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One Hundred Days In Plague Town

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One Hundred Days In Plague Town

 

I met a man in Plague Town

With bird’s beak and a long black coat

He carried a cane in his left hand

He spoke to me and I quote:
‘Don’t travel far from your fire son

Go runaway and hide

For Fear stalks the streets of Plague Town

Some are ill and others have died’

 

So I went back home as he told me

And I sat and counted the days

A man may find comfort with family

And another find hope when he prays

But I seek the sanctity of books

So I started writing down words

Between the silence prevalent in Plague Town

Just my pen and the songs of the birds

 

Though I did what ol’ beaky told me

And I followed the words that he said

I knew I could go anywhere that I liked

In the playgrounds inside my head

So I went to the past and the future

And spent time with strangers and friends

And I wrote it all down in a big black book

And only I will know the day that it ends

 

There’s sadness walking in Plague Town

It is everywhere I can see

But I hold off that sadness with creation

And all manner of word poetry

A hundred days I have sat here

And a hundred poems I’ve written

Though the wolf’s been howling and pawing my door

I am still unrepentant, unbitten

 

Today I walked out into Plague Town

That old bastard with beak he had hidden

But I knew he was just in the shadows

And would come out again if he was bidden

So tomorrow I will turn a new page

Like the last hundred days I have done

I will take up my pen and go wandering

In search of poem one hundred and one

🌷(8)

day100. covid-19writing100 poems in 100 dayspoetry writingpassing timemuseongoing

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Comments

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Ian Whiteley

Tue 14th Jul 2020 12:14

thanks so much for all your kind comments and 'likes'
I really enjoyed the exercise - and was seriously thinking of pushing on - but my OCD would require the target to be something meaningful like 150 or 200 and I suspected that would become way too much of an overstretch.
This all kicked on from the April NaPoWriMo - I would heartily encourage folk to have a go at this when it comes around again - it has got me back focused on poetry and was a good distraction from all that's going on at the moment
thanks once again all ?
Ian

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David Blake

Fri 10th Jul 2020 00:13

'So I went to the past and the future
And spent time with strangers and friends
And I wrote it all down in a big black book
And only I will know the day that it ends'

This struck deep Ian. More than simply weaving your words, this whole piece transcends the current pandemic and has a timeless feel. Nearer the summit of the mountain than most. ??

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Shifa Maqba

Thu 9th Jul 2020 18:12

100 days of the pandemic and 100 great pieces written by you. Couldn't applaud your efforts enough. Well done!

<Deleted User> (18980)

Thu 9th Jul 2020 18:02

There was a TV programme in the 60s/70s about the rag trade - Never Mind The Quality Feel The Width. Both equally important however and perhaps you've cracked it Ian, who knows?

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Anmolpreet Kaur

Thu 9th Jul 2020 17:28

Well that was just great and congrats on your 100 poems and all the best for 101

Ak

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Ian Whiteley

Thu 9th Jul 2020 17:07

100 poems completed in 100 consecutive days....and counting ?

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