'No museum here' you said.

So I guess you had to make do

with a rusting emblem of the dead

time's plaything, your due;

a line from a prayer-book

a dusting of gold;

shattering a morning

of a bleak, mindless wanderer.

'Leave me the key' I said

and took the road to roam

gathering the crafts in arms

burying your trust at home;

a spring back in my step

a thou...

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Holy Ghost Dance

Ivory bones at the bottom of the Atlantic  

Ghosts dance to water music nobody composed

Dancing to holy tragedy

Captured

Shackled

Sold

Bought and shipped

Our bodies are home

Connected to stories evergreen

Our bodies are home

Immortals dancing 

dancing to faint memories of

 Ohm boom bah boom

Lost languages and historic

Legacies detached ...

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Before humans, with God all alone,
He thought: 'Great leap into the unknown,
But of chimps I need a superior strain -
I'll give them a much more efficient brain,
In which the traits of reverence and compliance are sown.'

But to God's unbounded dismay,
He found some killer humans led the others astray.
And with various forms of religion and race
Among the seven billion, and growing apac...

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What to be when I''m not me

A child, a loner, a "hoe like" girl

What to be when I'm not me

A big brat that dreams of one day having the world

Where to go when Im not home

Out with strangers, guys that I've just met

Where to go when Im not home

Party and go crazy like a fish released from a fish net

What to say when Im away

That I'm young, friendly and just look...

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~~You know
Sometimes
You wonder
Who the crazy
One
Is
You hang pictures
On the wall
With spaces
For the small people
To fit in to
You talk to the cat
You drink some wine
Eat some food
Same shit
Different day
You read some
Bukowski
On the pot
Let him mess with
Your thoughts
A little
Wonder what
All the fuss
Is about
You run lists
Through your mind
Helps you sleep
Keeps yo...

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Howdie folks.  I've been invited to spout some poetry and play some favourite tracks on a local Wirral radio station on Wednesday.   I've no idea what the frequency is but this is the web link, in case anyone feels like listening to the show.  The show starts at 2pm - though I might not get there till going on 2.30.

 http://www.vintageradio.org.uk/

Isobel x

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And I will say - now I am become fire.
The liar, the thief, stirred underneath
In golden chasms burst forth
Unto wrought iron skies
Shedding white scales
Upon the veils of the red.

And I will say - now I am become faith.
The wraith deity, gravity defiler
Tied to the fate, the hate
Of beaten idols
Lying in scattered pieces
Upon barren soils.

And I will say - now I am becom...

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That ongoing story that I call my life

Is nothing but a total tangled mess.

It’s a disaster area; a no-go zone

And sometimes I feel like staying at home

It’s a random story with a spot of romance

Mixed up with elements of chance

And one way or another it’ll be soon resolved

And for my sins I hope to be absolved

The ongoing story that I call my life

is hard...

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Strange how time shapes the views we hold of events and, for the purposes of this piece, of people.

Consider the war criminal who had 180 Neapolitan POWs executed and whose funeral was shunned by most of his Admiralty peers.  His statue stands proudly in Trafalgar Square.

Or Richard the Lionheart, revered as the quintessentially “good” English king, but who bled his Exchequer dry prosecuting...

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I knew what I was doing
All the way out of the door
Until I tasted the moonlight
And felt the snow 
Dripping off my shoulders

Picking my way through
The empty seats
And the sea filtered breath
Of the older couple
Sat at the back of us

Curved in reckless abandon
As first the attendees
Tried to stop me
Then both of the security
In unaided shock

As first my throat
Then my stom...

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sleep, queen memory, sleep

for once, be emptyheaded

let every ounce of bitterness and sorrow

leave this room

sleep, queen memory, sleep

in green calm spaces wander

happy to be lost, a newborn

entranced in this desolate land

sleep, queen memory, sleep

follow each note, each ripple

it does not matter where you go

or who you meet or

who you leave beh...

