1AM, It's a New Year
Another year about to end. Maybe the Mayans that made up that calendar had it better. As the year closes one is pressed to look back and gauge how it went. It's just another year, perhaps. Many things have transpired, and many more in the offing.
Just a few hours more
about half a day for the rest
for each timezone on the globe
we tear off the last she...
Monday 31st December 2012 11:36 pm
Leviathan
oh leviathan
dashed bereft under hanging skies
that mirror your sagging pall
I stand, Ishmael, to your bloody demise
amidst the niveous fulminating
and hovering nebs
where Neptune saw fit to serve your hulkfor its absolute picking
by those which need and others that greed
with no affect to your fabled past
your jaw,mute in life,thunders now in death
of the...
Monday 31st December 2012 7:41 pm
Also by Paul Sands:
Hole | Curioser and Curioser | What Angels? |Stockport Council; Museums & Cultural Attractions Consultation
Looks like we are still in with a shout:
Dear Colleague
You may be aware that Stockport Council recently carried out consultation with customers and other stakeholders on Museums & Cultural Attractions in Stockport with a view to achieving budget savings of £188,000 over the next two years. We are grateful to all those who took the time to take part in this exercise. The origin...
Monday 31st December 2012 12:37 pm
Also by Stockport WoL:
Victory at Christmas - (December 2012 Collage Poem) |A NEW YEAR ???
A New Year ?
I cannot sing the lords song,
Not now in this strange land,
Where laws are just for changing,
And traditions cannot stand.
I grew with certain values,
Those values now so changed,
The sacred brought to nothingness,
Our morals rearranged.
We spare the rod incessantly,
We give the feckless space,
We can’t promote religion,
...Monday 31st December 2012 12:07 pm
Also by Ian Gant:
DECEMBER MUSINGS |Dragging the luggage
rewrite
I smoke and watch her
pack.
The taxi waits.
Then like a premonition
I have a mirrored memory
of her departure-
the scent of her
washed skin-
remembering the
...
Monday 31st December 2012 1:41 am
Also by Tommy Carroll:
Dragging the luggage | Cooking for the Infidel | Cooking for the Infidel | I, myself Tommy that's me |Trading Bullets for Lives in Acts of Freedoms
I wrote this piece - inspired by Andrew Fusek Peters words.
Trading Bullets for Lives in Acts of Freedoms
Have you ever held a rifle with a full magazine?
Have you ever felt the weight of just one round
In the hand;- your hands?
Have you ever listened after a fire-fight –
Where null and avoidance is returned in hate?
A claiming of valiant crus...
Monday 31st December 2012 12:20 am
Also by Noetic-fret!:
Daily States of Pain | Sitrep dnb stylee | The Meaning of Life | Where The Solo's Play Together | One Fine Gentleman | I would go somewhere with this but I lost me free bus pass! | Esoteric Understandings | HYPNOSIS |Getting bigger.
Even the closest speak , I asked her to be quiet. Others make me cringe. My theory was honest. I think eventually it's is one. Woof woof.
Sunday 30th December 2012 8:37 pm
The Gun - a response to events in the US
I wrote this piece after the events at Newtown and crazy reaction from those deluded enough to think that more guns equals safer country. They have 300 million guns and one of the highest murder rates in the world. As a poet, as an American who is also british, as a father, I wrote this response.
HOW MANY MORE?
Where can I start, but the young ones, their hearts
Ar...
Sunday 30th December 2012 4:50 pm
the Clock
Sunday 30th December 2012 2:35 pm
Also by Marianne Daniels:
Music |Fairytale
He’d built a life’s path brick by brick
Held together by sand and stick
It rivalled her wall of crumbling stone
They stood together completely alone
She felt she knew him all of his life
But couldn’t understand the edge of the knife
Sharpened by resistance, ready to slice
the red thread between them, not once but twice
Once in dreams...
