Invicta :: the Aviva Fellowship in Maidstone

To a First Shoot

All Shooters dream of driven game,
Of pheasant, grouse and partridge too,
Until your invitation came,
I thought that dream was all I’d do.

Excited, nervous, can’t unwind,
As nearer drew the testing day,
Etiquette, dress, the birds to find,
Could I shoot them, they’re not clay.

The day arrived and people met,
At once at ease one felt,
Jack put me deep into his debt,
As nervousness began to melt.

Anticipation rising fast,
On standing in the shooting line,
Then partridges just flew right past,
I couldn’t see that they were mine.

Another covey o’er the trees,
I saw them and I shot and shot,
But soon they had me on my knees,
They flew unscathed, the whole damn lot!!

My face grew red; I looked around,
Had any been brought down?
Yes others there the mark had found,
Could I see some begin to frown?

No time to think – again they came,
This time success or bust!
The shots rang out – I bagged my game,
Two rights, a left, I had them sussed.

Pride comes before a fall they say,
A shout – an owl, an owl,
Come-uppance reached me then that day,
All felt they had to howl!!

But though my eyes a partridge saw,
I trailed it to the tree,
Safety rules, not just the law,
Don’t shoot what you can’t see.

In summing up that super shoot,
The days I joined the driven ranks,
I take this simple honest route,
To Richard, George my heartfelt thanks.

Mortality

My God, it comes as something of a shock,
When first you note the ticking of the clock,
And understand how fast your time can fly,
You tense, your heart beats fast, you sigh,
The sadness when you think you’re going to die.

Oh what, you think, should I have done, I didn’t do
Converse more with the children, darling wife and you,
Should I have shown more interest in the things you thought,
Was I the sort of father, husband that you sought
Or was I far too distant and remote.

It’s strange the things that make us pause, take stock,
Health certainly when it has had a knock,
My recent scare has caused me to think long and hard,
Of all I have and love but taken as my just reward,
Such vanity now mocks and leaves me marred.

God bless wee Button, bringing me such joy,
And love which even time will not destroy,
She has such innocence and trust in me,
She slows down time, no longer does it flee,
My days now filled with laughter, gaiety.

But fate is such a fickle friend, our bodies just a loan,
Mortality a fact we all must understand and own,
Though children and grandchildren too can make,
The claims of vicious Father Time a fake,
New generations give continued stake.

It is my hope that all my flaws make nought,
When weighed in balance with such virtues brought,
That can produce the love, contentment, peace,
As now surround us, feeling warm as fleece,
And give our strong emotions some release.

However all who read this poem take note,
Don’t let complacency assume by rote,
That you can treat good fortune as your due,
For just around the corner hides from you,
The means to bring you down a peg or two.

Artists, Poets & Other Arty Types - Poetry

with the late John Middleton

To a First Shoot

Mortality