the concrete road

still dark and darkening night, the dead cold of dying winter,

rain against the windscreen, speed in easy, selfish solitude.

my shirt gives up the scent of soap.

(i have no other dream.)

noise surrounds me, the oil-ribbed sounds of a lost summer,

the meaningless bypass between here and some other place.

yet hands formed this path.

(i have no othe...

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Her poem punched holes in the blind-eyed walls,

made beats with her teeth

and bullets with her tongue.

Bang bang went her gun

made of eloquent rage

as she kicked out ire on a war-torn page.

She drank deep of electricity,

crackling ferocity;

there is no mediocrity in her world's eye.

Now her fire feeds mine

and our minds come alive

and we rise like lions a...

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She genius places a pause
that makes the poem
her season founded 
here without support
in this one breath 
and now rush headlong breathless
into her weightless pause
epitome of the examined life
of life
a betweentimes equal to Art
reserving this space 
for two blasts from the brass 
not at war

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I remember the first day we made eye contact 
Because that's the day my life turned around 
I knew from that very moment 
True love is what I had found 

The way you looked in my eyes 
And flashed me your beautiful smile 
Told me from that very moment 
Your what I was looking for all the while 

The way that you make me feel inside 
Takes my every breath away 
I've never come across an...

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I've worked my socks off to keep my family safe . And now they are adults . I will always do the same . I will speak my mind . And try my very best . To see that their allowed  . To live and progress . It's been hard work never knowing how or when . My illnesses will take me or will they ever end . One step after another when your always feeling ill . A good day or a bad day  . Sometimes you just ...

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Have you ever wondered if your neuronic arrangement possesses demonic derangement?(Answers can be submitted in poetic or demonic form).

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Pat, Stuart, Andy, Christian George,

Tory George, Nick, Jan and Rose

We see clear to another day

1967 and the Hippy trail

Landed in Golden Gate Park

Palo Alto was

Looking for a revolution

And this is it: no beheadings, no murder,

No mass rape, no forced conversions,

No any nastyanyfuckingthing

It's just a box of rain

I don't know who put it there

Such a long-lon...

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sorrowfully homing in on failure

mourners of the defeated warriors of ill intent  

unable to have darkened lifes illuminations

or shake any from their happy mantlings.

My dreams rejecting each and every one of their shadowing attempts

as I lie within my fortress of becalmed sleep

wrapped in the loosened moon dipped tourniquet of night

blind eyed to the huddled coweri...

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Your beauty has no bounds your strength has no limits

You run through my veins like the oxygen in my blood

Your eyes mesmerise me your skin is soft

Your hair is silky your popularity is of the scale

Your vibe is unreal you taste delicious

I tried the fruit from you tree and want to live, survive and thrive from it

I touched your skin and want to touch no more skins ran my finge...

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The clear path to freedom is going underneath
With the sight forbidden, and the clinging of keys
In the darkness of night to travel among trees
As underground railway brought North the slaves beneath

Don't let the smell wander to the nose of the dogs
Don't let the crackling sound scare to the shaking knees
Don't let the trace of feet be the waiting disease
Don't let food out to dry for th...

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Running into you

I enjoy running into people

I've met in rush hour

I choose someone of a

Different age race sex

And I brush against

Their headsets 

Briefcases and purses

Always making eye contact

So they don't mistake

My intentions in this way

I can save their faces

And dream of them until

Anxiety and pills 

Take hold of me ar...

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Homeward Bound

A simple wooden boat glides

across a sea of immense tranquility

No engine or sail to propel her forward

only a gentle movement to traverse

I am a solitary figure

on an empty open deck

Ahead lies the promontory of 

a land which is the horizon before us

with a setting sun behind

Closer I see the silhouettes

of people waving a loft

They beckon f...

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I've always been disgusted to see old blokes who'd pissed down their fronts.  Well, I suppose that age has now granted me some wisdom into this phenomenon, which I ascribe to a number of factors.

1.  As a man gets older his waistline thickens so he pulls his trousers up ever higher to his narrowest girth, usually just under his tits. (The significance of this will soon be apparent).

