Liverpool Poets (Remove filter)
AFTER MASS
After Mass
you would walk us
to the newsagent
in your Sunday best
with waistcoat,
watch chain
and monogrammed
umbrella.
As you chatted
over the papers
Sunday Times
with News of the World
hidden inside
we each chose a gift.
I reme...
Thursday 17th December 2015 10:42 am
CROSSWORDS IN THE PUB
We’re doing crosswords in the pub
Because that’s what lovers do
When they fall out of love
Crosswords in the pub
We don’t speak much anymore
Except to discuss clues
Because that’s what lovers do
When disenchantment ensues
We’re doing crosswords in the pub
But at least we’re still together
Keeping each other company
Uncom...
Thursday 17th September 2015 11:09 pm
FIELD GUNS
FIELD GUNS
A pair of field guns stand
Backs to the castle
Redundant barrels
Harmlessly aimed
At the high street
A sign reads
'Please do not
Climb on the guns'
As if children
Could pose a threat
To these two
Retired killers
Worn with age
Weary with boredom
Never to speak again.
We stare for a while
Examine them closely
Find nothin...
Friday 3rd April 2015 6:00 pm
TOOLS
TOOLS
This is a chisel of precise age unknown
With handle smoother than the skin
Of a child. I have sharpened the blade
By rubbing it on stone. Feel its bite.
This is a wood plane given to me
By an old man who had it
From his father. Their spirits guide
My hands. Feel its weight.
This is a machine I bought myself
Under its skin of shiny plastic
Is an...
Wednesday 11th March 2015 10:37 am
THE DAY BEFORE VALENTINE'S
THE DAY BEFORE VALENTINE'S
Is this ritual or adventure
See how quickly
The words are written
No longer anonymous
Is this a box to check
A form to fill
A contract to renew
An essential procedure
The mind indifferent
Even irritated but....
The heart restless
Insistent that this
Is not an option
Ink on cardboard
Flesh on flesh
One forever...
Friday 13th February 2015 3:06 pm
NUMBER 72
NUMBER 72
Once there were three offices here
One north, one south
And the regional one above
First time I visited
‘Chelsea Girl’ was below
A security guard stood on duty
Just inside our entrance
They say he sold fruit and veg
When the bosses weren’t looking
Later other shops
Occupied ground and first
If you didn’t take the lift
You could hear their ...
Friday 6th February 2015 10:29 am
JANUARY
When January wind its fist doth shake
And wooden fences tear from their places
When horses start, when cattle shelter take
To the hearth...
Sunday 18th January 2015 8:15 pm
PLASCRUG
PLASCRUG
There was a great ditch
And an avenue of trees
Leading directly
From the busy town
To the cemetery’s silence
Ornate gates sick with rust
Relics of grander times
When they marked the way
To ancient Plascrug
Back and forth we jumped
Across the weed choked water
There was a Scout Hut
Near a playground
A row of park benches
Where we sat i...
Friday 21st November 2014 6:57 pm
ST BLAISE
ST BLAISE
St Blaise is the patron saint
His image adorns the walls
Defender of Dubrovnik
Also patron of the throat
Once a year as a young boy
Two candles beneath my chin
Held tightly to form a cross
To celebrate the feast day
And to keep my voice from harm
The priest mumbling his blessing
We sail out of the harbour
Anchor a little way off
...
Wednesday 13th August 2014 12:05 am
EXCITEMENT
EXCITEMENT
That snow white Vauxhall Cresta
With its red leather seats
And stunning chromium bumpers
Flashing through the town streets
In the front passenger seat
I waved to friends going by
As dad raced the engine
Keeping the rev counter high
That pure white Vauxhall Cresta
With its iconic look
A classic sixties motor
The best one in the book
The pu...
Monday 16th June 2014 6:23 pm
BERSHAM
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
...Sunday 20th April 2014 3:36 pm
THE OLD COMMODORE
THE OLD COMMODORE
This faded slab stands to commemorate
David Lewis of ‘The Conqueror’ late
A Montgomery man ‘The Old Commodore’
Who served under Nelson in times of war
Then as a harbourmaster in peacetime
A grand old seadog not far past his prime
Here in Aberystwyth he lived and died
His watchful eye always on the tide
In this peaceful town on Cardigan Bay
He dropped...
Sunday 23rd March 2014 7:50 pm
TOO LATE
TOO LATE
Too late now to strike sparks with words on poetry’s anvil
Too lengthy a journey of diversion and distraction
Now weariness forces me to pause
Beside this twisted trail
My wrinkled hand trembling as I write;
Inspirations of a lifetime compete for attention
Triumph and disappointment fight to be immortalised
But the sands fall steadily
In a glass that w...
Sunday 2nd February 2014 11:31 pm
THE BOMB THAT DIDN'T EXPLODE
THE BOMB THAT DIDN'T EXPLODE
It’s still remembered today
The bomb that didn’t explode
That crashed through the church ceiling
During the Second World War
Sparing some three hundred lives
A replica may be seen
Here in the vestry corner
At St Mary’s in Mosta
With photos of the soldiers
Called to make the real bomb safe
And despite votive candles
...Tuesday 24th December 2013 8:06 pm
URBAN LULLABY
URBAN LULLABY
Sing me a lullaby
Of breaking glass
The click of stilettoes
As they pass
The scrape of Cuban heels
On paving stones
Sing me a lullaby
Of drunken groans
Rock me to the rhythm
Of lovers moans
Leave the light on downstairs
As darkness falls
Sing me a lullaby
Of cats on walls
Police sirens outsi...
Sunday 6th October 2013 9:42 pm
HOME TOWN
Aberystwyth
a mouthful of a name
meeting of two rivers
that flow into the sea
Aberystwyth
youthful memories of
a town still tugging
at my sleeve like
the hauling of nets
bursting with fish
the smell of diesel
and blood on the
harbour wall
Aberystwyth
all caravans and students,
churches, castles, seagulls,
soggy ice creams,
postcards, monuments
a...
Sunday 1st September 2013 5:27 pm
CASTLES
CASTLES
On wet afternoons
We pay to visit
The English castles
Grim towers of stone
Ditches of defence
Arrow slits above
Fortified gateways
Charities now care
For their maintenance
Count the children’s coins
Provide guided tours
Sell home-made chutney
We wonder around
Tugging Welsh forelocks
Before these ruins
...
Sunday 21st July 2013 9:51 pm
BARDI REVISITED
BARDI REVISITED
The road is better now
Climbing from Fornovo
Leaving behind the river
And the valley’s flatness
It’s surface is smoother
Than the winding track
That stirs my memory
At a certain point
The driver pulls over
Waiting for a colleague
To arrive on the down bus
After they exchange places
Our ascent continues
Towards B...
Sunday 23rd June 2013 4:56 pm
IS THIS POETRY?
IS THIS POETRY?
When you wear your thin dress
And look at me
Is this poetry
When I touch your arm
Casually
Is this poetry
When your eyes shine
Magnificently
Is this poetry
When we lie together
Silently
And the breeze lifts the curtain
Gently
To reveal the moon shining
Romantically
Please te...
Saturday 4th May 2013 10:23 pm
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