NOTYEATS
LATEST POEMS FROM SEAN NOTYEATS
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Political, satirical, comical and some surprises
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ASPECTS OF IRELAND
Lurking in the Background
The End of the Rainbow
The Confederation of Irish States
New Age Finance
Let's decide tomorrow?
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A WOMAN'S WORLD?
Relationships
The Shard
The Mirrors
Eyes half open
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METAPHORS FOR MANKIND
In Memory of Albert Ross
How to grasp the Green
Running Red
Sing a Song of Silence
The Air Hole
The High Ground
Can we avoid the void?
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A PATCHWORK OF POLITICS
Tribes and Tribulations
Tablets of Mercury
Chameleon
Transmigration of Blame
Dylan
Second in Seconds
Somewhere there is a Rainbow
Was it worth the wait?
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ON A LIGHER NOTE
The Trodden Berry
Allthings to All Men
Joints
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ASPECTS OF IRELAND
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Lurking in the Background © Sean Notyeats 2017
Ireland has some parties that everyone denies
They are lurking in the background away from Irish Eyes
A chip upon each shoulder balances the head
To resurrect old grievances that we thought we're dead
To vote early and vote often, assured the wanted win
Plus incentive payments that was another sin
Now claiming expenses to research Summer Sun
Risks all that Good Friday has so painfully won
The Catalans God bless them for freedom are well set
Years of fascist repression they cannot forget
The pure evil of the Famine we should not ignore
But closure is essential, we must shut that door
The Brits they loved partition, but was that not a sin?
Ask Muslims, Jews and Hindus and all of their kin
As excolonial masters Brits fled the sinking ship
No thought of consequences, theirs was a one way trip
The sins of their forefathers will haunt their future sons
As Brits confront past errors through the barrel of a gun
Knee jerk reactions to retain declining power
With no though for others, relations will turn sour
Now the Scots and Irish may like the Phoenix rise
Exploit the Brexit foolishness with clear and open eyes
Reminders of past errors should remain to the fore
As the UK cremates itself and Britannia is no more
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​ At the End of the Rainbow © Sean Notyeats 2017​
Shifting cloud reveals bog, reveals the limestone kast of the Burren
The fleshpots of Galway lie somewhere in the mists to the north
Shafts of light from the west bring relief to the shell like form of Inishmore island
All is threatened from the north by the menacing blackness of earth merging with sky over the hills of Connemara
The troubled soul of Ireland is the mirror of its climate
Intensity is moderated by time and distance as the diaspora return looking for happy endings
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The Confederation of Irish States © Sean Notyeats 2017​
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Loosely based on the old folksong Danny Boy
Oh Ulster men your plight is quite appalling
Your entrenched views could start a deadly slide
The more delay and mindless point scoring
With no strategy you’ll not survive
But think ye back to Good Friday Agreements
The sense of hope cast warfare to one side
Oh loyalists it’s time to grasp the moment
And write a constitution all abide
Oh loyalists you have the greater numbers
But time is short for you to make the change
To be part of a confederation
To ensure your way of life’s maintained
But think in terms of being part of Europe
If the UK is little England led
With a free Scotland in the ascendant
The UK as we’ve known her will be dead
A constitution free of religion
Set in stone for the next 50 years
With two cultures and two languages
Then this we hope should allay most fears
You should look now to Canada for wisdom
Where groups of French and English co-reside
Take the best of what they have to offer
And then join the CIS with pride
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New Age Finance © Sean Notyeats 2017​​
In year 08 a twist of Fate shocked Eire to the core
Any movements back in Knock or was there something more ?
The firm of Leering Brothers or similar by name ,
Had been rash with all their cash, not a hint of shame
In real estate, times were great, then prices hit the floor
The Taischoc took it on the chin, he well knew the score
Incantations to an i - phone were a last resort
The Gnomes of Zurich busy, the Teashoc did report
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Rainbow Communication at least were Eire's own
But without rain and sunshine they had to use the phone
So Eire's own replaced the Gnomes, with candid advice
Define your new procedures , then roll another dice
All of Eire's gold reserves, were based at Rainbow's End
Tightly wrapped in magic, so none could deftly spend
Pixy Pat and Micro Mick, saw tricks that big folks use
So this dynamic duo made sure they could not lose
A rainbow channel opened, straight to Brussels town
Where Pat O'Gremlin's cousins could easily be found
The penalty for punting, with no cash in the Bank
Would bring the Gremlins running, as credit ratings sank
Never mess with Gremlins, they will always win
They strike at any time of day, to cure our mortal sin
A jockey's second cousin,Ted Cert he was by name
Was banned by the Gremlins when his tip was lame
Wives they use an acheing head, when they need a break, .