2.  This...

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we choose,

some lose

young old,

weak bold

colours pall,

fortunes fall

care less,

reap mess

woman man,

also-ran

colours shift,

fortunes drift

weather storm,

regain norm

recriminations,

action stations

colours tally,

fortunes rally

© Graham Sherwood 06/2017

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A pebble sat upon a beach and thought, as would a stone,

Of whether in the Universe it was a soul alone.

For it could see no evidence to otherwise disprove

That rocks had not the wherewithal to think or talk or move.

And there with countless coloured stones, all smooth and weatherworn,

Supressed its angst, lay motionless, stayed quiet and forlorn.

Through summers and through winter...

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Pick a side; your call. But I guarantee 

the grass is greener on the other.

They've beaten you one way or another,

just like your pathetic predecessors. 

Look at you - a sweaty, neurotic mess,

dribbling the last of your whisky chaser

down your chest while glaring at the laptop 

with your back hunched. You grip your shaking hands,

praying that the Argentine footbal...

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We lie 
deep 
in love's
past illusions,

in speckled 
darkness.

a greed 
of loves 
hunger
drives us.

under a
cantaloupe 
slice moon
delicious.

my hollowed 
self
shimmers 
in your 
reflection.

I can not
hide from
you. 

though light 
beckons us,

over the 
horizon,

we will have
none of it.

we slumber
in the 
belly 
of the 
darkness
that engulfs 
us,

unwilling 
...

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An imagined mountain of salt

being poured into an invented wound.

Patricia Wilde

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The man turned to see

her lain upon the bed

The glimmering girl with

apple blossom hair

The wind from the sea

caressed her cheeks

Whispered lullabies

far too sweet

Rising from the edge

of dark reverie

He threw a shadow

upon her face

A rippled splash

in which he sank

Like silver trout

after the fly

And down the hall

retraced his step...

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You asked me what my intentions are,

 I am the one driving this bus,

 I'm not going in any particular direction, and not looking for any more than this.

Now if hindsight is 20/20

And I could look back at what may have been,

A life that we could have shared,

I can't regret what I've built and what I've been,

The only thing I wish is if you could have been there,

Do you ...

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Some days I sit and smell the breeze
To forget about the inside and enjoy what isn't me.
My mirror becomes the meadow surrounded by trees
And the knobs on my knees are the roots underneath.

On the days I feel weak, I go to this place
Where the dew of my eyes becomes the rain.
Until it fills in puddles with the sun encased;
Caught in its reflection, never to come out again.

I wish to be...

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moor walking the dog

beneath an uninteresting sky

matching my mood.

Some obese ugly guy

over confident and stupid

in assuming his facial looks alone

gave him a right-ticket

to stop and ask me

an out of this world type question

of would I be interested sharing

what becomes so easy to see as being

his empty unpromising future.

at that point

I had no n...

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What is a disability?

Is it there for all to see? 

Do they look a little special,

Or just a bit like me. 

Maybe there is a wheel chair,

Crutches or a splint.

What about the eye patch?

Is there just a little hint?

What about that limp he has?

Or the crooked looking stance?

Some just look so ordinary.

They can even dance.

Some they think imagine it,

disabi...

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🌷 (1)

I know you'll excuse me when I write

In terms of envy, spleen and spite.

Holding forth in finger pointing finality

From my mountain summit of morality.

The well to do are there to be got at,

(If I had my way they would be shot at!).

Suspicious of their money and how they make it

Has me thinking of ways to take it.

And those that say they do their best

I find it easy to d...

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I wish people would understand,

The plight I walk with hand-in-hand.

I wish they give me space to cry,

To make my heart able to fly.

I wish the confusion I feel to resolve,

So that I know, when to turn the valve.

I wish the stars, the moon would talk,

And tell me the time for me to walk.

I wish the birds, the bees would whisper,

The talks that I could decipher.

I wish...