Sunday 30th December 2012 9:41 am
Also by Katy Megan:
Gentleman Caller | The Comfort of Strangers at Hatton Locks Car Park | Reflection | Banished to Eden |The leftovers
I took the family out for a meal on Christmas day,
There were quite a few and I had to pay !
All five courses were first class,
All the leftovers I frugally did amass.
"Waiter please may I have a bag to take the leftovers home for my pet ?"
"Ooo!"blurted out my daughter,"What sort are we going to get ?"
Saturday 29th December 2012 8:43 am
Also by hugh:
A flight mistake | Being an only child | Weeweechu | Suite child of mine | Don't drink and drive !!! | Changing heads | An eye catching experience | 'Twas the night before Christmas | Trouble and strife | A near miss ! | Eat in ! | Tulisa Contosavlos X factor judge-----an inspiration ! | Jacintha Saldanha R.I.P. | Zip error | A fine death | Peel Park primary school Accrington-----Outstanding !! |Maybe
Has it really been one year?
Is this what it takes to really breathe?
Well no one told me it would be that harsh..
Well maybe..
Maybe I should have asked..
Friday 28th December 2012 11:17 pm
Haunt the Proud.
I have died 600 hundred times before
& through-out the pain there you where;
the heir of serenity preached, spring fourth a trinity of able souls
and although I have been shown how to sleuth, I'm told only a leader will survive;
so in the stronghold
today life,
do what you will to stay with me.
Fore I'm an elder whose boy inside has witnessed enough to haunt the proud
...
Friday 28th December 2012 10:53 pm
Winter Heart
Friday 28th December 2012 4:22 pm
Ravi Shankar Died The Other Day
Earthwide rhythms, the gentle whisper
erupts in new and beautiful
usualless jewels.
Sounds that move mountains
and within
it contains the sun,
the rain: it breaches seasons,
relieves all cause and worry,
redeems all meaning.
Intuitive music,
selfless twists of genius.
Some quiet and some
with aching gales.
A platf...
Friday 28th December 2012 11:05 am
Also by Kealan Coady:
A Close Call Scenario |The Final Act
Friday 28th December 2012 10:24 am
Also by Tom Chapman:
Abandonment | Afterwards | Christmas Time | Corporate Greed |Confessions Of A Self-Berating Splurger - A seasonal ditty
I know I’ve got a lot of stuff and no, I don’t need much more.
I know advertising’s full of guff and persuasion is what it’s for.
I know others needs are greater, but too often I forget
As I’m a self-berating splurger, oft wracked with deep regret.
No matter if you’re measuring in common, pounds or pence,
Too often it would seem that we have more money than sense.
I kno...
Thursday 27th December 2012 11:11 pm
Lada Love
Lada Love
Have you ever been so in love with a machine it hurts?
I am. The reason?
Lada cars especially Riva estate cars with square spotlamps in the grill.
What a beautifully proportioned machine,
each line in the right place.
Utilitarian design and poetical looks, filling my soul with joy.
Yes I feel happiness when I see a Lada car.
It makes my day and I ...
Wednesday 26th December 2012 1:36 pm
Also by NICK ARMBRISTER:
HUMAN SPIRIT | Trash Overhead | North Town | Again and Again | Siren Flight | Hall of Memories | Memory of water | Hot Day | HARD |You, you
Wednesday 26th December 2012 1:49 am
Also by Ged Thompson:
Christmas Light | I believe in fairies | Brum | Ward 34 | The Seer |Why are there no spiders in the Wizard of Oz?
I would hurry to the kitchen
with pedipalps a-twitching,
to see what I could get.
And when there I would eat all
the insides of every beetle,
if I had a spinnerette.
And that's only the beginning;
it sets my head a-spinning
to see them in my net.
To the edge I would scarper
where I'd pluck it like a harper
if I had a spinnerette.
Oh, I could catch the fly
that vent...
