AHEAD OF THE UNKNOWN

Very few of us will be untouched by what is happening in the world and not be saddened by it.

We will perhaps be wanting to help, but how?

As writers, poets, artists, and musicians, we have the ability to support change.

Wherever we are, there will be an element of change. I trust for most of us it will be a managed inconvenience. Sadly, for others, it will be disruptive and life-changing.

If there are rules that need adjusting, we need to write to our government to highlight them. For prompt action, time will be of the essence.

Writers are always a good source of information, with their vast and varied knowledge base. Use this talent to help others who might be struggling to find a way through the system. You will be amazed at how grateful people are to receive such help.

The most precious gift we as writers can give is to use our imaginations and pens to whisk the tired, depressed, sick, and the lonely to a better place. To stir emotions, hope, and laughter, allowing time for those suffering to know they are not alone and for them to gather strength from your amazingly informative and entertaining pens.

There are, of course, many other things we can do to encourage others to help, which I hope we already do. Yet it is with our pens we are most needed to press for change and to lift the spirit of our nation to assist mental health.

Our vital task is to tell the truth, avoiding fake news. Do not be fooled; ask or do your own diligent research.

We have watery sunshine and warmth here, birds chattering away. I am getting ready to do battle with a creaking iPad, hoping it will last till the end of the month. It will then be put into retirement, while I am challenged by a younger version. Oh, help, as I am able to make computers do what the manufacturers have never envisioned.

Let your pens flow with information and kindness till we meet here again another day.

©️2022 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen 💕🌹

Image by Dreamtime

​I WISH, HOW I WISH

I had listened to those voices so long ago.

Filled with pearls of wisdom, I find myself reinventing from time to time.

The multiple sounds of voices and accents, trying to share their wisdom gained from a generation before them.

Youth has impetuosity, fearlessness, “it won’t happen to me.

Leave me alone, you go on and on, why don’t you leave me alone?”

Alone! The day soon comes when being alone is not so cool.

You become responsible for everything in your life, I mean everything.

It becomes scary, lonely, until you can adjust to the reality of stepping into the real world.

Realigning might be taking a part-time job and a return to education.

Or developing an idea for a business and working at it tenaciously aiming to succeed.

Or knuckling down in a boring job to earn a living, even boring jobs can provide opportunities if you are brave enough to take them.

Love might step in and career plans might go in reverse, perhaps making you change your thinking on life in general.

Or the wide open spaces beckoning you to foreign adventures, some may prevent a return home again.

The opportunities and pitfalls are all there as you step into adulthood.

The wise listen to the past and carry improvements and hope into the future.

©️2026 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by Forbes

​I’M GOING TO BE HAPPY

I’m going to be happy.

I’m going to shake off the blues.

I’m going to try smiling.

At anyone who comes into view

And wait for someone to smile back in reply.

Hoping they will be comfortable enough to pass it on and on.

With this contagion, smiles will be on their way.

So some of you may be able to smile today.

Chasing any misery and dark moods far away.

Have a Happy Day

©️2025 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen.

Image by castle Dental

TERROR ROAMS

Leaving home now is not a natural thing.

Fear sometimes cloaks and surrounds you as you go innocently on your way,

Hoping you will not meet a knife-carrier on the street today.

It is amazing that they have not learnt that it does not give them strength.

It is the means to take their own life away, too.

After the attack, many perpetrators are caught within hours and, after a trial, are packed into jail.

Under threat from attack by other criminals, never knowing who has your back.

Afraid to be alone or join one of a pack, or to be singled out for too much praise,

Which gives rise to other inmates’ jealousy and rage.

Leaving two families in different ways forever changed; no way back.

So, before you pick up the knife, just remember it has the power to destroy many lives,

Not just now but for generations to come, destroying yours, too.

If not caught, the guilt will weigh you down and fear will reside in your chest.

You will never be the man you wanted to be, a man of worth, respected.

Cloaked, not in fear, but in the arms of generations of a loving family.

The choice is yours, mine too, never to carry a knife anywhere with you.

© 2022 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by Getty Images

​I AM HAVING A GRUMBLE

I am having a grumble, I am having a moan.

