"Some more of me poetry..."

...is the title of an early collection by the inestimable Pam Ayres. It's also a reminder to myself that I had a spell, two to three years ago, when I wrote a lot of poetry too. I had quite a serious stab at it, and entered competitions and everything. Sadly, I wasn't much good, which is probably the main reason I haven't written a poem now for a long time.

This is probably the best of my efforts, and I'm publishing it here for no other reason than I finished writing it exactly two years ago today. At the time, my writing group found it too obtuse, and couldn't discern the meaning... though our tutor did. He seemed to quite like it. I hope he's not alone. Anyway, it's called Watching Them Go - see what you think. Personally, I think it's proof that I should stick to prose. I'd love to hear what you think it's about, though I feel I should make it clear, given today's date, that it is in no way about soliders going off to die in wars.

Watching them go

My children left home today.
I watched them go with a sad excitement
and nervous confidence,
out into the world to who knew what.
A world that listened as they spoke their names,
and watched their cautious black-booted progress.
A world that pointed rough sticks at
their tracks in the snow.

I love them without question.
Proud of their virtues, accepting their flaws
and ready to defend,
against a world of who knew what.
A world that judged them, found them all guilty,
and passed incomprehensible sentence.
A world that asked whose kids are these?
I denied them all.