Why Burkinis Shouldn't be Banned

Burkinis on beaches shouldn’t be banned

Since used by those who rarely get tanned;

Who if they sit in the sun, instead

Turn from white to beetroot red.

They’re also used by girls with tattoos

Who when they’re older want to refuse

To let other people see their art,

And here burkinis can play their part.

Though others may think they aren’t a big deal,

Girls with scars may also feel,

That they would prefer them out of sight,

And that most surely is their right.

One mustn’t forget, though many do

Burkinis are something fairly new,

Designed to sell to various groups,

Unhampered by religious hoops.

For they aren’t a religious dress at all,

Though some might think the garments fall

Within this band, but they are wrong –

It’s in the secular they belong.

They’re simply a fashion like the rest

Playing their part in a woman’s quest

To find the sort of clothes that she

Feels enhance what she want to be.

Unwanted Shopping

Often I’d be glad to stop

Having to go out to shop;

Whether groceries or shoes

Shopping’s regularly bad news.

The endless time it takes to do

I could be trying something new.

But there’s no way I can avoid,

Though it makes me quite annoyed,

Going to the shops each day

For there is no other way,

As I really must concede

To get the many things I need.

Learning from the Past

A knowledge of the past is needed if one wants to understand

What is happening in the present in so many a foreign land;

For people have behaved for centuries, and many still behave today,

When faced similar situations, in very much the same old way.

Time’s moved on, but people haven’t; they react to fear and hate,

Just the same as did their ancestors at a past far distant date.

If one knows a people’s history, one can take this all on board,

And be conscious of what actions well might strike an awkward chord.

Many politicians stumble through their lack of history,

Knowing little of most countries’ national family history tree.

Or they have no realisation of what’s likely to result

From their actions, and are certain, the ensuing trouble’s not their fault. 

They blunder in with good intentions, usually quite unaware

Many of their predecessors in the past were also there.

But they have failed to learn the lessons, as they’ve not looked in the past,

To see what actions lead to problems and the ones that tend to last.

Two Different Types

Some people always tend to give

Even if they have to live

In poverty, with little scope

To realise whatever hope

They might retain; for though they strive,

All they can do is stay alive;

But still they give, with words to cheer

All the people they come near.

Others are extremely rich;

Their wealth just grows without a glitch,

So they own more than many states

As endless gold flows through their gates.

But though they have enough and more

They rarely give to help the poor,

And when they do they like to see

That they get much publicity

So everyone will know that they

Have given a few pounds away,

Which they won’t miss from all their wealth

Which often they’ve obtained by stealth,

Impoverishing many men

To make more money yet again.

Two different types, one gives, one takes,

And what a difference this fact makes

Within the world in which we live –

If only there were more who give.

A Dismal World

It would be a dismal world, and one to break my heart,

If there were no more literature and other forms of art;

No music wafting through the air, no paintings to admire,

No poetry with haunting lines, its readers to inspire;

No novels set in other times to bring to us the past

No plays about eternal truths, which will forever last.

No singing to portray our joy, no dancing to express

Our simple joy in movement and the thrill of its caress.

No statues or mosaics, and no carvings made of wood,

Just bare and empty spaces where in past years they had stood.

The world would be so dreary if all artistry were banned,

And so much joy and beauty disappeared throughout the land

A Baby's Smile

Nothing can as much beguile

As a little baby’s smile;

Their lips turned upward always seem

To represent an ideal dream;

Their bright eyes widen to impress

The ones they’re wishing to address.

For babies usually are well-armed

To make sure adults will be charmed

By smiles that look so sweet and pure

So they get what they want without demur.

Burkinis on the Beach

Women surely have the right to dress just how they wish

Whether sitting on the beach or swimming like a fish;

It’s not for anyone to say what garments they should wear,

Whether mostly covered up or whether mostly bare.

Providing they don’t interfere with others on the beach

Whether by haranguing them or through attempts to preach.

And there mustn’t be demands for men to move away

From a spot they’ve found they like and where they want to stay.

But if they simply want to wear a different bathing suit,

About their right to do so there should not be a dispute,

Providing they accept the rights of others all around

And don’t expect that they should be by their opinions bound.

Sitting Outside in the Evenings in Summer

I pick up my beanbag and trundle downstairs

To sit on the steps and enjoy the night airs,

Which drift oh so coolly  around me so I

Don’t feel quite so warm when the temperature’s high.

For even at night in the attic it’s hot,

And the front steps for cooling are all that I’ve got.

So it’s nice to sit out until night’s darkness falls,

Away from the heat trapped in all my flat’s walls.

