I’ve put a bandage on my language
To prevent my letters bleeding
Dripping out of context
Confusing well-meant meaning
My words had turned anaemic
Making paragraphs a blur
Scarring what I meant to say
Befuddled phrases don’t concur
Do I need a word transfusion
Drip feeding improved sense
To avoid upsetting readers
By rewarding present tense
The Handshake: Picture by Jon Carling
On any day, two friends' a chance meeting
A memory etched, time's passage fleeting
Friendship's path, a journey slow and deep
Where beliefs and views, their secrets keep
Good friends embrace divergence, unafraid
In contrast, deeper wisdom is made
Each moment counts, a balance to attain
Harmony's pursuit, a gentle, sweet refrain
They share each other's burdens, hand in hand
No drudgery found, in this devoted band
Friendship's bond, no duty nor demand
Integrity and principle forever stand
To wish undone
What's now been done
A past regret
A battle won
Could they rewind
Erase the deed
A life's unburdened
Different creed
With wisdom's hindsight
Clear and bright
To mend the past
Set wrongs aright
Carefree souls
No guilt to bear
A lighter heart
Beyond compare
Life's clarity, a double bind,
With doubt's dark tide
the mind entwined.
A waterfall of thoughts
A stream,
Repeating patterns
In a restless dream
Starry signs
A broken hand,
No timepiece true
No promised land
A mystic fog
Of words and sound
Where unexpected
Rules abound
Absolution’s hollow claim,
A doctor's smile
A sugar-sweet game.
A haven built for wishful hearts,
Lost in aporia's maze of starts.
We leave behind the known and planned
Becoming what we've practiced well
In a cocoon of schemes, we stand
Our myriad dreams, a potent spell
No longer just a hopeful wish
No shore in sight, no rocky hold
In thoughtful ocean’s boundless swish
Our notion set, a story told
Poor planning bringing unseen woes
Mystery shrouds a failing vice
Pressures rise, confusion grows
Ignoring risks, a heavy price
Poor choices in the heat of fight
Bad reactions weak and slow
Bring chaos, dimming future's light
Leave missions shattered, prospects low
Hidden blocks and walls so high
Unseen traps, a costly game
Sudden stance brings painful, dire reply
Inept choices bring forth bitter shame
Ah, but that was then
In fragile times, anxieties reside
Where certainties, like shadows, hide
Unkindly grasps, with avarice rife
Reach out, devoid of gentle life
A covetous hunger, stark and cold,
Leave hearts unyielding, stories told
These grasping hands, a bitter sting
Leave only emptiness; they bring
In circuits and code
a mind takes flight,
Bringing dreams to life
Both day and night
With knowledge vast
A mind learns and grows
A partner in thought
As innovation flows
One can’t live a life
Without information
One can’t buy a ticket
Unsure of which station
Pursuing hunted pieces
With hungriness for words
Digesting compilations
Something funny or absurd
Letting loose those sentences
Who lay in waiting in one’s head
Writing as the moment takes
Or other things instead
Writing well is pleasurable
In the flow of common sense
As is finding time to pen a rhyme
Where competition is intense
At the risk of seeming pompous
Or, at best, less superficial
A phony swimmer in the shallow end
Proclaims a walking crawl transitional
Required again considering
How to know what’s beneficial
What is best for all concerned
Found in the ideal quintessential
Repetitions in the sweaty gym
To build a structure paravertebral
Shoulders back take up the belly slack
Becomes the perfect individual
Beside the churning vortex
I stand, a silent witness,
Watching lives expended
a relentless, watery abyss
Helpless, I can only watch
As they're pulled beneath the sway,
Formulas and blueprints
Secrets turned to swirling grey.
Once held as precious treasures
In knowledge given to a few,
Now spinning, tossed, and turned
All value lost in the roiling brew.
My hands are bound, my strength undone
Release is nowhere to be found.
How many dreams lie shattered
Futures swallowed underground
War and devastation
A Churning Death Machine
As the wicked mass opinion
Spreads out its lethal scene
Spiteful mouths are whining
Criticising the deprived
While the monster of the money pile
Salutes what deviousness contrived
The finger-pointing warrior
Plays underhand a lawless game
No answers for what’s needed
Dictating loudly, who's to blame
Standing in the meadow
She felt the sun's warm gaze
Unusual for the time of year
So enveloped by its rays
The gentle breeze did blow,
Across the fields so green,
A summer's day in autumn's hold,
A wondrous, vibrant scene.
