Make this promise to yourself!

By Stanley Collymore

I’ll lift my eyes up to the stars and venture

to attain my genuine ambitions, but in

doing so I won’t ever allow myself

to be blinded by pointless daydreams or

unrealizable expectations, assuredly

always keeping both feet firmly

planted on the ground; in the

full and quite comforting knowledge

that if my yearned for ambitions

aren’t to be realized first time

round I can then always and sensibly,

learning from the mistakes that

I’ve consciously or perhaps

unintentionally made,

be more preparedly

capable in the

future to start

all over

again!

© Stanley V. Collymore

7 January 2014.

Observation:

Success and failure are relative terms; and how much we want the one or are willing to spinelessly capitulate to the other depends inevitably and considerably on our own efforts or marked lack of them!

The greatest stimulus to self-confidence is honesty with one’s self!



By Stanley Collymore

Though you assume the right to moan often but

usually in private about the difficulties you

regularly face the stark and challenging

truth is that you seldom, if ever, like

so many others do rarely bother to

scrutinize the possibilities of why these

difficulties are there in the first place

and, as such, thoughtlessly rule out

the legitimate likelihood that you

and your activities might very

well be the magnet if not the

material catalyst of many of

your pressing concerns.

And so it isn’t that

difficult to fully

appreciate

why.

Home truths like awkward relations whom you

don’t much care for but quite reluctantly,

embarrassingly and perhaps even

painfully are forced to grudgingly recognize

as very much a part of you, although you

wouldn’t contemplate let alone freely

make a point of advertising that fact,

are nevertheless things that you

simply can’t or shouldn’t try

to wistfully wish away

and pretend they

don’t exist.

For to persistently live a significant lie

long-term, while secretly dreading the

prospect of exposure, carries with it

on being eventually found out

the far greater risks of ultimate

humiliation and certain rejection

at the hands of those that you

either foolishly or else

naively endeavour

at all costs to

please.

So why not aspire instead to be your true self

at all times, and rather than timidly or

even sycophantically seeking to

please others who you think you must impress;

pandering continuously to their every whim

and fancy while inwardly deliberately

ignoring or failing to heed the signs

that on their part their loyalty to

you, if such a commodity

does exist, is ephemeral at best and

without any bonds of consistency;

that what in effect you should be

doing is to impress upon everyone,

whether they genuinely care for

you or not, to either accept or

reject you as you are, warts

and all, rather than willingly

being complicit with any

of them in what, after

all, could very well

presage your very

own inevitable

and perhaps

long-term

ruin!

© Stanley V. Collymore

3 January 2014.

Observation:

The herd instinct may very well be quite suitable for some species of animals; as human beings however and supposedly at the apex of this particular food chain I don’t think that it’s unreasonable to expect something much more imaginative from homo sapiens. After all, that’s why we’re individually endowed with our own brain. So why not use yours?

Grandmothers happen, okay? But Grandmas are lovingly and skilfully created!

By Stanley Collymore

There are Grandmothers and there are also Grandmas;

at first glance and on the face of it there’s no

distinction between the two terms of

expression it would seem, but

that’s where you’re wrong a thousandfold.

Since in any household worthy of the

name the two definitions aren’t

mutually compatible or

interchangeably

the same.

For biologically most females can and do invariably

at some time or other, whether they wanted to

or not, become grandmothers, provided

of course they similarly have fertile

children of their own to start with. An exercise

and physiological outcome that combined

don’t require that much thought on the

part of the participants and even

less involvement or support,

if any is dispensed that

is, by the prospective

grandmother.

Grandmas, however, are different: a rare and special

breed of persons who not only made all the

requisite efforts and sacrifices they

could to ensure that their offspring got the very

best of starts possible in life and with their

invaluable help, inspiration and guidance

sustained that advantage throughout it;

but significantly also willingly and

welcomingly do their utmost to make certain in every

way, and crucially through their constant physical

presence and encouragement, that their much

treasured grandchildren do the same. And

you my new and esteemed friend are

evidently the model Grandma in

every accepted sense of that

cherished word, and not

simply so in name!

