The Names.....

The names.....

Crowd surfing upon statues bronzed,

The double O's head to 85,

License to watch TV,

License to kill,

Through the whooshers,

And a wink to Mike,

Call over to our northern cousins,

And our friends across the pond,

In the queue for my toys,

The sword and shield,

Boarding Warwick's finest,

To ride the Valkyries,

Londinium beneath my feet

Unbeknownst oh fellow citizens,

Returning to 17F.
I'm neither shaken nor stirred.

Explanation

This one is about my romantic view of what it means to be and what it's like to be a spy, mixed in with a little bit of what we're lead to believe it's like - when it most likely isn't.

Crowd surfing upon statues bronzed,

This is in reference to Vauxhall Bridge, London. At the south end of the bridge is the headquarters of SIS/MI6. So each day, I imagine that there are many spies that walk over this bridge each on their way to work, passing many hundreds of other people who shall never know what they do. Crowd surfing just refers to being carried over, and the statues relate directly to the bridge which has bronze statues on the side of the bridge.

The double O's head to 85,

This refers to the 00 status (e.g. 007) of the best of MI6. I don't know (and doubt) there is such a system though, but it's what we're shown. The 85 refers to the street number the building is on. It's 85 Albert Embankment. Although don't bother writing to this address. If you want to write to MI6, you want "PO Box 1300, London SE1 1BD" according to their website.

License to kill,

License to watch TV,

Whilst of course having a license to kill (in fact, as far as I know, there isn't a license to kill), there is a license to watch TV that everyone in the UK who wants to watch TV needs to have. Presumably this includes spies? Oh and there is a 50% discount if you're blind (no, I am not kidding.)

Through the whooshers,

Yes, I have watched "Spooks" far too many times, but this refers to the little entry pods that let people into the building. I imagine walking through these and in my romantic view, they would be colloquially known as the "whooshers" for the onomatopoeic sound they make as they open and shut. 

And a wink to Mike,

Mike actually would be a woman. Mike = M in the phonetic alphabet. "M" is of course James Bond's boss. I like to think that M is real.

Call over to our northern cousins,

And our friends across the pond,

When I think about those who are spies, I actually don't think too much about the specifics of the work they're doing, it's more the culture of who they are and the type of people they have become. This bit briefly suggests that some of their duties would include calling over to MI5 (across the river on the north side) and of course our US friends across the pond to find out what their latest intel is.

In the queue for my toys,

Queue = Q. The character in James Bond who has the cool gadgets that Bond goes to visit to get all the cool stuff.

The sword-and-shield,

I can imagine a mission given to the spy who is tasked with breaking into the Russian embassy to steal vital info. The sword and the shield have two meanings. Firstly it's some "toys" given by Q. But the main reference here is that "the sword-and-shield" was the emblem for the the KGB when it was known as that (I think it's FSB now)

Boarding Warwick's finest,

Every good James Bond features an Aston Martin. The headquarters for Aston Martin motors is in Warwick, UK.

To ride the Valkyries,

I always imagine (especially senior) spies to be incredibly intelligent people and very well cultured. People who seem to know everything, probably went to an exclusive school, then onto Oxford or Cambridge to study history and philosophy or something. In my romantic view of them, they're regularly dressing up smartly to go and see an opera, probably a performance of one of Wagner's compositions, such as Ride of the Valkyries.

Londinium beneath my feet

Unbeknownst to my fellow citizens,

So after going to the opera, our James Bond style spy decides to make his way home on a typical drizzly English evening. Walking through the streets, all those people he passes have no idea to his true identity and the fact they are more protected because of his/my work.

Returning to 17F,

I really like the idea of a spy who actually works at MI6 living in flat number 17F. This would be so cool. The reason is that the creator of the James Bond novels, Ian Fleming was actually in naval intelligence. 17F was his codename.

I'm neither shaken nor stirred.

Obviously had to have this in. "Shaken not stirred" is how 007 prefers his martini's. But his demeanour in all he does it to be cool, calm and collected.

This Time in Four Years

This Time in Four Years

This time in four years,

Gold on my chest hairs

Training and training,

Running and running,

Tactics, nutrition,

Psychology, competition,

The arena erupts,

Flash bulbs galore,

On your marks,

.......BANG!

Eyes forward,

Run, run, run,

Baton in hand,

Sweat drips down,

Hand on the horizon,

Opening to receive,

Oh no,

Oh no,

I dropped it,

What's happened?