Tuesday 25th December 2012 4:03 pm
Also by Marnanel Thurman:
Facebook | Take a pew |REMEMBER
REMEMBER
Each day I see your proud
stare from the carved frame
above the stairs
you wear the ostentatious
plumed hat of
the Italian Bersaglieri
and although it
was only national service
you had your share
of war later
an enemy alien
interned in the country
where you chose to settle.
...
Monday 24th December 2012 9:56 pm
Also by David Subacchi:
HIDING IN SHADOWS |Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to my dearest friends,
Living on different and beautiful Lands!
Merry Christmas to all – big and small!
Merry Christmas to you and you, and you!
To all those who say more often “hello” than “adieu”.
Merry Christmas to all… rich and poor
To those who are always know and sure
That tomorrow will certainly come,
That our world is blithesome and ...
Monday 24th December 2012 5:07 pm
Also by Larisa Rzhepishevska:
The 22nd of December | Your need | Tango | The Trumpeter |I Blame The Scapegoats
(With a nod of debt to the incomparable John O'Farrell)
I blame the Government and the bankers and the rest of the fatcats and the US and the multinationals.
I don’t blame me for:
· Wanting a sub-prime mortgage I can’t afford
· Electing the government
· Electing every government
· Retiring early and drawing my pension
· ...
Monday 24th December 2012 3:56 pm
Also by John Coopey:
The Fairytale of New Britain (Lucky Man) | The Red Wheelbarrow | Veggie Stew | The Naming of the Parts | If... | In The Bleak Midwinter |GIMME SHELTER
Hunched shoulders
hands in shallow pockets
hiding from the cold
left hand searching for an ember of warmth
in the corners of threadbare lining
fingers tingle
as he finds his last penny of comfort...
a pick for his guitar
His soul released
he starts to play
Hendrix style - Hey Joe
people stop, heads turn,
faces stare
as he rocks All Along the Watchtower
...Monday 24th December 2012 12:33 pm
Also by Mike Hilton:
CHRISTMAS CAROL |THOUGHTS AT CHRISTMAS
On the eve of Christmas, I'm re-posting this short poem in the spirit of remembrance. and the wonder of life's glorious renewal.
........................................................................................................................
How fitting now in deep December,
When days are short and life is low,
That in our hearts we will remember
Those we loved who h...
Sunday 23rd December 2012 2:50 pm
Also by M.C. Newberry:
WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND | THOUGHTS AT CHRISTMAS (2) | SPARE US |Stood Up
Stood Up
Creeping away from bed and favourite thriller,
you must wash your hair, again,
perform yet another make-up legerdemain,
clamp yourself into iron maiden jeans.
At 52, you do not listen for his car’s theme tune
but start to list the weekly shop,
checking clocks you realise he is 30 minutes late,
an old wound’s twinge He has stood you up.
...Sunday 23rd December 2012 10:41 am
Bugarach
I was moved to upload this because of the relevance of Bugarach to the end-of-the-world prognostications for today, 21st December, 2012.
Bugarach,
Whose rocks
burn pink
in the sunset
of a fading sky.
Conversation frozen
for one half-moment,
heads turned,
eyes narrowed,
hearts miss
a beat
In memory of ancestors
whose feet
signed this ...
Friday 21st December 2012 2:42 pm
PARTY! (a shameless re-post!)
PARTY!
“Ey up owd lad, tha does look glum!” Peter said one day, (he’d spent a while up north near Leeds, that’s why he spoke that way.)
“What’s to do? Tha’s sittin there wi a face like milkman’s hoss. I’ve nivver seed thee look that way, whatever ails thee boss?”
His boss looked up, all ashen faced, a pallor on his skin, and whispered “Pete, I’ve had enough, It’s ...
Thursday 20th December 2012 12:36 pm
Also by Anthony Emmerson:
thin ice |Christmas Card 2012
Holly berry and mistletoe on the vine
Prompt me to render this rhyme,
Of merry greetings that come to mind
Written out line by line.
