Metro Manila Two...

 

OKEY DOKEY JOE

Security is king in the global war

against the dreaded lurgy that

we bring from distant shores

They search everybody

at the market and the store

But in Manila and Cebu

they wave me through

they say Okey Dokey Joe

and some salute

They think I'm from

Chicago or New York

perhaps they wanna talk

about their relatives and friends

that made it good in Honolulu or LA

They search everybody

at the market and the store

Security is king in the global war

against the dreaded lurgy that

we bring from distant shores

But in Manila and Cebu

they wave me through

they say Okey Dokey Joe

and some salute

refrain

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National Poetry Day 2026...

 NATIONAL POETRY DAY 2026

Theme – Wonder

NOT MANY BARBERS

I wonder where we all would be

if everything was left up to me

you see life is not as simple as you think

there's always someone better

or worse off than me

I've got a tin roof over my head

and it goes at seventy miles per hour

on a good day with the wind behind me

but watch out for roadworks

Traffic jams and congestion charging

can ruin your day if you let them

not to mention numberplate cloning

driverless cars mobile phones delivery drones et al

I can't get a word in edgeways sometimes

but it don't matter much these days because

not many barbers or fishmongers agree with me

there's definitely more questions than answers

More religions more denominations than ever

fair-weather friends beware things are changing fast

there's always someone better or worse off than you

power to the people if only democracy was that good

Who knows the end from the beginning God does

and who else knew that I was born in the barber shop

on Royal Oak Road all those years ago I wonder

or that my great grandmother was a fishmongers clerk

01102026