But Gremlins banning small blue pills was hard for men to take
Pat O Gremlin's cousins controlled the Finance Board
Warned all members present not to spend the hoard
A Finance Man with DTs is not a welcome sight
But with Gremlins beside them, all could be contrite
Can it be true that the EU runs Finance in this way.
You better believe it if Deutsch land has to pay
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Let's decide tomorrow ? © Sean Notyeats 2017​​
OR Feckkin Faffers (A clunky poem for our times - can be sung to the tune of "Delaney's Donkey" or "The Yellow Rose of Texas" )
Ireland is a country that everyone admires
Bogged down by its history, of which folk now tire
Sinn Fein it has new leaders , we hope with some fresh views
A focus on the future would really be good news
They are at a point in history when a difference they can make
If they have the courage and hard decisions take
With seats at Westminster just waiting to be used
To chide a UK government that's patently confused
Adapt or die to unify this should be their aim
Rejecting worn out symbols in function if not name
Tell the selfish Tories that Ireland must be heard
or be guaranteed a hard Brexit no matter how absurd
800 years of interference the Irish have endured
So some reciprocation for Tories is assured
A completely open border twixt Ireland north and south
The Brexiteers conceaded, at least by word of mouth.
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The globalising process has clearly increased wealth
But some Irish jobs have gone as if by way of stealth
To increase a surplus without regards for all
Besmirches institutions and interest quickly palls.
The lurch to right wing populist we really should avoid
Or the peace of 50 years we could see destroyed
A warning cry from smaller states to bring a change of view
To burst the Brussels Bubble and bring reform anew
Economic refugees from the east and south will
Exhaust social services when living hand to mouth
Reform of the four freedoms is certainly a must
To convince reluctant voters that the EU they can trust
The Euro split between 3 zones could cure a fatal flaw,
With currency realignment crises could be no more .
The UK pound has not been bound by Brussels -rules or regs
But self-harming Brexiteers may need Euro help instead
For right or wrong a UK strong will suit Ireland best
Give the Brexiteers cold turkey then others might invest
Into the fray without a delay save the UK from itself
CIS is the target, the new book on the shelf
The Good Friday Agreement showed Ireland in new light
A new form of coexistence arranged without a fight
With a broad umbrella the EU covered all
Vital for The Peace of Europe it could easily fall.
The dup will not agree to veer from UK norms
No hard border workable with even ocean storms
A solid customs union twixt north and south is best
But due to the DUP will have to fit the rest.
The Scots and Welsh may want their wealth out of English hands
Then shared currency and customs would fit DUP plans
The Tory right lead England's flight to never never land.
Where there's always sunshine and houses built on sand.
The co incidence of factors will not recur again
Strategic nous is vital for parochial Sinn Fein
Stop faffing in Stormont go where the power lies
“Save UK from Brexit with CIS the prize
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A WOMAN'S WORLD?
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Relationships © Sean Notyeats 2017
The glass covered table land ripples at its edge
The sky becomes table becomes sky becomes
Confused mirror as the lattice of merging waters
Are lost in the cloud scape as the water spirits
Escape the tyranny of the final maelstrom
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The Shard © Sean Notyeats 2017
Here we are walking
Still never talking
Pain never ending
Night still descending
One year he's been gone
Light of your life dear
Crystal womb gave no fear
God's gift that you could bear
Elation then despair
How could things go so wrong?
