Trickle down, my arse...

quite literally...

Trickle away, more like...

Up some wall  

Or down some leg

or if you'd like it more poetic

ebbing away on a foreign beach

Some 'haven' in the sun...

Read and leave comments (7)

let hands blushed blue with care

lay down the sceptre and the crown

cast off the mantle drawn so tight

round shoulders once too young, 

and now too old to bear

this velvet tapestry of life, the gold, the red

the thread of all you did and were

is now complete 

to hang upon some dusty wall.

And I wonder at the sacrifices made

the love affai...

Read and leave comments (5)

I lost my vra vra vroom

The day you got your diagnosis

Felt joint tomorrows wither

With the growth of what we knew

You – with your mother’s heart

And dragon’s roar

Saving me from lions

Or bullies, or bees...

My sister, my confidante,

My best friend

Entombed within the capsule

Of your hypobaric oxygen chamber

I stand outside and count the miles

Fear ...

Read and leave comments (4)

Does anyone else but me wonder

when they look on Facebook

and see birthday celebrations

for dead aunts, uncles

fathers,mothers,

brothers, wives...

that no, this cannot be

Because the dead cannot age

take that slap on the back

notch up years or candles on a cake

They're snuffed out, like we will one day be

They're gone forever

Just memories - hopefully good ...

Read and leave comments (8)

My daughter  collects stones,

tears them out from sodden soily beds,

or picks them from the pile,

stashes them in pockets

till linings tear

and washing machine clatters

to the awkward beat

of a battered drum.

And though I chide her for the damage,

I know she can't resist

the clasp, the cut,

the spit, the rub

the nub and polish of them,

each stone its own...

Read and leave comments (17)

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

Read and leave comments (6)

What is it with transport? What is it with men?

- this title should make me remember again

the plentiful misdeeds suffered in Spain

when I was a student, taking the train

I wasn't a beauty, no great femme fatale

just a studious, book wormy, meek kind of gal

totally green to the word 'machismo'

and how it gave vent to the game 'touch and go'

often a finger, a palm...

Read and leave comments (13)

(Poem dedicated to the Liverpool Tate art gallery which has chosen to buy and display this piece of abusive exploitative art)

Sometimes I wonder if I'm wearing the right glasses

wrong glasses

wrong lens

or  wrong vision?

All around me

people see things

differently -

depersonalise

rationalise

intellectualise

forgive

the unfo...

Read and leave comments (18)

( A praise poem - of sorts) 

I'll not forget the day we met

on the Piccadilly line

the memory lies grafted

embedded in my mind

I'd been working late at the office

commuting home alone

when you approached me with your mobile

and by that I don't mean phone

And I'd like to say you were beautiful

but in truth it was a shock

I never looked up f...

Read and leave comments (13)

Hello all you 52 Hertz readers and writers out there.  I'd like to announce the results of our recent competition and reflect a little on all the lovely feedback I had from voters.    Not everyone chose to explain their vote, but I've included here some of the more salient comments.  If your poem doesn't feature in comments, that's not to say someone didn't vote for it - just that they were in ...

Read and leave comments (13)

:(   - that's a sad frog face....

I've only had one vote so far - and half a week's gone.  If you want to know what it's all about Alfie, then check out my last blog and tell me the winner.

Pleaaaaaaase.......

x

Read and leave comments (4)

 Hi Folks - the closing date for 52 Hertz entries is today.  You can still enter if you tag your poem with 52 Hertz, as it will be picked up by the link I give you to all the entries.  The longer you leave it though, the less opportunity you will be giving people to read and vote on your work.

I've been delighted by the number and quality of the poetry submitted - and blown away by the diff...

Read and leave comments (0)

Just a reminder that the Comp closes on 30th June.  If anyone feels like writing to the theme of loneliness/ alienation then you've got the next week.  Poems need to be tagged with 52 Hertz.

If you would like to understand the inspiration behind the theme then check out my original blog :-

http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=36576

Thanks to all who've contri...

Read and leave comments (3)

Have you ever wondered where odd socks go?