When a questionnaire falls through the letter box into my home.

With print so tiny, I just cannot see.

The message they are attempting to deliver to me.

If only you would make the print a little bolder.

I would happily and honestly comply with any questions required in your folder.

©️2026 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by Dreamstime

MISERY IS NOT ALWAYS VISIBLE ON THE FACE

Misery is not easy to see, as many comedians will attest, when seeking help.

Others hide the pain till it is too late to complain, and lock themselves away to end it all, leaving shock and horror at the ending of a talent so rare and much loved, one bringing fun and laughter to many and increasing their listeners’ well-being.

Questions hang in the air: why did we not notice?

Was there anyone close enough to listen? They must have been very lonely and desperate.

If you have miserable feelings and self-loathing, talk to someone you trust or ring MIND. TALKING COSTS NOTHING, yet could be pricelessly waiting to help you.

The charity,  Mind Support Line is 0300 102 1234 (England and Wales only)

© 2026 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by istock

​I WALKED

I walked my way to happiness.

It was painful, it is true.

Each step brought back a tender memory of you.

I have to confess, I had let things go; I was not at my best.

Keeping myself to myself, staying in bed longer each day.

Dragging myself up for a drink, to watch the TV display.

Till one day, an invitation to take a walk in a beautiful nearby place burst from the screen.

It was a favourite of ours; you would remember it well.

Somehow I found the strength, I know not from where.

To wash, dress, and activate myself, to join the walk.

I hovered at the edge of a small group, till beckoned in.

We each walked at a slow, steady pace, in dribs and drabs.

Quiet murmurs exchanged when comfortable; an hour was spent walking, taking in the view.

Exercising muscles, shaky at best, a halt was called for, a hot brew and a crunchy biscuit. 

Exchanging information and invitations of other walks to join if I wanted too. 

I remembered times you walked with me, talking, loving, trying to put the world to rights.

We were called to order to walk our way back.

I took a deep breath, a last look around, at the sky and the ground, before following the group.

I felt tired but different, hard to explain, determined to go at least once again.

Now I am a new man, qualified to take groups of adults and children at weekends and holiday times, on happiness walks.

Walks saved me, and new ones top up my happiness feelings from time to time.

©️2026 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by StockCake

​AN ACT OF KINDNESS

On approaching the bus stop yesterday, in brilliant sunshine, there was a lovely young lady already sitting there. I said, “Hello, has the bus gone yet?”

“Not yet,” she replied smiling, “but I am not waiting for a bus. I am just waiting to go to a care home for an interview. I used to be a midwife in my own country. I cannot afford to update here to receive an English qualification; it is so expensive. So I thought I would work as a carer, before training as a general nurse.”

I felt quite sad as we are so short of midwives, as I am sure her country is as well.

Suddenly she asked if I had a tissue. I said, “Yes.”

Then she said, “Not for me, but you have some lipstick on your tooth.”

I thanked her for kindly pointing it out. What a lovely young woman, I wished her well as she made her way to her appointment.

It started me thinking of some other instances of possible embarrassment in public.

Walking around with a shop label still attached to new clothes.

Ladies, skirts caught up in underwear when leaving a public toilet.

Gentlemen not buttoning up after using a toilet facility.

Missed-matched socks or shoes put on in the dark.

Going out without false teeth or eye in situ.

At a lovely wedding, the groom while kneeling declared to all the price of his shoes stuck on his soles. It caused a bit of merriment for a while after.

I am sure you could add many more to this list.

I hope that more of us would have the courage to quietly inform the victim of such an incident. 

I was glad my young lady told me. I wonder if her interview was successful.  I do hope it was.

©️2026 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by Vecteezy

​BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Sitting in a taxi, idly glancing as we slip past door after door and streets broad and narrow.

Past road works and traffic jams hindering our carefully timed arrival.

A thought gathered pace: nearby town houses are arranged in tightly spaced terraces with concreted front gardens for cars. Or towering in high-rise homes, hoping the lifts will keep functioning.

Each door has an individual invitation, stamped and decorated with the owner’s taste. 

Unless they are rented from an estate, then no choice is allowed as they march uniformly in the obligatory regimented line.

