21 years young

21 years young, and still going strong.
21 years young, but you wont be for long.
Life I've moving really fast these days, I wonder if you've noticed?
Time is speeding up, there's no way to sugar coat this.
So in this time of running, rushing and utmost haste
In this time of not letting a single second go to waste
We find the nicer things in life pass us by, without even a glance.
Too many potential fates, too many paths down which to explore and advance
It means the routes we do take, are routes we have to treasure.
And I have to say its hard to think of any route that has given me more pleasure
Than the one which lead me to encounter you
A friend most honest, lovely, and true
I could easily never have been a character in your tale
Maybe a random passer by, Just a minor detail
But instead, you've got to know me, and I to know you
Its a trade off, but one I was happy to go through
What I've learnt recently is everything worthwhile takes effort and time
From degrees, to sport, to just penning a rhyme
But the benefits, man, the benefits are worth while
If it can just give you a little smile
Because its out of such efforts the nicer things in life are born
And this one is just for you, Miss Charlotte Warne :)

I'm going through archiving my pre-2013 poems. This one was clearly a birthday poem for my friend Charlotte. Uploaded 2025. The irony is that charlotte was one of the older ones in our cohort, and now uploading this way, way past 21 years old.

Fluid Mechanics

 Yo Yo, Mansfield Represent.

Although many of you may not know it, I consider myself a poet,
And when I give my rhymes its like fluid in a pipe - I like to flow it.
But there's societal shear stress, pushing back at me
But no matter how fast I spit lines they still affect my profile in velocity
Yet no matter how much they make my skin friction crawl
They can't compete against a potentially inviscid poetic addiction at all
If you have a central passion, you'll always find boundary interference
But overcoming this stereotyping drag is just the human experience
So I'm thinking you should wake up from your slumber, go out there and do it,
Or just go drinking and be like Reynold's with his number - never counting units.
Just do whatever it is you want without resistance, regret or fear
After all, you are the person in the know, you are the central flow, you are an Engineer.

***

I'm going back and archiving all my pre-2013 poems (in 2025). This poem was written as a response to a challenge by our lecturer (I believe Thomas Povey) - he acknowledged fluid mechanics wasn't the most interesting, so he set a poetry competition for us with a fluid mechanics them. I remember there being a lot of limericks and inuendo. He read them all the others with great comedic effect - but then got me to perform mine (and gave me a bag of M&Ms as a min-prize). I seem to recall him saying it was one of the first non-ironic submissions he'd ever received. He then said I was second place "to a poem that rhymed Emile Heskey with Jet Ski" (although that's the only quote from the poem he gave). I'll take it.

A Poem for Nate and Kiri

A really should be feeling jealousy, I guess.

And the fact I'm not really feeling it is strange, I confess.

And, strictly in the interests of keeping it real

It wouldn't be so unusual a feeling to feel.

I mean, just take a step back and look at the two of you as a pair.

You go so well together its almost unfair

Being together, so lovely and sweet,

The nicest couple you could ever wish to meet

Ok, let me take a step back and explain what I mean

When I say I should be so envious it would make me green.

Nate, you're one of the greatest guys I've ever happened to befriend

I swell guy who never has a mean message to send

Always willing to look out for a misguided young lad

And give him some of the best advice he's ever had

And Kiri, boy am I jealous of you.

I've heard Nate talk in such flattering tones it's hard to believe they're true.

While I've met you only briefly, it's been a pleasant time

And I'm sure I'll get to know you more long after this rhyme

But together there's such a great relationship going

Which we can plainly see from the love that is showing

Ok, so let me wrap this up in a simple way.

I should be deeply jealous on this special day

It would be a perfectly natural thing to feel

To be jealous of a love so potent and real

But instead, I'm happy, I'm unfailingly glad

That you two met and had the chances you had

The fortune favoured you, fate was in your favour

And that fate can be so kind is a thought to savour

In fact, there's no one I'd wish this good luck to more

No one more deserving of such strong amore

So best of luck to the future, long may it continue

And the passion of love burn long within you

I'm so happy for you both, I hope I've made that clear

So there's just one final thing to say here

Have a great life, and live well together

And may these times continue forever.

from Harry

x

***

I'm going through and archiving my pre-2013 poems. Uploaded in 2025. I don't remember performing this one at the wedding, but I do remember it being the first non-family wedding I attended so it still holds a special place in my heart.

Growth

Growth was never just a physical thing.

It was never just about who had the greatest height,
About who's head was so close to the sun it nearly set alight,
About who had the advantage in leapfrog games,
And who, because they were different, and taller, felt shame.

I could go on like this, but I'm not going to.

Because although growing that way isn't a bad thing to do,
Its not the main avenue I would chose to pursue.
And I'll tell you, as brief and quickly as possibly I can,
'Cause I know people as important as you don't want to have to listen to a lecture from this idealistic young man.

So here goes.

