What if the Sabbath weren’t a day
but a state of being
that permeates our earthereal Eden? 

What would you keep holy? 

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Stir crazy, 
my mind’s hazy. 
Penned in like chicken 
that never lays...
e-mergency broadcasts 
and a merging of powers. 
 

When did we surrender control of the supply chain? 
I hear vegans got beef
with carnies, 
but you can’t get the show on an empty road.

Do we even know where our food is grown? 
Butcher, cheesemonger, greengrocer, and farmer... 
were stripped from our com...

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The following piece is a snippet from Buzzin Bards Manchester Poetry Anthology, submissions are still open at:  https://www.localgemspoetrypress.com/buzzin-bards-poetry-anthology.html

While you’re too busy being two-faced 

I’ve got one face with many layers. 

Take me at face value, or take a detour, 

reforged, like Ant Man upon my deep pores. 

Tryna get 1UP, that’s a weak score...

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Aquarian Aquarius,
everyone be hearing us.
What an exciting life you lead,
cosmic superhuman centipede.
I’m Centric G pause for the D:
ejaculating antiquating - even thoughts dilapidated.
You should go through twice
extinguish anguish from your life
cosmic zombie souls are sliced.
Universal detoxification 
electrocuting nation-notions
rubbing Atlas, struggled rolling
infinitesimal scro...

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3Write is a new free monthly writing event at the heart of the local community in Ashton-under-Lyne. It takes place every first Saturday at Ashton Library starting at Noon on Saturday 5th March, and is open to people of all ages and abilities.

The premise is 3 themes per session, and 3 styles of writing per session. We then 3Write. With the growing spoken word scene in Tameside (with big p...

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A winter bite that

mocks the spring, pincers its cocoon.

A life supported?

Cease one's internal decay,

Even ice melts. Love's fluidity.

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Roses are dead,

they smell like Le Pew.

But they still smell sweet

compared to you.

Roses are dead,

now you feel blue.

So take a shot neat,

and uncork the screw.

Roses are dead,

our hopes are too.

You were a cheat,

but I was too.

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A silence fell upon the city,

contorted shadows twisting moonlight.

Stuttering in a speakeasy seemed so misplaced

bottles rattled flickering like Fedora feathers

in an unforgiving wind.

The wretched odour of deprivation

a stench that sticks and degrades ones existence.

Even by day this city remains a lifeless sap

and by night the vampires feast on th...

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Another attempt at my paternal tongue.

Un altro tentativo di mia lingua paterna.

And though I beam with pride as I'm learning.

E anche se mi fascio con orgoglio, come sto imparando.

I'm aware that translated, the metre is wrong.

Sono consapevole del fatto che tradotto, lo strumento è sbagliato.

But this language pulsates to my yearning.

Ma questo linguaggio pu...

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No home, no job, just 12 good friends.

Betrayed by one who swore they never would.

Died too soon for pointless reasons.

What if God the NHS was one of us?

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Before you start reading this piece, I'd like to take your attention for one moment to remember Maggie Turner, the woman whom this piece is about. She was a firecracker of a woman and one of the most inspiring, intelligent, opinionated, caring, compassionate people I've ever known. She said what she thought and wore her heart on her sleeve. Not enough people in this world do that, and I love he...

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Adopt

Saint Stephen's tale

It's Friday, sweets from Mrs Smith

Degeneration X and anarchy

Frankie's words: two tables, four chairs, suspension.

Discovered passing the buck, and thus passed it.

Stole the show with Twenty-one Questions, four dancers, and a singer.

First girlfriend changed everything, "You're young, she has baggage - get rid..." … did...

A pla...

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“Got 10p for a cup of tea?”

“If you show us where you can get one for that price,

I'll give you a quid”

He never did...

Irregular Apocalypse.

Lonely and irksome.

The bitter glow of jaundice

tears at society's rustic chains,

one tragedy at a time.

“The Freemasons took my children,

they took my baby.”

Now she's hopping magic buses,

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What do you do with a drunk in GAY bar,
What do you do with a drunk in GAY bar,
What do you do with a drunk in GAY bar,
Early in the morning!

Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning!

Tell 'im, “sorry, it's members only”,
Tell 'im, “sorry, it's members only”,

Tell 'im, “sorry, it's members only”,
Early i...

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We're all in this together,

we're here to represent you.

We will protect the NHS,

pensions, public services, free speech,

the right to protest, journalistic independence

and repair the economy.

But we must keep money

we NEED money.

Generators will not work without capital,

the magnetic pulse of the world will cease

and the crust shall become ...

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Roses are red?

No they're not!

They're an assorted mix bag of browns.

Cocoa, caramel, mocha and mousse.

Tasty truffles a treat for the tongue,

not just for Easter

but all year long.

Buy em on Easter Monday if you're skint

reduced price,

full taste,

eat my body weight in Lindt.

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Hello there,

Angel from my nightmares.