Five attempts were numbing
You knew what was comng
Risk and pain for nothing
Doctors were not bluffing
Hi-Tech dreams do fail
Can faith still deliver when
Hearts no longer quiver in
Fields that do not end
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The Mirrors © Sean Notyeats 2017
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Part 1 The Mirrored Ceiling
Mirror , Mirrors on the ceiling
Leaves me with a queasy feeling
That what is seen should be concealed
When what he wants is more revealed
Mirror, mirrors on the walls
Oh God I can still see his balls
No camera angle left to chance
As to the bed he does advance
I’ve heard of casting couch promotion
As total proof of his devotion
Film footage for the arts he’d say
Sheer exploitation , he will pay
Lured by love or goods when proffered
Then as an actress the job offered?
Too much action, no time to text
Not quite human, but good for sex
It’s the same the whole world over
It’s the poor that get the blame
It’s the rich that get the pleasure
It simply is a crying shame
Part 2 - Glass Ceiling
Mirror, Mirrors on the ceiling
We can’t see the board now leaning
Away from parity of chances
No glass route for futile glances
The absence of a real glass ceiling
Replaced by pictures with no meaning
Reflective chaos brings no choices
Will they neuter female voices?
Lift the blinds, see buildings gleaming
See the sky, ideas now teaming
No limitations set by man?
Not for those whose word is “can”
No kids now that she is winning?
Is success a form of sinning?
Misogyny the paradyme?.
Will only disappear with time
It’s the same the whole world over l
It’s the girls that get the blame
It’s the guys that take advantage
This situation can’t remain
Part 3 - The Theory of Mindless
Mirror of the earth rotating
Race and gender integrating?
Say the words, no acts then follow
So much for the brave tomorrow
Ancient doctrine , men deciding
Female input? No confiding
Subjugation through no schools
Needs suffragettes to change the rules
UN human rights in limbo
Treatment of the poor akimbo
Rape, starvation , kidnap becon
Medieval times now threaten
Globalised has a new meaning
Smaller nations break new ceilings
Deny the poor in richer states
Expect antipathy then hate
It’s the same the whole world over
Those others are to blame
As the theory of the mindless
Makes us all the bloody same
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EYES HALF OPEN (c) Sean Notyeats 2017
What are you missing, if you are kissing with your eyes closed?
Is this a real feeling or is he double dealing? You cannot tell with your eyes closed
With each passionate thrust, can you still trust with your eyes closed ?
Is a moment of rapture, only one that you capture with your eyes closed?
To be aware all the time, you will miss the sublime with no eyes closed
You try to believe, that he did not deceive, but how can you tell with your eyes closed?
Was it just an old flame or do you share the blame? How can you tell with your eyes closed?
Can love really bend or is this the end? How can you tell with your eyes closed?.
With eyes open wide, you may burn inside, with eyes half closed, well who knows?
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METAPHORES FOR MANKIND
In Memory of Albert Ross ​© Sean Notyeats 2017
Round the Horn his soul was torn
Away from his mortal frame
Salt beads of spray obscured the way
When to the Gods he called by name
Purgatory as maelstrom
The wind spirits knew his name
Spoke with the voice of Annie.
Of her anguish and her pain
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He screamed at his tormentors
Wind-rush the last farewell
As to the north he travelled
Passed endless ocean swell
The ice was right, the stars were wrong
He skimmed water mountains high
The sacred south it was now lost
In exile he must fly
Albert at last addressed the past
His spirit reached the sky
But a new life, without Annie
He would rather die
Why this reincarnation
For a simple sailor he
The sheer delight of flying
But why the empty sea?
The gods of water, wind and fire
Have captured joy and then desire
Then added sin as if a cross
Carried for man by Albert Ross
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Spectrum - How to grasp the green ?
© Sean Notyeats 2017
​The mnemonic of light
ROY GBIV
Unlocked by the prism key
From red to violet
But how to grasp the green?
Her green is wider than my green
Her prism must be better
More green, more plants
More licences
But how to grasp the green?
Try to go for red instead
Reduce any losses
Increase the spread
A new hi-tech horizon
Or simply grasp the green?
A photon as particle
Traps sunlight, makes power
But you chose light as wave form
Any wave form!