Gathering speed, we slip to the edge of town, the houses larger and further apart, with gardens colourfully manicured, stand proud. Till finally the countryside comes into view, revealing farms, wide open spaces, with tucked-away small hamlets and villages, appearing to stretch the view and senses.

On our way back, I wondered, who lived behind the closed doors?

Just because a house looked grand, even elegant with a dark green, shiny painted door, with a brilliantly polished brass door knocker and letter box. With curtains beautifully draped, all inviting a second look. 

It may hide a family in terror of abuse, or awaiting financial ruin and unseen unhappiness.

Yet to the outside observer, it is to be envied. “Wish I could live in a house like that, lucky people.”

Other houses looking tired, even neglected, can contain an older couple, waiting to say goodbye to all they hold dear.

Or a family living in amazing happiness, on limited means, yet sharing what they have with others in the neighbourhood. 

It is hard to know what goes on behind closed doors.

©️2026 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Photo by LPD Carolina

SLIPPING BY

The sun shone relentlessly day by day,

Shrivelling up to a crisp all around it.

Humans and animals surveyed the sky for respite.

A shower, however brief, would bring relief.

The sky slowly darkened and spread horizon to horizon.

The wind started to blow, fracturing dried, wizened vegetation.

Cascades of brittle plants, leaves, and dust created movement along the ground.

Gathering in heaps in obstructive corners.

Hope rose, rain blessed rain, let it fall, please let it fall.

The sky slowly lightened, and the sun appeared again as strong as before.

Hope vanished, even seagulls screeched in disappointment.

The drought is not over; another heat wave is on its way.

We each need to seriously, very seriously, think about how we use our water daily.

Community hose pipe bans are now in place.

Flush only poo, ration our showers, use wet wipes, or flannels and a wash basin of water to refresh ourselves too.

Don’t let the taps run free, wasting water you have paid for, running back to the rivers.

To be recycled to the dwindling supplies in the reservoirs.

With fish dying as the rivers and streams in patches start to dry and stop their flow. 

The time to act is now; there is no time to waste.

The whole world needs to rearrange its water supply, as nature and man are making big changes.

New reservoirs are needed to store water when it is abundant. 

Science is exploring better ways to manage and recycle water more efficiently, in many instances.

We need to do our best to assist, as without clean water, no creature in this world can exist.

©️2026 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by ourrossmoor

CLEANING SILVER

A labour of love for some, yet many a maid or manservant’s task of weekly dread. 

My great-aunt devoted Thursday nights to upstairs bed changing and cleaning. Then Friday evenings were devoted to cleaning downstairs and all her many pieces of silver.

Saturday was for shopping, banking, and buying a beautiful bunch of seasonal flowers, to brighten up the sitting room, arranged in a big heavy crystal vase. (Which I still have brightening up mine.)

I was extremely grateful it was a small terraced house when I stayed from time to time. Though the conversations and laughter we shared were delightful and treasured by me.

©️ 2026 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by The Spruce

​WILD FIRES

Wild fires are testing fire fighters in many parts of the World at the moment. Lack of rain for months in some places, is making it very difficult. Whole populations and their animals are on the move, to escape the smoke and fire.

Always report smoke, do not wait to see flames or which way the smoke is going. Fires can create their own weather systems, and change directions in a flash.

The prayer is for rain and our grateful thanks to the firemen.

Stay safe, possessions are replaceable in time, human life is lost forever. Take care and help one another.

©️2023 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by Rosie.org

​I ONLY EVER DREAMT OF ONE LOVE

I only ever dreamt of one love.

Someone who would love only me.

Who, on our first date, would make my heart race

And breath hesitate a moment in my chest.

That’s when I knew you were the one for me.

You knew it, too, as our eyes met and our hands touched for that brief introductory moment.

A flicker of a thrill and excitement passed between us; we knew this was the start of our special time.

’Til the day you asked, “My darling, will you always be mine?”

Our troth was pledged; we never strayed to love another.

The children arrived, seasons passed, and still we remain together, love growing all the time.

We now know the love we found will last ’til the end of our days.

© 2026 Penny Wobbly of WobblingPen

Image by istock