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mrben16.bsky.social
Mr Ben
@mrben16.bsky.social
91 followers 130 following 420 posts
Minister, gamer, husband, father, guitarist and pretend poet (odefortheday.art).
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mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Our Twelve Days of Christmas
All together now...
odefortheday.art/2025/12/16/o...
#Poetry #Christmas #Carols #Singing
Our Twelve Days of Christmas
Around the table the verses spinChaotically bouncing from side to sideLike a wounded bird upon the wing.They start hopefully, flying with hasteThen hesitate, stumbling slowly,Limping along the tabl…
odefortheday.art
December 16, 2025 at 10:36 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Mary's Mum
You must be joking!
odefortheday.art/2025/12/15/m...
#Poetry #Mary #Christmas
Mary’s Mum
Why did you go and do that,Are you out of your little mind?A pea in the pod? You’re crazy!A bun in the oven? You’re mad! They’re saying you’re up the duff,If not perhaps it&…
odefortheday.art
December 15, 2025 at 9:37 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Hark the Haiku
Not quite the heavenly host...
odefortheday.art/2025/12/14/h...
#Poetry #Haiku #CarolService #Carols #Christmas
Hark the Haiku
The carols are doneI’ve sung until I’ve gone hoarseTired yet happy It’s been a day of leading carols with our scratch Nativity play and carol service. Done in, and satisfied.(14.1…
odefortheday.art
December 14, 2025 at 9:21 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Prepared
Ready for tomorrow
odefortheday.art/2025/12/13/p...
#Poetry #Christmas #Carols
Prepared
The lights are on,The tree erected,Nativity placed Upon its ledge.The cards deliveredAnd guests invited,The talk is written,Song sheets in place.The car is packed, Set list confirmed,We’re re…
odefortheday.art
December 13, 2025 at 9:41 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Christmas Lights
Let the dance begin!
odefortheday.art/2025/12/12/c...
#Poetry #ChristmasLights #Christmas #Advent
Christmas Lights
A chain of dancing lights effortlesslypirouette across the darkened stage.Full of childhood innocence, they searchus out, then smile and wave in recognition.In that moment, our weariness subsidesan…
odefortheday.art
December 12, 2025 at 6:52 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - The Morning Reveille
A winter morning snapshot
odefortheday.art/2025/12/11/t...
#Poetry #Robin #Winter
The Morning Reveille
The sentry stands alert upon the shed,his puffed out silhouette proudly picked out bythe rising rays of the winter sun. Liftinghis beak, he expands his scarlet chest and shrills his fanfare. Branch…
odefortheday.art
December 11, 2025 at 9:55 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - On Being Watched
Amphibian alert...
odefortheday.art/2025/12/10/o...
#Poetry #Frogs #Newts #Amphibians #Pets
On Being Watched
I’m being watched intently.A pair of hungry newtsseen to think I could be dinner.Constantly turning their necks,they keep me in their gaze,plotting how to catch me.I find myself worrying, how…
odefortheday.art
December 10, 2025 at 10:40 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Instant Attraction
Stuck in the middle with you...
odefortheday.art/2025/12/09/i...
#Poetry #Love
Instant Attraction
Our eyes snagged across the crowded roomLike velcro strips, we were hooked on each other A quick one today, a couplet about a couple that sprung to mind as I walked to an engagement today.(09.12.25…
odefortheday.art
December 9, 2025 at 7:34 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Festive Footsteps
Delivery man for a season
odefortheday.art/2025/12/08/f...
#Poetry #ChristmasCards #Church
Festive Footsteps
Trudging around the estate,Popping our cards through doorsPassing on God’s love,The Christmas Word from above,A happy festive chore,That always feels so great. Every year at this time I get m…
odefortheday.art
December 8, 2025 at 11:07 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Waiting
Someone's coming...
odefortheday.art/2025/12/07/h...
#Poetry #Advent #Christmas
Holding Our Breath
A collective holding of breath,growing anticipation,the draining down of sandand dawning realisation. A sense of something changing,reversal of the tide,the night is nearly over,two worlds will soo…
odefortheday.art
December 7, 2025 at 8:07 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - A Smaller Sofa
Seeking community
odefortheday.art/2025/12/06/c...
#Poetry #Sofa #Furniture #Community
Closer
It’s funny how the small things make a difference.Our new sofa is smaller than the last;it means we’re sitting closer. I think that counts.There are too many things in life that pull us…
odefortheday.art
December 6, 2025 at 9:52 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Flat Pack Night
Is that the right way up?
odefortheday.art/2025/12/05/f...
#Poetry #Furniture #Flatpack
Flat Pack Night
Remember, remember, the fifth of December,Allen keys, flat packs and screws,Just follow the instructions one at a time,Considering using glue! Silly one at the end of the day. We’re gradually…
odefortheday.art
December 5, 2025 at 10:56 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Flat Pack Night
Is that the right way up?
odefortheday.art/2025/12/05/f...
