No one deserves to be teargassed, looking for shelter

Poetic response to events that have recently taken place in Calais and on the Greek/Macedonian border. Published on I am not a silent Poet Blog :-
https://iamnotasilentpoet.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/no-one-deserves-to-be-teargassed-looking-for-shelter-by-dave-rendle/  
Their pain is our shame.


No one deserves to be teargassed,
looking for shelter,
treated like savages, given no respect,
hope destroyed left in tatters,
reason left beyond recognition,
tears now drown the soil,
that once sustained them,
that acted as a bridge,
between life and death,
laughter and solace now lost,
as politicians seem not to care,
whether peoples dreams survive,
air now heavy in bullshit and tyranny,
my heart bleeds too,
as I witness this hell from afar,
innocent beings punished and forsaken,
memories already haunted, cloaked in grief.
 

The Praise of St David's Day Showing the reason why the Welch-men Honour the leeke on this day

Today as has become traditional I mark St David's Day/ Dydd Dewi Sant. Saint David is the patron saint of Wales. This day was chosen to  commemorate St David's death on this day around 589 AD. It has been celebrated as a national day within Wales since the 18th century.
The Praise of St David's Day is reprinted from They look at Wales (1941) from an early black-letter broadside  in the British Museum library. It refers to the original Trojan  of the  Welsh  people. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth in the twelfth century, Brutus of Troy conquered Britain and fathered  the British people. Disputed by English scholars in the nineteenth century, this view of history remained gospel for patriotic Welshmen 'till the eighteenth century.


Who list to reade the deeds
   by valiant Welch-men done,
Shall find them worthy men of Armes,
  as breathes beneath the sunne;
They are of valiant hearts,
  of nature kind and  meeke,
An  honour on St David's Day;
   it is to wear a leeke.

The Welch most ancient is
   of this famous land,
Who were the first that conquered  it,
  by force and warlike hand.
From Troy stout Brute did come,
 this kingdome for  to seeke;
Which was possessed by savage men,
 then honoured be the Leeke.

He having won the same,
  and  put them to the sword :
Of Brute did Britaine first take name,
 as Chronicles record
The Welch true Brittaines are,
  whose swords in blood did reeke,
Of Pagan men being heathenish,
  then honoured by the Leeke.

And know if you would know,
  why they the Leeked do weare;
In honour of St David's day,
  it plainly shall appeare.
Upon St David's day,
  And first of March that weeke,
The Welch-men with their foes did joyne,
  then honoured by the Leeke.

And being in the field,
  their valour they did try;
Where thousands on both sides  being slaine,
  within their bloods did lye.
And they not knowing how
  their friends from foe to seeke;
Into a Gardem they did go,
  where each one pulld a Leeke :

And wore it in his hat,
  their Countrymen to know ;
And  then most valiantly they did
  o'ercome their warlike foe.
Then were noe colours knowne,
  or any feathers eeke;
The feathers first  originall,
  it was the Welch-mans Leeke.

And ever since that time,
  the Leek they use to weare,
In honour of St David's day,
  They doe that Trophy beare.
A Reverend Bishop was
  St David mild and meeke,
And 'tis an honour that same day,
  for them to wear a Leeke.


All the best on this day, heddwch/peace
happy St David's day/ Dydd Dewi Sant.

She is a dancer of hope and the creator of my dreams

Edgar Degas - Dancer adjusting her shoulder strap 1900

The  journey of life can be very uncertain and unpredictable - it can leave us frightened and  vulnerable.  Life is very precious indeed, and at the end of the day we need health and wellness to enjoy our lives to the fullest.  I arrived at my partners the other day,  who has been unable to walk or get out of bed for last 6 months  or so because  of treatment for cancer, but she has gradually been getting stronger,  and has never given  up hope, which has been an  invaluable gift for me as well. I hear her music all the time nowadays.
As I've said, she's been getting a bit more mobile, aided by her trusted zimmer frame, but increasingly, casts it aside. She has always liked dancing, has missed not going out  to musical soirees for a bit of a shuffle and a groove,  so imagine my surprise when I glanced her through her kitchen  window, and could hear the sound of the Peatbog Faeries blasting from the stereo, their she was in what was an uplifting moving experience, dancing unaided, reminding me that despite the odds she still sparkles and shines her light in abundance. She did not do this  for long, but it was a joy to behold, and each day now walking  has slowly got more easier, more natural, but still a long way to go.
Everyday now she will practice a little unaided  dance for  ten minutes or so , that will be movement enough I hope to sustain her and remind  herself that there is always hope on the horizon. Bucket loads of it. I have witnessed it in her laughter and smiles. Our bond gets stronger too, which is not a bad thing,  I will end with a quote by Albert Einsten :-

" We dance for  laughter, we dance for tears,
we dance for madness,we dance for fears,
we dance for hopes, we dance for screams,
we are the dancers, we create the dreams."