You failed to grasp the green​
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Running Red © Sean Notyeats 2017
The cochineal scurry away from the roller
Their soon tobe powdered remains
Destined to dress the narcissists
With less power than they think
In the scarlet stagecraft of Machiavelli
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Sing a song of silence © Sean Notyeats 2017
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Sing a song of silence
For those about to die
Now no chance of seeing
Earth or sea or sky
Sing a song of silence
For those that ne're were born
Never reached their mother's breast
As from her body torn
Sing a song of silence
For the zealot with no eyes
Devoid of all compassion
For all those wasted lives
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Sing a song of silence
For the child a soldier made
A pawn in power politics
His being now depraved
Sing a song of silence
For faith enforced by power
And the plight of the apostates
For whom all relations sour
Ring aloud redemption
Truth will find a way
Time will be the healer
Society will still pay
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THE AIR HOLE​ © Sean Notyeats 2017
As the expanding vitrification
Turns sea into sea ice
The Belugas gather
Then jostle
Then fight
To breathe at the one remaining air hole
As the circular disk of light changes
The white whales recoil
Into the safety of the pale blue depths
The polar bear waits
In the certainty
Of the beleaguered
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​THE HIGH GROUND © Sean Notyeats 2017
The hollow orb of Mistletoe
Claims the highest bough
The limpet grip to tree
Through trunk to ground
Stability gained in all dimensions
Strength through tenuous links
But still a parasite
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​CAN WE AVOID THE VOID © Sean Notyeats 2017
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The workings of the double helix
The power of thought behind the curved universe
The probability of a cat defining the very small
Linking a butterfly's wing beat to a storm on the other side of the world
With all of these insights, are we all still at the mercy of the fittest surviving man child?
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A PATCHWORK OF POLITICS
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TRIBES AND TRIBULATIONS © Sean Notyeats 2017
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You might be the most gifted girl in the world
But your community treats you as a mere chattel
You might be the most gifted boy in the world
But you live in a ghetto that deals in drugs
You may be the first girl to receive a scholarship
But you are wrenched from your bed as a warning
You may be the first boy to attend university
But not if you had to escape from gangs
Aspiration is stifled by tradition, dogma and any means
To preserve incumbent power and wealth
The right leaves excess power to the market
The left retains retains excess power in fear of the market
The rate of change released by globalisation increased
Enterprise and the well being of many millions
However the balance between aspiration and exploitation
Will be the most difficult ever attempted by mankind
It will depend upon humanity learning to share power,
And sacred texts regarded as metaphors to advise and restrain
If society does not realise that sharing power and resources will contribute to heaven on earth, we will have been trumped by Darwin
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Tablets of Mercury © Sean Notyeats 2017
A potential leader of the Free World liked to play with cats.
A previous leader of the Free World transformed dresses,
from plain to polka dots, in one easy action.
That previous leader of the Free World was impeached,
led by a man with two faces, one wife and one mistress.
Piecemeal morality may lead to distortions in policy,
Respect is lost when contempt undermines credibility
- where the only crime is being caught after government's bought
- where election iou's are cashed in, for the good of who?
Well only the few, with thanks to the Mad Hatter and his Tea Party
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Chameleon © Sean Notyeats 2017
Chameleon
He was there.
The background changed,
Then he was gone
Only to reappear
Across the room.
A pleasant soul.
Known by face
But nothing of his nature!
Always in the frame
But at the periphery
Those paid to know
Thought they knew him, but
A stone thrown
Into a still pond
Should make ripples
He cast no shadow
Mirrors reflected nothing
But on every script
His name was there
Anon
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Transmigration of Blame © Sean Notyeats 2017
Our discussion is circular
We are going nowhere
We need a focal point
We need a straw man
We are going no where
Our discussion is circular
We lost our focal point
We had a man of straw
How dare that man
Elicit our acceptance
We know what we don’t want
When we see it
That straw creature
Was never part of us
So say goodbye
To the Wickerman
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Dylan © Sean Notyeats 2017
Acoustic morphs into electric
But no timeless zeitgeist can
Preserve the spirit of early Dylan
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Second in Seconds © Sean Notyeats 2017
I know I came in second place
I know I didn't win the race
But my time I know was mine.
You used drugs, we know the signs
Your college grades they were mislaid
Discovered when a fee was paid
Those returned showed a higher score
The Ivy League by tooth and claw ?
That nepotism rules okay?
