Most Commented Nostalgia Poems (1,154)

Come gather round the campfire mates and listen for a while,
And I'll tell you all the story of the man who never smiled.
He was somewhat of a rover, and his friends all called him John
He hailed from southern New South Wales, a place called Wollongong.

Well he finished up in Queensland where he met this bird named Jean
And together then the pair set out to do the Brisbane scene.
But within a month she left him, stony broke, without a cent
With nothing but a memory,(and a bill for two weeks rent!)

So further North, to Anakie, John chased his silver lining
On Queensland's famous sapphire fields he tried his hand at mining.
Well he made a quid at this new lurk, became a man of means
And with his new found wealth set out to find his love it seems.

Now he got as far as Rocky where he thought he'd stop a while
And took a job as fencer (just to help to pass the time.)
But alas, he didn't last long for he clocked the overseer
And it was round about this time he started on the beer.

Then his bird wrote him a letter asking him to come and get her
Up at Tully (she was with another bloke)
In the bar there at the station getting stuck into a ration
Of Bacardi. (That's the stuff they drink with Coke.)

Well she went with him to Townsville and they found a little flat
And it seemed at last that things had turned out right
But again she up and left him while he was asleep (God rest him)
Not a single word, just vanished in the night.

Now poor old John just went to pieces and got stuck into the grog
For to him (at least) it seemed his life was over.
So he boozed up day and night, they say he looked a flamin'fright
It was a miracle if ever he was sober!

Some folk said that he was "queer"while others blamed it on the beer
And it's 20 years (they say) now since he smiled
He had made and spent a fortune on a bird who had ignored him
I tell you mates, women! Just ain't worth your while.

Well I guess I'd better leave now as I've still a ways to go
Destination? I don't really know, I'm following my nose
So I guess I'll see you round mates as I've stayed here far too long
What's my name you ask? I thought you knew, it's John..from Wollongong.

I've forgotten how to come home
I've forgotten that I am human
I've forgotten life outside my world
Most of all I've forgotten how to love

Where are the sons and daughters
Where are those caring life partners
Where are those joys and laughters
When times we only had each other

Some are gone beyond the ocean
Some are lost in work commitment
Some are buried in mobile connection
What that's left in this world is forgotten

A pleasant sound

Ruffle in the leaves

A nest of birds

Built in the eaves

A slight creak

Rocks my chair

Its arm rests worn

Smooth with wear

A thousand days

Maybe a hundred years

An eternity of time

Many laughs and tears

A fleeting moment

Lost in memory lane

A soft whistle

Of a faraway train

A cup of coffee

Steams in my hand

A flavor in life

That’s oh so grand

A country morning

A mountain spring

A great blue sky

Makes my heart sing

A quietness alone

Seeking solitude

A peaceful mind

Fills with gratitude

There are many things
As I look around my apartment
That are old, decrepit, dusty and worn
I shall hire myself a skip
And throw them all into yesterday
Where they all belong
As relics of the past
Myself included

It is evening now.
And the cold wind blows away
The words from my lips
I cannot distract my mind
From thinking.
Once upon a time
In my old house
There lived a man,
Who was a part of me .
He lived as many summers
As many winters I did .
And we were called WE...
WE cannot be found now
In the crowd
Anymore.
When winter comes
All that happened before
Is happening again.
As if the calendar has all the numbers
Backwards,
The watch stops
And the time do not run at all .
Have you heard how time sounds?
How does it sing?
And how silent it can be
For centuries?
He lived as many summers
As many winters I did. .
And we were called We...