The Italian Earthquake

One sees the awful pictures which portray an earthquake’s role

In causing wide destruction and resulting high death toll;

The power of nature’s obvious and today still can’t be tamed,

And often gives no warning, so no human can be blamed.

Though regions can be monitored it doesn’t always mean

That quakes can be predicted, as is here quite clearly seen,

For it was unexpected and occurred while it was dark,

Its sudden violent trembling left behind its frightening mark.

On several ancient villages, which barely now exist,

Flattened by an earthquake which few buildings could resist.

As it was in Italy this tragedy occurred,

The people will in coming month most certainly be spurred

To rebuild all the damaged homes and start their lives again,

Showing for wild nature’s force a certain quiet distain.

The dead are in the next world, but the living will plod on,

As they have always done before through centuries long gone.

Mr. Corbyn and his Train Problems

The well-know Mr. Corbyn found he’d problems on a train;

He had no reservation – his secretary’s domain?

So getting on at Euston he had need to find a seat,

Which later he told everyone was really quite a feat,

Especially as he wanted two together on the trip,

And every one he looked at had a reservation slip.

If Jeremy had travelled more on trains throughout the land,

Many years ago he would have come to understand

That often reservations are not taken on the day,

As they’ve been booked far in advance so there was less to pay,

And all you have to do is wait until it’s fairly clear

Which seats reserved from Euston still have no-one coming near

For anyone can occupy a seat that isn’t claimed,

And though it isn’t really theirs they never will be blamed.

So he should just have waited a few minutes, nothing more,

Before deciding he would have to sit down on the floor.

And then he would have found two seats, for him and for his wife,

And saved himself a huge amount of ridicule and strife.  

The Value of a Culture

A man with no culture’s a man who’s adrift,

With nothing to cling to when needing a lift;

He lacks a connection to all that is past,

The mould into which he’d a right to be cast.

He has no traditions that link to a group,

With everyone forming their own little loop,

Cut off from each other, they go their own way,

Not knowing their past, just aware of today.

Living a life that’s not part of a whole,

Where they will be lacking a specified role

Within a society they know’s been around

For many long years and by culture is bound.

Conquerors often first seek to achieve

The destruction of cultures they firmly believe

Will keep people unified, giving them scope

To always look forward in strength and in hope;

But minus their culture, there’s nought to unite

A people, and also inspire them to fight

For their future existence as just what they were,

A group with a culture that they would prefer.

Governments also you often will find,

Try to see culture’s left firmly behind,

Proclaiming that it is intrinsically wrong,

If it isn’t the one to which they all belong,

For they from their knowledge quite clearly can see

How easy to govern the rootless can be.

What Poets Want

Most poets just want to be able to write,

To keep rhyming couplets at all times in sight;

To not have to think about all the mundane

Which easily could plague them till almost insane;

They want to have space in their lives to create,

A world in which they can enjoy a quiet state,

Which gives them a chance to produce endless verse;

To them life’s distractions are simply a curse.

Unfortunately few can achieve the quiet life,

For most must contend with much worry and strife;

But they can still hope that one day they’ll be free

To become the creative they dream they could be.

Mean People

Some people are always loath to pay

For anything, if they can find a way

To pass the bill to a colleague or friend

While they display a subtle blend

Of sorrow, embarrassment and regret,

So no-one will call their bluff and yet

It happens time and time again,

As regularly as the winter rain.

Among the excuses that they quote:

“My card is in the other coat,”

“I  thought I had cash but must have spent

Everything at the last place I went.”

“I’ve just remembered my card’s expired

And I can’t remember the new pin required.”

“I must have left my wallet at home,

I think it’s on top of our garden gnome.”

I I think I’m the victim of a theft,

I know I had money when I left.”

Whatever excuse these people trot out,

They know exactly what they’re about;

They don’t want to pay, and so any excuse

Will do, so they can avoid the use

Of their own money to settle a bill;

They’ve done it before, so know the drill.

Doomsayers

The internet gives many people the room

To prophesy wildly earth’s forthcoming doom;

Whether from climate change, earthquakes or war,

Fire come from heaven or man’s sinful core,

But so many dates prophesied have all passed,

And earth has avoided each prophesied blast,

So I read them all with a sceptical eye,

Certain that all of the dates will pass by

Without a catastrophe causing the world

To see it’s destruction as mentioned unfurled.

The Night Tubes have Started

The night tube starts running this coming weekend,

On only two lines, but with plans to extend

To others next year, and maybe to all,

If users continue to rise and not fall.

