Racism is today's catch-all phrase. It is being used to define those
driven by religious motives for attacks which are becoming too prevalent. Extremists of all kinds are to be confronted but we should
also confront the situations that allow them to preach their sermons!

Comment is about Was it a waste of an egg? (blog)

Original item by John McDonough

I'm humming along now. ?

Comment is about Song Effects (blog)

Original item by d.knape

Honesty is bravery, and bravery needs a little catharsis every now and again.

J.

Comment is about Vultures Circling (blog)

Original item by Don Matthews

Humankind is my sample poem that I'm republishing in voice and image to make it simple to listen to.

Comment is about Humankind (blog)

Original item by Farag M. Afify

Yep, same here, I've got no time for racist pricks.

J.

Comment is about Was it a waste of an egg? (blog)

Original item by John McDonough

John,

Well said. I am with you all the way on this one.

Thanks
Keith

Comment is about Was it a waste of an egg? (blog)

Original item by John McDonough

d.k

Excellent. Well done and congratulations. I am so pleased for you.

Keith

Comment is about The Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is 'Shoes' by D.Knape (article)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Don
I think very brave and very honest, we could all live a fantasy and invent who we are - but would our poems lose there authenicity?


Left to themselves vultures have been known to turn on each other,
just stand back and watch the feathers fly.

Comment is about Vultures Circling (blog)

Original item by Don Matthews

I guess this is an issue facing many of us on WOL. How brave are we to expose our soft inner core to strangers, not knowing who's out there?

Comment is about Vultures Circling (blog)

Original item by Don Matthews

I'm quite fond of these brief forms that embody such vastness--I must study more.

Rachel

Comment is about tanka for the nemophilia (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

I often beg for a clean slate. The relief of forgiveness is powerful. I very much appreciate the articulation of this idea.

Comment is about FORGIVENESS (blog)

Original item by Ty

I agree with Jason, Josie.
I have enjoyed both of your poems... I am very sure there are many more worthy words to read, so please share.
And keep writing!
?

Comment is about Josie (poet profile)

Original item by Josie

This is so good

Comment is about I want to be a writer (blog)

Original item by Josie

Many thanks, MC and Dorothy.
I am sometimes bemused by cries of Equality for Women. Of all my married friends There isn’t a single couple, myself included, where the wife isn’t in charge.

Comment is about OUR GERT KNOWS BEST (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

they know your every move

and everything you do

Oh, they do, they do.

Well-penned. John

Comment is about The Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is 'Shoes' by D.Knape (article)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Thanks all for the comments and likes.

They are much appreciated, as always.

Comment is about Word wanderer (blog)

Original item by Jon Stainsby

A compelling poem. Thoughts about who we are and who we resemble tend to come from outside sources more than internal, whether we want to be like them or not. I like your style.

Comment is about Augustus (blog)

Original item by Clarke

Nice One - cute!

Comment is about The Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is 'Shoes' by D.Knape (article)

Original item by Stuart Buck

I am a moth to flames.

March comes in like a tiger and leaves like a lamb.

To measure the impact of pressure and the radius of the bruise.

I submit my hopelessness to the gallow's of verdict.

Baby's got blue eyes when the morning comes...

https://youtu.be/4CiyKeSnSxk

Comment is about tanka for the nemophilia (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

very topical and cutting david. i agree whole-heartedly although i have to admit i am often quite vacant myself

Comment is about The Daily Sluice (blog)

Original item by David R Mellor

excellent recollection as ever cynthia. i may steal HOLY HOT HANNIBALEM! for use down the pub.

Comment is about Attack From The Rear (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

loquacious is one of those words that comes up constantly in the crosswords and i never seem to know what it means despite writing it a million times. so thumbs up from me, i learnt something and this has an articulate and academic amount of alliteration in it.

Comment is about Word wanderer (blog)

Original item by Jon Stainsby

great stuff ray as ever with a cracking send off.

Comment is about SAME OLD SONG (blog)

Original item by ray pool

first verse is an absolute killer tommy. love it.

Comment is about Knock - Knock (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

I loved this poem - I loved the rhythm - i loved the humour - but most of all I am so glad you recognized the truth. mmmmmm ?

Dorothy

Comment is about OUR GERT KNOWS BEST (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

funnily enough i read a bit about the black annis a while ago in a folklore book i pilfered for 50p from the local library. had never heard of her before and now twice in a month. this is great damon, it shows real skill

Comment is about The Black Annis (blog)

Original item by Mikey V Kinsey

rather beautiful john. i agree with jason, its like a prayer to everything all at once.

Comment is about The greatest gift (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

cosmic joggle is sublime. the whole thing is intriguing and beguiling in equal parts

Comment is about Cosmology 101 (blog)

Original item by Chris Armstrong

Oh so many long words - they make me stop and think, to wonder if I can really take in what you are saying. I hope they are not one of your ways of distancing yourself from us common people.

Comment is about On love and self-efficacy (blog)

Original item by Clarke

I really enjoy poems about close relationships, especially ones that pose questions that we all might be wondering about in our own lives.

Comment is about Augustus (blog)

Original item by Clarke

Very stimulating to my imagination. Thank you.

