COHL WARREN HOWLES

COHL WARREN  HOWLES

THE YORKSHIRE MAN

Everyone looks forward to making memories together

Come rain, come shine, whatever the weather

But sometimes, it doesn’t work out as we’ve planned

And the cards we’ve been dealt, are not the hand

We’ve assumed the path, our lives will take

And all our ideas, we may have to forsake

And we walk to road, that none would chose

When delivered a diagnosis, with the news

That one has a condition, that will change everything

With the pain and heartache and the tears it will bring

For this courageous man, I write these words

Whose love for his family, flies as high as the birds

With determination to never give in

And against all odds, he’s resolved to win

He’s a man from Yorkshire, who’s fighting a disease

That’s robbing his movement and his voice, it will seize

But with his strength of purpose, he remains steadfast

To fight this condition, he did not forecast

He knows he is already, losing his voice

So using technology, has become his choice

To preserve, how he sounds, for his girls and his wife

To remember him by, when he no longer has life

As one’s voice is as unique, as one’s face

He’s decided to record and to embrace

The help of thirty voices, that sound like his own

With its modulation, its rhythm and its tone

By moving his eyes and the use of infrared

He can spell out his words, which the computer speaks instead

But the beauty of this ability, is he keeps his identity

And doesn’t sound like a synthesized, generic non-entity

A preprogrammed voice, would just not be him

It would confuse his girls, which would be grim

So this machine makes all the difference in the world

For himself and his wife, but especially his girls

Diagnosed with MND, the cruelest disease

However much one prays, however much one pleas

It relentlessly progresses, as it steals one’s health

And carries on robbing, with its insidious stealth

But this concentrated man, has focused his mind

To not be its victim and has not resigned

Himself to be stopped in doing all the things

That makes him happy, that life brings

From zip wire and to driving, a Formula One

And flying a microlight, just had to be done

And tackling the terrain of the Yorkshire Moor

In his electric wheelchair, 4 x 4

He wants to make others more aware

Of this disorder, that’s so unfair

Six people in the UK, are diagnosed each day

And a third of these, in a year it will slay

So my thoughts and praise are with this man

Who against all odds, does what he can

Whilst he battles with this beast, he can’t control

But to enjoy every moment, now is his goal

I speak because I witnessed my father fight

This dreadful disease, with all his might

More money must be found, for a cure

So we all can be really sure

That this beast can be controlled

Before more stories like this, will be told.

THE BEE ALL & END ALL

He said,

Mankind will survive their disappearance for no more than five years

and our continuity depends on the health of our planet and its species,

there are no second chances and when they’re extinct, we’ll watch through tears

when it’s their end and no amount of our empty words and pleas

will bring them back.

Our world will be a very different place.

When the last one dies, will we open our eyes and no longer see

the species that played such a significant role, has left no trace

and within no time, our diet will be so bland, without the industrious bee.

We swallow the fruits of their labour, greedily, without much thought

that every third bite of food we eat, comes as a result of their productivity.

Foolishly, is honey the only gift they give, were we taught,

not that over 4000 vegetables depend on these pollinators activity?

This diligent group, so under threat, should be top of our list,

as without their earnestness we risk, losing all of our plants

that with their chivalrous stripes, they have gently kissed

and we run the danger of silencing their humming chants

in our gardens and flower meadows.

But it doesn’t just stop here.

With no flora to consume with their sustenance, all the beasts that rely

on this food will be affected and will also disappear

and without our intervention, they will also suffer and die.

So up the food chain this will have a knock on effect.

Our cattle used for meat and milk, eat lupins and alfalfa,

both of which depend on the pollination of this flying insect,

so when the last one buzzes its end, will we well up with nostalgia?

Instead we spray our crops freely with neonic pesticides

that are toxic to these creatures, in their coats of blacks and yellows,

as roaming they collect this lethal nectar, to then provide,

honey for their larvae, these foraging little fellows

transport it back to the colony to cause widespread death,

or when exposed to these chemicals, they forget their way back home

and become disoriented and insane and take that one last breath,

whilst their larvae wait for nourishment in the hexagonal honeycomb.

Neonicotinoids increases the effect of the varroa mite,

just 2,000 of them can kill a 30,000 colony

with viruses and disease, then this crab like parasite

is detrimental to the health of the helpful honeybee.

‘Well,’one asks ‘what can be done to help them in their plight?’

We should support our local farmers who grow organic,

do not use pesticides or chemicals in our gardens to fight

the weeds, leave them and make a colourful border that’s botanic.

Plant through the seasons to provide a year round bee habitat,

keep our lawns longer for shelter, don’t just cut our grass

in parts.  These steps are small but will help us all combat

the decline of this, our allies. let’s face it, it’s not a lot to ask.

WAVES OF PLASTIC

You’ve finished your meal, the food was fantastic

With fish in its sauce, along with the plastic

Your plate is now empty, which you move to one side

It was catch of the day, just in with the tide.

Marine animals often mistake plastic for food

As they swim in the water, it could be viewed

As plankton, or weeds, or shoals of small fish

But its micro-beads and bags, a real toxic dish

Over 400 years, these plastics can last

How short our wasteful lives in contrast

This poisonous waste taints the sea floor

And can rise on the currents and come home ashore

From shampoos and shower gels and whitening toothpaste

And cleansers and makeup, contribute to waste

In this throwaway world of ours, the list just goes on

Won’t we take notice, until our sea life has gone

Less than five percent of plastics, are recycled worldwide

This is the reality, of which we can’t hide

Our single use bottles and packaging litter

Should disgrace us completely and make us feel bitter

Whilst we watch it all, spiral out of control

Do none of think that mankind has a role

To stop this pollution, before it reaches the sea

Recycling and re-using, just could be a key

And now we are finding it’s in our food chain

Will it affect our organs, our health and our brain

Toxicity comes from mercury, cadmium and lead

Causing birth defects, cancers, it’s got to be said

So as individuals, what part can we play

As we reportedly use a half pound every day

We have to be willing, to look past our denial

And for our environment, we need to stand trial

We could use our bottles, more than one time

Which in itself, is a disgrace and a crime

So let’s be responsible and not make a fuss

Otherwise our negligence, will come back to haunt us.

COHL WARREN  HOWLES

COHL WARREN  HOWLES : She lives in Stratford upon Avon, England and has a blog called Currently in Rhyme, where she covers events across the world, in rhyme. She has written a book entitled The Silent Scream, which is about ALS/MND. Her mother language is English.

Present happenings, in the nations of our time

Realist, idealist, she puts her thoughts in rhyme.

In this world of changes, that moves so very fast

She tries and capture things before they have passed.

Her interests are varied, but just to name a few

Her words in her posts, will also give a clue.

She’s a fan of Eckhart Tolle and the words of Mervyn Peake

And current world affairs, of which she will speak.

She loves stone circles and places in history

The Law of Attraction and things of mystery.

She’s a lover of images, especially black and white

But it’s the current world affairs, of which she writes.