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Dark Tower

Like something from a gothic horror

This is not the way it’s meant to be

Pain and hurt crumbling from unsafe structures

And falling on the governments neglect

Because they’re poor

Because they’re vulnerable

Because they’re ‘not like us’

Souls lost to the flames

That crawled over short cuts

Or worse – over incompetence

Licked around the money ma...

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Whatever happened to your revolution?

You’re working for Barclays, you’re up for promotion.

Back in the eighties you’d rage against Thatcher.

This time next month you’ll be regional manager.

Congratulations, you’ve made it in banking.

You’re queen of the high street, your CV’s outstanding.

How does it feel to be part of the team,

in the faceless, exploitative, corporate machin...

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Come ye not to Englands fields

the sunlit uplands are not real,

and though her streets were paved in gold

they’ve potholed since the gold was sold.

Come ye not to Englands towns

her working spaces now playgrounds,

and white vans cruise the early hours

collecting poor to pick her flowers.

Come ye not to Englands arms

our motherland has lost her charms,

a...

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Securely tuck your fears under elastic

at the centre of your waist with your left hand,

and with your right, hold the remaining

metres of spun silk - your future, facing inside.

Measure the drop of the fall

and it’s finely stitched edge

for correct positioning against heels.

Wrap yourself in the gossamer fold,

swirling the diaphanous film behind

but stay level ...

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the kind of love that grabs you by the throat

i am trash and you are trash, an isthmus

have you ever just said fuck it

and felt the stars on your tongue

fuck it

hold the blood and the wine in your mouth

like sweet flesh made sin

kneel as a virgin

rise as a whore

turn to all the horrible, wonderful people

tell them it is too dark outside to turn the light within

for...

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We're going down to the Cotswolds

where the air is fresh and clean;

though Chelsea is our spiritual seat

our other dwelling is rather good

quite isolated by hedges and wood.

The local message is understood

we contribute to the great and good

supporting local stores and our pub

we like to mix and match our life;

Jem is doing well with ponies

Toby and I are joining...

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Lords of the tempest – ruling wind and rain

that lash eternally your mountain peak,

feel you the hearts of humans that you pain?

they are your marionettes when you chaos wreak,

and dash on rocks their reason; when on bleak

dead waters of despondency they're bourne

by midnight waves ungovernable thrown,

or cast on Cimmerian shores that know no dawn,

or into the mouth of...

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Lower class

When children we were poor, and that was ok,

we knew  hunger,

it was not so much not having much living in unsanitary houses

no bathroom we all lived like this and thought nothing of it,

it was that our life was staked out by authority

our job after

seven years schooling was to man the factory, some went

further and became welders and others electricians wh...

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Its Friday and it’s four o’clock

At the gardener’s arms

And the boys are at the bench

Shirts off

Sun out

Baking staking hot

The beers are in

The smokes are out

The jokes are flying

And dying like swatted flies on table tops

But laughter pervades none the less

Across reddened sultry crowns and cheeks

Where bare bravado reigns

In the hope

Of topless golden s...

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Baby you don't got me feeling blue
You got me feeling black
All I feel is darkness, I ain't never running back, to you
I can never do that, the feelings that u left me, got me rolling back, the time
When I thought you were mine, told you that I needed you and u decided that I'm, a waste
You thought you put us in our place, breaking up the good shit, all there's left is bullshit, a cave
That ...

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As I breathe into this window
misting the rain streaks
nose catching the chill.
I look down and across.

A child runs this way, that way
through the graveyard.
Maybe laughing.

Oh! If I only could be carried to the daisies
the creeping and stinging weeds of age.
I would hold a scythe to myself
hack at the waste.

On the glass I write,
‘All is not lost.’
Maybe believing.

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Teenagers, cycling across the Dales
up country roads in the seventies sun
wheels turning, chests burning
on our way to Tan Hill Inn

Too young to drink then
we'd sit in the garden 
catch our breath and if we're lucky
maybe the northern lights
I'd take photographs
thinking to myself
one day I'll bring my wife here
one day I'll bring my children
if I have any
and we'd cycle home

All...

