Radio Silence Broken

You may well have noticed that I’ve been quiet for a while. I’ve had a period of silent running on social media and updating the blog and website etc. My father fell seriously ill toward the end of the year and sadly his condition deteriorated rapidly and he passed away on 1 November. Arrangements, legalities and being with the family have naturally taken up a lot of my time and attention but I’ve honoured most of the gigs I had in my diary. I’m starting to get back into planning mode for next year as I’d like to make 2012 a year that counts.

So I haven’t made it to as many gigs as I would have liked and I’ve not seen as much of my poetry friends. I hope to put that right next year. Apologies to you for the gigs I missed and the events I had to cancel. I am in the middle of compiling my Poetry Top 20 for 2011 and I hope to post that next week. In the meantime, here’s a little poem for Christmas which I’ve written in my capacity as Poetry Laureate for Milton Keynes and I hope you enjoy it as well.
Love and best wishes
Mark

Letter to Santa

Dear Santa, I don’t want an X box
Kinnect or DS2
DVDs or MP3s
Are not what I want from you

Tell your elves to take a break
Their list is one name short
But I’ll still leave Rudolph a carrot
And you a glass of port

I promise I have been good this year
Don’t think this my confession
It’s just the commercialisation of Christmas
Seems perverse in times of recession

And I’m really not bothered about presents
That’s not what Christmas means
So keep your Ben Sherman and Ralph Lauren
And even True Religion jeans

Give your gifts to the more deserving
The poor and homeless and needy
I’m blessed with most things a man might want
And any more would just be greedy

Instead please send me patience
And love and understanding
Help me be a better person
In days that are so demanding

Give me time, to spend with family
Goodwill, to share with friends
Peace and compassion for the human race
And charity that never ends

You see, presents in the absence of love
Bring only short-lived cheer
So help us all take the spirit of Christmas
And make it last all year