Tubes are much quicker than buses and so

They’ll give people more of a choice how they go.

They’re far more convenient for travellers as well,

As any whose journeys are long will soon tell.

It’s taken a while for the service to start,

For now they are here we can all play our part

In showing they’re needed, by making good use

Of trains all through night-time, for there’s now no excuse

For leaving quite early, for never again

Will we have to rush off just to catch the last train.

The Rich are Getting Richer

The rich are getting richer all the time,

Some honestly, but others due to crime;

And many live their lives within the law,

But only just, and certainly no more.

They use the laws that never were designed

With those of little principle in mind,

But rather aimed at normal honest men,

Not those at home within a robbers’ den.

They wheel and deal with money not their own,

And if they lose, it’s often they alone

Who walk away, much richer than before,

For money is the thing they most adore.

Their incomes can be staggeringly high,

A thousand times that needed to get by.

Each year they see their capital increase -

Additions to their assets never cease;

While those less wealthy whom the rich despise

Often see their income fall, not rise,

As wages often tend to stay the same,

For which the greedy rich must bear the blame.

Though differences in income have been vast

Equality was greater in the past,

For many men whose income was quite large

Had many obligations to discharge.

And anyway, the ratio was small

Between the workman’s cottage and the hall,

Compared to that which now exists today,

Where only a minute fraction of the pay

That goes to those on top is usually paid

To all those toiling daily in the shade.

Money Can't Buy Everything

It’s often forgotten that money can’t buy

All of the things for which some people cry;

Even the wealthiest often aspire

To various things that they greatly desire,

That money can’t get them, for they can’t be bought,

As when it is peace and contentment that’s sought.

Many rich people are sad and depressed –

Despite all their wealth, they just cannot find rest,

For their minds are so troubled they sometimes may drive

Their owners straight onwards towards suicide.

Money is useful and makes life less hard,

But no way can money provide a sure guard

Against mental illness in all of its forms,

Though it can help weather more physical storms.

A Solution for the Problem of Cars in Cities

The streets would be better with far fewer cars,

And also everything else that mars

Their original role as a wide open space

Where all local children were free to race

And play their games, unhindered by

Endless cars which along them now fly.

Has the government considered it might like to give

Cheap transport permits to all those who live

In households in towns where they haven’t a car,

So the high costs of travel would not be a bar

To using the buses and coaches and trains,

Or even for much longer journeys the planes.

Not only could children live healthier lives,

With streets in the cities where no-one then drives

And there are no cars parked along on each side,

So even large streets become just half as wide.

And pollution would plummet with few cars around

Making the prospect of health much more sound

Of course in the country there’s need of a car,

For houses are often too scattered by far

For there to be buses which run day and night

Along all the roads, so no-one’s out of sight

Of a bus-stop where regular buses pass by

With shelters so everyone there can  keep dry.

But in cities, few people have need of a car

For there’s always a bus or a tube where they are,

And if they were cheap there would be no excuse,

For people to fail all the time to make use

Of the good public transport they’ll certainly find

If going by car is put out of their mind.

Preachers of Hatred

Certain people manage to stay just within the law;

Their preaching deals with hatred and with violence and with war,

But they are very careful and astute in all they say,

So no-one can assert they’ve breached the law in any way.

Everyone may understand the message that they preach,

Especially the people that they really want to reach;

And they may taunt the police who know their hands are firmly tied,

For the actual words they’ve used must always be the guide

When deciding if a speech would constitute a crime,

And often all the police can do is watch and bide their time,

Their words may have resulted in the deaths of many men,

Who were influenced by things heard time and time again.

But those who preached them had ensured that none could ever claim,

That they were in a legal sense in any way to blame.

But sometimes those who are like this slip up and then they find,

A single phrase may mean that they are with the law entwined.

And face to face with charges that will likely mean that they

Won’t be round to preach again their bile for many a day.

The US Presidential Election

Will it be Donald Trump who’ll triumph on the coming election day

As the US voters back him, feeling that he thinks their way? 

Or will it be Hillary who emerges as the greater number’s choice

As they come to the conclusion that in her they’ve found a voice?

Two very different people standing, and not solely party-wise,

Will be fighting to be leader, watched by all the whole world’s eyes;

At the moment no-one’s certain what the people will decide

For the gap between contenders never has been very wide;

But when the votes have all been counted and the outcome is unfurled

One will rise as the most powerful of the leaders in the world.

Getting Priorities Right

The NHS is short of funds and often cannot cope;

So that for many elderly, there really isn’t hoe

Of having cataracts removed before they’re almost blind,

And though they are in constant pain, it’s likely they will find

They can’t have hip replacements for as long as they can stand,

For giving them any earlier, in some hospitals is banned.

