Katy,
Puzzling opposites: Captive/free, black/blood, fighting/triviality,It is only a guess, but the first stanza reads a bit like a damsel in a tower...until the question.
The second like memories of `domesticity` reviving, but not quite getting through (from downstairs?)
The third stanza ends with `understanding` `bonding`(so all is well again?)
The last stanza points to an unequal bonding `my worship` and the `brazen`, the `dirt` the`nakedness` and mention of the religious `sin` and `punishment` and `confess` and `redeem` being linked with the not very redeeming `indulge` give it a sort of dominatrix feel.(or is that the picture?)...However the ending of`absolution` signifies that all is well.
(This is a genuine attempt to understand what is going on in the poem)
For some inexplicable reason it made me keep thinking about the old Irish saying about someone `having mercy on their own soul`.
Comment is about The Cottage (Blog entry)
Original item by Katypoetess
Some great lines - agree with the comment about the last verse. As for the bet mentioned: a win "Yankee" - a favourite of an old colleague, always an optimist. The bookies love 'em!
Comment is about Betting on a Photo (Blog entry)
Original item by Ray Miller
Hi Katy, glad you liked my autumnal offering. Free fireworks on so many days lately. Been walking through the most amazing colours in the forests today. Win
Comment is about Katypoetess (Poet profile)
Original item by Katypoetess
Thank you Harry for your comment.
Hazel
Comment is about (Poet profile)
Hazel,
nicely done acrostic...but all it needed for a title was a clue to the subject,(let them work out it`s an acrostic themselves)
Comment is about WAR OF WORDS (Acrostic) (Blog entry)
Hugh,
Blimey! double whammy TWO last lines.
They`re gettin` even better.
(you`re not not startin` to worry about the Femists are you?)
Comment is about Female brains !!! (Blog entry)
Original item by hugh
I'm glad you enjoyed it Hugh - you comments always give me encouragement to keep at it!
Katy
Comment is about hugh (Poet profile)
Original item by hugh
.. Please stop this .. my wife's laughing !!
Comment is about Female brains !!! (Blog entry)
Original item by hugh
Hello Graham..your comments are absolutely right. I wrote it quickly while listening to Arvo Part on utube and didn't re-read .. the bell is a ref. to the tinnitus in my left ear which won't stop .. have altered bits .. thanks.
Comment is about Graham Sherwood (Poet profile)
Original item by Graham Sherwood
Brilliant!!!Rich in words,rhythm and rhyme.Well done.
Comment is about The Cottage (Blog entry)
Original item by Katypoetess
Enjoyed this little snapshot of human life John - beautifully read too. Every day I wake up wondering when that lightning bolt is going to flash from the clouds above, reducing me to a small pile of smouldering ash!
To take up Harry's point we need both the conscious and selfish impulses contained in all human beings. The collective conscience to ensure our survival as a species; as in the "hive mind" of bees and ants. To take it to its logical conclusion, our earth/solar system has a finite life, and if we are to extend our survival we will have to cooperate to find a way off a failing planet. Our selfish survival instinct (taken to extremes by some) is the extension of the fight/flight instint that both aids our own survival and promotes competition; which, in itself fosters progress and discovery. These two human traits have always been in conflict. Both are necessary; without them we would simply live content in our own stagnation.
Karma, now that's a different thing altogether involving "divine intervention" - for those who believe . . .
Regards,
A.E.
Comment is about Karma (Blog entry)
Original item by John Coopey
Having just returned from a very wet week in Cornwall this struck a strong chord with me. Verse four is classic!
Comment is about song - the season's over... (Blog entry)
Original item by Ann Foxglove
Thanks all for your constructive comments, really appreciate it, and glad you enjoyed it.
Yes, it is autobiographical but I used a tidgy bit of poetic licence ;)
Sid - there's another aspect to rainbows...they're all about the light, aren't they? How light is perceived, made, how they're ephemeral.
I may put that to 'at 84' then.
Chris/Is - cheers, yep, I wanted it to show the door ajar and light again at the end to reinforce the message about how he DID bring light into my life. I was a very unhappy child most of the time, but spending time with him made it bearable. And you're bang on with how that kind of relationship is now frowned upon due to the abuses which have always happened. Which is really sad, considering how much I got out of my relationship with him,and what he must have got from me.