I want to apologise, when I've done something wrong,
To realise and recognise that I'm weak as well as strong,
To accept that I might not achieve every opportunity under the sky,
But to also accept that's no reason not to try.
To try to talk and understand other points of view, not just shout and curse,
To understand that there's none better than me, but also none worse,
To never let apathy get in the way of doing what I believe to be right,
And in my quest to help others, to never give up this fight.

But hey, that's just me. I'm probably wrong. And I swear, I'll try to admit it when I am.

Just please don't ask me to grow up.

I'm already trying my best.

***

I'm trying to archive all my pre-2013 poems (in 2025). I'm glad to still have this one, because it my first ever published poem! I hope I still have the booklet somewhere. Written in a lunchtime and my first ever submission (an acceptance rate which would *not* continue), it also led to me being involved with the Oxfam group for around a year or so.

Open Mic Night 2012

 Alright. Last time I was here, doing a poem on my own, you were gracious enough to listen to me perform a slightly self-centred piece about me joining Mansfield.

I wouldn't be so mean as to make you guys hear me talk about myself again.

Instead, here's a poem about someone else. Someone who deserves a poem way more than myself. And, I almost feel like this could be a payment in some way, although I'm fully aware that this in no way makes up the debt.

Anyway, I've rambled enough here, so I might as well start rambling in rhyme form. Here goes.

I wanna say thank you, and this is something of which I'm in no doubt.
 Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to the staff, and the scouts.
See, for all the work they do cooking our meals and cleaning up our mess each day
I just feel not enough thanks goes their way.
And I think everyone here would agree
That that single fact is an utmost tragedy.
So I'm gonna say thank you, right now and right here
In front of you all, being most sincere

That I really am grateful, and I may not say it as often as is deserved
For cleaning up our college, making sure its kept preserved,
For providing some of the very best food in this university,
And for, even when we don't deserve it, always showing courtesy
For, whenever I have to get up at what I would deem an ungodly hour
Already being there cleaning, making my bitterness for the earliness sour
For making this place such a great place to live
Which it wouldn't be, without all the help you have to give

And I'm sorry, that I don't show as much appreciation as I should
And in front of you all, I really would,
Like to apologise, for if I run past without a single acknowledgement
Or, an apology from a whole college sent
I don't clean up as often as I should, and sometimes just leave stuff to clean
And, when I'm feeling down from the work I've received when tutors have been mean
To, regardless of how many hours I've spent over the same piece of paper, still say thank you, and smile
So, I'm pledging to make an effort, if just for a while

To make your difficult job that bit easier, and clean up a little bit
To not put my bin outside everyday with only a single wrapper in it
To put clothes away, before you need to clean my floor
To realise how much better my room looked than before

To never ignore you, but instead be grateful of all that you do.
And most of all, not forget, ever, to say thank you.

***

I'm going through and archiving all me pre-2013 poems (in 2025). This was the second ever open mic night I did at my college - the preamble is a reference to "5th week blues". I do vaguely remember performing this. Having "scouts" - cleaners who would come to your room and empty your bins once a week and hoover - felt very alien to me. Due to doing engineering and having very early lectures, I don't think I often was in when scout arrived anyway - others were often caught out while sleeping, which I think made them a little less charitable.

Bar Poem

I'm a travelling adventurer, a journeyman of kind
And I'd like to tell you about a place I visited, if y'all wouldn't mind
I could tell you tales from every corner of the land
But looking, I can tell you people aren't ones for stories of rivers and sand
No. I think more to your taste... Yes, definitely,... In all my travels, the best bar I've ever seen!
A place grand and cosy, yet always clean.
Always an armchair to sink into at the end of a long day
Off the beaten track, yet not too far out the way
Yet I'm missing a major point. It has the best drink you'll ever face
Where the alcohol is so amazing, its even to my delicate taste
The beer, you'll revere
The ale, you'll hail,
The wine, is fine
And if you don't get there quick, its mine
Not that theres any race.
Its a sedate pub, with many an old face
Theres no loud mouth drunks. No fights outside
Its a place all the inhabitants drink with pride.
In fact, let me tell you some advice heyo gave me
And this is all advice that was given most sagely
I went up to the guy at the bar, his head in a drink
It looked like, if he stooped much lower, he'd start to sink
So with all, politeness, I enquired his name
"I have none" he growled "Oh, what a shame
But do you not have a label, used by those who know you best"
"I had one" he replied "I now use it only in jest
So let me give you advice, my brand new acquaintance
You can't escape the past, no matter how much you give your memory maintenance
Better to embrace your mistakes, forgive wherever you can
Before its too late, and you become a shell of a man"
Now this was a tad depressing, but I accepted its truth
So I thanked him and searched for others under this roof
For one with a bit more humour in his tone
And I saw a guy smiling to himself, though he was alone
So I went and asked "Whats the reason for cheer"
And he looked me straight in the eye and said "Just being here
Just being and alive in a healthy state
And the friends whom I've been blessed to know by fate
To know I've got people who'll look out for me, if I'm feeling down
Man, thats enough to make me never want to frown

I'm trying to make sure I've archived my pre-2013 poems. This was uploaded in 2025. I'm not fully sure it's complete, but here it is anyway :)