But mention an abortion and the money will be there,

Which even to the stupidest must surely seem unfair,

For pregnancy is temporary, and to everyone it’s clear,

Requests for an abortion will quite shortly disappear;

But dodgy hips and eyesight will continue to get worse,

Until they’re operated on – just peak to any nurse.

So let’s ban all abortions paid for by the NHS,

And use the money saved to help those really in distress.

Changed Attitudes

At seventeen asylum seekers go to foster care;

Our fathers joined the arm, and there were no nannies there;

Teenage girls got married, and their husbands often were

Hardly any older, and to none did it occur

To think of them as children who were many years away,

In acting just like adults in their lives from day to day.

The Difference between Politicians and Statesmen

The leaders of some countries can be thought of as a joke,

Whose claims that they are statesmen can be toppled at a stroke,

By asking awkward questions, so that they’re put on a spot

Forced to answer something when they’d really rather not.

They stumble  and they fluster, not quite knowing where to turn,

With no coherence in their speech a listener can discern;

They often get quite angry and say things that are not true

Wildly seeking something to support their point of view.

They lack the breadth of knowledge that would stand them in good stead

When dealing with opponents who are much more widely read.

They’re easily offended and have little self-control,

And lacking in a vision of a long-term wider goal.

A statesman on the other hand is quite a different thing,

Someone with a knowledge of the world and thus can bring

Calm and reasoned answers to the questions he is asked,

Maintaining the diplomacy with which he has been tasked.

Never getting angry, letting foolish comments fly,

For none really faze him, no matter how they try.

Little will offend him, for his ego isn’t large,

Though everyone is well aware he’s very much in charge.

He does his best to keep the peace, ensuring that his land,

Is always at the forefront when initiatives are planned.

He’s very well respected as an honest, upright man,

Who in every circumstance will do the best he can.

Children Need Exercise

Too many children are not very fit,

For much of their time they just idly sit

Before their computers and stare at the screen,

With little idea of what exercise means.

Perhaps every school should make part of the day

A time when all children must go out and play

Running and skipping for over an hour,

Enabling their sporting potential to flower.

And if all schools took up this reasonable plea,

Just think how much healthier children would be;

In addition to fitness, it also would seem

They would gain much being in a team.

Protected Groups

There was a time when everyone was free to criticise

Anyone they wanted to, but now that is unwise,

For there are many groups today protected by the law

Who could have heartily been mocked or told home truths before.

It doesn’t matter if it’s true, or something long believed,

One still can’t make a statement just in case they feel aggrieved.

For they have gained the right to live with criticism banned,

Protected  by some powerful laws which run throughout the land.

Of course not every person is protected in this way,

It’s only for some certain groups this cossetting  holds sway;

Other groups must just accept their critics all the time

And it’s unlikely mocking them will ever be a crime.

The Year is Moving On

The days are getting shorter and it’s noticeable already

That darkness falls much earlier than on the longest day;

The weather may be warmer now than at the end of June,

But there’s no doubt that autumn is now truly on its way.

The leaves will shortly start to turn to shades of brown and yellow,

Getting ready for the time when they will start to fall,

Leaving all the branches on the trees completely bare,

So they appear as silhouettes, the short, the wide, the tall.

And with the autumn come the winds, the equinoctial gales,

The weather changing daily, as the summer’s blow away,

And winter marches in with all its iciness and rain,

And summer’s light and colour is replaced by winter’s grey.

More Beauty is Needed

We need much more beauty brought into the world,

To see scores of modern achievements unfurled;

We need in the place of so much that is dire,

Beautiful paintings that can’t but inspire.

Wonderful books which give pleasure and hope

And help those who need inspiration to cope.

Music designed to give light to the soul

Ought to be every composer’s main goal.

Buildings which show what skilled craftsmen can do,

Should be the focus for everything new.

Quality should be the watchword for all

So standards will constantly rise and not fall.

Men hundreds of years ago, far in the past,

Produced an enormous amount that would last

Of music and literature, buildings and art,

Which even today can still pleasure impart.

But now most production is banal and poor,

Lasting for just a few years and no more;

Things won’t be around in five hundred years; time

Described by the future as simply sublime;

So not only isn’t all beautiful now,

We won’t with real treasures the future endow.

Real Refugees

To many people a refugee

Is someone who has had to flee

Because of danger to life and limb

Or oppressions’s become so grim,

They can’t be expected to tolerate

Conditions in their native state,

And when they flee their journey ends

The first safe place, which usually tends

To be a country based nearby,

Where by Law they must apply

For asylum, that they may

In that nearby country stay.

