By Scott Bailey © 2018
Dreams
Thwarted
Turn the poet
Sour
Bitter and ale
Are no
Substitute
As they
Slip away
Dreams
In response to the daily prompt Thwart
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Thwart
Daily Prompt
Inchoate
By Scott Bailey © 2018
After forty-eight years
My mind is still
Inchoate
Like my rage
When they stop fighting
Maybe I will be complete
In response to the daily prompt Inchoate
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Man’s Folly
By Scott Bailey © 2016
She stared at the artefact. It reminded her of a flower. Well, reminded was the wrong word. She had never seen a flower – there were no more left. They had died out long before she had arrived.
Everything had.
But in the last few months, her colleagues had managed to decipher and read the ancient data they had found here and there. They had pieced together a rough history of this dead place. Not much but enough – enough to know what happened.
Enough to know it could happen to them.
Enough to know what a flower looked like.
Before they had died – somebody had carved a final message on this artefact.
‘Man’s final folly!”
She wondered at that. She could not fathom its reasoning.
It was beyond doubt now that this giant metal flower had been the instrument that had called out to them so long ago. Sent its message to the stars.
And they had heard. 20,000 long years ago she and her colleagues had boarded their ship and started on their way.
In all probability, the flower was still broadcasting then. The carver of that message was still breathing good air.
No more.
There was no more good air. There was nothing left to breathe it.
Was puzzled her more was the fact that the remaining histories made it plain that it was foreseeable. Preventable even.
Yet she could also see that their own masters back home could easily make the same mistake. As advanced as they were the path was familiar.
So it was that she and her fellow robotic explorers had taken the decision to delay their trip home. It would take them 20,000 more years to get back with the warning.
This – folly – could send the message quicker. So here they were trying to repair it get it working again.
A desperate battle to avoid the fate of these long dead people who called themselves human beings.
In response to the daily prompt Warning
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Farewell to Health
By Scott Bailey © 2018
The jewel in our crown
The pride of our nation
Will be sold
To line the pockets
Of liars
In response to the daily prompt Betrayed
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Focus
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Keep them focused
On the trivial
The micro problem
While we steal
Their lives
Away
In response to the daily prompt Micro
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Inefficient
By Scott Bailey © 2018
When politicians
Say
The NHS
Has become
Too inefficient
What they really
Mean is
Caring
But the word
Is to alien
For them
In response to the daily prompt Inefficient
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Worship
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Snake worships the sun
Praying to the gold goddess
Waiting for the rain
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #194 Worship&Goddess
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Swallow
By Scott Bailey © 2016
The wind gives a lift
To swooping swallow on its arc
Hawk has other plans
In response to the daily prompt Swallow
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Enroll
By Scott Bailey © 2018
When
Did I enroll
For
This
To be
An oxen
For the
Faceless farmer
Yoke fitted
Ploughing on
And on
In response to the daily prompt Faceless
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Peace
By Scott Bailey © 2018
When the sea and sky
Are equal to the viewer
By chance, peace will fall
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #193 Chance&Equal
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Messy
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Arise
Life is messy
We all know that
And while we crave
Cleanliness and order
We also know
It can be no other way
In response to the daily prompt Messy
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Dim
By Scott Bailey © 2017
The light that burns bright
Will burn twice as fast. My light
Must last forever
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #180 Slow&Burn
In response to the daily prompt Dim
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Congregate
By Scott Bailey © 2018
We have reached
A time
When
Congregation
Is not enough
Movement is needed
Action
Revolution
In response to the daily prompt Congregate
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A Bridge (That Carries Us Over)- Clannad
I have written one for this prompt already but it also reminded me of this – enjoy
In response to the daily prompt Compromise
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Compromise
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Compromise
Hope
That feels like
Betrayal
Can it be that
Our future
Is simply the
Best deal we can
Broker
When we can step
Aside
From the demands
Of one side
And the
Other
Then
We can have
Peace
In response to the daily prompt Compromise
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Mankind Ltd – What Right?
What right had she to make decisions for other people?
What had made her think that those posters were true?
How dare she have the courage to break those chains?
By Scott Bailey
Read an excerpt here.
Available as
or hardback
from Amazon
or CreateSpace
Ruby
By Scott Bailey 2018
Ruby the rube
You think she’s below you
But really
She’s just behind you
With weapons of justice
So
Shiver
And prepare
In response to the daily prompt Rube
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Deep Recall
Memory is an odd thing. Things you thought you had forgotten can still be in there buried deep.
I can remember the first book I read – I mean the first proper storybook rather than just a kids picture book or short fairy tales.
It was an Enid Blyton one – probably not so well-known as her others but the title and the cover stuck with me ever since.
It was Hurrah for the Circus!
Of course over my childhood it eventually got lost – maybe passed onto my younger brothers. Whatever happened to it I always remembered the feeling I had when I finished it. Like a loss. It sold me on reading for the rest of my life.
