Biography
I am from Altrincham, a suburb of Manchester. I enjoy walking my dog, reading and writing poetry, family life, friends, beer, novels, music (especially Country music, Mozart and Bach), history (especially the history of Byzantium), cricket and sunny days. My favourite three poets are John Donne, WB Years and Sylvia Plath. I hope you can find some of my poems that you can enjoy reading. I seek to advocate for the Ezedi people of norther Iraq who have been subject to a genocide by the Islamic State terrorists that began in August 2014. "....genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.” T. S. Eliot, from the essay "Dante." SPRING SNOW We walk a steep and slippery way, Mixing senses in synaesthesia’s way, It seem as if I am a chorus in a play We feel by measures, hidden from the eye; Time is borrowed, blue days wasted, time slips by, I walk along a steep and scattered way. Winter seeps me into sleep, now my soul flies, To compose this gist of an art, Unborrowed from time or tide; I learn by going, where I have to go, inside. Dark holds imagination in thrall, Fear reverberates terror that, I know, can paralyse mind and sense, Impulses frozen, like snow: I wake to sleep and take my waking home with me... Some seek with all their senses stripped away Others watch as skies fade to a kipper-grey, An ever-changing melding of night and day. I seek to shake off this edifice of days, Time falls away as the wise woman prays, She dreams to take her waking slow... Mingles prayers, with softly falling snow. John E Marks Next are two of my favourite modern(ish) poems. EDEN ROCK They are waiting for me somewhere beyond Eden Rock: My father, twenty-five, in the same suit Of Genuine Irish Tweed, his terrier Jack Still two years old and trembling at his feet. My mother, twenty-three, in a sprigged dress Drawn at the waist, ribbon in her straw hat, Has spread the stiff white cloth over the grass. Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light. She pours tea from a Thermos, the milk straight From an old H.P. sauce-bottle, a screw Of paper for a cork; slowly sets out The same three plates, the tin cups painted blue. The sky whitens as if lit by three suns. My mother shades her eyes and looks my way Over the drifted stream. My father spins A stone along the water. Leisurely, They beckon to me from the other bank. I hear them call, ‘See where the stream-path is! Crossing is not as hard as you might think.’ I had not thought that it would be like this. Charles Causley Adlestrop Yes. I remember Adlestrop— The name, because one afternoon Of heat the express-train drew up there Unwontedly. It was late June. The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat. No one left and no one came On the bare platform. What I saw Was Adlestrop—only the name And willows, willow-herb, and grass, And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry, No whit less still and lonely fair Than the high cloudlets in the sky. And for that minute a blackbird sang Close by, and round him, mistier, Farther and farther, all the birds Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. Edward Thomas
Publications:
My poems are published on Medium and Wordpress (Inneruban) websites as well as on Write Out Loud. I have had five poetry books published over the period 1992 - 2023. They are: SOUND BITES pub by ENVOI 1992 LIFTING THE VEIL pub by New Hope International, 1997 A WASTE OF TIME, pub by Amazon, 2017 SHADOWS AND DUST, pub by Amazon, 2017 SEPTEMBER SONGS pub by Amazon, 2022 The locations of where to read about and/or buy my books are set out below: SOUND BITES published by ENVOI POETS (!992) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sound-Bites-John-Marks/dp/B00MGKPQCO#detailBullets_feature_div LIFTING THE VEIL published by New Hope International (1997) - http://www.geraldengland.co.uk/nhi/marks.htm - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lifting-Veil-John-Marks/dp/0903610205 A WASTE of TIME published by CtreateSpace (2017) https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-waste-of-time-john-e-marks/1127059745 https://www.amazon.co.uk/waste-time-Poems-2010-2015/dp/1549671448 SHADOWS AND DUST published by Amazon (2017) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52659345-shadows-and-dust https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shadows-dust-John-Marks-ebook/dp/B076NY5ZZ2 SEPTEMBER SONGS, pub by Amazon, 2022 https://www.amazon.com/stores/John-E-Marks/author/B077KY9ZJR?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true ALSO SEE: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/bookshelf?publishedId=6FZK7AJW7A4
FREE SPEECH
. If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all. Noam Chomsky
Thomas Hardy - the Less Deceived Victorian
JOHN MARKS The Thomas Hardy JournalVol. 12, №2 (MAY 1996), pp. 45–47 (3 pages) Published By: Thomas Hardy Society https://www.jstor.org/stable/45274253
HEARTS ARE THROWN AT STRANGERS, AREN’T THEY?