Comment is about Cosmology 101 (blog)

Original item by Chris Armstrong

What's changed? The civil service runs the country. MPs just get in the way. They were finally given some work to do a couple of years ago and just look what they made of it. Your next poem might be The Country that was Murdered. Great read.

Comment is about The Town That Was Murdered (blog)

Original item by Joe Williams

In age, I'm a year behind the author and take some solace in
knowing my late mother - the youngest of a large Victorian - Edwardian family - lived until just after her 90th birthday...and her
sisters also got a long way down life's road, albeit not quite as far.
I can't recall having a taste for poetry per se when I was 16,
too busy being prepared via an apprenticeship process for my
chosen career, but managing to appreciate the likes of Frank
Sinatra and his unmatched interpretations of the lyrics of songs
that now occupy The Great American Songbook. Not a bad
substitute! By the time I got around to WOL, my working life was
over and the benefits of varied learning in retirement were on offer.
By then, it seemed to me that modern poetry had - ljke modern
classical music - lost its ability to "sing" and little has managed to
appeal - then or now. Life has to be enjoyed and it has never
seemed sensible to spend its allotted time with stuff that doesn't add to either. Of course, there are memorable exceptions and
they are valued even more for their (for me) comparative
rarity. Roll on "76" (plus++++++++++++++) ?.

Comment is about Staying alive: me and Mr MacCaig (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Well done, DK - a distinctive "voice" that refreshes the parts most
in need in an otherwise too serious genre of creative writing!

Comment is about The Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is 'Shoes' by D.Knape (article)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Brian - and those who clicked on "like" - many thanks for reading and
responding. I've always had a fondness for the "aphorism" approach.

Comment is about BETTER (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Another gem from a reliable source of entertaining (and challenging)
poetry. The attraction being not only the rhythm but also the choice of the words used, and the feeling that there is some reality behind them. A difficult trick to pull off successfully but no one does it better..
Sometimes I think a female in the place might be rather nice
But then I find myself thinking not just once - but twice.
To those who choose to take the vows that join man and wife -
I say to them "good luck old son - I'll take the single life". ?

Comment is about OUR GERT KNOWS BEST (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

"available for work that wasn’t there."

...and MP's have second jobs such a solicitors and how do they find the time to dedicate their energies to their coctituents? I wonder.
Cheers Joe.
Tommy

Comment is about The Town That Was Murdered (blog)

Original item by Joe Williams

Thanks Martin, I appreciate your comment on "Knock - Knock" and your suggestion is in the pondering stage ;~)

Tommy

Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)

Original item by Martin Elder

Thanks Martin, I appreciate your comments and your suggestion is in the pondering stage ;~)

Tommy

Comment is about Knock - Knock (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

Thanks friends

Comment is about On love and self-efficacy (blog)

Original item by Clarke

superb

Comment is about Orbitter (blog)

Original item by Kealan Coady

Agree with David about non-conformity. It's like being an eccentric...you don't call yourself an eccentric, nor do you work at being one. It happens naturally and it's what others call you, often without your knowledge.

Don, you are free to comment on others' work, but please consider whether your comments will detract from the piece you are commenting on. After all it is not all about you, it is about them. (I can say this as one who has been guilty of this in the past, and possibly still is on occasion.)

Comment is about Good Onya (blog)

Original item by Don Matthews

Well said, Ray and David.

Comment is about Good Onya (blog)

Original item by Don Matthews

Congratulations, D.

Comment is about The Write Out Loud Poem of the Week is 'Shoes' by D.Knape (article)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Thankyou Jason.
I wouldn’t swop her for a gold pig, Frances.

Comment is about OUR GERT KNOWS BEST (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Yes, up to your usual standard John.
I am still enjoying your e-book, 'Waste of Time'. Especially, 'The Photograph' (naturally), 'Words that I forget', 'Frank' (my dad was a Pathfinder/Master Bomber)... and so many more wonderful, intimate poems.
Jason, Dorothy, MC - I certainly recommend his chapbook, available here: https://www.amazon.com/waste-time-Poems-2010-2015-ebook/dp/B075CW7VNR/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=John+e+Marks+Waste+of+Time&qid=1552883946&s=gateway&sr=8-1
The only reason I didn't buy his very reasonable hold-in-my-hands chapbook, is because my shelves are groaning and I'm busy giving away many of my treasures...
UPDATE: I now have the second e-book "Shadows and Dust".

Comment is about The greatest gift (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

Ha-Ha! And you love her dearly....

Comment is about OUR GERT KNOWS BEST (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Oh yes, and a truer word was never spoken!?

J.

Comment is about OUR GERT KNOWS BEST (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

This is a fine example of what poetry is about...leaving the reader feeling better for having read it.

Comment is about The greatest gift (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

Wow, that is hard hitting. A brilliant insight into the minds of those called to serve. We are all forever in the debt of these brave few. Their sacrifices should never be forgotten.

Heart of Lead and Carbon Quill, brilliant and poignant.

J. x

Comment is about Simple Cloth (collaboration with The Carbon Quill) (blog)

Original item by Heart of Lead