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It brings me joy to watch your face 
As when I bring things to our place 
Your eyes light up with a little spark
That shows this thing is your mark 

So the next time I see the thing I got
It will not ever be in its proper spot 
It will always be upon your person 
As you're not in the least fearsome 
That I will start to huff and puff
When I see you take all my stuff 
Because it bring m...

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Hey you groovy guyz what’s going on down

Everybody has just left this sweltering town

And the word is they are heading for the coast

Try and stop me and you will definitely be toast

What on earth is this mass stampede all about?

Anyway I am just going to jump scream and shout

Very nice to meet you vibrant blazing sun

Everybody is on the beach having big fun

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Darkness lies

Defenseless in the face of truth

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Stuff the down-on-their-luck,

Let’s make “difficult decisions”,

Such sentimental muck,

About Public Service excisions,

Say the down-on-their-knees,

At the altar of Capital,

As their hearts freeze,

Utterly predictable,

Compassion cyanosed,

Friends with the respectable,

With the hosts with the most,

Pew-bound, forever blue,

"Not for the many, but the few".

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Only a moment ago I felt my love for you rise above the ordinary.

Locked in truth and spirit.

It’s a miracle that happened because we did not push. We just opened the doors and it wafted in.

We never pushed for acceptance or approval.

And it came, again and again and again. Filling us. Flooding us.

Our union is destined for eternity. It is not of this world.

I listen as you sing ...

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i told you i was fragile and you threw me across the room

then asked me why i shattered and cried past noon

you yelled at me for getting the broken pieces stuck in your chest

said you cant handle someone whos life is such a mess

Read and leave comments (1)

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Conversation

don’t rock the boat

but it’s already sinking

don’t make a noise

but the silence is poisoned

sit on the fence

but it’s splintered and breaking

look the other way

but children are starving

and words taken hostage

crammed into cages

are testing their teeth

on ragged promises

until swollen with anger

nursed by rage

they eat away the e...

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The elephant in the room is me.

My madness sprawled over this seat,

and generations to follow;

like a bad smell it will linger

in hearts and memories.

My epitaph "mad as a box of frogs".

No one picks this path,

arms tattooed with hieroglyphic scars and

a liver rotting with overdoses,

spilling madness like tears,

traumatizing loved ones with my DNA,

my existence.

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Margaret, Mags or Margie

Whoever knows your name

Knows you're kind and friendly 

With perhaps a hint of spice

Take it from someone who knows

There's a world of fans just out there

Wishing you all the best

Whether it's Margaret, Mags or Margie

We know you're one of the best

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The sin of my ways

Haunting for all my days

Like leaves in a tree, with the wind I sway

Attempting to fill every tray

As my heart is hardened to clay

I can only see what lies in my way

My heart is dropped into the fray

Am I not enough for one person to stay?

Father, there must be a better way!

Oh, but there is my son

I have sent you on a run 

So the Spirit may show...

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Lost in the summer haze 
still filtering out those greys,
still absent in waste, 
vacant in change 
rearranging my stain 
an inherent pain 
displaced 
the colour 
drips, 
drips, 
drips. 
My bones leak into my soul, 
the mud absorbs everything 
but the flow 
and the black fog 
still follows me home.

The desert can be bleak 
especially when the colour
constantly leaks
and the sand...

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A coin placed in my mouth to pay the fare.
The ferryman's eyes are a fearsome stare.
Rich or poor the coin would be the same.
Wealth has no meaning in this new domain.

Across the Styx he tackles twists and flow.
Between the worlds Charon's boat will go.
The unburied, or those without fare to pay.
Would walk lonely lands forever and a day.

Sullen souls into the waters would be cast.
Into t...

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Snow White. 
Nose slimes, chem drips down my throat slice.
Sniffling spit the blow fly.
Cascades of emesis, Sinus bled red . Sniffing flakes of flesh an flem. 
Razor stained, Tickling my neck again,
As I Dance with death.
The phantom stands demands my breath. 
Wrestling the mirrors reflect.
Stare still into the pillars of wreck. 
Spirits turn spirit-less, 
Liquor fill, Spill and drench. 
...

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