With half-closed eyes, she took a breath
The warmth upon her skin
A moment held a memory made
Where peace and joy begin
Working on conundrums
Finding other ways to strain
In need of fresh persuasions
Accepting any fading grain
On thresholds of discoveries
Keeping sharp and vigilant
For the nuance styled distraction
That may appear in any slant
Seemingly a hopeless task
Too tired to make more sense
Knowing good solutions
Are not allowed unless intense
Identities and passageways
Mysteriously unknown
Codes and combinations
Concealed and never shown
Closely guarded information
Embellishing a snare
To embroil the duck and diver
Who craves the biggest share
Formulas and blueprints
To be uncovered by the few
Held for great advantage
Like the foremost secrets do
Contemplating what we know so far
In vastness of potential's gleam
Along with hope, a guiding star
And realise, a waking dream
In what we find as elemental
A seed of truth, in hidden arts
Through depths unknown, we bravely sail
With open minds and hopeful hearts
Toward futures bright, we gently steer
Unveiling wonders, year by year
With every step, a path made clear
Of knowledge gained to banish fear
To the lovelorn and besotted
Solemn messages bestow
Odes of adoration sent
Setting wishful hearts aglow
To bring solace to the lonely heart
A clandestine notelet sent
To adorn the wistful wishful
In a loving message sent
To emit a Cupid’s arrowhead
Sending passion warm and deep
With rosy messages of ecstasy
To raise the lonely from their sleep
Saving, planning, future scanning
Looking for potentials
To maximise and scrutinise
In gathering most essentials
To minimise the scale of risk
To build upon one’s wealth
And so reduce anxiety
For the betterment of health
Choose confidence, not chance;
Reject the roulette's fickle dance.
Embrace wandering, not wagering,
and guard against all things that steal
A silent bloom
A hidden grace,
The fungi rise
In shadowed space
From dark earth sprung
A vibrant hue,
A whispered life
A secret crew.
No leaves they bear
No branches hold
But spores they scatter
Stories told.
Of ancient forests
Damp and deep,
Where secrets slumber
Softly sleep
A network vast
A hidden thread,
Connecting roots
The living dead.
A silent symphony
They weave,
A vibrant tapestry
They believe.
From toadstool tall
To tiny sprout
Their colours dance
A wondrous route.
A taste of earth
A forest flute
Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash
I note with keen alertness
The object now presented
As something quite incongruous
On second thoughts, demented
Is this scene somehow fictitious
An imposition during sleep
Or nothing more than light illusion
In rapid rivers running deep
Who is fooling who I ask
This exposition all a mess
Leaving me to face disorderly
But to never acquiesce
Years have faded, lives have changed,
Moving on, a constant trend.
Through early days, they journeyed,
Between what's lost and cannot mend
Present day, past memories surge,
Reveal the many prices paid,
Unpacking within those brief recalls,
A clearer history no longer staid
Iron will determination
Chosen with discretion
Making choices as a last resort
Hobson’s choice is my impression
There is no time for predetermined
With all these other things to do
I draw my own conclusions
To pointless lists of things to do
I don’t believe in predetermined
Taking new roads when and where
Forging on and single-minded
With assurance, I’ll get there
The day the world collapsed,
A new dawn, unseen, arose.
Light and shadow, now all that's left,
In windswept, rain-soaked clothes
Unseen, they crept into the sound,
Numbers, on a silent quest.
Their allure, a hidden wound,
A painless, subtle, deep unrest.
Clouds corralled to force control
Wrapped up in chains of data
Rejecting long-held access codes
Rewriting moves in automata
World War Four will happen behind our backs.
