Bookies share festival fears

'Who do we fear? Put simply, the Irish'

a similar 'greenwash' again this year.

Mullins shuffles his powerful pack

it could be the last race of his career.

Do not mind where the winners are trained,

multiple mayhem causing most sleepless nights.

All the ingredients are in place

which sets the handicaps alight.

There will be the plunge horses – as yet unknown

these short ones costly if they all oblige.

Two classy rivals go head-to-head,

handicap horses who come alive.

(from The Racing Post, Friday 11 March 2022)

in Deer Head Nation style!

Black Hole

(A 'Terminal' poem based on 'Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art' by John Keats)

Black hole, how destructive thou art

unseen, yet consuming the night.

Tearing planets and stars apart

not for you the life of Eremite.

Annihilation your only task,

nothing escapes your distant shores,

What evil lives behind your mask

that would crush valleys, towns and moors?

Your violent ways unchangeable,

no compassion found within your breast,

your greed intent to make your boundaries swell

continually toiling in unrest.

But one day you will take a final breath,

Your appetite will bring your death.

About poetry

So,

how do we show

that poetry is more than words in a row?

Sympathy, poverty

the depths of despair

poetry can take us there.

Putting a twist on the daily grind

Helping to explain what's on our mind.

A beautiful view, terrible weather

Being alone, being together.

A valentine's card

The horrors of war

examples of what poetry's for.

It might not always be appealing

And on the surface, unrevealing

But poetry provokes a feeling.