Four years,

Gone in a moment,

The eyes of a nation,

I've let down,

The gold,

It must be mine,

Training must start,

I can't do it all,

But, I will,

This time in four years....

Explanation

This is a bit of a depressing one....well maybe it isn't actually. It'll depend how you take it. I think just as much as it might be depressing, it could equally be seen as strength through determination. With the Olympics   on the mind this summer (by summer I mean 6 months where it's rained a lot), this poem uses the analogy of an athlete who has trained and trained for the past four years, determined to win a gold, but during the final of the relay, he drops the baton. The analogy represents the battles with mental health that many experience, each time that they have a bad spell.

This time in four years,

Gold on my chest hairs

Often people who have had to climb back up again will have told themselves and those to close to them that they'll be much better and well by [insert time period of choice]

Training and training,

Running and running,

There is often a lot of practicing and training involved. Whether that be going to see the Dr, taking medication, seeing a psychologist, all sorts.

Tactics, nutrition,

Psychology, competition,

A continuation of the above

The arena erupts,

Flash bulbs galore,

You've made it to an acceptable place. Perhaps not exactly where you want to be, but you're considered to be "well" - whatever that means. Certainly you're having many more moments of joy and surreal, fun experiences.

On your marks,

.......BANG!

You're still doing well. Plenty of things you want to be doing with your life. More smiles than frowns.

Eyes forward,

Run, run, run,

You know what you're doing....well pretty much.

Baton in hand,

Sweat drips down,

Yes, it is very hard, but it's being done and you're floating, sometimes even swimming.

Hand on the horizon,

Opening to receive,

You're starting to think that you're finally moving on. The demons are being well and truly exorcised.

Oh no,

Oh no,

But no....yet again, it's all going horribly wrong. You're sinking, you know what's coming and you know how scary that is, yet even once you've sunk, it somehow manages to be more scary than you remember, and it's not as if you remember it fondly.

I dropped it,

What's happened?

There's often a degree of "dumbfoundment" about what's happened. The one thing that you do know, however much you wish you were wrong is that it's all falling to pieces and your quality of life has become very poor.

Four years,

Gone in a moment,

All the effort you've had to put in....it feels a waste. Perhaps even wondering whether you should've just called it quits and given up the time before. The speed with which it's all happened is staggering. How can you have gone from the premier league, to the little league in such a short space of time?

The eyes of a nation,

I've let down,

You look at yourself, your loved ones look at you. "Did I miss the warning signs? Did I make a mistake? Did I take on too much? I'm so much of a failure. I've let myself and everyone down. I am such a waste of human life." These are all the thoughts running around with great speed and strength around your head. You feel as if they have become you.

The gold,

It must be mine,

You yearn for what shoulda, coulda, woulda. There's a determination to get well, coupled with a feeling that it's all over. Delusions about your identity are rife. There is also a degree of denial too, especially when one begins to compare ourselves to those who we believe have it all, and think that's the gold standard which we either have or it's all horrible, forgetting that there may be a way to make silver feel like gold through accepting limitations of the mind but finding a way to life in harmony with oneself.

Training must start,

I can't do it all,

Once again, the uphill struggle begins - because it's kind of the only option. I mean, you could kill yourself I suppose, maybe you'll even get to the point where it's what's going to happen - yet it just doesn't. That (in the moment) blasted survival instinct makes you suffer for what? You feel as if you can no longer do it any more. Your resolve has gone, you want out.

But, I will,

Yet, some more time clears and there you are once again, you're training, doing more of the stuff you should be doing, aiming for gold. Hopefully each time increasing the chances of the outcome being a positive one, but never knowing, and kind of always living in fear.

This time in four years....

I guess time will tell.

Rochester Row

Rochester Row
Eight thirty, and shutters up,
The lone drummer, swaying in the breeze,

Chimes ring out for ten,
The bookbinders bound by the awning,

For some their time has come,
With dignity, she lays them to rest,

Ants search for their next lair to colonise,
Pacing to the beat of the speaker's voice,

With wispy hair and apple in hand,
The ink pours into storytelling mode,

Back to their posts in all directions,
March the armies of orange blue and white,