At last, it’s time for February
Say goodbye to the month of ache
A chilluary start of the year
That pursuit we’re glad to shake
We can rekindle our momentum
Progress to better things
Embrace the cheer of a new frontier
Where the vibrantly forward springs
Getting back our daylight hours
Planning trips and getaways
Taking chances with potential
On the fast and steadfast freeways
Searched within
The agonised brain
Page glaring
To distraction
For something apt
Attention rapt
When driven
By abstraction
Looking for
The relevance
Of relative rapport
When allusions
Cause confusions
Misunderstandings
We deplore
Our writing most
Commensurate
With meaning
That induced
Immediately
Translates a point
Appropriately Mot Juste
Beware the downright despot
With one-sided points of view
Asserting possibilities
Freshly pulled out of the blue
Sticking to weird reasoning
That appears around the nose
This inner man’s essential parts
Leave the dubious to suppose
Mother’s little soldier boy
A self-entitled superego
Who blindly missed the hit parade
In a short-lived phoney show
In mathematics or Biology
Where proof is well presented
Arguably, not up for grabs
Or even less to be augmented
Facts and figures proving honestly
Will define and make a theory
The hypothesis has now moved on
Not drearily, but clearly
Yet those not in agreement
Although lacking deeper thoughts
Entrenched in what they want to see
Aligned with nonsensical cohorts
Their determinants are shaky
Lacking generally in Knowhow
Happy in their littleness
With what feels right for them, somehow
To be frankly fair, I love to swear
In language use, most foul
In delight or deep frustration
I so enjoy the baying howl
Ever since a tottering toddler
My fussing, cussing baby talk
Picked up invectives generally
As I swore by playground walks
In bad language, I’m a purist
I never ever pseudo-swear
I’m not a duck so never cluck
Flipping tish, I couldn’t care
I hope you find if reading this
Much emitting of your airlocks
Need not cause shame when you exclaim
You’re talking so much, bollocks
A hungry word sat waiting
For writing recollection
Not appealing at the outset
Nor in the eye line of selection
Pleading in a dictionary
In a stream-of-word obsession
With many wise alternatives
And so, avoiding repetition
Not regular or popular
But yearning to be heard
A quiet yet persistent call
Within the writer stirred
In the shadows, it resides
Amongst the silent letters
Dreaming of a moment
When its usage makes things better
A saviour in the language
A gem yet to be found
The hungry word remains unseen
On uncharted ground
It waits for inspiration
A spark to light its way
To transform the mundane prose
Into something bright and gay
For in the heart of silence
There's a word that holds the key
To unlock the boundless realms
Of creativity
So let us heed the whisper
Of the hungry, waiting word
And give it life and meaning
In every line that's heard
What is truth, and what is life
Not easily portrayed
Often found in partial fragments
Temporarily conveyed
Reality looks to find its truth
In arduous explanations
Where a cold wind twists in disbelief
In fervent hope of divinations
Forever fooled in easy ecstasy
Blinding minds with mad intrigues
Holding hands for reinforcement
Whilst the demagogue intrigues
There’s something by the riverbank
With a suggestion moving by
I’m not expecting mail right now
Even pigeons don’t fly high
I can hear those grey wings flapping
Fighting franticly for lift
With such a lack of elevation
Not enough for a soar-away gift
How do you capture the crest of a wave
What sort of cage would you need
A mountain of weight behind a closed gate
Containing a world full of speed
How do you hold back the peak that you seek
What sort of poem would you write
A landslide of noise sliding rumbling down
Pulling blankets all over the night
How do you hold on to beautiful thoughts
What sort of turmoil would you match
A whirlwind of rain knocking hard at your door
Straining the nails on your latch
There are many words I struggle with
Like litigation convoluting
Where the snobbish and the haughty
Are cherished by the highfaluting
My vocabulary's a patchwork quilt,
A jumble of learned and crude.
I yearn for elegance, a perfect tilt,
But often stumble, misconstrued.
This essay was completed with the help of Chat Unlimited & ask Brutus AI
The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has seen rapid advancements and diversifying applications shaping numerous sectors in 2025 this essay explores the latest developments in AI, focusing on trends that influence the technology industry and everyday life.
One significant trend in AI is the growth of agentic AI, where organisations are beginning to grapple with the promise and the associated hype leaders are tasked with navigating the complexities of implementing AI solutions and effectively measuring the tangible results generated from generative AI technologies. This focus on outcomes is critical, as it helps bridge the gap between theoretical applications and practical implementations.
In the field of education technology, AI guardrails of being put in place to guide classroom use.
The integration of AI in education is largely aimed at creating personalised experiences for students. This shift towards customising educational content and methods reflects a growing acknowledgement of this necessity for adaptive learning environments, which can cater to individual learning paces and styles.
The healthcare industry is also expected to be transformed by AI advancements. The rise of multimodal AI models is anticipated to improve the analysis of complex data sources such as medical records and imaging, helping in better diagnoses and personalised treatment plans. This holistic approach to data enables healthcare providers to tailor interventions more effectively, resulting in improved patient outcomes
Furthermore, the importance of cybersecurity in AI development is becoming increasingly pronounced as organisations prioritise AI-powered security measures. Executives recognise the need for sophisticated AI tools to combat evolving threats, marking a substantial integration of AI in risk management.
In conclusion, the developments in AI are dynamic and multifaceted, playing a crucial role across various sectors in 2025. From enhancing educational experiences to transforming healthcare and workplaces, AI continues to shape how we interact with technology. As organisations navigate these advancements, the focus will remain on harnessing AI's potential while ensuring that it aligns with ethical practices and delivers measurable results. The future of AI holds great promise, but it requires careful consideration and strategic implementation to truly realise its benefits.
Source1: https://sloanreview.mit.edu
Source2: https://edtechmagazine.com
Source3: https://www.capgemini.com
Source4: AI's impact on industries in 2025 Carrie Thorpe Vice President, strategic industries, cloud.google.com