Splattered on a canvas Or, scrawled on a wall Art Is just A husk of form Without the artless agony Of daily life: The strangled scream And the carving knife.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The poet and the quantum physicist both question the nature of reality and both advocate for the creative power of human consciousness. "In the beginning there were only probabilities. The universe could only come into existence if someone observed it. It does not matter that the observers turned up several billion years later. The universe exists because we are aware of it." Martin Rees “As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.” ― Albert Einstein
John Prine Summer's End
All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.
Blog entries by John E Marks
Shadowland (21/04/2024)
Levelling Up - the undeserving poor (18/04/2024)
Sea shine (16/04/2024)
A Time it was (09/04/2024)
circus poet (08/04/2024)
Setting off (05/04/2024)
Biba — 1967 (02/04/2024)
April showers (01/04/2024)
A BURSTING of BOUNDS (31/03/2024)
The river witch (28/03/2024)
Audio entries by John E Marks
Drinking where the riverbed is dry (09/04/2023)
Only connect (07/05/2022)
Poet Thunder (13/03/2022)
The necromancer's ball - revisited (04/07/2021)
Our endless, numbered days (03/07/2021)
Global swarming (30/06/2021)
Remembering Sylvia (19/06/2021)
BLOOMSDAY: 16 June 1904 (15/06/2021)
Two legs good? (06/06/2021)
Spring in the snow (06/06/2021)
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Comments
Hi John, thanks for taking a tour of my recent writing yesterday and thanks for all the comments. I particularly enjoyed the Bukowski quote 😃 Thanks a lot.
Hi John
Just wanted to say thankyou so much for you dm. I love the playlist, it is now part of my library. Thanks.😊
Hi John, thankyou for your like and comment on my poem - The Kids home. I'm sorry for your dad. My mother and many of her siblings were raised in the Irish Catholic institutions, so I feel your dad's pain. These places were often just hell holes where kids were abused and neglected.
I myself was in a kids home - hence the poem. I was luckier than my mother.
Thanks also for the dm, very kind words indeed. Much appreciated!
John,
May I wish you a very Happy and Blessed Christmas. My prayers are for justice and peace, especially for our Christian and Zeidi brothers and sisters in the Middle East. May you continue to delight and intrigue us on this site with your poetry in the year to come.
With blessings
Keith
John,
Thank you for updating your profile as it brings you more into focus. Now I am able to see the exterior which hides the interior where so many fine poems come from.
Regards
Keith
I was just reading your first snow poem. there are some really great lines in it with so much richness of colour and texture. Wonderful John
Hello John,
May God be with you always. I made an elaborate prayer requesting God to help you in all your endeavours, to bless you immensely with good health, happiness, peace, prosperity, love, tranquility and serenity.
"May God be pleased with you always. May He grants all your good wishes, prayers in your favour."
Always have faith in the One who created you. He is extremely loving, merciful forgiving Lord. Ask and it shall be given to you. Pray with full faith and belief that your prayers are accepted in your favour.
All my duas and best wishes for you always.
Peace n blessings be upon you. Ameen.
Canterbury Tales. I think dk. Pilgrims setting off from Southwark. And no. I can't draw a straight line.
Fri 20th Nov 2020 13:05
what is that paining of?
did you do it?
Thanks again John for the nice comment on Doing it Gingerly. I had great fun writing it, and my friends had told me this happened at an island where we always spent our hols together.The unfortunate cat was white and from Florence. We also go on hol to Elba sometimes, and there were several stray cats about. One left us 'presents' every morning on the doormat. Twice a juiicy rat, and another time a poor wee bird. The intention was greatly appreciated! I have always had dogs, but like cats too. Macavity is a fantastic poem. i never tire of reading it.