© Stanley V. Collymore

1 January 2014.

Commentary:

With Grandmas everywhere generally in mind this poem however was written specifically for and is expressly dedicated to a truly charming, poised, highly intelligent, outstandingly communicative and an exceptionally amiable Grandma who in the company of her equally remarkable junior school aged granddaughter I met for the very first time at a cold, blustery and rain swept Worthing seafront bus shelter on Monday 23 December 2013.

Without exaggeration an unforgettable encounter while the three of us were waiting for the same bus to take us to our respective homes; and an undoubted Lady in every positive interpretation of that word who I shall affectionately refer to here as the “Broadwater Grandma”, even though she doesn’t live in Worthing but was visiting and staying with her married daughter, a medical doctor, her son-in-law and their children, naturally her grandchildren, for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Something she regularly does at every other opportunity as well throughout the year; for in her words: “I like to spend as much time as I possibly can with my grandchildren.” Well said!

For the benefit of those of you not familiar with the area Broadwater is a district of the English seaside resort of Worthing. And let’s fervently hope that you too experience and continue to have a similar excellent rapport with your surviving Grandmas; or even better still if you unfortunately don’t that you’ll use 2014 to seek to persuade and ultimately convert your Grandmothers into becoming model Grandmas. Life, let’s be honest, is far too short not to; and failing to make the effort only to discover all too late and regrettably so that you no longer have the opportunity to is a catastrophe not worth visiting on yourself, believe me.

From birth I’ve been extremely fortunate and thoroughly blessed to have had both sets of my grandparents play significant roles in my life, and most particularly so my maternal Grandma, that carried on throughout my childhood well into my adulthood; and that same experience is also true in respect of my siblings. So I’m speaking from personal experience and most definitely recommend this familial overture. Go on,try it! After all you’ve nothing to lose and a great deal to gain!

Why should western leaders bother about terrorism when they benefit hugely from it?



By Stanley Collymore

What God or religion for that matter authorizes

or condones the gratuitous killing, no the

sadistic slaughter of innocent civilians,

some of them mere children that

hadn’t as yet even begun to

properly live their lives let alone start the

process of exploring and utilizing their

God-given talents, far less allowed

the chance to make their personal

contributions to the world in

general or the human race

in particular of which

they were a part?

And explain to me, if you can, what’s civilized

about premeditatedly using callous brute force,

ghastly acts of cannibalism, suicide bombers

or coldblooded terrorism in your sick

and insane attempts to coerce decent folk

into doing what you want them to?

Because even brain-dead morons like

you must be well aware, or should

be, that nothing you murderous

nutters propose, remotely

represent or have to offer decent

and democratic folk globally

will ever tempt any of us

to freely consort with

evil and barbaric

scum like

you.

But then, of course, you already know even before

another of your terroristic atrocities takes place

that you’ll get away Scot-free with your

mayhem and barbarity, don’t you; because

of the West’s unbridled hypocrisy regarding

what you’re doing. Liberally exercised

in its geopolitical game play where the

likes of al-Qaida, its spawned enfant

terrible, and their criminal

associates of feudalistic

barbarians are paraded to us one minute as the

Devil incarnate and the next, as in the case

of Syria, Iraq and Libya for example,

as the saviours of humanity –

depending of course on what

the ever changing foreign

policy agenda of the

West is at that

moment in time

and greedily

dictates.

Meanwhile innocent lives continue to be

needlessly and forever lost in this neo-

colonialist and imperialist carnage

cynically orchestrated by the West,

never mind the platitudinous

noises that it leaders make

when their cynicism

and complicity in

these murderous obscenities

are occasionally but all too

infrequently exposed

and promulgated

for the rest of

the world

to see.

Championed hypocrisy closely integrated with the

Machiavellian machinations of the Persian

Gulf Arab Bantustans as a key element

of their survival strategy, preservation

and security, and liberally financed

by the petro-dollar Danegeld of

ruthless and barbaric Dark Age savages

in tyrannical control of their Persian

Gulf, Arab Bantustan fiefdoms;

and who are unquestionably

the architects and rabid

sponsors of most of

the world’s acts

of terrorism.