No to Trident

The Government is planning to spend more than £160 billion on four Scottish based submarines  whose only purpose is to threaten the whole of humanity. Each warhead has 8 times the explosive power of the bomb that destroyed the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945. That bomb alone vaporised human flesh within a half mile radius and fatally burned thousands miles from the epicentre.
By the way by renewing Trident at the end of the day will be militarily  pointless. it will not deter terrorist attacks or nuclear blackmailers, but will simply make it harder for Britain  to encourage Nuclear disarmament  around the globe.
The majority of the British public of Britain  do not  want the Trident  Nuclear missile system. It is time to comply with our obligation under international law to accomplish the total elimination of our nuclear arsenal.
So solidarity with everyone marching against Trident today, As someone once said " If they can find money to kill someone, they can find money to help people." It is the will of humanity that will secure their destruction.

Cameron is a loser

( unedited poem , just arrived in library)

The N.H.S is a peoples pride 
but man in expensive saville row suit
would rather pour scorn and snide
should be ashamed of his policies
not how the other half dress,
because most of us are currently
caught up in his toxic mess
a Tory elitist of swaggering arrogance
scurrilous profiteer, robber of our heritage
many of us don't sing God Save the Queen
because as the Sex Pistols sang, she aint no human being
so Cameron time to put aside your pointless jibes
stop releasing to the nation your negative vibes
as you  pander to corporate lobbyists and big business
cutting peoples benefits while suffering from illness
a voice for his friends and the filthy rich
time for us to ignore you, give you the switch
you stopped listening a long time ago
left us with no room to grow
cuts for carers, the poor and vulnerable
your a viper in disguise, so very dishonourable..

Balancing Acts

Sadness fills the world, 
Tales of people escaping hatred and despair,
Persecuted, banished and exiled,
By dominating forces of injustice,
Looking, seeking, searching,
Now for freedoms scent,
A future, that gives welcome,
That allows doorways to be left open,
The colours of spring to return,
To embrace waves of existence,
A sense of balance to be restored.
No place for condemnation, fear or shame,
For those who have escaped oppression, death
Allow dignity to be retained, 
in places they now proudly call home.

Lets not forget those who did not make it,
Fellow human beings like you and me,
Travellers  and companions in time,
Bodies left broken, tired and exhausted,
After attempting perilous journeys,
Pathways of danger and confusion,
Blocked by illusionary borders,
Full of barbed wire and razor fences,
Where freedom comes at such a cost,
Hopes and dreams lay crushed,
On these voyages of necessity,
Lets offer kindness, and hospitality,
Balancing acts delivering landscapes of hope. 

Tell your MP:Don't cut ESA

Losing £30 a week  will not be an insentive  for getting people into work. The things holding people back are not willpower or willingness, it's bodies, minds, and employers who don't want to employ disabled people and help them make adjustments needed. DWP and Maximus incidentally have been actively sacking their own staff. 
For most of us placed in  the Work Related Activity Group of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Group, we are  are only still claiming due to  ongoing mental health problems. There are as many as a quarter of a million of us currently in this group.These proposals are frightening and alarming to most of us, since already. we find it difficult to heat our homes and eat, but the unrelenting savagery of this Government I guess does not come as too much of a surprise.
Should the Government  not be concerned  on fixing our broken system, rather than effectively blaming ill and disabled people by cutting the existing support and safety nets available to us. A cruel cut that will hit those hardest hit already. Despite having been found not well enough to work, we as a group of people are being threatened left, right and center. For many of us, our lives already a constant struggle for survival.
The House of Lords has already voted against  cuts to support for people who face massive  barriers to work, often because of our ill health and disability.  Now its time to tell our MPs to hold fast and stand against this cut. Our MPs  have the chance to vote against cut to ESA  next week. Make sure your own MP is on the right side of the vote, that does not  push sick and disabled people further from work but closer to poverty.Many thanks.

https://speakout.38degrees.org.uk/campaigns/tell-MPs-dont-cut-esa?utm_medium=twitter