I haven't  

I know full well they lurk beneath and behind things,

the dark places you don't stretch to without sneezing;

they float footless and foot loose round drawers

quick fix casualties of a kid's idea of tidy;

they lie, dry balled into corners of duvet covers

the ones you don't use very often

but are sure to use -

Read and leave comments (11)

Just a reminder to folk that the 52 Hertz WOL comp is still running until the end of this month.  We are writing to the theme of alienation/loneliness/isolation.  My penultimate blog explains a little better the marine inspiration for this :)

I've attached a new piece of music - perhaps that will inspire more poems than the last one.  So far, we aren't awash with bottles, but let's see how ...

Read and leave comments (1)

He knew

that astronomers were wrong -

there was no universal truth

just flat earth

stretching end to end

the ALL

and the NOTHING

and the ocean in between,

reflected on its surface

one incidental star,

the weary push and pull

of lunar flow,

and so,

he sowed his knowledge

to the seven silver seas,

thrashed against perimeter

looking f...

Read and leave comments (16)

Hi Folks.  Does anyone fancy having a go at a new WOL competition? 

I'm posting a link to a newspaper article that explains the theme.  Basically, think loneliness, isolation,  alienation.   I'm sure some of us may already have drawers bursting at the seams with poems written on the subject, but if not, you can always put pen to paper or finger to key...

In case you find the whole subje...

Read and leave comments (13)

I’m hanging here

to remind you

of the you

you once were

(of a fashion)

and a time

you once fitted

like a glove

as you flitted

here and there

happy in the thought

that you were

going somewhere.

Leopard print or leather

all the buttons that you never

sewed back on

nest

in the linings of those pockets

amid the lipsticks ...

Read and leave comments (14)

TALKING TO THE WALL COS THE HAND AINT LISTENING

(A FACEBOOK POEM)

How are you doing?

I’m doing nothing.

What’s going on?

Nothing.

How are you feeling?

Bored.

Why talk to me?

Because you asked.

Do you need to tell me something?

What I had for my tea.

What is the point?

To make a point.

And what would that be?

Ham, egg and c...

Read and leave comments (11)

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...

Read and leave comments (12)

The sky at night’s

a little darker now,

a hole in fabric

no-one else can fill;

for it was never the answers

but the questions,

never the stars

but the brightness of those eyes,

extinguished now.

And I’d like to think you’re out there somewhere

finding all the answers

the truth and nothing but the truth

the questions we never asked;

free ...

Read and leave comments (12)

He punches at a name in stone

as if the warmth of knuckle and fist

could penetrate the cold,

a brother’s arm plunge deep

beyond the gilt

to find its home

curled up in sleep

upon an ocean bed

connect with flesh and bone.

Read and leave comments (8)

You ask how I am

and I say ‘fine’

I ask how you’re doing

and you say ‘well’

then we cling to the threads

of other people’s lives

on opposite sides

of a room

much smaller

for the clouds now moving in

and though we never broached the weather

I think it’s going to rain

tonight.

Read and leave comments (17)

And I wonder how a woman

prepares a child for war

packs pants, rolls socks

fills a kit bag full enough…

waves from a platform

to one face within a sea

feeds every fading feature

to memory

for you would be the first to fall

lumbering to no-man’s land

too hard on heel

to feel the shift in sand

the whispering shell

that final wake-up ...

Read and leave comments (25)

In the footsteps of our fathers

we took the restoration trail

through wooded hill and wetland

from Aspull through to Haigh

sucked up the coldness

of a late winter sun

reflected on

the stillness of it all

each sunken dead tree scrum

on mirrored flash

no whispering grass

all secrets to the grave

and in the distance stark reminder

...

Read and leave comments (13)

The fastest

the highest

the furthest

the best

fail in the end

to leave their mark

on the memory

history’s greatest wall of fame

left in their tracks

by the cheated,

the cheating

the last of their kind

or the ones quite clearly

out of their mind…

Eddie the eagle

propelling Britain to shame

plummeting to fame

quirky English...