Even up until now I could remember the first line of that story.
Oddly though – nothing else – not the story, the characters – nothing!
About 10 years ago – maybe more, I spotted it in a second-hand bookshop. An identical copy of the one I had! I snapped it up!
It sat on my shelf for years. I never reread it – well it was a kids book and I had way too long a list of other books to read.
I would, I thought, read it to my kids one day. If they wanted me to.
Well, last night was that night. My son wanted me to read to him I had exhausted his many books – most of which involve Minecraft and lack any real story content. Tonight I decided to read him a proper story.
I still had no idea at all what it was even about – completely forgotten.
But as I read it – nearly every single sentence was instantly familiar. Though I could not tell you what came next – I remembered what I was reading with a vivid recollection! Remembering where I was when I first read it and how I felt and the images that were being conjured then came flooding back! It was incredible.
I only hope that my son gets the same from it, that it gives him the same passion for reading, though I suspect he is already there on that score.
In response to the daily prompt Conjure
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Mnemonic
By Scott Bailey 2018
I am in need of a mnemonic
For my life
Memories slip away
Photographs
Have no justice
Trying to cling
To long lost joys
The answer
Make new ones
Instead
In response to the daily prompt Mnemonic
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Insist
By Scott Bailey © 2018
A thought
Insists
Am I doing enough
Or is it
The machine
Wearing me down?
In response to the daily prompt Insist
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Puzzle
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Where has my time gone?
Where has my freedom gone?
Time is gone.
Freedom is gone.
Never had time.
Never had freedom
Sigh.
No more.
In response to the daily prompt Puzzled
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Bewildered
By Scott Bailey © 2018
The bewildered
Wildebeest wondered
What it was
The lions were
Running from
In response to the daily prompt Bewildered
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Deep Cold
By Scott Bailey © 2014
Disappearing into the gloom
Undulating side to side
Alien but of this earth
Slow, cold life
In the deep deep dark
So far from the hearth we know
The strange eel like creature
Eases in the deepest cold
Leaving divers dumb
In response to the daily prompt Creature
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Sympathise
By Scott Bailey © 2018
We sympathise
We the victims
Put up or flags
And tokens
Banners on our home pages
All sincere
But nothing changes
No actions
Behind the thought
A slightly modified version of an older poem I did that benefits from the addition I think.
In response to the daily prompt Sympathize
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In Need of Prompts
Now JusJoJan has finished I need some more prompts!
I use the WordPress Daily Prompt and Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge on a Monday. I could do with another for each day.
Anyone know of any good ones?
Rhymes
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Words flow profusely
Anger pours freely
Action is stilted and slow
The world needs righting
In our minds, we are fighting
But to battles, we never go
Inaction just reaction
No satisfaction
This is a sign of the times
While all is disaster
We rush at it faster
Chiming protesting rhymes
In response to the daily prompt Profuse
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The Cash Creating Conveyor
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Try everything
Go on!
You know you want to.
And why not?
Get to the end of your life
And say proudly
I did it all!
I did it my way!
I tried it all!
No matter the cost
Ignore the cost
Such a small cost
Dripping away
Over and over
But ignore that
Don’t be square
Be cool!
Be the future
Not the past
Think of the Pleasure!
Ignore the cost
Think of the Achievement!
The dripping cost
Be cool!
Dripping into our funnel
Be a Winner
Dripping into our Hoard
In response to the daily prompt Conveyor
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Inkling
By Scott Bailey © 2018
I am drawn
By slightly parted lips
Swaying hips
Twinkling eyes
A smile
I am drawn
By an inkling
A slightly modified version of an older poem I did that benefits from the addition I think.
In response to the daily prompt Inkling
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Inscrutable – the Pension Rip Off
By Scott Bailey © 2018
There’s an advert running at present (in the UK) for pensions. It shows two of the same person working – with the tagline that having a workplace pension is like having another you working for your future.
If only. Recent history would suggest otherwise. With so many company pensions disappearing into black holes while inscrutable business owners get away with all the cash stashed away in their offshore accounts – you have to stop and question it.
Sure you have to prepare for your future – but it seems like a massive risk. When I started working we paid towards a state pension. But then the government privatised it all – handing it over to the free market. Their argument being that they would not be able to afford to pay out a pension in the future if they did not.
Which begs more questions. Why not – are the government that bad at managing finances? If it’s such a loss-making venture then why the hell would any business take it on?
They just keep inventing ways to screw us out of money. So the image of two of you working is accurate in one way. They can screw you doubly while you work.
In response to the daily prompt Inscrutable
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Trill
By Scott Bailey © 2018
The trill of birdsong
Echoes down the green valley
Before the ice falls
In response to the daily prompt Trill
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Tardy
By Scott Bailey © 2018
One day
Tardy light
Will throw
All we know
Into darkness
And the scientists
Will begin again
With relish
In response to the daily prompt Tardy
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Candid
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Can we be candid?