Jennifer
Hello John, thanks for the comment on 'Felliini in Florence' - glad you enjoyed it. It was so unexpected and unusual that I have never forgotten the scene!
Jennifer
Hi John,
Thank you so much for your comment on my recent poem 'women's day'.. Im glad you like it.. ?
Thanks John for commenting on The Colour of Thought. A wee drop of philosophy there, but my real aim was to not fall into the trap of using the word black as a blanket term for our darker brethren. Nature has provided us with shades and we seem to enjoy reducing things to easily categorizable chunks. Imagine if we had a few primary colours for choosing clothing for instance.
That point has not really been reflected in the responses, so does that mean the poem has failed?
I've been using the site very sporadically, but it suits me at the moment. Hope you're well!!
Ray
Hi John,
I wanted to thank you for your supportive remarks posted on my homepage. Well, I read your sample poems a while ago and found them remarkable. It's a pleasure to read your poems always as there is a lot for me to learn from them.
Binte
Happy New Year, John. Your contributions to this site are highly regarded by me, both your personal works and your 'commentaries'. I do admire, and value, scholarship that is shared. Your bio entries are embracing.
Thanks for the comments John; micro-bite truths that we all should heed. I always always appreciate your input. And I hope Friday night is treating you alright.
<Deleted User> (18980)
Thu 31st Oct 2019 23:45
John - the words which Graham refers to, which you posted on his profile (16 Oct), I recognise as my words to him on his return to WOL after a break.
No need to apologise John...I actually feel quite flattered that you went back eight months to find the quote.
Oh! I see my mistake now John. I thought they were your views and not those of another poet posted last February that you have dragged back for some god knows why reason.
Then I noticed that you have recently turned your profile into a David Moore tribute page. Now it all makes sense.
So let me tell you where I am. I’ll not create another battlefield here on WOL with you.
My advice, not that I suspect you’ll take it is, please take care and keep your comments to other’s work. You might also feel like apologising to the person whose comments you’ve plagiarised too.
As for me.....none taken!
Thank you John.
Thanks for your comment on The Way I Write, John. You've managed to sum it all up in a single sentence. ?
steven arthur
Thu 11th Apr 2019 11:13
Never stop writing, John.
Hi John, thanks for the birthday wishes, so sweet of you to remember! Sorry I've not been around much recently, think I've missed a few things. You ok?
Not too bad Jacob me ol'mukker. Can't walk, in pain a lot. BUT my daughter is about to give birth and that is beyond anything. I'm sure you know. Thanks for the ointment you sent me/ It is having an ameliorative effect but not enough. I need surgery and i'm seeing the surgeon on the 28th. More I read about Colorado, the more I like it. VERY progressive for a western state. All the best now and forever to you and your family. John
steven arthur
Sat 23rd Mar 2019 12:32
Hope you are well my friend. You and your family are in my thoughts, John.?
Hello John - many thanks for your comment on my home page - and the quoted extract from the Binyon poem. Even
reading those lines brought the moisture to my eyes, such
is the effect on me of their irresistible evocation of nature's power for renewal.
And, yes, the first name is Mark.
elPintor
Fri 8th Mar 2019 22:15
Still about, if only for now..
Thanks, John.
Thank you Trevor, Kate and Mae for stopping by and for your encouragement. Best wishes - John
The poem was written for my granddaughter - so for you to offer such a personal comment means a great deal to me. By the way, I love the reflective mood of Drinking Where The River Bed Is Dry
<Deleted User> (19913)
Thu 21st Feb 2019 03:42
Hi John, I wanted to drop by and say how much I enjoy your work, and your supportive comments - particularly the lovely one you took the time to make on my blog. There's a beautiful quality to your work that leaves me wanting more. Thanks again, Kate
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winds solar
Fri 16th Jun 2023 21:02
John thank you so much for liking and commenting on my poem
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