Tuesday, 8 April 2014

100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups - Week 127



With heavy boots and weary souls
The callous march advances
No glancing back at choices made
No stops for second chances

With meaningless direction
Marching aimlessly though life
Missing turn offs on the way to kids
Or roads to man and wife

As the rhythm gains momentum
And the tempo picks the pace
There's no time to take in scenery
Or memories of this place

For the road the march has taken
On this path through barren land
Is the lonely empty landscape
Of the route through life you planned!



Wednesday, 5 June 2013

100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week#92


Yellow















Most visible on the spectrum, to even those who cannot see
It repels against depression, and wards off lethargy  

It symbolises wisdom
Heightens thought and clarity
For some it denotes courage, or embodies deity

It's the fragrant smell at Easter
It's the radiant fields of gold
It's the warmth on dewy mornings
It's the light as dawn unfolds

It's cheery and uplifting
It's a bright and sunny day
It's optimism and energy

.. it's the colour of life's bouquet

Friday, 1 February 2013

100 Word Challenge #75

100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week#75

My take (as usual) is a few verses inspired by the picture image011

Falling

One foot in front of the other
I step out on this limb
I tread with care, but don’t look back
I’m strangely drawn to him

The ground ahead seems solid
Though I’ve no safety net
Yet cautiously I carry on
This mind’s already set

With dubious trepidation
I stride to the unknown
Driven on by the desire
Not to live my life alone

A leap of faith is needed
So venture forth I go
My fear of heights conceded
For fall I must, I know


Wednesday, 31 October 2012

100 Word Challenge #64

100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week#64

To create a recipe of a dish fit for a witch

A Guilty Broth ..

Hubble bubble, men are trouble
Boil a broth to wreak them double
Tears of anger and despair
2 strands of cheating partners hair
A dash of hopelessness and grief
4 sprinkles of your self-belief
Humiliation by the pound
2 beating hearts all nicely ground
1 shattered dream
1 broken soul
All diced and mixed up in a bowl
Hubble bubble, the time is nigh
For screams of men and guilt to die
 Hahahahahahahahahahaahahahahaa … (sinister laugh)

A Witch's Lament :-D

A WITCH’S LAMENT

Hubble bubble, men are trouble
Temptation, with designer stubble
Hypnotic eyes speak come to bed
Beware the charm and spells they spread
Words of honey, dripping sweet
Victims those who daren’t retreat
Tails of rats with tongues of gold
Witness your resistance fold
Hubble bubble, men are trouble
Lust will burn and problems double
Resistance to the sweet allure
Alas there seems yet still no cure!




Thursday, 19 April 2012

100 Word Challenge #38

100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups -Week#38 


Sorry, slightly over 100 words, what can I say, I got carried away :-) I feel I made up for it by adding an extra level of complication and throwing in famous Shakespeare quotes (can you spot the plays?)

To thine own self be true

“I am a girl more sinned against than sinning”
And yet I venture forward heart on sleeve
In hopes of finding love, the worth of winning
That were it not for knowing I would grieve

But truth doth tell “there’s daggers in men’s smiles”
So carefully I tread this path alone
Though lies may stray me as I pass the miles
And promises of hearts encased in stone
“But love is blind and lovers can not see”
That truest hearts did falter over time
The bitter smile of fate shall not take me
Rejection will not manifest as crime
A future lies in waiting for me too
"This above all: to thine own self be true"

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

100 Word Challenge #36

An important date

What was the rabbit late for, wondered Alice as she fell
Four thousand miles and then some
This was the strangest well
On down a long dark passage, with the rabbit still ahead
“Oh my ears and whiskers, I’ll be late” she thought he said

Would you follow down the rabbit hole?
Help paint the rose’s red?
Have a party with the hatter?
Watch a cat stand on its head?
Would you ‘eat me’ big or ‘drink me’ small
We can’t be late for tea
What a wondrous adventure with young Alice that would be

Tuesday, 20 March 2012

100 Word Challenge #35


Temptation

Like a madness it called in the inky black night
Casting shadows of doubt in the innocent light
It tempted Pandora, inviting her in
With the lure and desire of
 corruption and sin
But Pandora was strong and resisted its hold
She knew much of its evil the stories foretold
Digging deep in her soul she would fight it they say
As it wrenched at her heart when she pushed it away
So beware the red box and its secret within
With it’s pretty gold edges and velvet blood skin

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

100 Word Challenge #34

Ok, so the answer to being late with #33 is to be insanely early with #34 and hope all the buttons I press get this published in the right place at the right time.



…but I turned it off….

It grew like a spark, just a glimmer of light
Exciting and hot as it burned through the night
It was wrong but it gave an electrical high
So I never looked back, and I never asked why
And the feeling was good, its powerful embrace
Reached deep in my heart to its loneliest place
And the power reserves I had stored up inside
Slowly drained with the anger, the pain and the pride
My addiction to X-Box was causing such pain
..but I turned it off and now I've freedom again!!





© Andrea Payne 2011 

100 Word Challenge #33



Well this is my first ever entry into the 100 Word Challenge and typically I finished it too late. Must try harder next time :-) Hope you like it. If you do just leave a comment! Thanks.