© Stanley V. Collymore

31 December 2013.

My View:

One doesn’t need a crystal ball, the IQ of an Albert Einstein or even ludicrously to consult the Oracle of Delphi to comprehend the origins and requirements of terrorism in our contemporary world, or who its instigators and significantly its beneficiaries are.

In my view it has bugger all to do with religion, which is simply I believe being used as a convenient scapegoat for what are blatant acts of criminality and sadistic indulgement. For if Islam is such a peaceful religion as we’re constantly told why then are so many of its avowed and supposed followers nothing more than a bunch of barbaric, Dark Age and criminal savages?

Analogously you wouldn’t tolerate your dearly loved daughter’s husband, partner or boyfriend consistently and gratuitously knocking the shits out of her and telling you, and what’s more expect you to buy it, that he’s simply physically expressing his love for her. So why, whether you’re a Muslim or not, do you put up with this Islamic crap?

This particular boil has to be lanced and in my opinion the only charitable and comprehensive way to rid ourselves of such bestial brutes and their western puppet masters is through an all out holocaust on their Wahabi and Salafist lairs and of those within them by genuinely concerned, moral and authentic world leaders and their nations getting together in a global enterprise against these savages. For we already know where they are; primarily in the Persian Gulf Arab Bantustans.

And let’s not be squeamish about this; we’ve previously had unwarranted holocausts of Blacks, the indigenous people of the Americas, the Caribbean, Australasia as well as of Jews and the Roma peoples of Europe; so why not the justifiable holocaust of these incorrigible Islamic scumbags?

Meaningful change of any sort begins within ourselves!

By Stanley Collymore

You obviously don’t know me for we haven’t properly

met or been formally introduced to one another even

though we’ve seen each other around for some

time now and, as such, there’s always the

possibility I assume that like many in our overcautious

and, at its most extreme, paranoid society you might

even subliminally be overly wary of strangers

like me, particularly those who’re

perceived as the proverbial Greeks bearing and what’s

more distributing unasked for gifts to those who

didn’t expect them; and who can blame you

with the world addictively and perilously

hooked, as it quite evidently is, on the

worst aspects of human nature?

But even so everyone of us, if we’ve truly a mind to, can

do our bit to change all that by simply rationalizing,

containing and ultimately eradicating those

personal fears that trigger and intuitively, in many respects,

needlessly serve as the catalyst for and add to the

bedrock of disquiet that collectively many of

you are convinced is the source of our

societal problems; and in doing so positively try instead

to effectively reach out to our fellow man, be they

the next-door neighbours or not, as our Divine

Lord: the shared creator of us all, intended

and still does that we should. And you

my imposing stranger have I’ve

sensed the competency

to do just that.

© Stanley V. Collymore

21 November 2013.

Observation:

It’s a truth universally ignored that the vast majority of the difficulties which we find ourselves faced with and like moaning about are caused as a direct consequence of our own actions, wilfully or unthinkingly committed; a situation compounded either by our inability, unwillingness or stupidity to recognize or accept that fact. Think on it!

A New Year’s Prayer



By Stanley Collymore

Almighty God as a new year dawns and the present one

marches inexorably on to its close and inevitably

into the permanent archives of the past closely

accompanied by the revered or otherwise

best forgotten memories of events that

once, either profoundly for some or

perfunctorily for others, affected our

respective lives during their current reign, we

respectfully beseech your divine intercession

as we hope and pray communally, both nationally

and globally, that we can and will mutually

agree to work assiduously and

cooperatively to ensure a much better

future; comprising one that is more

just, equitable and realistically

offers a much fairer chance

of individual success, the

attainment of greater

prosperity, and the

reality of personal

empowerment

to everyone

of us.

And that in terms of the detrimental forces of disunity

and negativity that for far too long have seriously

impaired our judgements and blighted our

lives considerably, we’ll learn to

earnestly do our very best to

effectively set about jettisoning and dispensing with

them until we’ve removed their menacing evil

from our psyche and, collectively as the

human race, ceaselessly persevere to

make quite sure that within our

midst no traces of their earlier

presence or any suggestion

that they once existed will

either be recognized,

allowed to carry

on or remain.