Five thirty the exodus begins,
Delta, Victor, India, India.
Explanation
This poem is about Rochester Row in central London, which is a street I often need walk down to work. Kinda interesting what you notice when you really start to pay attention over a long period of time. Walk down and work on a road enough and you'll kind of figure out what the daily pattern is.
Eight thirty, and shutters up,
There's an army careers place on this street which has the opening hours of 08.30 on its door. There's also a big shutter which opens up for cars going into the barracks
The lone drummer, swaying in the breeze, 
Outside the entrance to the army careers office, there's also a sign that sways back and forth whenever it's windy. I like to think of this as the lone drummer in a military band
Chimes ring out for ten,
The bookbinders bound by the awning, 
A bookbinding shop sits along the street too, opening at 10am. At 10, someone always comes out of the shop to pull down some awnings over the shop to say they're open for business

For some their time has come,
With dignity, she lays them to rest, 

The next shop along is a funeral directors, which is part of the dignity group. It's run by a little old lady.

Ants search for their next lair to colonise,
Pacing to the beat of the speaker's voice, 
Next shop along is an estate agents. You'll see people going in throughout the day ready to find their next home. Someone that works there is a guy who often comes outside to make phone calls. He's in the "pacing" group of people who appear as if they're on sentry duty when making a phone call. I'm in that group too
With wispy hair and apple in hand,
The ink pours into storytelling mode, 
Next shop along is a printing place. Basically, there's a hot girl that seems to go into there a lot :D (hey come on, I'm a guy!) I presume she works there and I just noticed she happens to have nice hair - the sort I go for anyway. There's also a guy that works there, who always seems to be eating an apple. I guess there are worse things to eat. I often wonder what the people are getting printed when they go in there. Important documents, digital photographs, all kinds

Back to their posts in all directions,
At lunch time, you'll see many people walking to and from their places of work. 
March the armies of orange blue and white, 
This refers to seeing people carrying bags with, I'm guessing their lunches in after they've been to either Sainsburys (the orange bags), or Tescos (the blue and white) ones. It's a little like watching an army of colours moving up and down the street during lunch hour
Five thirty the exodus begins,
Most of the shops along here seem to close at 17.30 in the evening
Delta, Victor, India, India.
Gonna have to explain this one! Delta, Victor, India, India in the phonetic alphabet would spell out DVII. DVII when expressed as Roman numerals is 507. The 507 bus is the one that goes up Rochester Row on its way to Waterloo. Kind of wonder about the stories of all those people who are on the bus and getting on and off the bus at Rochester Row. (I'm weird I know)

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Sixty years in the making,

Four days of pomp and pageantry,

Giddy-up, giddy-up,

The sun reflects off the stirrups,

The armada sets sail,

The river teaming with oars,

A guard of honour lines the route,

A magic horse opens up the clouds,

A sea of ants sets up camp beneath a clear sky,

Crotches and quavers ring out for "Mummy" and co,

The ants dance, shout and sing,

A million diamonds launched into the sky,

Her loyal subjects offer their thanks,

Together with the roar of fast jets,

Trooping the colours of red, white and blue,

United we say in God save the Queen.

Explanation

Sixty years in the making,

The 60 years on the throne that the Queen has had

Four days of pomp and pageantry,

Her Diamond Jubilee celebration, although throughout the year was mainly celebrated over four days

Giddy-up, giddy-up,

The sun reflects off the stirrups,

Day one took was centered around horse racing at the Epsom Derby. The Queen is known to be a big fan of the horses

The armada sets sail,

The river teaming with oars,

A guard of honour lines the route,

A magic horse opens up the clouds,

This refers to the massive boat pageant along the River Thames. The armada and mention of the oars is the huge number of boats, around one thousand. The guard of honour is the large numbers of people who came out to line the banks of the River Thames, despite the horrible weather to cheer on the royal family. The magic horse was the war horse demonstration outside on the roof of Royal Festival hall, which seems to grab the Queen's attention. The opening up the clouds refers to the rather inclement weather on that day

A sea of ants sets up camp beneath a clear sky,

Crotches and quavers ring out for "Mummy" and co,

The ants dance, shout and sing,

A million diamonds launched into the sky,

The third day was centered around a concert outside Buckingham Palace. The sea of ants (ants are mentioned a lot in my poems. I must have been a myrmecologist in a previous life!) refers to the huge numbers of people who stood on the Mall to watch the concert. The crotchets and quavers are types of musical notes, so many were played on this night. Ringing out for "Mummy" was when Prince Charles delivered a speech at the end and, rather sweetly, addressed the Queen/His Mum firstly as your majesty, then paused to say "Mummy". The million diamonds refers to the impressive fireworks display at the end of the concert

Her loyal subjects offer their thanks,

Together with the roar of fast jets,

Trooping the colours of red, white and blue,

United we say in God save the Queen.

