Sat 10th May 2025 07:50
Good morning Uilleam,
What a thought-provoking piece that doesn’t shy away from making bold statements. Great. Some lines of it also remind me of N. Sinatra's song: These boots are made...
Regards,
Rolph
Comment is about Naofa Deatach! [Luimneach Thriarach] (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Thank you Hélène.
I speak as someone who, in his youth did quite a bit of sitting at the altar and chanting with rosaries.
Might I venture that "intention" is all very well, but actions speak louder than words; and that hopefully, Leo XIV, despite my cynicism, might help lead society from mere rhetoric to action.💗🌷💐
Comment is about Intention (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Since writing my last comment, I have heard good news.
It seems that Leo XIV and his colleagues might actually be getting around to doing their jobs. IE... annoying the oligarchs, thieves and warmongers, those who've been getting away with murder - literally and metaphorically.
We shall see!
Comment is about Elected by Smoke: 133 Men Decide for over a Billion (blog)
Original item by Rolph David
Now, why would anyone put washing up liquid in Grandpa's pipe?
I know one little comedienne who might.😉
Comment is about May 2025 Collage Poem: Recent Encounters (blog)
Original item by Stockport WoL
Thanks RBK.
"no moment stands untouched by the past"
because the arrow of time will find its target.
Comment is about a reckoning of voices (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner
Our connections with our fellow creatures are so important. We forget them at our peril.
Comment is about CHARLIE (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
They Come Then Go
Travelling to somewhere
Lines to follow
Tracks to connect
Train of thought
Arrives to complete.
Comment is about May 2025 Collage Poem: Recent Encounters (blog)
Original item by Stockport WoL
Very fine poem, David. Yes, I read this as being more contemporary than referring specifically to VE Day.
Comment is about Spectator (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
Thanks, Rolph. Yes, the wisdom of old men, again.
Still, it makes good theatre...and a book...and a film.
Comment is about Elected by Smoke: 133 Men Decide for over a Billion (blog)
Original item by Rolph David
Fri 9th May 2025 12:24
Thank you so much, Stephen, for your lovely comment, it really means a lot! 😊
Comment is about Gossamer. (blog)
Original item by Holden Moncrieff
I read you.
Don't think it's all lost. Many of us are aware of the importance of trees.
Comment is about The Cut-Out-And-Keep Guide To Trees (blog)
Original item by Clive Culverhouse
Thank you, David. The structure of this poem, with its devastating conclusion, gives it such power.
Comment is about Spectator (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
An absolute gem, Holden. Every word has its place.
Comment is about Gossamer. (blog)
Original item by Holden Moncrieff
Thank you Reggie, Telboy and Graham and to those who have sent likes.
I wasn't specifically motivated by VE day to pen this piece although it is entirely relevant in that context.
The deluge of grim news that informs us of the suffering of others can have a numbing effect. Sometimes we trick ourselves to believe that merely by talking about terrible events and denouncing them we somehow impact them. It is true to say that discussion raises awareness, but awareness without action doesn't move things forward much.
It is also true that people and societies over time have devolved or surrendered their own voices to governing bodies who no longer represent their subjects desires, although to do so exclusively and with equity would be impossible. Such a state of perceived sterility by the masses over time becomes a reality, we believe we are powerless...this I think is the intended impact of many governing agencies, so as to harness all power for themselves...resulting in the death of or at least the decline of democracy.
If we as indivduals act outside imposed parameters we are deemed rebels, anarchists, criminals, revolutionanaries even terrorists...are we? dependent on specific acts of course we could be, although merely to voice dissent is not enough if we are to realise change.
To clarify the term "foreign agent" it is a label that the Russian State has been imposing upon many independent journalists and academics within its own borders in order to criminalise them so they can be silenced. How far might we be away from such a similar state of affairs if we remain inactive?
Sorry for going off piste a little there (if you thought I did)
David RL Moore
Comment is about Spectator (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
Sláinte Uilleam - You are a true Celt. ☘️
Thanks for likes: Rita, Larisa, Hélène & Nigel Astell.. 👍
Comment is about Blue (blog)
Original item by Tom Doolan
What a shame that the oft-repeated phrase used by our politicians: “Getting back to basics” couldn’t be implemented by the so-called Christian Church.
