ASTONISHING

FRIDAY 30th APRIL 2021 ~ FLASH FICTION ~ POETRY 

PROMPT ~ Astonish

ASTONISHING 

By John Yeo

If I were able to see into the future,

When and how I would pass away.

Would I be able to alter the outcome?

Take steps to alter the finality

Of my death or a long drawn out illness.

Would the future astonish me?

~

Would I be able to be somewhere else?

Somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be?

Would I then be responsible

For altering lives that depended on me?

If I were able to alter the future

Would the outcome astonish me?

~

If I could see life after death

Where I will be going when I die

Would I be tempted to get there fast? 

End this life to enjoy the next?

If I were able to control the future

Would the finality astonish me?

~

Perhaps it is better to be as I am, 

A blind clairvoyant, wishing the future

To be, the way I would like it to be.

In total ignorance of the final reality.

Perhaps it is better to be free

Of alternatives that would astonish me.

~

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

TECHNOLOGY

THURSDAY 29th APRIL 2021 ~ FLASH FICTION POETRY

Today I am republishing a previous poem of mine as Time has stolen the day. 🙂💻✍️

 Prompt ~ TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY 

by John Yeo

If animals could communicate clearly
And we could understand their thought,
If the Lions could talk to the Lambs
Would the thought processes differ really,
Or give answers to the problems sought
If Bears could converse with Orang-Utans?

~
How could we eat creatures who question
Our motives for making a meal of them,
Without giving their feelings a thought?
Communication would aid the digestion
Of plants and seeds and bugs. What then?
If Chickens and Turkeys were able to talk.

~
If Horses became clever with logistics.
Or Pigs preached the wisdom of the ages
Ants could help to govern all smoothly
Monkeys could be studying simplistics
While Ducks would be veritable sages
Humans would be lost in technology.

~
People have lost the talking habit
Most of them are lost in their phones
People no longer look up and around
No time to chat to a passing Rabbit.
Bees plainly buzz these walking Drones
Who shuffle by without making a sound.

~
If only People would communicate clearly.

© Written by John Yeo~All rights reserved.

ALWAYS EARLY TO RISE

WEDNESDAY 28th APRIL 2021 ~ FLASH FICTION ~ POETRY 

This is a response to a writing prompt from WordPress

PROMPT ~ Your time to shine
Early bird, or night owl?

ALWAYS EARLY TO RISE

by John Yeo

I always get up with the lark,

My mind comes to life about then.

I always wake around four am

Before the sun has come up

I pull back the curtains to greet the dark,

Always early to rise.

~

I stretch and switch on my computer

Check on my emails and comments from friends

Around the world on social media.

Chat to friends thousands of miles away,

Sharing messages, news and the gen,

Always early to rise.

~

I always brew the morning tea

Take a cup to my wife still abed

I have always been an early riser

Wide awake before dawn breaks

I always wake around four am

My mind  comes to life about then

Always early to  rise.

~

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

PRECIOUS WATERS

TUESDAY 27th APRIL 2021 ~ FLASH FICTION ~ POETRY

This is written in response to a writing prompt featured in the Last Post on WordPress.

PROMPT ~ RIVULETS 

PRECIOUS WATERS

By John Yeo

The frozen ice on the mountain peak

Began to thaw and flow down,

A trickle at first; then a tiny stream,

Then a flood cutting through the rock,

A life-giving force on the move. 

~

Cataracts and rivulets, through 

Mountain passes and steep canyons

   Bringing clear precious waters

To the arid parched plains below.

A life-giving force on the move.

~

Water the essence of life,

Flowing sustenance for cultivation,

Mighty rivers of moving life

Bringing the life-blood to the land

A life-giving force on the move.

~

Great rain-forests taking nourishment

From the pure clear rain,

In the rising sun-kissed clouds.

The essence of the life explosion,

A life-giving force on the move.

~

The river of life-filled liquid,

Races, then lazily rolls along.

An unstoppable flood of beauty,

Flooding to join the clear blue sea.

A life-giving force on the move.

~

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved

RE-READ

MONDAY 26th APRIL 2021 ~ FLASH FICTION ~ POETRY 

This is a Writing Prompt provided by WordPress

Second time around
Tell us about a book you can read again and again without getting bored — what is it that speaks to you?

THE PAGE WHERE THE HEART SPEAKS WORDS

(Dedicated to Margaret)

RE-READ

by John Yeo

The page where the heart speaks words

In a changing world is a private space 

In the book of life with love to be heard.

~

All outside interference with hate deferred

With feelings approaching this secret place

The page where the heart speaks words.

~

A page of heartfelt feelings transferred

Begs forgiveness and spurns disgrace

In the book of life with love to be heard.

~

To gain this page is an honour conferred 

A book where words and feelings trace

The page where the heart speaks words.

~

A page of personal feelings stirred

The words where feelings take their place

In the book of life with love to be heard.

