2384 - Full of beans

I visited Josie, scarlet fever
Has eased and she was actually quite well
Today, and so she asked to walk rather
A long way, to the shops, where Oxfam sells
Good books - I bought one called 'Bloke Jokes' - it's full
Of anti-men one-liners, I assume
Written by women. Saw the market stalls
And made our way to the park. The sun shone
As Josie seemed full of beans, singing tunes
And running about. Derby played Leicester
And I got home in time to see the hell
Of our two-goal lead cut to only one
But we hung on! Soon after, played guitar
While Louis wrote scripts or blogs. Next - football!

2383 - Red nose (and no alcohol either)

It's Red Nose Day, also Comic Relief
And to mark it, at work I dressed in red
I was the only one, hard to believe
And I've never before celebrated
It in any way - but a fair few quid
Was raised, and that'll be paid on Monday
At the Post Office by Emma, she said
Josie's had scarlet fever, last few days
I texted her Mum, see if I should stay
Away or visit her, but keep it brief
She said yes, you can come. We'll go to Ned
Yates garden centre nearby, with cafe
For an hour or two. Played guitar like Keef
Tonight, was red hot - I was red, not dead!

2382 - Tomorrow Never Nose

Physically back to normal at long last
After two weeks of cold, thought I would do
Exercises when I got home, but blast!
I started sniffing again, and I knew
I'd have to postpone attempts to renew
My fitness regime til tomorrow night
Tomorrow's Red Nose Day - my plan is to
Dress all in red for work, so on my flight
Homeward, popped into Sports Direct and tried
On red trackie bottoms, red trainers, just
Twenty-three quid for both. I hate red, though
So just bought the trousers, total twelve quid
For a red pair and a blue pair. We're just
Watching Chelsea versus Bucharest now

2381 - Never-ending story

I'll type this poem now, mustn't forget
Like last night, til after going to bed
To do my diary, my daily sonnet
Because to this ambition I am wed
To write a sonnet every day, instead
Of a prose diary, something that had failed
Because it's so boring, uncompleted
Attempts to document life that had paled
In excitement within days. But this grail
Has been attained in fourteen-line format
The attraction? A challenge for the head
The rhyme and metre never seem to fail
To dress thoughts and observations as best
They can be, clothed like cardinals in red

2380 - The Wild Swans of Forgetfulness

I almost forgot to write this poem
My daily sonnet almost wasn't born
At least not on the day it should have been
That would indeed have made my heart forlorn
But luckily as I read in bed, shorn
Of the expected tiredness one should feel
While avidly devouring 'The Wild Swans'
And finding it had page-turner appeal
I realised the lack of poem, real
Urgency gripped me, and I leapt again
From my bed, pausing to put my jeans on
Then made my way to the laptop to seal
The deal and write this sonnet, these fourteen
Lines oh so lively, not at all sleep-worn

Tue 12 March

2379 - Cold play

The heat is on - it's heating up my flat
But outside it is friggin' cold, all right
And when that wind blows, when that wind, when that ...
It's brrrrracing, makes you shiver, not with fright
But what a great day if you are a kite
However, I'm no kite, all too human
I'm afraid, and I'll spend another night
Safely indoors. Meanwhile, Louis has gone
Out into the cold to play football. Don't
Expect me to feel jealous - my eye's not
Green, but green and brown, and it's seeing right
Again, after my cold made my sight wane
And my knees ache! But now I'm OK, sat
Here, about to strum once more. Things are great!

2378 - The I Chang

What a strong and cold wind outside today
Me and Louis shopped briefly at Sainsburys
But otherwise stayed in, and passed the day
In pleasant ways, aiding recovery
From my receding cold. A DVD
Of an old film from '62 was seen
'The Loneliness of the...' (Tom Courtenay)
'Long Distance Runner' on my TV screen
Watched football, then finished 'The Misfortunes
Of Virtue' by de Sade. Next up will be
'Wild Swans' by Jung Chang - Chinese history
In novel form, will keep me busy. Tunes
Right now, however, time for me to play
Guitar to keep up my abilities