Old Jims eyes take on a watery glaze
As he continues to relive those far off days
On that long weekend
Up from the sticks
All tooled up for fun and frolics.
He downs another glass
As he slowly turns that old photograph
To reveal,..a cute girl in boots and a mini
Clinging to a longhaired guy,
All bashful and skinny
With a bunch of white carnations in hand
That she bought for him..
From a city centre flower stand
Just for a bit of fun,
Just for devilment,
Just to revel in his embarrassment.
Old Jim lights a smoke and smiles
Rolling back the miles
As he recalls that dreaded bouquet
And how she made him carry it around all day
As proof of his love...she said
As if proof were needed..
Old Jim shakes his head and lets out a sigh
Had he the chance now,
He would carry it to Egypt.
As Jim pours again,he begins to hum..
That old Mary Hopkin song
Those were the days my friend..
We thought theyd never end...
As he recalls Sue scouring the
Record stores for that song,..she so adored.
And oh, how she shimmied and posed
Like a true centrefold
Still managing to look so pretty
In the rain and the cold
As their photograph was taken
By the man on the bridge
While endeavouring to dodge the rush hour carnage
Afterwards,...Sue skipped along..
Happily chewing her juicyfruit gum,
Stopping once, to give coins to a begger
Yes, life was grand, it couldn't get much better
They had the freedom of the city
There was so much to see,
And like two kids in a sweet shop,
They rubbed their hands with glee....

Thanks George Carlin
I still listen to your jokes
Since I discovered you in 1992 with the comedy album
Jammin In New York
Thank you Michael Moore
You spoke of issues through your movies
Issues like job loss, murder in the U.S.A, 9/ll, and health care
I appreciate you U2
You inspire through your music with songs like
One, Where The Streets Have No Name, With Or Without You, and Vertigo
You're awesome Cranberries
I love Zombie, Dreams, and Linger
You're funny Dennis Leary
With your songs like the A#$%^&@ Song
And Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up
You're devilishly funny Leprechaun
I especially loved you in Leprechaun 3 when you went to Las Vegas
Thanks to all the Irish people who have brightened my day

She sat huddled up in fleecy blanket
shaking and trembling, mutters to her self
it has not yet sunk in, this painful loss
that sears her breaking heart with terrible grief

A solitary teardrop falling down

She thought of the fun and love they shared
the strolls they had shared in leafy woods
the way he had snuggled up close to her
his warm breath brushing her ear as they sleep

A solitary teardrop falling down

Over in the kitchen corner his bowls
along with a comfy bed seldom used
she needed to put them away out of sight
yet devastated she had little strength

A solitary teardrop falling down

She wished the tears would flow healing her
yet though they trembled within her eye lids
she could not seem to release them but they stung
just one escaped and rolled down her face

A solitary teardrop falling down

Old Jim tries to recall
The shops that they trawled,
And the pubs that they sampled
Both big and small
How Sue got tipsy in the Brazen Head
And carved their names on the B and Bs bed
The lave lamp she bought, in Hector Greys
The height of fashion in those days,
Now all but consigned to the scrapheap of life
Like so many things that once seemed
So shiny and bright.
And how she laughed and giggled
At the looks they were getting
From the nosy little checker
On the Double decker
As they kissed and cuddled
On their way across the Liffy
Heading for the Northside of the City
And he,checking his reflection
In those new Steve McQueen shades
Man, he thought he was perfection
In those bargain bin days...
Old Jim finds it hard to suppress a grin
As he lights another smoke, and takes it all in
How they braved the hawkers and the beggers and the cons
All ready to relieve them of their notes and coins
He nods in remembrance and has to smile
Yes, the country bumpkin could be spotted for miles
They visited the pool halls and the greasy spoons
And a penny arcade, he thinks it was called the Dunes
He even bought a cuckoo clock down in Guineys
But that bird was last seen hovering over Killiney
Funny, how all my birds eventually head for warmer climes..
Mutters Jim, with more than a hint of sarcasm
As the needle finds another groove
And the music kicks in
He pulls the pin on another tin
Fuelling his journey back in time
And as three am chimes
He raises a glass
To the past...
To those rare auld times
And that long weekend
That he thought... would never end
And to absent friends...and lovers
Now lost and gone..
Lost and gone forever.

Shades of Blue
For missing you
Shades of Blue
For Jim and Sue
And Phil to..
And Shades of Blue
For January 1972

The vinyl goes around and around
Silent now, bar that crackly sound
As Jim snores
And dreams of better times...
His cigarette totters on the ashtray
Its smoke curling, hastening...
The old polaroids decay..