~

The page of feelings read word for word,

Thought and life with love’s story embrace

The page where the heart speaks words

In the book of life with love to be heard.

~

© Written by John Yeo

CLONE

SUNDAY 25th APRIL 2021 ~ FLASH FICTION ~ POETRY

This is-written in response to a writing prompt from WordPress,com

Clone wars
If you could clone yourself, how would you split up your responsibilities?

CLONE

by John Yeo

‘Same again?’ 

Asked the man behind the bar.

The liquid was measured into a glass

Containing a speck of dust.

The quantity was exactly the same 

But there was a glaring difference.

~

The germ was consumed and grew

Then quickly spread through my body.

Cells attacking cells the battle was fought

Then medical science joined the affray

Although I have recovered my health today

I will never be the same again.

~

A glaring display of opposites is always very plain,

Wars are fought over a tiny differential

To be exactly one and the same,

Would be impossible to sustain

Variation is a valuable guide to follow. 

Life stands still with the same again.

~

Like peas in a pod the midwife laughed

As the twins came into the world.

There the similarities ended,

Differences always arise during growth.

Upbringing and shaping, count for a lot.

A clone is a carbon copy of the original.

~

Tempting fate to fill the glass,

requesting the same again.

©  Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

KIT

SATURDAY 24th APRIL 2021 ~ FLASH FICTION ~ POETRY 

This is a response to writing prompt provided by WordPress,com

PROMPT ~ STRANGER

Have you ever had a random encounter or fleeting moment with a stranger that stuck with you?

KIT

by John Yeo

A tribute to a stranger, long gone,

Who brought pleasure to millions.

A man who lived life on the cusp,

Mingling with the theatre fraternity. 

His work shone with amazing brilliance.

~

Comedy, Drama, History and Tragedy.

A sweet pleasure to read and enjoy.

A man who followed his instincts

Using every trick in the book to employ       

The wonder of the written word.

~

His pen became a deadly sword

To ensure his voice would be heard 

Echoing through the centuries.

A man who was no stranger to intrigue

In the political world of the time.

~

A life tragically cut short with a knife,

A young life cruelly extinguished

By shadowy mysterious forces unknown

Robbing the world of a terrifying genius

Who dabbled in fictive reality.

~

While the glory went to the upstart crow

Who became the sweet swan of Stratford,

The world will never reject or forget 

The work of Christopher Marlowe.

Rest in peace, poet and playwright.

~

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved

Image courtesy of bloomsbury.com

Six days to go to the end of the USA Poetry Month

VAGUE THOUGHTS

FRIDAY 23rd APRIL 2021 ~ FLASH FICTION ~ POETRY

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘The Last Post on WordPress’  

PROMPT ~ VAGUE

VAGUE THOUGHTS 

by John Yeo

When I grow up again I want to be free
Of all the things that are holding me back.
When I grow up again I want to be really me.

I’ll be branching out, growing strong like a tree,
Removing the shackles to get right on track,
When I grow up again I want to be free.

I’ll quickly dispose of childish immaturity
Reaching upwards to grasp all I lack,
When I grow up again I want to be really me.

My mind will be reaching for my destiny
Shaking off vague thinking and stepping back.
When I grow up again I want to be free.

I know there can be no guarantee
That my ambition will be able to attack,
When I grow up again I want to be really me.

I will change my life and become carefree
Pushing to my goal without drawback,
When I grow up again I want to be free
When I grow up again I want to be really me.

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved

INFLUENCES

THURSDAY 22nd APRIL ~ FLASH FICTION ~ POETRY

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘The Last Post on WordPress’  

Prompt ~ PARTAKES

INFLUENCES

by John Yeo

There will be a moment of excitement,
When the visitor finally arrives.
We have awaited this astral event,
The omens have been here throughout our lives.
A shining star form is approaching us;
A journey lasting many centuries;
Relentless, exciting and glorious,
Through an endless path of wild stormy skies.
Freely, through seas of ice, darkness and light,
Of turbulence and fiery icy fields.
Bringing extra dimension and insight
That the beginning and ending reveals.
When the Earth partakes in a magical moment
As a fiery comet enters our firmament.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

MALLET

WEDNESDAY 21st APRIL 2021 ~ FLASH FICTION ~ POETRY 

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘The Last Post on WordPress’  

Prompt ~ MALLET 

MALLET

by John Yeo

News of the day comes in the usual flood

From media outlets around the world

Filling the data stream, continuously altered

Arranged and presented in many ways.

~

News channels, online electronic airwaves,

The World Wide Web in a universal array.

E-mails, texts and telephone conversation,

Carry the picture to every far flung nation.

~

Our peace and safety throughout the land.

Our agency can filter every post or tweet,

E-mail or text, listen in to the calls.

Crash their computers, hack and destroy.

~

Insert a virus. Take a Mallet to the threat.

Insidious, real, a modern electronic shield,

Our agency can filter every call, post or text.

Just for your protection you understand.

~

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved