1
it shows many sides
but usually 2 —
can boil & bluster
& end in a stew —
can be clear as crystal
& cut a sharp view —
or narrow to nothing
but be taken as true

2
it holds symbols & keys
& opens up views —
it helps us to see
into olds & news

3
they show vanity
in scenery
the familiar in the strange
& friendship’s range

4
I can fly
I can make crowds roar
I can pass by
beside, behind, before

I get caught in nets
but seldom in the sea
I cause regrets
and ecstasy

5
I clean up
highlighters, crumbs, cup
stains, bent staples — end up
with cramped books/
notes/sheets crammed in nooks
’n’ crannies — but things look s-
mart — tidy —
— put away neatly —
by me — the boss of busy —
the best or-
ganiser in a-
ll the world — till its encore —

6
up n down
noisy n mute
straight or round
mainly on foot

7
I can pump your drooping drive.
In deep extremes, flush you alive.
And I can dam your self-esteem,
flood it with addiction’s cream
until you wake, far, far, downstream.

8
A hole in the ground
(usually round)
not
straight
down
like
a well —
straight ahead, on the level, to help people travel.

9
In the UK, a space for a bum.
In the US, a place for a fanny.
Tho’ often fitting more than one,
it may change its name if there’s many.

10
Of both you could equally say:
they’re under a cloud, one cloud in the sky —
or not far apart joined by one sunbeam’s ray —
though unseen at night they’re close anyway.

 

***Answers Below***

[1  an argument ]

[2  tv remote control stick ]

[3  selfies ]

[4  a soccer ball ]

[5 tidying my desk ]

[6 stairs ]

[7 stress/adrenalin ]

[8 a tunnel ]

[9 seat, chair, stool > bench, sofa, couch ]

[10 next door ]

 

Damian Robin lives in England. He works for an international newspaper and a bilingual magazine. He lives with his wife and three children.

Featured Image: “Oedipus and the Sphinx” by Francois Xavier Fabre.



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2 Responses

  1. Terence Marin

    My family’s guesses, some of which I think could apply
    2. a computer keyboard
    3. postcard
    4. basketball
    5. waste basket
    6. sock
    8. subway entrance
    9. Pants

    Thanks for the fun rhymes!

    Reply
  2. Damian Robin

    Thanks to the Marin fam’ly
    for giving new guesses to me.
    They’ve opened my eyes
    and here I devise
    an interim prize —
    something ephemeral,
    jokey and general.
    Are their gueses eternal?
    We can only wait and see.
    In the meanwhile we’ll keep them internal —
    in the 2016,
    all new and clean
    pages of
    the Society of
    Classical Poets Journal !!
    (Out in Spring)

    Reply

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