There surely is another way?
Swear an oath on a sacred tome
Fine in public, ignored at home
The red lady she plies her trade
She walks Time Square and is afraid
100 bucks buys food and school
She buys protection, she 's no fool
A true Free Press should shine the light
And really show what's wrong and right
But prisms distort what we see
All hail the new reality
Who pays the piper calls the tune
Go against this and very soon
The rule of law comes to the aid
Of men in suits behind their shades.
Somewhere there is a Rainbow
Sean Notyeats 2018
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There was a wode accident
Where many people dyed
Their mood was quite bluish
As was seen from outside
Car fittings were sapphire
Car seats aqua marine
The dye cast for some shades
Other mixtures obscene
The silver blue moon to
Lunatics did impart
Some special knowledge
Which placed horse behind cart
Political parties
Do most colours eschew
Have ready the barge pole
For all those that see blue
There was a road accident
And many people said
The driver veered leftwards
When the lights signalled red
Many folk see crimson
When the Sun is too strong
Resorting to hubris
When the summer is long
To see Right and Left only
But ignore right from wrong
Folk tear up the hymn sheet
And reject the old song
People want more colour
Not emprismed by just two
Light is far too varied
To be left to the few
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Was it worth the wait? Sean Notyeats 2018
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When World War 2 was over, the zeitgeist had to shift
"Never mind the quality, just feel that special width"
A joke made by tailors for those that did survive
When they hoped their demob suits would last past 45
After the storm, ashes still warm, a phoenix did arise
Free health care for all folk, with NHS the prize
Then came the free love era supported by free health
Austerity forgotten with increasing national wealth.
The spirit of the time was captured by the line
"the white heat of progress will leave more people fine
This was all very well, but results were obscured
As more smoke and mirrors the public endured
We approach 2020 but is our vision yet clear ,
what can we afford by the end of that year?
The lament of our age is caught by the phrase:
"Technology rich but delivery fazed
Can we afford the health care of tomorrow?
Or will government's still need billions to borrow?
So that we all reach 100, in a frail state
Look in the mirror, was it all worth the wait?
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ON A LIGHER NOTE
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The Trodden Berry
Come Kirk, Uhura and Spock lend a hand
Your liberal visions not going to plan
Klingons and Ferengi have just been banned
And we cannot trust the changeling
The Federation was such a good scheme
Loving your neighbours was not just a dream
When the Tribble invasion did not make you scream
No one feared Klingon contagion
When your home planet is in a great mess
Fixing your plot first is surely the best
Sort the Milky Way out when you've had a rest
And then try your best to change things
Those pesky professors won't give us a break
Complex systems abound and all inter - relate
Narcissistic leaders then pander to hate
Mendacity and false pleading.
Our sacred books should steer us away
From selfish behaviour or else we'll all pay
But the righteous wrong let power hold sway
Deafening us with false pleading
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Might might be right but this is quite wrong
We need shared values to get along
If populist voices govern the throng
We might even move to Vulcan
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Allthing to All Men
One day of yore the norse god Thor
Returned to his Asgard home
He revelled in time travel
And ceaselessly did roam
Odin chief god of all things
Berated his wayward son
"Recover those lost powers
You so recently won"
Loki the God of mischief
Thwarted Thor's good intent
To better understand mankind
By spreading doubt he went.
The Gods kept humans busy
Sending torment from the skies
No time to scrutinise their works
In peace with open eyes
In his haste to avoid disgrace
The hammer he must reclaim
From confused Icelanders
Obscured by mist and rain
Thor had mislaid his weapon
Left warriors unimpressed
They questioned Thor's ability
Then decided they knew best,
A meeting place was needed
To be all things to all folk!
But with Thor's hammer hidden
Loki could only gloat
An assembly called the Allthing
Gave a floor where all could meet
No place for Thor , a fatal flaw
The Gods were in retreat
Loki's love for those above
Came second to himself
His low key view of what to do
Was bad for Asgard's health
A rousing call from one and all
To see the Gods removed
Achievable with no hammer
And dimwitted Loki fooled
Odin's rage made him leave the stage
So much for eternal glory
With no hammer and only tongue
To tell this low key story l
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