The fourth and final day was celebrated by a church service and carriage procession in which thousands, maybe over a million people lined the streets to cheer the Queen on. There was a military flypast involving the Red Arrows which sprung the colours of red, white and blue, along with the thousands of Union Jacks on display. The national anthem was also sung many times throughout this long weekend

The Gatekeeper

The Gatekeeper

Fifteen fifty nine,
A changing of the guard

A black cape protects the lair,
Smartly dressed, glasses and neat hair,

Between digitus secundus and pollex,
His spear delivers its verdict,

Having studied and learned his lines,
To each, the correct name he assigns,

Bending back the hinges, on this day's madness
Restoring to the world, peace and calmness

A simple smile and then a hello,
To us your kindness you have bestowed,

Twenty-two fifty nine... Explanation
Fifteen fifty nine, 
A changing of the guard 
His shift starts at 4pm, so there is the changing from the morning guy, B, to this guy at that time.
A black cape protects the lair, 
Smartly dressed, glasses and neat hair, 
He often wears this big black coat and is smartly dressed - well they all are, which I have (analogised isn't a word is it...!), but I've done that to imagine that the building is surrounded by this.

Between digitus secundus and pollex, 
His spear delivers its verdict, 
When he's not conceriging (I'm full of words tonight that aren't words!), he teaches and uses this time in which to mark his students papers. Actually, he might not be, but he often looks like he's marking papers in my head. "digitus secundus and pollex" are the Latin words for index finger and thumb - how you're supposed to hold a pen

Having studied and learned his lines, 
To each, the correct name he assigns, 
This has several meanings. The name he assigns, is that he always seems to remember everyones name who lives in the building. The learning his lines is that it's impressive he remembers everyone, but also I actually found out that he has done some acting work (that's what he teaches), so it's kind of saying he's learned his lines (remembered all our names), but also he's learned his lines for acting jobs. He doesn't like to talk about this though.

Bending back the hinges, on this day's madness 
Restoring to the world, peace and calmness A simple smile and then a hello, 
To us your kindness you have bestowed, 
Basically that when you open the front door to the building it's a nice warm, familiar face to greet you with after being in the hustle and bustle outside
Twenty-two fifty nine...
His shift finishes at 11pm

Dance of the Munchkins

Dance of the Munchkins

Pause everything now,
Put this world on hold,
A moment so special,
Commands this beauty I behold,

In front of me I see you,
I don't know what to say,
The word I think I want 's in French,
That word my sweets "Parfait",

I sit, I gaze, admiring your eyes,
Can't I just be with them until sunrise?,
Chemicals flow like rapids filling my bloodstream,
Babe, did you just say "I want some ice cream"?,

"I'm so happy that I'm with you"
What can I say except "well, me too"?
I love you babe,
I love you too.
Explanation Another one I'm going to leave completely to personal interpretation. It's basically those moments you spend with your girlfriend or boyfriend that are kind of silly, but very special. The only part I'll comment on is "Babe, did you just say "I want some ice cream"?", which just refers to a lovely content moment I was sharing with my girlfriend when she was cuddled up to me. I thought it was all romantic, but with resulting hilarity, she just blurted out "I want some ice cream" :D

Alive and Drumming

The rush of playing live in a band.....

Alive and drumming

Stepping forth into the arena,
A band of merry gladiators appear,

Brandishing our weapons and ready to fight,
A vibrate sound we shall play here tonight,

Swords of different shape and size
Cheers from the crowds making our prize,

Oozing blood sweat and tears,
The reggae and funk fill our ears,

Chemicals rush into our bloodstream,
Charging with weapons at fullsteam,

Smiles and happiness fill the air around me
Did I just hear "have another cup of tea"?
Explanation
You kinda of need to have played live in a samba band to get this. I recommend doing that!

Sunday Lovers

Sunday Lovers

Together in this moment,
Serenity exists,
I have everything I want
When I feel your soft sweet kiss

This moment is ours,
The world stands still,
Gazing into your eyes,
This feels such a thrill,

Loyal by your side, holding your hand,
For this special moment, admiration demands,
On these shared paths both the new and the old,
I have just to smile, your beauty I behold,

The sun on our backs, the wind in your hair
I know that I want not to be elsewhere,
Matters not do the sights, smells and sounds,
For you my sweetheart my love knows no bounds.

