinian Poet

 

More links:

Poems for Palestine: https://publishersforpalestine.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/poems_for_palestine_online.pdf
Other Palestinian poetry:https://tracyabell.com/2023/11/11/palestinian-poetry/
Marwan Makhoul: Poetry, Prose, and Identity Politics: https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/232229

 

Suck it Up

"Suck it up, be quiet, you're hurting the cause
How very dare you, it's time to hit pause

Don't stand up and don't fight back
Not even with paper

It's unseemly, it's rude and it's just not done
Clutch your pearls quick, everyone

And no talk of systemic abuse by the boys
'Cos, they'll throw out their toys, 

With their bollocks claim
"It's the rough and tumble of politics"

So suck it up, Buttercup
They have a country to pillage

And turn about is only fair play
For bullies policing the meek

It's not for gravy trays shielded by money—

Money that doesn't want a better world
If it has to pay 2c in taxes

A.J. Ponder

Hiya, 

I'm hoping that a little righteous anger will lift your heart today, and maybe also have you looking beneath claims of bullying to see if there's a culture of bullying—one that picks on the bullied if they dare step out of line. 

P.S. Supporting me on ko-fi helps keep me writing poetry and books. Click on the picture and discover my wee ko-fi page. There may even be a few cute pictures of my two lovely cats, as well as some great books to buy.

Find my stories and support my writing on ko-fi   I'd love to know which poems you'd like to see in my upcoming

 poetry book—2024

 

The Wallux and the Seapeter, with apologies to Lewis Carroll

The Wallux was whining in the sky,
Whining with all his might
He said he was the chosen one 
And, I quote, an "entitled" little blight
Which was not so odd because
He was a self-indulgent little shite

"Oh voters, won't you vote for us,
Our eyes are very blue."
"And we will hurt the people
Who aren't you," the Seapeter quickly cried
"And we have gifts," The Wallux added,
Just wait to see what is inside. 

Mother voter eyed them warily
But her kin were keen
Come on, they said, let's go and walk
After all, our Mum is mean
And so the voters strayed
with promises of green. 

The Sea was smiling sulkily
Smiling with all his might
While the Peter led the Wallux around
By the balls of blight
"Come and deal," the Wallux crowed
While the Peter shrugged and said, "Well, I think I might."

And soon the Wallux and the Seapeter
Had become a thing. So now all three heads
Were as wet as wet could be,
And racist as heck to boot
Their smiles as slick and smarmy
As an old jackbooted coot

"Do you suppose," the Wallux said,
His greed so plain to see
"If we should fire the workers
There'd be more money for me,"
"Oh yes," the Seapeter heads cried
"Then you can give the rest to me."

With fork and knife and serving spoon
They tucked into the feast
"I weep for me," the Wallux said:
"Please, deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he dumped
Public sector jobs of every size

"It's such a shame," the Wallux said,
"That we can't fire some more."
"True that," Seapeter agreed
"I'd love to settle every score."
The Wallux rubbed his hands
"Maybe next time,
"I think the voters are getting sore."

And with that, the Wallux heaved his paunchy gut
And took his own pay rise,
(with sighs as to its size)
And so I'm asking you, dear voter
Shall we let this monster have it's run?
Or shall we tell the entitled blights
Their days destroying NZ are done.

  A.J. Ponder with apologies to Lewis Carroll and the Walrus and the Carpenter

Hi, thanks for reading. 

If you enjoy my poetry, you can help me publish more poems like this one by supporting me on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/ajponder 

 

Feel free to drop me a line to say hello, or tell me which poems you'd like to see in my upcoming poetry book.

A.J.

Bought ( PSA for a call for submissions for NZ's proposed code of conduct for political lobbyists )

No, it's not Tuesday, and hopefully this is going to be the quickest poem I've ever written—and all because I HATE absolutely LOATHE corporates and big money lobbying (bribing & or threatening) politicians to act against the best interests of us—the people the politicians are supposed to be serving. 

Bought

Well, the ciggy people bought our pollies
And now we have the smokes
Death and taxes is the joke

But the doctors aren't laughing.

And oil bought the roads but we can't know
How or why
Just that the roads must happen while our ferries die

While tourists and families are stranded.

And the landlords stormed the parliament and
Gave themselves a rise
While starving children of their lunches
And eating Bellamy pies 

Yes, they deny children while troughing it on the public dime.

And so those pollies are so happy
They've raided NZ lives for their greed
And the lobbyists are happy
They've paid pennies to make billions for big company greed

While our public servants are fired including those protecting our primary industries from tragedy.

So this post is to inform you
That this very Monday eve at 5pm 8 April
Is the deadline to say enough
We don't want bribery to succeed.

Yup this is a last-minute PSA: Monday 5pm is the deadline for responses to the lobbyists gutting of the proposed lobbying code of conduct that we so desperately needed to keep bribery and the revolving door in line.

Here's an article from people who know more than I do. It also has handy links to other countries codes of conduct: https://www.transparency.org.nz/blog/media-release-draft-voluntary-lobbying-code-of-conduct-lacks-substance

And here's the site where you can make submissions:

https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/key-initiatives/political-lobbying/voluntary-code-of-conduct-for-political-lobbyists