growing up (Remove filter)
Nostalgia
Your nostalgia is lying to you.
Life is hard now,
But it was hard then, too.
You were just younger, dumber, more care-free.
If you knew then what you know now,
Maybe then you'd see.
You'd see the heartache;
You'd see the pain;
You'd see the way they lie and shame;
You'd see that no matter what you do,
You're always going to be you.
Sunday 17th November 2024 4:14 pm
The Merrie City Serenade [song version]
The Merrie City Serenade
Behind the market hall, riding the Ark
Hand in hand lovers strolling through the park
Carving their initials deep in the bark
on this Merrie City Serenade
Old men and teenagers sitting in The Chance
Ian and Peter refusing to dance
Across the mighty Rafters dance floor expanse
to the Merry City Serenade
On Cannonball hill beneath a ...
Tuesday 24th September 2024 10:53 am
POINTING AT BOATS
We’d cram into Dad’s Austin Wolseley,
like tinned kippers, unrolled
and unsalted in the back seat.
Smoking class was reserved, up front,
on our Sunday pilgrimage to visit Nana.
First to spot the waterfall was the winner.
Ben Bulben was fixed on our horizon,
feeling like a compass point,
it arced our path along the south coast of Donegal.
We never felt far from ho...
Wednesday 22nd May 2024 9:36 pm
i miss being your daughter
we were close when i was little
you called me your sugar plum fairy
sat by my bed when my dreams were too scary
I didn't know then that our relationship was so brittle
you have mixed feelings about your own mother
maybe that's why you act the way you do
you rip me apart and then try to patch me up with glue
we both know you wouldn't ever do that to my brother
you ...
Monday 18th March 2024 11:52 am
Peel
One by one, I rip off the
Glossy red gel that coats my nails.
Underneath, the soft pink has given way to white
As the polish tears away the calcium that gives it its color.
Four fingers down, six to go.
I wonder if I should stop.
I’ve only had them on for two weeks, after all.
But that’s one week more than I did before.
Besides, it’s better for my nails to be ...
Thursday 13th April 2023 1:44 am
TEENAGE GIRLS
who wants the teenage girl
sitting on her rustled bedsheets.
stained tshirt, stained tear tracks.
smiling, cooing and ooing at the people on the tv.
blushing when he kisses the girl she wants to be.
or when she sits alone in the cinema, grinning.
toothy smiles, outrageous laughs
too loud even for the rest.
seeing the best film in the world.
then another best film in the world.
co...
Saturday 28th May 2022 10:34 pm
NEVER BEEN KISSED
love feels like cold jealousy.
sitting across from one another.
the table could be worlds and oceans.
i sting with furious stomach churning envy.
snakes and beetles scurrying between my legs.
closed and rotten now i know what i do.
she is so much younger than i,
the times my time was always first,
no longer exists.
she broke a cycle as old as i, and therefor
as old as my time.
...
Saturday 28th May 2022 10:30 pm
They Did Not Ask
At first, they did not ask,
Because they thought
I could not speak.
I had birthday parties
Just like you, but
Something was missing.
I continued to chant
That I was not an orphan,
But it was no use.
Again, they did not ask,
Because they felt guilty
And it was too late.
I kept switching trains.
I felt half-blind,
Sometimes half-deaf.
I learned to smile
...Wednesday 17th February 2021 12:04 am
Superstition
Superstition
imagine 6 kids
walking hand in hand
two by two
four girls
two boys
behind Ma.
We sing out loud
'Step on a crack,
break your mother's back'.
We joy fully avoid
still hand in hand
the pavement cracks.
Ma turns and says
'You all shut up'
and we do.
f
Wednesday 14th August 2019 4:21 pm
Startingblocks
Starting Blocks
I was born in nineteen forty four
When black and white films were the norm
And the black and white bloody world war
Was in the last bloody phase of its storm.
But what does a babe know of such things?
A mother's breast is all that it cares.
Her steady gaze to bask in,
Her voice to soothe its tears.
As child I saw the bomb torn sites,
...Wednesday 5th June 2019 9:55 am
The Close
Grey bin days
Ash spilling
Sparking
From beneath
Buckled
Loose-fitting metal lids
Carried back- breakingly
To the monstrous wagon
Limping it’s way
Around the close
Like a club-footed relic
Behind the chipped
Leaded glass of number thirteen
A terrible gargoylian face
Pressed up close
Stares out
Mrs Ashall has seen a football fly over her neat ...
Tuesday 23rd January 2018 8:00 pm
My boys
Who knew such joy before they were born
Who knew the joy they'd bring
As an only child no knowledge of this sibling thing
But life with my two boys became my greatest experience
Brought me endless days of pure joy
They're so close, so different, so very much alike, the very best of friends
My best times ever are when we're all together
Just sitting, eating and chatting, natu...
Thursday 3rd August 2017 7:36 pm
Brother
What mistake can you make that I haven't already?
Seen.
Done.
Forfeited.
Worn.
Your horizon's my pleasure to roll back.
Wonder at my knowledge.
Self-gained.
Now shared.
Steps taken.
Taken once.
And I show you.
Teach you.
The way.
You step solid here.
Lean on this.
Grow.
Into you.
I see you.
Hear you.
Know you ask th...
Thursday 11th May 2017 8:50 pm
Formby
In Formby it never ever rains
Playground all summer long my early days
Playtime was forever then and there
Crowded caravan crammed with joy
Quick splash of water on the face
Dressing quickly, combed through hair
Breakfast rushed on happy faces
Checking windows for neighbour friends
Are they up, are they ready
And off we charge into seaside light
Yesterday's plans r...
Tuesday 9th May 2017 6:31 pm
Young
We are not a metaphor.
Although, we have met before
I was a shy girl with bright blue eyes and you were a brown haired boy who played guitar on the bus
We grew up and grew together, inseparable
Unaware of what to call what we were, what we had
This was back when childhood was innocent and we still weren't sure how to kiss
Lips, mouths, necks, hands
We figured t...
Tuesday 18th April 2017 9:27 pm
Wallflowers
The music begins again.
You wallflowers who came
with the dance in mind
and empty hands to hold—
skulking along the fringe,
afraid to join in,
but more afraid to leave.
She comes.
You wither at her gaze,
hoping, not hoping
she is looking at you;
Would it mean more?
A joke, a fluke, a trick,
or perhaps a friend—
If you don’t see
will she leave?
Wallflower dancer
shaking and jiv...
Sunday 15th January 2017 2:52 pm
Growing Up
A colouring book becomes Facebook.
A tweet isn’t the sound from a bird.
Mobile devices hold us hostage
to high definition
when ambitions are blurred.
Light up trainers become stilettos
that shush insecurities
and tightly crush toes
,flashing in the strobe lights
of newly found adventure,
that makes us drunk on
possibilities and hope.
But dazzled by choice,
dazed by possibility,
we be...
Monday 29th August 2016 2:45 pm
Forever
Tuesday 5th July 2016 11:28 pm
Love
I want to be alone,
but only within my family.
I want to to teach you
but only with him too.
I want to help myself
but only if you help me.
I want to be confident
but only if you are there.
I want to be creative
but only if you allow me.
I want to be a parent
but only if I’m parented.
I want to be an adult
but only if I can be a child.
I want to feel emotions
but only if you hold me...
Thursday 3rd December 2015 3:26 pm
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