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now those eidolic dread horses have scarred your slumber, passed 9, passed 10,  and even your furniture has silent, open mouthed, nightmares over the too soon dead, dead school friends who never ended their crossings and see, see, she stoops, in shroud  ghastly knelt as in prayer but you can’t see, see through the tricks  of light that scream “she is there”, your crumpling chest  boiling as the bo...

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A little bit of scream here

Ice crystals stare from an open bottle

Water melts down your aging arm

Fire burns in your turbelent soul

A glowing mist in a black hole

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This life, these actions, the situations,

the people I meet, cars I drive, places I go.

All of the above make a life, my life.

What do you make of it?

The same as I do or something different?

Do you sum it up simply or in a complicated way?

My own views are hidden, known only to me.

Should I share them with you?

Is that wise? Not just yet.

There's more to follow...

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Welcome overcast sky

from incessant heat

Drizzle gently falling

on freshly wet street

Feel is overwhelming

for indolence to set

With drop in mercury

and in rain to get wet

Odd for time of year

coming event it tells

Rains not lot farther

quelling of arid spells

Sprung as a surprise

catching all unaware

Speeding all measure...

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remembering the terrible lizard

my blood is ink
my words the beating heart
a page of skin
tattooed  stories
etched upon it

my vinyl soul
each hiss and crackle
pop and scratch
a wrinkle on the face
of times gone past

my music cries
with fuzz guitars
and thunder drums
cacophony of chaos
transcendental

my world is dark
each pinprick light
a star to gaze upon
and wonder at t...

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Wisdom is ageless

Some people have it

Some don't

Learn to listen 

capturing the wisdom around you

Learn to respect

those that have it

Some don't get it

Others do

Some live their whole lives

in their own stew

without a clue

WHICH ONE ARE YOU????

Just because you are

old and grumpy

doesn't mean you

don't have it

whatever IT means

Just becaus...

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Image: A rainy day in Austin a rare but much needed event.

04.04.14: 24) Last night before I went to bed,

I wrote down the thoughts in my head

Inspiration flowing let it, write it down lest I forget it

After a journey that seemed to take ages

It was all in rhyme in my journal pages

Then to sleep tired an’ worn,

Awake to a cool Austin dawn

Iron borrowed tee shirts pressed, s...

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This was written in tribute to the 27 Club and 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death  The Jimi Hendrix Experience Kurt Cobain Jim Morison Janis Joplin Sid Viscious Rock n roll reject (suicide) updated April 2014 He was the living the high life for far too long, Living it up at the top of his game, Taking liberties and singing his songs, No need to care for rights and wrongs, No ...

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I'm eggshausted and eggsasperated -
I shouldn't have eggspected less
But in fact it's eggsceded my worst eggspectations
I've had too many eggs - eaten to eggsess
 
I'm not one for eggsageration
I prefer to be eggsact
But, I'll eggspound and eggspress myself further
For some sympathy, I wish to eggstract

Well, I took some advice from an "eggspert"
An eggstravigant egghead, called Ed
Eg...

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Who Are You, William Shakespeare? By Alain English

William Shakespeare, poet and the writer

The wonder of our stage, and an icon of the theatre

Will you help me, William Shakespeare?

I'm a little bit confused here

For all that I've heard said about you

I still feel I don't know you

I'm mystified and curious

In need of explanations

I hope that you can ease my mind

By a...

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Beech tree save breeze for me

Hideaway for highwaymen

high above broken ground

stealing souls

of maiden's hearts

Soaked in rain was my way

now blue skies do the same

sunny days

- are all the same

Walk away the tunnel way

to Highgate Hill and down again

find your mates

have your share

Hidaway for you and me

I wish we were born to be

r...

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I don’t know how your love flew

gliding through my window,

fluttering, it shouted out your name,

becoming the adage of my love

Your breath dampened my skin,

opening the doors of my heart;

I want you… wandering in this festivity of feelings

I don’t know how you tied me to your arms,

feeling the sap running beside me,

a pillar of life and desire,

changing my p...

