​TO THE SEA

To the sea, to the sea; driving down the A3.

Traffic hold-ups here and there hindering me.

Family on board, packed in tight.

Kayaks secured fast, against being tugged, off out of sight.

Causing an accident that would not be right.

To the sea to the sea; weather is just what is needed.

Sunshine, no rain and light breezes.

We have arrived. This is where we are staying; it looks just fine.

Unpack the luggage; then it is kayak time.

Together we carry them down to the water’s edge.

To be launched into the sea, the sea, the element they were built for.

Wading out, chilling legs to climb aboard, to take the first paddle dips.

Now we are both able to enjoy the freedom and challenge of the weather and the sea.

Taking new memories and thrills of seaside kayaking adventures into the future.

© 2026 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by shutterstock

​BIRD SONG

Sitting here in dwindling sunshine, 

Gentle breezes brushing and ruffling my hair.

Birds singing their final beautiful bedtime messages.

Before settling on their favourite swinging boughs. 

As darkness encroaches, they cuddle together,

To stay safely silent for the night.

2026 ©️Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by public domain pictures

COURAGE

Courage shows in many ways at the moment the act occurs, either natural disaster or man-made. At that moment, you do something extraordinary and are called brave, a hero applauded.

Courage is needed for much longer, private, unseen by others. As you deal with the memories, the pain, the agonising losses, and the struggle to find yourself and a new life to live.

That takes real courage.

2026 © Penny’s Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by wordsofencouragementinchrist

STRUGGLING ROSE

I watched your arrival, slowly and surely, cruelly timed in a heat wave.

A bud struggling to open to its full potential.

Sadly, not this time.

Yet you managed to achieve what nature intended you to do. 

Flowering a little squashed, yet able to present pollen and nectar for the hungry, weather-battered  bees.

2026 © Penny’s Wobbly of WobblingPen

AN IMPORTANT CALCULATION

The world is heating up due to the mismanagement of the environment by human beings; this we are told and know to be  true.

There are, however, large and growing toxic clouds of damaging debris, the result of wars and exploding ordnance and buildings, which are not, as far as general awareness, included in the calculations for general knowledge.

Did you know it plays a part in climate change?

2026 © Penny’s Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by image generation system

​THE MATCH

Meticulously planned years ahead for two world-winning teams playing head-to-head. Fans of both pour from all four corners of the Earth to cheer their heroes on for all they are worth.

They share boats, planes,cars, and bikes so they arrive on that special night. The lucky find places to stay with friends, family, or in grand hotels. Others are clustered under trees on hard ground, dreaming of winning.

During the day, music pounds, dancers sway, as singers sing their songs, adding to the building excitement. As food and drink are consumed, they are ready to make their way to the stadium to cheer their heroes on.

The fans stream to their chosen stand ends to shout their encouragement to their national side, throwing words, some unmentionable, to distract the other side's players on the field.

National anthems are sung, fidgeted through as, like thoroughbred horses, they are highly strung, braced, ready to go. The referee points to the spot after a coin spin, declaring which end they choose to play first. 

The players gather in their allotted places, identifying numbers and colours on their kit. The referee calls them to order, and the whistle blows. The crowd roars. The ball is spinning on its way.

Four quarters are played before the end, and there can be only one heroic national winner. In worldwide homes, streets, and bars, the winners will be celebrated, their names engraved in the memories of all who were proud to have been there, the match told and retold.

The losers, hurt by pride, with “if only” bursting through, at the loss of the so-longed-for prize of World Cup winners. They have to realise they, too, are winners to have reached the semi-final of World Football, in front of millions and millions of fans.

It means they, too, are at the top of their game, going home with pride, to celebrate and prepare for the next strong international side, and another World Cup Final game now four years away.

2026 © Penny’s Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by Pexels

PIANO TUNE

I heard a piano tinkling a tune.

Starting slowly, awakening me from a gentle dream.

My body began to stir, to awaken to the tug of each note.

My feet started moving in a rhythm all of their own.

My body responded, too, stretching and moving in time with the tune.

Before sitting up and balancing myself, important before being enticed down onto the floor.

The piano tempo began to increase as I reached my arms up over my head in response to the notes.

Swaying my torso with increased vigour, taking deeper breaths.

The impulsive rhythms swung me in a dance around my bed.

My muscles stopped their complaints and moved in a smoother, amazing, floaty glide.

As I made my way to the bathroom just as the piano tinkling faded, to be heard no more.

I stopped in front of the mirror, fully awake, 

for the ablutions and the beginning of, I hope, a fun day.

2026 © Penny’s Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by Pexels

IN A MINUTE

In a minute, you are safe, secure in one world.

Suddenly, you have somehow left the now and become when.

Cancer has made the difference.

All your perimeters change; the future is now uncertain.