Devil from my dreams

a grey spirit that weaves

its way through my existence.

What a Dementor does to souls

or a Dalek to a human heart.

Even a superhuman heart

can break.

Just ask Logan,

a force so strong

a returning phoenix

could not reignite remnants.

I miss you.

Whatever yo...

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Flash Mob,

We're the greatest gangsters

since the Wild Wild West.

For what we do

we're the very best.

We're the Flash Mob,

We're the Flash Mob.

Back in Chi Town they were run by Capone

I prefer to make a racket with my Al CaBone.

Hipsters think the Flash Mob is all about Twitter

but just like Babe Ruth I'm a heavy hitter.

This is a stick ...

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The curtains a cocoon

which I have outgrown

crushing me

though I dare not venture out

my wings maimed

by an internal eternity.

Some days they open

as the sunlight shines

and snow falls

yet it remains a parallel world

a door to an unfamiliar universe

remains locked.

Even inside plates pile up

like a porcelain possum

they ...

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Aissur Teivos ni,

even the punchline is backwards.

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When we think about the freedoms

our ancestors thought for,

the cracking of the great enigma.

Futile hopes soaked in apple-core tears

crashing like a faulty application.

Remember, that's so gay.

When you websling like Spidey

page to page.

From songs on YouTube,

to memes about Derp...

remember his hurt.

Remember, that's so gay.

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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

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The soul of an artist,

famine or harvest.

An exercise in extremity,

symmetric serenity.

Raw yet crafted

a tool made from bone

fleshed out by interpreting existence.

The soul of an artist,

famine or harvest.

An exercise in extremity,

symmetric serenity.

A fusion of real and surreal

a soulful symbiote

intertwined with their v...

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I feel like I'm at a crossroads,

a path I do not know.

The future's looking complex as a vortex

as I continue to grow.

Do I wait in frantic futility

brazenly biting my lip and learning humility?

I see you stuck in Stockholm

waiting for the day that you finally come home.

Destined for greatness

yet thwarted by gravity and quicksand

...

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Z, is it merely a typo for X,

a phone pushed too hard

or misplaced fingers on qwerty keyboard?

Or does Z mean sleep tight?

Alas I can never sleep as tight

as when I finally hold you in my arms

and wake to sunshine even in a perilous Pennine Autumn.

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A is for anal, hard and fast

B is for bareback, cock sailing full mast.

C is for cum cannon shot, orifice ahoy,

D is for my dick, your favourite sex toy.

E is for ecstasy as I suspend you tantrically,

F is for fuck, no time for romantically.

G is for gag as you're gasping for air,

H is for the hard on I'm rocking downstairs.

I is for insatiable...

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OpenMind: Slamming September:

Following on from our highly attended and jam packed 2 year birthday show OpenMind are back at Fuel on Monday 24th September for OpenMind: Slamming September, our first ever multi-genre OpenSpace slam event. This event will be presided over by GrIm who's taking his first ever crack at presenting an event, so be sure to give him your love, energy and full ...

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You can't get tits on a kindle,

so put that Amazon one down.

Your materialistic bullshit

truly does make me frown.

I got by on handmedown clothes,

chick sticks and Aldi own brand.

You really look silly with that massive phone kid,

it's bigger than your hand.

To me COD was a special chippy tea

on a Wednesday night, granddad got it for me.

...

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I'm a homeless fly

destined to die

destitute on the sidewalk.

No cakes for me on the kitchen side,

no conspiring against humans with my bride.

Left jilted by the absence of bathroom jihad.

Everyone speaks of the house fly,

they speak of it as a pest.

But all I have is a piss-stained alleyway

to truly call my nest.

I subsist on sic...

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YES! YES! YES!

We got in O2 Think Bigger!

Special thanks to Richard Hawkins of the Autistic Organisation and Sally Carr of Lesbian and Gay Youth Manchester for supporting our application.

With this funding OpenMind will finally be able to roll out our premium video service that's been put on standby for the moment, and also we plan to hold a free to attend open air event in Manch...

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OpenMind return to Fuel Bar to celebrate our 2nd anniversary, exactly 2 years since the first ever OpenMind event at Earth Cafe.


To celebrate our 2nd anniversary we've created a few elements that pay homage to this number. Entry will be £2, we've got 2 headliners, 2 guests per genre, and raffle tickets will be 2 for the price of 1.


As always we'll begin the evening with the most...

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Entry: Free

Open Mic Event

Contact: ushiku.crisafulli@googlemail.com

I am pleased to announce that Ashton Library will be host to the Manchester launch of the Robin Hood Book, a poetry anthology alongside the Robin Hood Campaign analysing, celebrating and discussing various social issues of importance.

There will be readings from Ushi...

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So, I have two announcements to make.