An obscene show of wealth, pomp and power, totally divorced from the original message of one loveable rebel, who put two fingers up to the military – industrial – religious complex of his time and was executed for his pains.
What was that, Jesus: “love your neighbour”? Yeah right…what genocide? I see no genocide – I hear no genocide.
Comment is about Elected by Smoke: 133 Men Decide for over a Billion (blog)
Original item by Rolph David
The Irish Blessing. We used to sing the English version in chapel.
Go n-éirí an bóthar leat
Go raibh an ghaoth go brách ag do chúl
Go lonraí an ghrian go te ar d’aghaidh
Go dtite an bháisteach go mín ar do pháirceanna
Agus go mbuailimid le chéile arís,
Go gcoinní Dia i mbos A láimhe thú.
Comment is about Blue (blog)
Original item by Tom Doolan
I’m a post-war baby. I now have children who also have their own.
Thank those who fell that none of us have been faced with what they were. Bravo for this David.
Comment is about Spectator (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
Would today's population have the same resolve as that during the 40's?
Comment is about Spectator (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
Yes David to your last two lines. That is what today's VE commemoration is about. And it is worth remembering that although we are proud of British and Commonwealth troops, we would probably be speaking German now if it wasn't for the Americans. It is easy to forget that in the current climate.
Comment is about Spectator (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
Hi Uilleam- I know a little Irish Gaelic. Being an Irishman. “Go n-éirí leat” ☘️
Comment is about Blue (blog)
Original item by Tom Doolan
Spot on, Rolph. If anyone thinks "it couldn't happen here";
they had Nazi rallies in '39 at Madison Square gardens, and they've had them here in the UK.
Comment is about Eight Decades On (blog)
Original item by Rolph David
I've been blue many a time Tom. I don't know if you're familiar with the Irish Gaelic; I've been gradually getting my head around the grammar and spelling, and I can tell you, wrestling with that lot has given me something to think about!😊
Comment is about Blue (blog)
Original item by Tom Doolan
Thanks for your comment Rolph. No, I don't speak German. What a sad reflection on the state of the world, that the phrase "Arbeit macht frei" is probably one of the most well-known German expressions amongst our generation.
I thought the Haiku up this morning, bearing in mind that it should traditionally have a seasonal / nature reference - I think I've got the syllable count correct?
Yes, that song is what I had in mind.
Fascism doesn't start out stamping down our streets; it dines with the Élite at the Carlton club, wears sharp suits, speaks in avuncular tones promising our disposessed youth to end all the ills visited on them by, yes, you've guessed it, “THE ÉLITE” who are allowing immigrunts, and asylum seekers to "invade our country" etc.
I've been reading an old newspaper article "Hurrah for the Blackshirts", which bears a chilling resemblance to to the rhetoric currently being used in the UK, Europe and the USA.
As they say around here: "We've learnt nowt".
Comment is about Haiku don Bhliain 2025 [Uimhir a cúig déag 15 on Victory (over what?) Day] (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Thu 8th May 2025 15:57
Uilleam, du sprichst Deutsch?
Vor drei Wochen war ich erneut im KZ Buchenwald und dein Spruch, "Arbeit macht frei" stand an dem Tor wie an vielen KZ. Was da seit langem in Gaza passiert, ist etwas, was die Nazis in Deutschland vorgegeben haben. Und die Welt? Sie hat bis heute nichts daraus gelernt. Das Morden wurde verlagert, in ein anderes Land und jene, die einst Opfer waren, sind heute die Täter. Diese Menschheit...einfach nur ein Haufen unbelehrbarer Irrer.
Wie meinst du die Zeile: Frühling für Starmer? It chillingly echoes the satirical song “Springtime for Hitler” from Mel Brooks’ The Producers, which mocked the glamorisation of fascism. Did you mean that?