The short cold days are the sign
That once more its Christmas time,
So get ready with a toast of ale or wine
To celebrate Old Lang Syne.
Let all that’s best and good combine
As glittering stars and fairy lights shine...
Wednesday 19th December 2012 6:46 pm
Eastern Poem.
Tuesday 18th December 2012 11:03 pm
Also by Danny Metcalfe:
Night. |Ee Love
EE LOVE…..
“Ee, love, what a sad time to meet –
You could have knocked me right off me feet
When I heard about your Stan –
Such a lovely, lovely, man…
He was all but in his prime –
Well, we all must go sometime –
Ee, love, now, don’t take on so:
Here’s a clean hanky: now bear up, you know
Time will heal…..Eh, your Stan –
Such a kind, lov...
Tuesday 18th December 2012 3:31 pm
Also by Dorinda MacDowell:
Christmas Tree | New Beginnings |Don Juan in his decrepitude
(This was an exercise in five beat blank that turned itself into a sort of poem)
Everything around began to change
Not, mind you, immediately – no
But soon enough – yes soon enough.
A hazing round the edges of the sight
Began it all , The keen discerning scent
Lost a little of it`s former stretch,
And soon the strong brisk spring in muscle and bone
Began to...
Monday 17th December 2012 10:51 pm
The Driving Seat
He sits in the driving seat
a wired up coil of rage
ready to spring,
a vacuum of anger
to feed from what was once her joy
spitting forth his accusations
like sparks from a torch,
blowing away the laughter,
blowing away the happy,
blowing away the merry
and so this is Christmas.
‘She was late to answer her mobile,
he’s texted several ti...
Monday 17th December 2012 9:38 pm
Also by Isobel:
The Sky at Night |A Case for Cancelling Christmas
Health and safety directives may sit on the shelf
But prick our conscience, like the holly everywhere
To make us think that Christmas is bad for the health
As many dangers lurk half-hidden in its tinselled glare.
Might twining ivy poison tiny toddlers who will pass?
And could pine needles stab them, drawing blood?
And, since bright baubles shatter into shards of gl...
Monday 17th December 2012 2:36 pm
Death on the Motorway
John was killed on the motorway today
His wife was taking the kids to school
She had waved him goodbye that morning
Death came later, without any warning
They had a tentative arrangement for lunch
So they’d left their options open
And later, so the reporter said on the evening news
No other words were spoken
A boy racer cut him up so they foolishly de...
Monday 17th December 2012 11:53 am
Also by Steve Higgins:
Letter to Santa ( From a Xmas cynic) | Sunday Afternoon |Christine.
Another cold coffee one stale cigarette
She takes a slow walk to the door
The memories linger, she never forgets
But she knows she can’t stay anymore.
And the passionate dreaming that keeps her alive
Seems cloudy and distant now
She’s finding it hard day by day to survive
But she knows she will anyhow.
It’s just another road Christine
It’s just another forgotten dream
...
Sunday 16th December 2012 1:34 pm
Help me - help me please
The old lady shouted "Help me, please help me"
Sitting in her chair she was
wrapped in multicoloured shawl
refusing to elaborate
She couldn't see and couldn't hear
Refused to have her hearing help
Continued shouting "Help me help me"
"Won't somebody help me please"
Yet every time I tried to help her
Shouts vociferous and rude
Decrying all that...
Sunday 16th December 2012 1:49 am
The Christmas Dinner Review
"The Christmas Dinner"
by Duncan Stevens
Staged by Second Skin Theatre
Directed by Andy McQuade
Seen by Alain English on 15th December 2012
At White Rabbit Theatre
This is certainly a unique production in London Fringe history. Staged two weeks ago as "The Exorcism" based on a 1970s television play, it was forced to close down after legal objections. It has since reopened in thi...
Saturday 15th December 2012 10:25 pm
Also by Alain English:
Paper Tiger Poetry One Year Anniversary - It's Slam Time! |'Soul Vomit' Anthology now available
Three of my poems have been published in an anthology entitled Soul Vomit - profits to go to a domestic violence charity. The anthology can be ordered online via https://www.createspace.com/4084570 in case anyone is feeling a poetry-shaped hole in their stocking.