Am still not sure whether to keep the italics...will mull a bit more on that.
Thanks again you lot :)
Comment is about I used to call him Grandad (Blog entry)
Original item by Laura
Always admire your work, Laura, and I very much enjoyed this. I like the way 84 could be interpreted 2 ways, love "shufflecoughing" and particularly like the verses in itallics.
Comment is about I used to call him Grandad (Blog entry)
Original item by Laura
Hi Imprisoned Beauty,
I think you were set an impossible task in trying to write a definition of poetry. If you have time to study the discussion boards here then you will see that many attempts have been made over the years, without any convincing result. Poetry seems to be many things to many people, and like an eel, just when you think you've got a grip on it it wriggles through your fingers. However, I'm right with you when you say that it's one of those things you just "feel."
Love the title of this piece, very apt. For just ten minutes - and under pressure I think you've done yourself credit!
Welcome to WOL by the way. Hope you have fun and find friends here.
Regards,
A.E.
Comment is about A Poem Is Just Ink in the Shape Of (Blog entry)
Original item by Irina
I love the "edgyiness" of this, it hints at that all is not what it seems, and leave me wanting to know more about the before and after...
Katy
Comment is about Bloody Valentine (Blog entry)
Original item by Tommy Carroll
I relate to this. Nice one. Take care, Tony.
Comment is about Bastards (Blog entry)
Original item by melanie coady
Like this a lot. More please. Hope to see a blog as well. Take care, Tony.
Comment is about Ashley Fisher (Poet profile)
Original item by Ashley Fisher
Sadly you are right Chris. I don't have such warm memories of an old man I once knew as a child - and I'd never be encouraging my kids to step into anyone's light in that way. I do regret their loss of freedom though.
All that being said, this is a lovely poem that kind of restores your faith in the good side of human nature.
I like the way the poem opens and closes on the door, the light and the play on that idea; by the end of the poem it's pretty obvious that Seamus brings light into the life of the poet - and that for me is the central theme.
It IS a rewarding read - and very deftly executed. For what it's worth, I like the title. It's unsentimental but catches you, especially after a second read.
Comment is about I used to call him Grandad (Blog entry)
Original item by Laura
A sinister little dream sequence that Alfred Hitchcock would have felt at home with. Dum-de-dum-dum-de-dum-de-dum...remember the music for his TV series? I posted a poem once about having a nightmare from which it wasn't possible to wake. Join the club of us weirdos! LOL.
Comment is about The Creepy Old House (Blog entry)
Original item by Shirley Smothers
Just made a few adjustments to the blog, shifting our samples to the right to make more space for comments.
Comment is about Stockport WoL (Poet profile)
Original item by Stockport WoL
A new night from Half Evil, all welcome, thanx Jeff 333 Promotions
Comment is about Performance - Open mic Poetry & Music @ Cadence Cafe C.I.C - Tyldesley, Gtr Mcr (Poet profile)
Original item by Performance - Open mic Poetry & Music @ Cadence Cafe C.I.C - Tyldesley, Gtr Mcr
A sad and chilling poem brilliantly written,displaying disappointment and trauma in so few lines.
Comment is about Daddys girl (Blog entry)
Original item by Kath Hewitt
Enjoyed reading this a fabulous flow of unique phrasing.As for a title----"Me !"
Comment is about No title (Blog entry)
Original item by Kath Hewitt
A big WAW !!!So simple but magnificent.
Comment is about For a moment (Blog entry)
Original item by Kath Hewitt
Fantastic! Well done. Take care, Tony.
Comment is about Man Flu (Blog entry)
Original item by Dave Carr
J.S.Watts reading at the 2012 MK Paint Jam.
Comment is about J.S.Watts (Blog entry)
Original item by J.S.Watts
Hi Tony,
Thank you for leaving a comment. A nice surprise in my inbox!
Kath x
Comment is about tony sheridan (Poet profile)
Original item by tony sheridan
I once saw "Do not drive or operate machinery" on a bottle of cough medicine for babies! Take care, Tony.