A truly cosmopolitan filly

From far off shores you washed our way
A foreigner in parts some say
But via which shore and by what route
Where did you grow and first take root
A leg from Spain a tail from Chilli
A thoroughly cosmopolitan filly
From ancient oak and olive tree
You raced to us by stream and sea
On through storms and battering rain
So wild once and now yet tame
You’ve travelled far to our green lands
Created by artistic hands
The race is won, it’s time to rest
On the shores of Eden, Cornwall South West


Sunday, 11 March 2012

Life



Is this all there is? Is this life for me?
Seeking acceptance through supremacy
Pushing the boundaries, aiming so high
While deep inside feeling I'm living a lie

They crowd me with worry
(I'm faulty you see)
While they prod and they poke and they analyse me

They say the right words
They use the right tone
But I feel like I shoulder the weight on my own

Do I need to be perfect?
Do I need to fit in?
Will they like me as much if I try not to win?

If I don't win first prize
Or I fail to impress
Will they all turn their backs and love me much less?

I'm confused and I'm angry, depressed and in doubt
They can't fix me with words
They can't figure me out

Do I disappoint them with my self expectation
Or that all won't be well, with some grand revelation
Well I might not be quite.... who I hoped I would be
But I'll get there one day.. I'll be proud of me

It's a bumpy old road
But the bumps make you strong
And one day I'll see how far I've come along

That the man in the mirror has a friendlier face
Who knows life isn't all about winning the race
He'll smile back at me..
Stand his ground and walk tall
Having won the most challenging contest of ALL!!!!

© Andrea Payne 2011

Ho hum



They’re all watching me and in truth so would I
Why does this girl on the train sit and cry
Why do her tears roll down from her shades
She’s hiding the sadness in the hope the pain fades
Her tissues are wet and the ends of her hair
This was clearly too much for this girl to bare
Yet silently sits with the tears on her face
What on this earth did she do to deserve such disgrace

Is this all there is? she wonders in doubt
Is this worthless existence really all I’m about?
My drawings are meaningless verses ignored
My family and colleagues seem nothing but bored!!

So what is there left for an artist and writer
Who once stood her ground who once was a fighter
Too trusting and gullible now on probation
Struck down by rumour and false accusation

So thanks to the people who nailed down my fate
To the abuse I received to the nights I stayed late
To the care that I took to the deadlines I made
To the loyalty, commitment and care I displayed
You did me a favour as I finally see
The people I worked with didn’t care about me
And so my advice to the follower on
Remember the reasons they wanted me gone!!!

© Andrea Payne 2011

Claustrophobia


It's oppressive and consuming, not a hint of cool fresh air,
You're so hot your blood is boiling, makes no difference what you wear

Trapped tight down in this oven, going deeper underground
With shallow breath and eyes shut tight, your heart begins to pound

You dare not look or budge an inch, you must control your fear
You must stay calm convince yourself, things aren't as they appear

An inch of space beyond your face is all you've left to breathe
But still you're forced in tighter as the people shove and squeeze

Just minutes left (you tell yourself)
We''ll be there soon for sure 
Please hurry god ... I'm begging ... I can't take this anymore ... 

But fate's not kind to those who beg, the train slows to a halt
And so, I'm stuck (one inch of space) 
Buried deep down in this vault

Seconds tick in silence as panic starts to rise 
I must get out, I must get out 
My every fiber cries 

There no way out, I'm trapped down here, the space is closing in.
I can't get out, I must stay calm. The train will soon begin. 

Boxed by people left and right, fighting hard for breath
Heartbeat breaking through my chest, is this to be my death?

Think of something, sing a song (I hear my conscious say)
Lyrics, pictures, anything.....what's in the news today?

I loose my grip and focus, a scream begins to rise 
The hand of suffocation tightens sealing my demise

The tube begins at last ... I sigh 
Relieved to leave the train
Control was mine for one more day 
in 24 hours .. I do it all again 

© Andrea Payne 1991 and 2011

Regrets




"Never again", I said once more 
As I slid down the tiles to the bathroom floor

"Never again", I murmured and spat
Coughing up remnants of this and of that.

Then deep in the pit of my stomach - a squelch
In rumbles and gurgles there came a great 'belch'

So climbing back up to the toilet seat rim
Preparing for seconds of Vodka and Gin

Of Bacardi and Coke, of a double John Walker,
The pint of Martini and Black was a corker!

The three Bloody Mary's, the Stella and Lime
The fifth was a struggle, so why drink all nine

The Vodka and Tonic, that horrible Stout
The Tequila and Custard was nice I've no doubt

The fine Chardonnay with the really long name
On it's way down the toilet still tasted the same

The Kronenberg Top with the gherkins thrown in
And the really nice pizza I found in the bin

The Mad Dog near killed me, the Thunderbird too
But the Snake-Bite was worse, now I'm stuck in the loo

Chucking up Punch and bits of baked beans
Does anyone know what puking blood means?

God I feel awful I think I will die.....
But I'll have one more drink, then I'll say goodbye !!! 

© Andrea Payne 1991 & 2011