Comment is about Haiku don Bhliain 2025 [Uimhir a cúig déag 15 on Victory (over what?) Day] (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Thanks @Uilleam 🙏🏻🕊️
Comment is about they thread between us (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner
Julian Jordon
Thu 8th May 2025 14:59
And extremely glad we are to have you, Graham. The value of what you do, both for our online community members, and for Write Out Loud, is huge.
A personal thank you to you.
PS, I love your idea of a poetic diary as your family's inheritance. Perhaps interest in it could be wider than your family?
Comment is about Our team members: meet the folk behind the scenes at Write Out Loud (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thank you so much for commenting on my poems.
With love and warmest wishes,
Karisa
Comment is about Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh (poet profile)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Thanks for likes: Yanma Hidayah, Uilleam, Hélène & Red Brick Keshner. 👍
Comment is about Broken (blog)
Original item by Tom Doolan
Good to see you back here Ian. With such a strong piece too!
Comment is about Victory (blog)
Original item by Ian Whiteley
Thanks Jordyn.
I interpret solitude as a condition that one chooses or seeks out, and which can be beneficial, say to an artist.
Loneliness, on the other hand, is not chosen, and can be harmful.
Comment is about Solitude (blog)
Original item by Jordyn Elizabeth
Thank you Larisa.
Such is the sick state of the world that I in the UK now worry about my loved ones being recruited to fight.
I don't know exactly when it originated - I think it may have been during the Vietnam War - but I remember the anti-war protest cry: "Make love, not war!"
Unfortunately, corrupt politicians and arms dealers know that there is a lot of money to be made from provoking wars - they literally "make a living by killing"!
💐🌷
Comment is about The Ballad About the Soldier (blog)
Original item by Larisa Rzhepishevska
This story is about the soldier, an ordinary guy
Those who wanted to live didn't want to die.
He was a good friend, his classmates said,
The things he did were not a regret.
He lived and dreamed, breathed the same air with us,
He was so naive, and it was his plus.
He was the guy of ready sympathy and bravery
just an ordinary guy who would never like to be a
slave.
Nobody could deny that he was a bit of a hesitant guy
as he couldn't make his girlfriend a declaration of love,
to tell her that she was his darling dove.
He didn't want to kill or be killed, just hated the war
But he's got an order and has to go to the war
without even knowing what for.
He was told that he would save the land
And military service was a big grand.
He was not told why he should kill,
He went to the war against his will.
But he was the servant of his country, and had to obey the orders
and wear the soldiers' straps on his shoulders.
Have you ever seen the eyes of his mother when they were to part?
She had an embarrassed look when the parting started.
Have you ever seen the eyes of his girlfriend?
They were the eyes of a frightened creature.
She felt as if he would never again reach her.
Have you ever seen the guy's eyes?
They had a look as he was in a hook.
He didn't want to part with his family, friends, and beloved,
He wanted to live, love, and be loved.
In a foreign, strange land, he walked
had no time to sleep or talk.
He walked and walked through the stormy winds,
through the hard rains without any complaints.
He walked through the mud and blood
as he had to obey the orders and remember,
He was not a cub and had no time for a cud.
But! All of a sudden, everything around became dark,
His body felt a terrible pang
And it seemed to him as the bell rang.
Then the pain disappeared, and he saw a beautiful park
Yes, he went to another world where everything was pearled.
With the loss of one soldier, nothing has changed,
But! Is it really so? For his mother, he was the world
And it was strange that she wouldn't be able to see him,
to hear his voice,
and... if only she had a choice...
She would give anything for his knock at the door
and his voice to shout once more.
And his voice telling her: Don't worry, Mam!
I am in a hurry,
But I'll come back soon
before the rising Moon.
The soldier's heart stopped beating far away from home
In a place with an unfamiliar name.
Now tell me! Who is to blame
Is his photo in the black frame?
He was one in the stream of soldiers,
the stream of broken destinies and lives,
The stream of unappeasable human sorrow
which made in the souls a deep furrow.
The war happened to be a thief
which had stolen lives or caused them great grief.
Life is going on; we live, we love, we work
building new bridges that were destroyed by war
But if we want to build a happy life
We have to remember the soldier who was killed in the war.