Comment is about Tiramisu (Blog entry)
Original item by Lynn Dye
fantastic use of language.Love the change of style
Comment is about XXX factor (Blog entry)
Original item by Patricia and Stefan Wilde
Oh, I love that one, John! Thanks for that, how crazy.
Thank you, Tony.
Comment is about Tiramisu (Blog entry)
Original item by Lynn Dye
John,
Just come on, late and tired, but your blog woke me up a bit.
Where on earth does conscience come from? And why do, not only most religions or faiths, but also all of the secular psycho analytical world, talk so much about it?
It is quite obvious that people don`t always get what they deserve here on earth, So why do so many of us so fiercly desire that they should?
And why does atheistic Humanism strive so ardently to make us be fair and nice to each other...why should we? It is obvious that many who aren`t fair at all often do very well at the expense of those of us who are?
The bankers got many more millions than they deserved (not to mention the social security fiddlers who - between them - probably got billions)...And all at the expense of the ones who were genuine claimants.
Many - if not most - of the poems on here rail against injustice...Why? It`s not good enough to say that it is merely a human `instinct`, The `instinct` to fiddle is just as human. Why do we praise the one and condemn the other.
Your conscience (for that`s what it is) argues a sound bringing up...and it`s an excellent point from which to start thinking about `the meaning of life`...For why the hell should we worry about conscience if life has no meaning anyway?
Thanks for waking me up.
Comment is about Karma (Blog entry)
Original item by John Coopey
Very enjoyable Laura.
My favourite lines were;
Quote
weaving magic wrapped in words
from ancient mariners
for little girls
Unquote
I very much liked the decision to bring the poem full circle. The opening words, told again; now doing so in the revealed light of all that has gone before. In a sense these words are not the same, despite being the very same.
There is a joy and a sadness in this, at least there is for me looking in. I very much doubt such relationships are likely to exist anymore. As a child, I too formed wonderful relationships with older people. Even if it was just chatting with a next door neighbour about cars, sheds or cricket etc.
The wonder and connection between children and the elderly is of course well known and a cliche, probably because of the common truth of it.
Modern life has of course revealed the terrible minority that have done and would do a child harm. As a result, maybe rightly, things are much more protective these days. How sad though that children may miss out on the wonderment of the relationships that we had (if this is from personal experience, perhaps I presume too much due to the quality of the writing).
Very enjoyable poem.
Best
Chris
Comment is about I used to call him Grandad (Blog entry)
Original item by Laura
Ha ha! Oh yeah. Through all of it. It's a wonder it makes any sense at all.
Comment is about Corridor- the urban desert (Blog entry)
Original item by Cathy Crabb
I love the first verse and the 2nd is fine but you must've still been pissed when you wrote the rest, yeah?
Comment is about Corridor- the urban desert (Blog entry)
Original item by Cathy Crabb
I think "at 84" increases the ambiguity a bit.I should leave the title as it is, maybe lose the italics, not really necessary.
Amidst the chip-pan air, shufflecoughing and rusty iron coils, rainbow stripe sticks out. Maybe that's as it should be. I'd have gone for summat more restrained.
Comment is about I used to call him Grandad (Blog entry)
Original item by Laura
Thankyou Laura and Cathy.
Comment is about Betting on a Photo (Blog entry)
Original item by Ray Miller
Full of lovely images and I enjoyed reading it Laura. Well done.
Comment is about I used to call him Grandad (Blog entry)
Original item by Laura
Thanks for commenting about Facebook, Izzy.
I think it's one of those conjugatable verbs:
I communicate with the wider world
You post your news
They write dross
Comment is about Isobel (Poet profile)
Original item by Isobel
Hello Lynn.
Glad you liked Facebook.
I think we're all as guilty as each other in enjoying something quite so inane.
Comment is about Lynn Dye (Poet profile)
Original item by Lynn Dye
Harry O'Neill
Sun 21st Oct 2012 20:18
Chris,
Going to miss this one as I`m off to Scotland for a week.
I know you`re all going to enjoy David Bateman though.
Comment is about ThePoetry Spoke October - Poetry Night & Guests (Blog entry)
Original item by Chris Co