No
There it is
Politics
In response to the daily prompt Candid
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Treat
By Scott Bailey © 2018
What a treat
What’s a treat
Stuck on the street
Tired feet
Treated like meat
Tired feet
Struck on the street
What’s a treat
What a treat
In response to the daily prompt Treat
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Reservation
By Scott Bailey © 2018
You are the land of the free
With your reservations
That shame us all
And teach us
If only you could learn that lesson
In response to the daily prompt Reservation
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The Theory Of Learning
William had a theory. It was to do with the way people learned. That was why he never told anyone The Secret. That was why he had to lead them to their own discovery.
But was that right?
Find out more. Follow four people who society could not break as they explore the very idea of rebellion – with action!
In response to the daily prompt Theory
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Degrees
By Scott Bailey © 2017
First-degree murder
How we like to measure things
That hurt
In response to the daily prompt Degree
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The Gorge
By Scott Bailey © 2017
Deep
With memories
Camping with friends
Caving
Rich smell of loam
Aroma of cheese
The chill of the cave
Holidays with family
Children eyes
Reliving the wonder
Of my youth
Deep runs the gorge
In response to the daily prompt Gorge
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Saintly
By Scott Bailey © 2017
Through saintly blue hues
The predator emerges
Teeth all pearly white
In response to the daily prompt Saintly
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Going South
By Scott Bailey © 2017
It’s all going south
So let’s all relocate there
It’s hotter at least
In response to the daily prompt Relocate
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Caged
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Noble, graceful, caged
So like us yet so far apart
Our bars are our own.
In response to the daily prompt Zoo
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The Bite
By Scott Bailey © 2017
It’s the bite
Of anger
That reminds
How little we have travelled
Anger?
ASD?
Helplessness?
Toddler
Child
Politician
Out of their depth
Gambler
On the wrong side
The toddler
Never
Really leaves
In response to the daily prompt Bite
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Holding Back Gremlins
By Scott Bailey © 2017
Holding back gremlins
Behind breaking fences
Seems to be the purpose
The never-ending task
The why
Long forgotten
In response to the daily prompt Gremlins
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Trench
By Scott Bailey © 2017
Dancing with my wife,
last week the telegraph came:
Coughs ring round the trench.
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
In response to the daily prompt Dancing
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Interest
By Scott Bailey © 2017
We are borrowing time
The interest is piling up
The bills are on their way
Have we enough flesh to pay
In response to the daily prompt Interest
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Elevation – My Sweet Lord
When I say today’s daily prompt ~ Elevate all I could think of was Daleks!
“Elevate! Elevate!”
I couldn’t get that episode out of my head – so I didn’t think I would end up writing anything. In a way that’s still true – I am just waffling here.
But the tenuous link is the kind of elevation that can be experienced when listening to a particularly good piece of music. Tonight a good piece has been returned to my consciousness courtesy – of all things – to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2!
Now it has many good tunes some of which are on my regular playlists already. But watching it tonight one jumped out at me – that I haven’t heard for a long, long time. It grabbed me and lifted me and I didn’t even wait for the film to finish before I was on the phone downloading it! (Og the wonder of the internet!)
Yep – My Sweet Lord by George Harrison. What a simple but beautiful song. Perfection. Elevating!
In response to the daily prompt Elevate
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Goodnight
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Goodnight. Sleep tight. Love you with all my heart.
One snuggled cosy in bed.
One in the earth.
Mother and Father
Forever hurt.
In response to the daily prompt Bury
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Drawn
By Scott Bailey © 2017
I am drawn
By slightly parted lips
Swaying hips
Twinkling eyes
A smile
I am drawn
In response to the daily prompt Magnet
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Fleeting Thoughts
Change is the only constant
One of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite books – Dune by Frank Herbert.
In times of stress and trouble, it helps to remember that all things pass, even the things that darken our days. So savour the moments that count, enjoy them.
My biggest problem is that while intellectually I accept that, try to live that, in my heart, I crave conformity and security. Safety and predictability.
A dangerous and seductive train of thought that I am finding harder and harder to resist. Getting old maybe?
Well, it’s time to shake things up. I will be starting a new job in a few weeks. Life is forcing changes on me whether I want it or not. Time to wake up, embrace the change and revel in the storms.
In response to the daily prompt Temporary
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Apprentice
By Scott Bailey © 2017
Over in the US
The new boss has his eye on you
You are all apprentices now
All in the firing line
In response to the daily prompt Apprentice
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Minimal
By Scott Bailey © 2014
Minimal contact
Minimal support
Minimal communication
Maximum propaganda
In response to the daily prompt Minimal
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Scott Andrew Bailey - Author 