Saturday 15th December 2012 12:58 pm
Note to Self
When the hours feel
like hammers against the kneecaps
When every mouth that
opens looks like a steel trap
When the only things you’ve
got in are a block of cheese and a broken egg
When that kid on the
scooter rides into your leg
When the truth is
translucent and the lies are bold
When you sleep in your
coat be...
Thursday 13th December 2012 11:38 pm
Little Boys Know War
Little boys know war.
Little girls know love and pain,
gentle kisses in summer rain,
where they're going,
and from where they came.
Little boys know war.
Little girls know truth and fear,
a cold smile, a warm tear,
how much it cost.
to get through the year.
Little boys know war.
Little girls know how to poison, how to heal,
how to cry, how to steal,
how to ig...
Thursday 13th December 2012 11:23 pm
First Foot-fall
Listen for the first foot-fall:
Sunken pads in the winter snow,
The patter of ducks to bread,
Silence
As Venus hauls the sun from her bed
To drip across the sky.
Waiting for the first footing,
Heavy on the ice,
And Giggling across the carpet,
Feet spread like paeonies,
Embracing arms,
She learns to fly.
Thursday 13th December 2012 11:58 am
Spoken Word Supreme in Guildford
The last Pop Up Poetry event of 2012 was a memorable occasion, a fitting climax to the year where we have built up our audience and our expertise to bring to Guildford a platform where local poets can have a hearing and poets from London and other centres can make their voices heard in our provincial (dare I say) locality. The evening of December 11th at the Bar des Arts, Guildford, was dev...
Wednesday 12th December 2012 8:01 pm
Updated Booking Page
Please take a moment to have a look at my updated booking page.
http://openmindcollective.com/the-openmind-collective/book-ushiku/
Wednesday 12th December 2012 5:00 am
12/12/12
I wasn't dead,
just never alive
Turner Prize
gold medal
all for a dive.
A dyspraxic in a speedboat
as I struggled to swim
in shark infested waters
but I won't let them win.
The rewards of success
for creating a mess
an unmade bed
for an economy's left.
People can study
and some even praise
others are starstruck
...Wednesday 12th December 2012 3:02 am
My poetry is ...
Joy, rebellion, forgiveness
life, wisdom, love
Destined winged music that cooed my heart
The cry that fertilized the earth when the sun dawned
Hope, disappointment,
the pain that hurt me in some corner
The line of life, and also the betrayal where one day I’d wake
listening to prayers that my death will announce
Poor dreams of mine...
...
Wednesday 12th December 2012 12:16 am
Also by Noris Roberts:
What is the price you have to pay? |Depression
Some people try
to force a
smile from me,
but it's futile.
Sometimes they figure
out somethings wrong,
sometimes not.
Some actually get
angry because I
don't just
"Snap out of it."
So I pretend
everything's OK.
But I'm secretly
crumbling deep inside.
Th...
Tuesday 11th December 2012 5:56 pm
Unsolicited (1968 - 2012) - on Youtube
Here's a film of my performance of 'Unsolicited (1968 - 2012)' recorded at the Cadence Cafe, for Performance! (run by the lovely Jeffarama)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LUvJ0IDwdg&feature=plcp
Monday 10th December 2012 3:26 pm
chemical machanics; part two ; knowing enough to understand no one will care
Sunday 9th December 2012 4:00 pm
Also by SPACEGHOST:
chemical machanics; part one ; the theory and practice of oligarchical collectivism |Zona Magazine
Here is the site for Zona, the art magazine of The Spider Project in Liverpool, featuring interviews, poetry, fiction and photography from the Spider project in Liverpool and in The Wirral
http://zonathemagazine.wordpress.com/
Saturday 8th December 2012 5:39 pm
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