Read and leave comments (9)

Love turns the other cheek

absorbs the sting

lingers on the memories

of better times

treads water

holds back tides

hides fear

to steer its course

through arid land

sows understanding

to a hostile soil

waits faithfully

waits patiently

for seed to grow

from deep abyss

to planted kiss

then

like a dolphin

basking in the early m...

Read and leave comments (14)

Telescopes don’t make good gifts
not like tellies, or drums.
Tellies you can switch off
drums you can bang
say 
“Look at me
I’m here
Hear me!”

But telescopes,
telescopes feed the enquiring mind
with no answers
just starry, starry nights
and black holes
insignificance to the power of 20 12
magnified
through one cold lens

And Science is an empty room
with car...

Read and leave comments (6)

Bought  in a giddy moment

when happiness outweighed intellect

the card now haunts me

for what do you do

with an unsent valentine?

Cherry red and black

my favourite colours

except I can’t wear it

the corset ‘s too brief

and the feathers might itch ;)

Can’t throw it away

it cost the price of a G&T…

but I can’t drink it either

it migh...

Read and leave comments (15)

Against all odds

it came to pass,

that the seed falling

on rocky ground,

grew

never knew

the role it played

the weight it bore

on camel’s back

this one last blade

breaking in its wake

future, present, past

imperfect words

in a hostile world

too full of tense

He looked for answers

for someone to blame

she  

played the ...

Read and leave comments (13)

And lo there came in to this world a light,

guiding all those who sought, unto this place,

shining through the bleakness of eternity,

enfolding all who followed with its grace.

And many who had travelled here were weary,

from the scourges of the journeys they had made,

bodies badly bruised upon the pathways,

the faith they had in kindred soul betrayed.

...

Read and leave comments (5)

I’m stuck for what to buy for my 11 year old

So big sister prises herself off Facebook

to help spend my money 

(an honourable cause, in her books)

and suddenly we’re flicking through the years

as she remembers the day Santa died

a friend’s house, a dinner table

how adult and child laughed as they stuck the knives in

how she’d wanted to cry, but joined in

ten ...

Read and leave comments (8)

Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only sane one left

in a mad, mad world

if inadvertently, I’ve fallen down some great big rabbit hole

to alternative reality

where truth’s a big fat water bomb, overfilled

that we sling back and forth like a pig’s bladder

sloshing round as we wait for the splat

except that it doesn’t splat

transforms instead to the leering face

of...

Read and leave comments (4)

I

At school I learnt that domestic science was not my thing,

drove Mrs Wright to distraction

with the carnage of eggs shells and flour I left behind,

bemused her with my sense of humour;

that I could laugh

when my Swiss Roll refused to roll,

my Apple Crumble, crumble

my meringues fail to fluff

until

weary of her w...

Read and leave comments (14)

She loves me to the sun and back

moon, planet, stars

She loves me 100%

(which is as far as you can go)

She has a love chain

and I’m at the top

along with God and Jesus

Below me come family

then friends

then neighbours

then the unknown, who are nice

then robbers and murderers

who aren't

She tells me not to post this

because it’s cheesy

...

Read and leave comments (2)

‘Beauty’s only skin deep,’ they say

words they somehow think will help

words fail

fall  like acid drops to litmus mind

absorbed, stored, burnt to memory

like scars.

Acute acne leaves its red and pitted trail

and mirrors tell no lies

I reflect upon a ruined face

each blemish magnified.

For many years

I shun the light

that sheds its brig...

Read and leave comments (15)

Chlamydia, Chlamydia

How could a name be prettier?

You’re up there with the Chardonnays

Bianca, Sharon, Mel and Jade

Once kiss from you my lips enflame

To pass you by it causes pain

you burn your name into my hide

you penetrate me deep inside

one look from me into your eyes

and I’m left barren, sterilised…

Chlamydia, chlamydia

No name on earth i...

Read and leave comments (25)

(Just a bit of fun for Francine)

Above vaulting box

Hot and steamy pumps take flight

Endorphins released..