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Should have been your boy

back from the game

bag of fish and chips

grin as wide as the Mersey

drunk on youth and sunshine 

still living every pass shot tackle

as he settles down in front of the box

him and the old man each with a can

to watch it all over on Match Of The Day.

Instead, it was coppers

neighbours, friends, the sad-eyed priest

it was sorry for your...

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This is no movie, no fictional story,

It’s life, nothing more nothing less,

People come people go,

And as the forgotten fades away

The memories are left behind,

The things I swore would be remembered,

Have left, and know I’m lost,

Looking for your face in a sea of big waves

I forgot I’m drowning,

Wishing that I knew you were okay,

Cause time keeps passing us...

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            ‘D’ MOCK CRASS Y?    AND THE RULE OF LAW   

Oh Citadel of Westminster, look down on your creation:

millions of damned and blighted lives – the remnants of a nation.

Yes, you forgot that power corrupts, and honed your fell foul skills

till power, close to absolute, finds England wracked with ills.

Now this Quixote – errant knight – tilts at your spinning members

...

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~~SHAME.

A bare light bulb burning
An ancient vinyl churning
Out a long forgotten tune.
A love song crackling in the gloom.
A cum stained mattress strewn
Across the floor
Waiting for the flaking bedroom door
To swing
And bring
The next abuser
Of her morals
There are no laurels,
Only losers here.
She has a need
A need to feed her habit
With eyes like a frightened rabbit
Caught in...

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BERSHAM

We wonder amongst the ruins

Rusting trucks and cutting gear

Severed cables protruding

From weathered walls

And the pit head wheel

Still proud above us

Preserved temporarily

By municipal crumbs

And volunteer labour

Only open occasionally

For public inspection

We whisper questions

Reverentially

Here the miners lamps

Here the cramped cage

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When paranoia the gang has,

It throws the propaganda information

And all the Russians they would hang,

As not the Ukrainian population.

When dragons and chimera

In the illegal admin appear

They write the laws of terra

Which frighten you with fear.

Their poisonous will and power

Can bring every man to death.

With every coming hour

The news runs out of brea...

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Carbon Shaped Life-forms

     Aye, carbon based we are,

Carbon based within integrations

Of H2O,

     And it’s not just molecular,

It’s not just cells though,

We may be ‘carbon based’ but,

We make angles of our carbon forms,

     Ninety degrees of humanity,

One-eighty degrees an animal,

We move we flow,

We structure our courtship

With one another ...

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Written following the ceremony on November 11, 2013, a copy has been received by the Adjutant,

Wellington Barracks SW1.  The poem is especially relevant this year...the 100th anniversary of the

start of World War One - "the war to end all wars".  This version is included in a forthcoming CD

of my work called "Poetry To Please".  

...........................................................

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Thank god it’s Good Friday - come what may

Just don’t expect me to kneel and pray

I’m a doubting Thomas - a non believer

A lapsed catholic with cabin fever

If you are of a religious persuasion

Elevate yourself - rise to the occasion

Hallelujah praise the lord

Jesus loves you - climb on board

Crucify yourself - make that connection

Check it out right now - here comes the ...

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My daughter brought a Jackdaw in the house

And grief introduced itself

Melancholic and wounded

It hunched in the corner of the room

She fed him her loving eyes

Bread in tweezers

And named him Poe

Then this sanctuary

Took him

She phoned every night

He was mending well and with the magpies...

He was in the biggest aviary...

He was set free.

But w...

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Love

Inspires

Creativity

Creativity

Produces

Art

Art

Voices

Emotions

Emotions

Inspire

Love

I wrote this second edition at the suggestion of M.C. Newberry

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At ten past ten; ten fifty-five;
at midnight, then at five past one
slowly clapping clock-hands clapped
again, and slowly carried on.
Four twenty passed; five twenty five;
six thirty; seven thirty five;
sleep eluded me all night, now
I’m compelled to look alive.

