Never Had The Blues

Never Had The Blues

Well, I woke up this morning,
and I never had the blues,
even though the wind was from the east,
and it was bad on the news.

I am not broken hearted,
and I never have been poor.
Nobody treated me badly,
I’ve never been shown the door.

My woman never left me,
and she never let me down.
Live on the right side of the tracks,
not the wrong side of the town.

Till the late of the evening,
I lend my ears to the blues.
Got a really good collection
for a ragtime river cruise.

Well, I’m not at the station,
I don’t need to catch a train.
I don’t hear that lonesome whistle,
nor does my soul peel with pain.

My father’s not a drunkard,
did not lose his life to booze,
and my mother never left me,
so I never had the blues.

Cloud Chariot

Cloud Chariot

In her cloud chariot, Frigga,
goddess of the north, sails by,
weaving the fate of worlds on her loom,
an illusion in the sky,
made of sunlight and vapour,
as I look up from my room.

Birds are gently busy outside,
in the bush and on the tree.
The clowns and the acrobats
of the circulating circus,
gone in the blink of an eye,
were a chance puzzle to me.

Spun round on the wheel of misfortune,
it will do you no good to complain.
We are all chained to the same construction,
until it malfunctions again.

That is one way to see it.
Such a mood will not stay.
You can fit it all in,
the sooner you begin.
You can get a lot done in a day.

Platypus

Platypus

The platypus is real,
not an invention of nonsense verse.
His life could be better,
but as ever, many times worse.

A bit like a beaver,
has no snout but a beak like a duck.
Lives in Australia,
for how long depends on his luck.

Alert as a wombat,
quick as any kangaroo can jump,
he sits by a river,
watching the water pearl and pump.

The platypus is free,
not hindered by law or worried thought,
his acts are by instinct,
in the cold trap he is not caught.

If I were a platypus,
I’d never complain,
never make a fuss,
in hot sun or rain,
happy I’d remain,
cheerful as a platypus.

Lessons From Fiction

Lessons From Fiction

The Count of Monte Cristo
taught me through his tale
that from an island prison
you can escape to freedom,
if like Robinson Crusoe,
your spirit does not fail.

Odysseus the sailor
taught me to endure,
to survive the siege of Troy,
the perils of the voyage,
though much older and paler,
to find the homeland shore.

Beowulf the chieftain
taught me to be brave,
to withstand the mighty foe,
in the end to stand alone,
be bold to face the dragon,
the last fall of the wave.

So you can learn from fiction,
it depends on what you read.
When you are not looking for a lesson,
a story can plant a seed.