'Ideas exist in things.'  I heard that somewhere a long time ago and have never forgotten it. So, when I'm looking for ideas, I find it extremely useful to sit perfectly still and take a careful look around me. Today, as  I sat watching people eat in a favourite cafe of mine, I began to think about food. I must admit I like thinking about food. I love both eating and cooking.   I began to think more particularly about food back when I was a kid. Food I liked and food I avoided. I thought about some of the things people used to say about certain foods. Not all of which was true. A bit like 'fake news' we hear so much about these days. Eventually my thinking lead to wanting to write something down- It often does. Well, a poem began to develop in my head, so I took out my notebook and started writing. When I got home, I just had to continue preparing my poem. Here it is for you to digest. Food News Green jelly's made from cow's hooves Spaghetti...

This is a message for teachers. Teachers who teach poetry, Teachers who want to teach poetry more effectively. Take a wander through your school's library and seek out the poetry collection. Have a really good look at the assembled books. Take some books from the shelves and open them and examine the poetry within the covers. If what you are seeing is a motley  collection of ancient, unattractive titles and there doesn't appear to have been any additional texts added to the collection in over a decade, then it's time to morph into a Poetry Warrior! Don't get me wrong, there may well be some great poetry hidden away within those tired looking titles. It would be sad not to bring them to the attention of your probationary poets. However, it's time to begin agitating for more books to be added to the collection and fast. It becomes difficult to grow a love of poetry among young writers without a varied collection of classic and contemporary poetry books fo...

When you read my latest poem, you can confidently infer that I've had an encounter with a shopping trolley recently.  Well, you're right...  One of those trolleys of the the wobbly wheel kind that keep trying to take you in the wrong direction.  Wheel Bad News we all know the wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round. so, why is it that the wheels on the  shopping trolley go wibble, wobble, wonk wibble, wobble, wonk ? they should be going round and round, round and round -just like the wheels on the bus go round and round. it's wheely bad I tell you -wheely bad

The moon has been a recurring theme in my writing. As a boy I pondered much thought regarding its magnificence. I would lie in my bed staring out the window imagining i could see a face on that distant orb. I witnessed Neil Armstrong's first tentative steps upon its surface while viewing a somewhat grainy black and white television set during my first year of teaching. I have stood under its full beaming reflection in the middle of Australia's heartland and marveled at the light it provided in that vast open space. I can still hear my father crooning the words, 'Blue moon, I saw you standing alone...' The moon even features in the title of my latest book of poetry. The moon has featured in many  phases  of my life. So,it is hardly surprising that I would come to write a poem about the moon. When we have recurring ideas or thoughts, sooner or later, we feel an urge to capture those thoughts in writing. Last night, the moon once again made itself known to me and today ...

P oetry and Q uestions Sometimes poets try to answer questions. They seek the answer to the age old question, why? Sometimes they just pose questions and invite the reader to consider their response... This short little poem merely asks questions. You might also notice, it has a rhyming pattern and is presented in two, four line stanzas. Consider This Do you dream of mystic places ? Do you dream of mighty deeds? Do you travel in your mind As you stand among the weeds? Do you stare at the horizon? Do you step up to the plate? Do you seek out new adventures? Or have you simply locked the gate?