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Flowers of colour under summer blue

Daisy chains bind maidens tight

Bluebells ring out their charming spell

The river's reflection may not be

what you want to see

The seasons shout hello but whisper goodbye

Spring colours into life; grey memories, white swans

neglected lighthouses

forgotten

I would like to wish you all well

as I can't think of anything ...

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She was a romantic, warm hearted, sentimental fool in a very cold world, the type of world that sometimes seemed to have no refuge for dreamers and those that believe in true love.   At times she would feel loves warm rays dance briskly across her face and the seeds of self worth in her heart would just for an instant anticipate the beginning of spring and the end of her winter.  The spr...

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As a proper poet I must have an unasked-for and misinformed opinion about the issues of the day. Here's my thoughtful response to the offenders/books debate:

My advice to offenders

The great and the good have decided
That you don't get no books at all
'Cos all you'll do is pile 'em high
To try to climb over the wall

So to conceal your block and tackle in
Swap your snout for a bloody b...

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Do you know where Hoy is?
Heard of the Old Man
(back to him in a minute)
But do you know where it is?
The Orkneys.
God's backyard.
A golden place for our silver wedding holiday.
Caught the ferry to Hoy,
Wanting to see the Old Man,
As you do.
No sign of the hand of man, 
old or young,
in the wild windswept centre,
just the road and the heather. 
And then some cheery, elderly ramb...

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A CHILDS EYE

Imagine a world of love and laughter
Of fun filled days and freedom till after
The tea time call or the playtime bell
Get back into line or you'll catch some hell

Imagine a world of wildness and wonder, of fun and jest
Of questions and answers and adventurous quest
When time was your own and life was a whim
To walk, to run through grass so long, to swim

Imagine a world ...

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I hope these help to keep you safe.

Are you lonely at the front?

You have your pals, along the trenches.

And we have ours, inside the factory.

The laughs we have, us girls.

I didn’t mean, that kind of lonely.

That’s why I’m slipping my note

inside this box of ammo,

which, I hope, protects you.

It’s funny. Though we’ve never met

and maybe never will, I often

th...

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See you walking
On a sunny day
Takes my breath away
And like a child
again
I am laughing.

See you running
In an open field
Dancin’
with the butterfly
Like some child
again
You’re laughing
With me.

Now the day is ours to borrow
Never thoughts of a tomorrow
Laughter has the taste of sorrow
You’re here
Again.

Drink this wine
The brightness holds us
Feel the wind upon y...

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i realize my wrong doings and am sorry god for the lies and cheating im sorry for letting you down

when you gave me life and stability when you gave me my family and my boyfriend the only true love in my life god im truely thankful and so sorry for everything thats sinful that i think of everyday.

jesus you sacrificed your life and im truely thankful, and greatful for the life that you have ...

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Warfare rages, blood pressure races, worry lines etch into our faces

Predictability always soothes

So we turn our glaikit eyes to you

A saviour decked in red, white and blue

Be our hero, Mr Twee.

Crashing chords in minor keys

Experimental creativity

Please god - spare us all of these!

For our stilted minds cannot compute

Unfamiliar jarring tunes

Blandness is the ...

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There's sand falling from the sky

coppered bronze burnished in silt and grains 

containing secrets of a magicked East

that became known around these parts as an overspill from the brick yard,

but this dust is Saharan

crustacae from planes

Dead lost places with no witness.

The heat of the sun bears down its mirage

and admires its own reflection over vast skeletal lansca...

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Snakeskin Sid!

I once knew a man
called Snakeskin Sid
I knew that he didn’t
but he said that he did
Well who the hell do you know
who played for Real Madrid?

Oh you know the type
in his Ford Capri car
A Gin and Tonic
at the end of the bar
Hitting on the girls
but never getting far
Trying to make out
he’s a football star!

He had trials for United
but failed the test
He starte...

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