The Wind is Blowing a Hooligan

My dear friend David Agnew (Belfastdavid) from Whitby, England, is the author of this beautiful new poetry book that you can order through Amazon, Lulu  and various other sites (just google 🙂 )
Paperback, 82 Pages Prints in 3-5 business days

“The significance of David’s recent poetry rests in its everydayness, finding poems in the way we get through our days. By exploring issues that are not always the issues and incidents that make up poetry, his poems take on a collective meaning that reaches deep into the human spirit.” – Tom Davis.
“In the pace of a calm whisper the poetry of David Agnew shows us sides of ordinary life we often miss: the funny side, the deep side, the understatement. Years of living and a talent for details make this poet write surprisingly, uniquely, about every day situations in such a persuasive way. Whitby citizens will be proud of this poetry in honour of their town!” – Ina Schroders-Zeeders.

I hope you will get a copy.

199 steps

I practised hard
and got in shape
to do the 199 steps
for when I was
on holiday in Whitby.

I wanted to see
the famous Abbey
on top of the cliff.
Every day I climbed the dune
behind our house
and after some months,
it was time to go
across the North Sea.

Panting and heroic
on the first day there
I went all the way up;
to find there’s a bus stop
near to the Abbey.

I realized though
it was doing the steps
all of them, one by one
that had been goal
and it was done.

It’s not the destination
but the journey that counts.
Still, it makes sense perhaps
to be prepared
for setbacks on my road.

I can’t expect a good view
from no matter which top
when my own mist is dense.

The picture of the 199 steps in Whitby (UK) was made by David Agnew (Belfast David) , thank you for the permission to use it here! 🙂

Whitby

While they await a sudden luck in bait
the gulls are pondering at the Battery Parade.
They’ve got it made. They really have.

There is the admiral, the herring gull
with most authority,
watched by a keen and swift
female Kitiwake
that knows exactly where to lay her eggs
(somewhere in the cliffs over Jump Down Bight).

She smiles at him
and he examines both her legs.
‘Nice bird, but not my sort’ he reckons and he’s right.
As if she cares. She yells that he can go to hell.

Then something else comes up:
a little boy is dropping chips all over
and while he’s crying ‘bout this loss of tasty fries,
more gulls come in, from beach and ships
and how they scream! to have a feast
at his expense and eat his chips.

But then he smiles, forgetting he’s the victim
of sheer robbery, as his mother gets him
an ice cream and a hug. Her sweet perfume is lingering
until the breeze takes it away to sea.

Lovers walk along the quay
and can’t make up their minds as where to eat:
The Pie and Mash, the Magpie, or at Harry’s?
Or maybe just a pint will do, or two, inside the Fleece,
outside the Dolphin or another pub, or give it up and
settle for a view that is amazing.

The Sun is changing sides,
from East to West
across the river Esk,
while a pinkish sky
is reflecting in the harbour.

Hence another day went by in Whitby.

Nothing much happened,
but everything mattered.
Night can come to close shop.

Just a quick visit and update, sorry I am not able to do much else now, just posting this here. We have a dongle lol and time is short! We are still in Whitby and it is our anniversary today. We made a very long walk starting 8 am, over the beach and climbing the cliff and the Sun was shining all day 🙂 So far, we saw 3 museums, Scarborough, a lot of pubs and fantastic scenery!
I also met Belfast David and it was a very nice meeting 🙂 I wrote the start of this poem on the terrace of the Battery Parade café where we met.
Pics (will be) on fb!
Till soon!