One is that today marks the ten day countdown until OpenMind: Face the Music II, and that there are still a few OpenSpace slots available. Can people please message Vocal Strain (https://www.facebook.com/vocal.strain) if interested. I have a partial list so far but I have my end of year assignment due in 2 weeks so I won’t be doing as much promoti...

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Sonnets are meant to be about romance

and love.

You know? All that's good.

But why should form be contained,

can one not make love to the page

in their own expression?

I can,

and will.

Imagination like a dodgems car,

wild yet bumpy.

And I guess that's what love is,

you can try to steer in the right direction

but there will always be obstacl...

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Mornin' on the desert, and the wind is blowin' free,

the elements have freedom,

but what about me?

Trailing from bar to bar

like new age saloons,

why's it so hard

just to find me a home?

I keep on wandering,

wondering where's my milk and honey?

People sippin' on moonshine

or as some call it money.

Mornin' on the desert, and th...

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First time he'd ever been,

First time he'd ever seen

imaginations running wild brother,

see it to believe it.

As British as fish and chips

on a sunny London afternoon.

3 way dance or triple threat,

call it what you like but never forget

the joy,

the elation

the anticipation.

As Ligero drives the crowd wild,

the show stealer got robbed

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For him the song took a whole new meaning,

a control that made him wish to control others.

“Something's gotten hold of my heart”

an evil, a darkness

he mused on midnight

and the encroaching demonic hours.

3am and a stereo's blazing in a stolen Volkswagen Beetle

inaudible white noise, a prerequisite

for the red mist to follow.

“He see...

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Who needs paper to declare what your heart can?

Who needs a ring in place of a loving hand?

Who needs the approval of government or God

when two consenting adults hold the key to true salvation?

Love is the salvation that unlocks our potential,

marriage merely confines it to one form.

But if I were to ever conform,

I would do it for you.

The th...

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I struggle to be – as I see.

Lies become truth-ingrained.

Reality branches snapped from life's tree.

I struggle to be – as I see.

How I long for us all to be free,

though in sentience I'm pained.

I struggle to be – as I see.

Lies become truth-ingrained.

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A cum stained victory for the avant-garde,
throw away your cameras
and embrace the lens of the soul.

Prettiness does not define talent.
How can a stoic face define the myriad of human emotions?
A lifeless motif of the status-ho.

Individuality seeps like semen upon a blood stained carcass.
Trickles of truth, like tears upon a false-face.
One cannot spell life without l...

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I'm gonna cum all over this page
Swallow this microphone like a cock with rage
I is Brownie I is gay
Were queer terrorists today
This is Bidaman a suicide bummer

*The name's Bidaman,

wanted Suicide bummer.

My fingers tickle your insides like

an eclectic guitar strummer.

Like Oasis I'll strike a chord if only

the one,

till I hit you again and the bomb ...

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Let the chips fall,
We're cutting down a tree.
But only to build a bridge
made of electricity.

It's connecting you and me,
to a future we can't see.
Que sera, sera,
What will be will be.

The light that shines inside us
is directing you to me.

Fate is in auto-pilot and it flies in stealth
the beauty of surrender
is a new abundant wealth.

To hell with always ...

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Just get over it,

Casual, callous, colloquial.

But love is like an amnesiac's boomerang

just when you thing you've forgotten

the love, and the pain

it swoops like a dragon

whose scales scar sentiments.

It usually hits you,

and even if caught,

it caught you by surprise.

Those who once captured your heart

now hold your heart captive.

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Twisted Maleficarum turned abomination

desperately seeking a return to one's humanity.

Expelling demons,

pumping passion like the blood that summoned them.

Bleeding tears, sweating fears

soaked in trepidation.

Summon some feeling

no time for healing

when paint is just pain with

twin pronged brush strokes.

Tattered, trying, tonal

...

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In a world of tv clichés

I thought our series would be timeless,

that it would survive the seasons.

I laugh as I remember

How I Met Your Mother.

Confused on an interstate car park,

cellphones and calamity.

Only to feel underwhelmed.

You said “it's not just the jetlag”,

I said “how can anyone fall in love with a zombie?”

eating hearts fo...

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Mistletoe by candlelight,

love lined Christmas markets,

shopping centres full of happy couples.

Let them have what I do not,

it is theirs.

But what is mine?

My Christmas must come early

if I am to maintain the mirage of the miracle.

I'll line the markets with an illuminating

indigo light

and bathe in the dreams

that will...

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They say home is where the heart is

and my heart is where the art lives.

So where is my home?

Art lives within us all

and begins an internal/external exchange...

a process

like humanity to trees.

We stop, relax, breathe

as one.

So where is my home?

First Contact was my spiritual home

gave meat and marrow to

broken sp...

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Take a look into my eyes,
And maybe we will find
that between you and me
It's the way that love should be.

She told me I had beautiful eyes
her heart said friends
and her mouth did too...
and my mind's confused now I'm not with you.

See I can be the best friend that I have been for years
or I can be the guy that can hold you near.
But I can't be this.

You s...

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