Read and leave comments (5)

There have always been haves and have nots

There always will be haves and have nots

Once I was a have not, now I’m a have

Or am I?

I have what I can afford

All that I can’t, I have not

Things out of my realm

I dream about

And that suffices

So now society hangs on the spin of a coin

Crumbles when want is all

Where are our role models?

Where d...

Read and leave comments (16)

Here we are, two years on

And still I hate the school play

In crammed airless hall

Two hours of my life stolen

only this time it’s worse…

I’ve grabbed the last two seats in the house,

embroiled myself in chit chat with a neighbour

before the waft of urine hits my senses

and I thought her husband switched places

to ease our conversation…

My 15yr old bemoan...

Read and leave comments (8)

How I hate the school play

In crammed airless hall

Two hours of my life stolen

To watch other children

Whisper and mumble their way through

Indecipherable plot…

Doting mothers sit next to adoring dads

Who take photos and remind me

That I forgot my camera

And am

A most deficient parent

Exchange knowing looks of pride

Whilst I watch

A fois...

Read and leave comments (6)

Tooth fairy goes bad

after 2 glasses of red,

forgets to collect tooth,

stumbles blindly to her bed.

Tear drop stings taint fragile wings...

Read and leave comments (3)

Thank you to everyone who took part and voted in the above themed poetry competition.  As usual, more people were interested in reading and writing than voting but nonetheless, we have a very clear winner! 

“It was outstanding, the first one out of the traps, and I felt from the outset it would be hard to beat. Gritty in the face of grief, resilience in bereavement, marvellous language.”

...

Read and leave comments (7)

Of all the joints in all the towns in all the world, he walks onto mine…

He read me like a Mills & Boon

thought he knew my heart’s desire

swept me off my corny feet

set curled up toes on fire

For him podiatry was challenge

experimental, avant guarde

ejaculatory pedi-torture

hammered toes blown fast and hard

He innovated long and often

Read and leave comments (8)

When I grow old

I shall wear purple

polished patent leather, platform soles

aspire to strut higher

grind cool skin till its on fire

twixt scapula and lumbar

spread my toes...

I shall chuck grandchildren beneath the chin

then chuck them back - gladly

to parents disapproving, sullen eyed

not aspire to die too wealthy

make the most of being healthy

Read and leave comments (17)

Since everyone seemed to enjoy the Escape themed poetry competition, I thought I’d introduce a new theme pretty quickly before the holiday season begins - I hope you like it.  I wanted something totally different that opened us all up to lighter poetry.  The competition will run till 6thJuly with votes to me by 10thJuly.  I wasn’t proposing to put up any prize money.  I don’t think people are m...

Read and leave comments (14)

Fluttering from books

like pressed paper aeroplanes

last vestiges of love

Heat, warmth, promise

dried to seed and sown in barren land

threaded to words that can’t be worn

the touch, the taste, the look

this moment in time now gone

ink etched to history

to keepsake kept

for rainy days

when memory is all.

Read and leave comments (16)

You’ve gone again

but then I always knew you would

blown away by emptiness

the hollow rattle of it all

the words that never said enough

or never said at all

but fed upon themselves instead

now hope has gone the way that all things go

sunny side down

yolk hardened

like the setting sun

and yet for me

you left your mark

Read and leave comments (9)

There are no young at the Yeung Sing hotel,

only those who grew old, singing for their supper,

or was it breakfast?  For night turns to day, turns to night,

waiting to break fast, to break bread, to break owt

of the Yeung Sing Hotel where the hands of the clock stand still

like the ends of the arms of the chef who mans the grill.

Daylight saving seems a concept made in h...

Read and leave comments (9)

My daughter revises chemistry,

with a little help from brother.

(our family expert on such things)

whilst I listen on,

baffled by the formulas and names

the purpose of it all,

like a freshwater fish

all at sea with the brine

I need to be heard,

to matter amongst the matter,

add weight to the atoms of this foreign world.

‘What is the stuff of life?’ I ...

Read and leave comments (15)