Amen!

© Stanley V. Collymore

18 December 2013.

Observation:

Laziness, cowardice and a nurtured indifference that is itself spawned by fear, whether real, imagined or contrived, that the individual might be personally disadvantaged were he or she to challenge or depart from the official and accepted narrative of how they should behave or go about doing things and then often and conveniently using that conclusion to avoid having to stand up and be seriously counted on moral, social, political, economic or religious issues is a blinkered approach which can and does impact negatively and even disastrously on the lives of people globally or those in one’s country.

And clearly knowing this to be the case yet still carry on, adamantly refusing to do anything to constructively alleviate some or all of these needlessly imposed afflictions, is an attitude that is beyond the pale; constituting in my opinion the personification of selfishness as well as the most egregious, odious and the worst kind of human betrayal there is! The remedy for which is, of course, in our individual hands.

A walk on the seamier side of Christmas



By Stanley Collymore

Don’t talk to me about Christmas, Santa Claus or his reindeer

as I’ve had enough of the hypocrisy that surrounds them

every year; for I’m one of the long-term unemployed

who’s destitute and full of despair, as it’s quite

obvious to me from what I’ve observed that nobody really

cares. Worst still and adding insult to the injury of the

misery already cruelly and needlessly inflicted on

me that I’m left saddled with and hard as I try

am unable to circumvent, the local council, like

it said it would, went to court, and readily getting

the latter’s support in the form of an eviction

order, promptly and unceremoniously

kicked me out of the door of my

childhood home, because I

could no longer afford

to pay my rent.

Social Security who I then turned to weren’t much good

either as regards helping me out of this terrible mess

that unforeseen circumstances had landed me in,

telling me rather arrogantly and insensitively

that the rooms in my former home were

actually far in excess of my personal

needs; rules they went on to say

they couldn’t ignore or relax, as to do so

would seriously compromise as well as

contravene the official guidelines

and stipulated requirements

expressly laid down in

the government’s

own legislated

bedroom

tax.

So as I had two bedrooms in my designated council

flat and lived there all on my own, so there was

no disputing that fact; it wasn’t only fair to

the taxpayer but also on the public purse

as well that the shortfall in the state’s

contribution to my rent, caused by the

imposition of the statutory rent-cap that

Social Security felt compelled to impose

on my previous home, should in those

given circumstances, they logically

argued, be my sole responsibility and

therefore paid for by me alone; if ,

that is, I still wanted to carry

on living in what was,

after all, my home.

An impossible task as you’ve rightly guessed

and the worst of all states to find myself in:

explicitly, an involuntary and ongoing

homelessness. So please save your

breath about Christmas and do

give up on the bogus piety,

as I don’t think I need

to remind you I’ve

more pressing

priorities!

© Stanley V. Collymore

20 December 2013.

Critique:

This poem wasn’t written by me with any profound directives in mind as to how any of you should conscionably or otherwise, independently or collectively, live your individual life. Notwithstanding that though its purpose is to point out that Christmas isn’t about singling out and concentrating exclusively on one specific day in each year and no other; and once that day passes into oblivion everyone can just revert to carrying on as before as though the actuality of Christmas and what it genuinely represents never happened at all, until that is the next one arrives and the customary charade ceremoniously removed from its closeted mothball is allowed to temporarily gain momentum again.

A flawed Christian, as indeed I am, I’m nonetheless fully cognisant of what Christmas is and has from its inception been really all about; and although I’m not or have I ever been a member of the Salvation Army which I wholeheartedly respect and financially support on a regular basis, I do so principally because it’s my honest opinion that it’s the only organization I know of which credibly and fully lives up to its moral, social and religious obligations as it altruistically implements, doing so at times in seemingly impossible circumstances, the unadulterated doctrine of Christmas together with its universal message of comradeship, compassion, benevolence and love to all mankind as it was intended to and should be practised by each and everyone of us; and not just around or only on the 25th December of each year, but consistently and cooperatively throughout the entire year.

And as a positive reminder of this and for their sterling and sometimes unappreciated work carried out 24/7 and 365 days of every year, I humbly dedicate this poem to the Salvation Army.