A large proportion will likely be

Women and children who had to flee

While their men stayed back to fight,

For  the things they know are right.

But refugees today it seems,

Are mostly quite young men, whose dreams

Lead them to demand that they

Can in a wealthy country stay.

It isn’t safety that they seek

But a life which is less bleak,

They’re seeking a land where compassion’s strong

And welfare’s been established long,

So they can benefit from years

Of that country’s toil and tears,

For countries have had to work to be

The prosperous places today you see.,

And if large numbers get a ride,

Down the  table they will slide.

Nosey Officials

Untroubled by those who desire to o’ersee

The lives of their neighbours, and know their affairs,

Presenting themselves just as someone who cares,

But really they just want to be in control,

Directing the life of each other poor soul

Who hasn’t the money or status or power

To keep their lives private, unexposed every hour

To the eyes of officials, who think they’re in need,

Having long reached the stage where they cannot concede

They mightn’t be wanted, and people could cope

If they weren’t encouraged to live without hope,

Caught up in a life where their “vulnerable” state,

Means that officials have charge of their fate.

Why Dictators don't like Free Speech

One thing that dictators never allow

Is the right to free speech, for they understand how

If people can talk without fear of arrest

Then many ideas may fly out of the nest

And make people realise that they are not free

To make of their country what they’d like to see.

And the dictator’s exit might feature quite high

In the changes for which many people might cry.

Idle Workers with Jammy Jobs

Some people have such jammy jobs, they hardly have to work,

But even then it’s likely they’ll take every chance to shirk;

Every day they come in late, and blame it on the trains,

Their problems tending to increase near every time it rains;

They come back late from lunch as well, assuming colleagues will

Have stayed the extra half an hour so they are covered still;

And then when they come back they say they need to rest again,

And settle on a sofa for five minutes, maybe ten.

They’re on the phone to friends all day, neglecting company calls,

As no-one sees just what they do within their office walls.

They tend to often call in sick, though they’re extremely fit,

Feeling good attendance is not part of their remit.

They never ever stay on late, not even a minute more,

Immediately at finish time, they’re flying out the door.

All Faiths are not the Same

Some say all faiths are much the same, but that is not the case,

And that there are vast differences, is something all must face;

Some emphasise a single God and never would condone

The worship of another being, but only him alone;

Others feature many gods from which to pick and choose,

And worshippers can focus on the ones that suit their views;

Some faiths make much of peacefulness and foster love and care,

So people when they are in need will know there’s someone there.

Others focus more on war, with thoughts that never cease

To dream of battles to be fought, instead of love and peace.

Some faiths give equal rights to all, with men and women both

Encouraged to participate in all religious growth.

Others tend to concentrate, as it is quite well-known

On worship which, outside the house, is just for men alone.

Some worship is completely quiet, with nothing said or done,

While other groups appear to think that worship should be fun.

Some faiths demand that all convert and follow in their ways,

And for aggressive preaching they have nothing else but praise;

Then there are the other faiths that are a different coin,

Which tend to be more tribal and are very hard to join.

Some govern every aspect of adherents’ daily lives,

From what they eat to where they pray and how they treat their wives.

Such submission would to others seem extremely odd,

For all that they demand is one believes and trusts in God.

People’s aim in life and view of heaven varies much,

With some faiths not accepting there’s an afterlife as such.

So it simply is not true that every faith is much the same,

Though often when it’s stated, lack of knowledge is to blame.

A Cure for Depression

If you’re busy there’s no time

To ponder how life doesn’t chime

With what you dreamed that it might be,

Which differs much from what you see.

Busy people haven’t room

To be depressed with thoughts of gloom;

Their minds are far too occupied,

With all that’s going on outside.

Empty hours can often lead

To very deep despair indeed;

But if one’s busy every hour,

Depression can’t exert its power.

Lack of Sleep in Summer

Summer is a time when it is difficult to sleep,

And one can reach the stage where one just really wants to weep,

From trying to keep awake all day as tiredness takes its toll,

Engulfing in its embrace both the body and the soul;

One longs for colder weather, or at least for colder nights,

So that just a few hours sleep might be within one’s sights;

When days and nights are stifling, heat is trapped within the walls,

And pumped out during night-time so the temperature hardly falls;

Everything is warm to touch, and though one may be tired,

It’s very hard to get to sleep, however much desired.

One can only wait for when the autumn comes around,

And colder weather means each night with blessed sleep is crowned.