You are setting off on a different path, feeling so immediately alone.

Why me? Why me? 

You look around at the doctor, nurse, and the love of your life.

I may not be with you much longer, but I might.

There is hope! 

I can have treatment to contain it; I have been advised.

I might die of something else or be cured by the rapidly developing new cancer drugs.

I might be lucky; only time will tell; it takes only a minute for life to change.

I AM JUST GOING TO LIVE EACH MINUTE WELL.

2026 ©️Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by Pexels

HELP IS COMING

“Have you got everything? Are you sure? It is a long way.”

“You worry too much, Mum. I’ll be fine. There are a lot of us, so no worries, please. Love you.”

The car door slammed, and the car disappeared down the road. She was off.

“What an adventure: to help children you have never met on the other side of the world. I am so proud of you, all of you,” I whispered as I shut the door.

An orphanage in the Philippines needed a hall where the children could assemble for education, sport, and fun, especially in the monsoon weather. The children in several schools in the UK were asked to volunteer to do a sponsored 40-kilometre walk so a hall could be built.

ANCOP, meaning answering the cry of the poor, is a Catholic charity organising the walk. They started in the afternoon and walked through the night, in the dark, chattering excitedly at what might lie ahead, and encouraging one another as things became tougher.

As darkness fell, tiredness and strange noises intruded. “What was that?” “Only an owl.” “I have just seen a fox; saw its eyes in the dark first.” “I never knew there were so many moths and other insects and creatures active at night while I slept.”

Some families and pets joined the last few kilometres to encourage their children to the 

finish line. What an adventure: new friendships made, new stories and memories to carry into the future, of the day, and night, their combined efforts brought joy, care, and friendship to others unknown, thousands of miles away and in need.

2026 © Penny’s Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by Pexels

SUN-SAPPED

Summer, always longed for after a grey winter.

The gradual warming and apparel changing.

Thick coats, boots stowed away, as lightweight garments are brought into play.

Not this year. A sudden arrival of temperature rises.

Off the scale, it sits over us night and day.

Delight at summer’s arrival stripped away,

As we awaken tired, already exhausted, to face another, another, and yet another heat-sapping, temperature-breaking night and day.

Work, school, sports and any outdoor activities kept to the minimum. 

Opening windows to gaze hopefully at the sky,

Searching for any rain clouds to soak the land, release the heat for all living things.

The children cry in anguish, “When is it going to be cooler?”

The elderly, too; breathing is hard.

Closing the curtains to deflect the heat, leaving homes darker and a tiny bit cooler.

Animals instinctively seek shade and respite, yet there is little or none to be had.

Another night, another day, the weather forecasters say.

It will break with violent storms, so keep weather aware.

“The shops have run out of ice, ice cream, and cold lollipops; a disaster.”

At last, awakening early, a sight for sore eyes: wet patio and refreshed gardens releasing new fresh smells.

Time to open windows and doors, allowing in the much fresher, cooler air.

Bathing in the luxury of coolness, easing the heat through my flimsy night clothes,

I release my plea: please, Mr Sun, be kinder to us and reduce any advance-planned sapping, long summer heat runs, as summer has only just begun.

2026 © Penny’s Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by Pexels

THE POINT OF A MOSQUITO?

It was born with the loudest approach warning noise, compared to its size, in the insect world, which made killing it in single numbers easier to do.

Any sound of its incessant whining arrival sends humans and animals in a spin, trying to kill it before it has time to land and inject the skin.

Humans dive under bedclothes, hoping it will give up and move away; not always that easy, so lights on, paper or book in hand, you dive around the bedroom, giving vicious swipes, not always successfully, especially when it settles somewhere high up out of reach.

There it craftily stays quiet ’til the lights are off and you are back in bed. Then it launches the next whining, searching attack, and you get up once more to fight back.

Mosquitoes are part of the ecosystem, food for fish and other underwater creatures, when they are in their larva form. When adults, they become food for birds and other land creatures.

They are also plant pollinators when they land on flowers to collect nectar.

They are dangerous to us only if we are allergic to their secretions, or if they have bitten and sucked blood from a human or animal with a disease, which is then passed on when they bite us.

I am so glad I am not a mosquito.

🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟 🦟

2026 © Penny’s Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by istockimage

BUBBLING ALONG

The sound of running water bubbling over rocks.

Creating small waterfalls where leaves spiral about and overtake one another.

Together, they go on to a long, spiralling drop.

To be forced to the surface and propelled out to the quieter edges.

Where they take advantage of a bit of a rest.

Before being caught and rushed along at speed, battered and bruised, shedding bits to drop to the river bed.

Where tiny fish nudge the debris along in a little game.

Before finally gobbling them up as food, at the end of a fun-filled day.

2026 © Penny’s Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by flicker