#Poetry #Furniture #Flatpack
Flat Pack Night
Remember, remember, the fifth of December,Allen keys, flat packs and screws,Just follow the instructions one at a time,Considering using glue! Silly one at the end of the day. We’re gradually…
odefortheday.art
December 5, 2025 at 10:56 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Someone's Coming...
Has he been yet?
odefortheday.art/2025/12/04/s...
#Poetry #Christmas #Advent
Someone’s Coming…
Someone’s coming, yes, you know who,He’s coming here for me and for you.He has a list, it’s ever so long,Upon which our names are all written on. Excitement’s growing, yes i…
odefortheday.art
December 4, 2025 at 10:26 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Recovery Time
Time for R&R
odefortheday.art/2025/12/03/r...
#Poetry #Cold #Haiku #Illness
Recovery Time
Taunted by a coldI am playing hide and seekTrying to escape Taking it easy tonight ahead on a rare evening off right now.(03.12.25) © Ben Quant 2025Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
odefortheday.art
December 3, 2025 at 8:54 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Journey's End
Walking together
odefortheday.art/2025/12/02/j...
#Poetry #Pilgrimage #Companions #Life #Meaning
Journey’s End
They say that life’s a journey, a pilgrimagealong the twists and turns fate throws at us.Along the way our paths cross those of others,and for a while we stroll in company. These corresponden…
odefortheday.art
December 2, 2025 at 10:12 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Wipers Required
Friends and funerals
odefortheday.art/2025/12/01/w...
#Poetry #Funerals #Rain
Wipers Required
Today I shared a miserable, cold, grey daywith a family that I’d not met before.I drove, to see them, heavy teardrops descendingacross the screen, obscuring my field of view.No doubt there ha…
odefortheday.art
December 1, 2025 at 11:13 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - The Heavenly Flock
The first Sunday
odefortheday.art/2025/11/30/t...
#Poetry #Advent #BirdSong
The Heavenly Flock
First Sunday of Advent, a late afternoon walk.After a month of stillness, the air is thick,filled with the raucous call of avian chatter.The reason for their talk, the cause of all this conversatio…
odefortheday.art
November 30, 2025 at 8:14 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Lost and Found
A bottomless pit!
odefortheday.art/2025/11/29/l...
#Poetry #Memories #Sofa
Lost and Found
Three biros, two with lids,A tarnished 50 penceTwo 2ps and a 1 gone dull,A plastic gun now bent. An sticky old sweet wrapper,A broken lolly stick,Token from a forgotten game,A dusty paperclip. A ti…
odefortheday.art
November 29, 2025 at 6:16 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Stumpf Fiddles & 78's
An evening with Duke Special
odefortheday.art/2025/11/28/s...
#Poetry #DukeSpecial #Music
Stumpf Fiddles & 78’s
The Duke takes to the stage,Two suits and greying dreadlocks,In hobo-chic and whimsy.He owns it, we are his. Beside him Chip, sidekickIn gramophone adventures,An ever growing assemblyOf percussive …
odefortheday.art
November 28, 2025 at 10:56 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Thursday Morning, Late November
November lights
odefortheday.art/2025/11/27/t...
#Poetry #November #Winter #Christmas
Thursday Morning, Late November
Thursday morning at eleven o’clock. The carsall have their automatic headlights onto lift the lethargy. It does not work.A pensive mood infects the air and eventhe sun is tentative. It seems …
odefortheday.art
November 27, 2025 at 6:16 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - Grant Writing
Text, text and more text...
odefortheday.art/2025/11/26/g...
#Poetry #Grants #RedevelopmentProject #Writing
Grant Writing
Drafting grant applications,I find I’m spewing word,after word, after word, untilthe screen is full of letters.They blur into a splurgeof unattractive text,a monolith of blackness.I need to s…
odefortheday.art
November 26, 2025 at 10:00 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
One Month to Go (A Minister's Predicament)
Can I get it done?
odefortheday.art/2025/11/25/o...
#Poetry #Christmas #Christ
One Month to Go (A Minister’s Predicament)
So many tasks and services,completing them is a constant doubt,I’m caught between an anguished shriek,and a merry dance and joyful shout. And yet I love this time of year,I love the reason fo…
odefortheday.art
November 25, 2025 at 10:19 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Making Sense of Lfe
And being made a fool
odefortheday.art/2025/11/24/m...
#Poetry #Patterns #Interpretation
Making Sense of Lfe
Filling in the blnks,Personalising the crwd,Identfyng objectsHgh in the gathering clouds. Forevr seeking patterns,Our brains instinctivly,Fill in all the gaps, to mkeSnse of what they see. This is …
odefortheday.art
November 24, 2025 at 9:30 PM
mrben16.bsky.social
Poem - A Voyage through Voyage
A wrong turn...
odefortheday.art/2025/11/23/a...
#Poetry #Interpretation #Meaning #ABBA #Aberystwyth
A Voyage through Voyage
‘I’m going to ABBA tomorrow’, he saidFantastic, I replied. I’d heardso many good things about the show,and how the holograms seemed so real. Not having seen the gig myself,a…
odefortheday.art
November 23, 2025 at 8:50 PM