Explanation
I think this is pretty much self explanatory and in fact I'll just leave it as this so each person can have their own take on it. Kept meaning to do this one for some time since I saw a couple walking past a few Sundays ago, having a lovely romantic moment to themselves (yeah guys can be suckers for romance too you know folks!). Today (although a Saturday), I saw another couple together holding hands, so with that inspiration engaged :).......

Well with spring firmly on its way, the Sunday lovers shall soon be out in force! Yes, that secret (and envied amongst singletons) club of couples who dominate the paths of towns, cities and parks across the country. Sharing their love for one another as they stroll innocently along the streets in their own little bubble of love.

Twenty-six Little Squiggles

Twenty-six Little Squiggles

Twenty-six little squiggly lines,
All innocent and inconspicuous,
Like a love who is unrequited,
They sit unaware of their power,

Upper and sometimes lower,
Set ready for the dart thrower,
Going from quill to keyboard,
The pen is mightier than the sword

Rosetta Stone to Tweeting
Hieroglyphics to "OMG",
Continually evolving?,
Definitely, maybe,

W.H. Auden to W.H. Smiths,
Both places for squiggles to enlighten,
Shakespeare and Wordsworth,
Inspired by authors unknown,

Causing smiles and tears, happiness and despair,
In the right hands, beautiful, in the wrong, hell,
Eight squiggles to tell someone they're special,
Yeah, those are my favourite of all the squiggles,

Twenty-six little squiggles.
Explanation
Twenty-six little squiggly lines,
Should be obvious, but in case it's not, it's the letter of the alphabet
All innocent and inconspicuous, Like a love who is unrequited,
They sit unaware of their power,
On their own, they just sit there, waiting to be used. It's when they're put together that their power begins to emerge
Upper and sometimes lower,
As in cases...
Set ready for the dart thrower,
The person who holds the pen, keyboard, ready to be used and create pleasure, humour, joy, even distress.
Going from quill to keyboard,
The evolution of writing instruments
The pen is mightier than the sword
A well known quote and very true I think

Rosetta Stone to Tweeting Hieroglyphics to "OMG",
Continually evolving?,
The evolution of how sending written messages has evolved, and will continue to do so
Definitely, maybe,
Basically saying that it is, but is also the title of the an album by British rock band Oasis - another form of writing
W.H. Auden to W.H. Smiths, Both places for squiggles to enlighten,
The famous poet, W.H. Auden, author of one of my favourite poems, "Funeral Blues" to a the shop W.H. Smiths which sells books, magazines and all other kinds of written material
Shakespeare and Wordsworth,
Inspired by authors unknown,
That this famous authors of great works of art have inspired people to write, but they themselves will have been inspired to put pen to paper and realise it's an amazing process to involve oneself in

Causing smiles and tears, happiness and despair,
Basically all the different situations that the written word (or words) can create and trigger
In the right hands, beautiful, in the wrong, hell,
Think about your favourite musician, poet, playwrite whoever you admire. It's beautiful. But many of us have been in situation where someone has written something so so mean which makes us angry and upset. It's these little letters that create this.
Eight squiggles to tell someone they're special,
Yeah, those are my favourite of all the squiggles,
I L O V E Y O U

Twenty-six little squiggles.

This Is The Way We Play The Caixa

This Is The Way We Play The Caixa

Brigadier General Fred takes his place,
Standing high above his troops,

"Today soldiers, we go forth to face our enemy,
Be ferocious in battle, but magnanimous in victory,

Tame the beast, make friends with it,
Its name - The Samba. Now let us commence",

Our army's name: The Bateria,
Our weapons are cleaned and ready for use,

The command to move is issued by our commander,
"Standby, standby, GO!",

The engines of the Surdos roar into action,
As intimidating as any tank should be,

Following on in their masses - the Caixas,
The ever-present loyal and skilled infantrymen,

Bolstering the Caixas are the Repiniques,
Specialised in both weapon and hand-to-hand combat,

Supporting these forces, the Tamborims,
Diligent and competent engineers,

Combining their strengths are the Agogos and Chocalhos,
This signals corp defines our regimental march,

Our strengths are numerous,
We hold the ground,

Chanting the spirit of,
Dagga dagga da boom bang!
Explanation
If you play in a Bateria, this'll make sense to you. If not, it's hard to explain. The solution is to join a samba band. The basic analogy though is that of the director being the commander of a military unit and taking his forces into battle