We have to understand: war can only ruin and break
for someone's crazy sake.
It ruins and kills not only human bodies
But destroys our wonderful land,
little by little, turning it into the sand.
We have to remember that a soldier
If we don't want the war to repeat,
We have to remember those losses
If we want our land to be complete.
We don't have to forget those who experienced the war,
They still get a start at hearing a thunderstorm
thinking it was another bomb.
We have to realize that even one soldier is a part of the world
And the loss of that soldier means a split
in the integrity of the whole world.
©Larisa Rzhepishevska
Comment is about The Ballad About the Soldier (blog)
Original item by Larisa Rzhepishevska
.................Bombing mothers and babies in maternity units?..................
.............................Unspeakable crimes against humanity?............................
....................................war criminals running the UK.....................................
........................................................ÇA NE FAIT RIEN!...............................................
Comment is about Haiku for 2025 [No. 14 Up Yours Starmer!] (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Thank you, Uilleam and Graham. Yes, the wisdom of old men seems in short supply at the moment. The second opinion is a good point, Graham.
And thanks to all who liked this poem.
Comment is about Old Men (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Starmer?
Bob on!
Comment is about Haiku for 2025 [No. 14 Up Yours Starmer!] (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Awful. Truly awful.
Comment is about Haiku for 2025 [No. 14 Up Yours Starmer!] (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Wed 7th May 2025 22:49
A beautiful meditation on resilience and hope, Rolph! 🌷
Comment is about Uncharted Light (blog)
Original item by Rolph David
Bitter! That takes me back, Uilleam. I've not drunk that in decades.
Funny how smells etc delight or disgust different people - although i rarely smoke anymore i still love the smell. And I was talking to another autistic person recently, and we both oddly agreed that both petrol and tar smelled nice.
Sounds can be appealing or appalling too - bouncing balls set my teeth on edge, whereas things like boots on gravel, or close-mic'd voices are what i fall 'chewy' sounds: i can almost taste them, and can lose myself in them.
Comment is about Fragment From An Oddly Remembered Dream #10: At The Barricades (blog)
Original item by Martin Peacock
I wonder if I can Cash in on it.
Comment is about The cowboy and the royal (blog)
Original item by Kevin Vose
As with most things having a strong source of second opinion is usually more productive than tyranny.
Having watched Trump with Mark Carney, his idiocy and verbal diarrhoea shone out. I've never wished my time away but I wish he would disappear sometime soon.
Comment is about Old Men (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
A great poem, Clare. Generous and intimate. A poem about being human.
Comment is about Real. (blog)
Original item by Clare
Oh, and cobblers to being "nuanced", Stephen.
The so-called "Dame" who, hiding behind "Parliamentary Privilege" vilely accused Jeremy Corbyn of being - I quote - a "fucking anti-semite" in Parliament wasn't in the least bothered about "nuance" or the truth.
Murder is Murder!
Comment is about Propaganda (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Thanks, Stephen.
...and we're told by grovelling establishment figures we should respect them!
Comment is about Old Men (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
I have to say, my rising with the sun and the birdsong frequently results in my doing the most useful reading, studying or writing, accomplishing what might have taken some days, in a couple of hours.
Comment is about Live Wide Awake (blog)
Original item by Aisha Suleman
I was out walking, on a rough waterworks track, on the top of the moors, almost benighted, when two women driving a hefty four-wheeled drive vehicle loaded with massive amplifiers and speakers asked me directions.
They were on their way to a gig in a village about five miles away, and admitted to being completely lost, having relied on sat-nav.
I pointed to a road about three miles away and about three hundred feet below us, in the hazy distance. "You need to be down there" I said.
The ability to navigate reading an OS map is being lost as people without common sense or experience fall for the latest gimmicks.
Comment is about Sat Navigation (blog)
Original item by Rick Varden
A boy name Sue sued the Sioux!
Comment is about The cowboy and the royal (blog)
Original item by Kevin Vose
Stephen Gospage
Sat 10th May 2025 08:07
This poem says so much, John. The work of a fine human being.
Comment is about CHARLIE (blog)
Original item by John E Marks