Thanks all for likes and comments.
Russell, you are correct to err on the side of caution:
Neither an under nor an over whelmer be,
But bravely carry on whelming, please feel free!😊
Comment is about REJOIN THE EU! (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
You continue to impress with your sublime use of words. Your poetry seems to get better and better. I want to write like you when I grow up!
Comment is about Above the vaulted sky (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
I really like this. It unfortunately sums up much of what is wrong with humanity, or lack of. I love the way you always make your words dance off the page. You are like one of those song writers who tell a heartbreaking story to an upbeat tune - if that makes any sense at all!! 😂
Comment is about Diminishing Scales (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Thank you so much for your insightful comments. Keith, you detect well. John Botterill you hit the nail right on the head! My husband said nobody would understand this, I told him it was a poets poem and they would get it. It seems you guys proved me right! Thank you for the likes and comments, they are truly appreciated from one who is often misunderstood.
Comment is about Mirror to my Soul. (blog)
Original item by Clare
I think I'm liberally overwhelming. My love life is conservatively underwhelming, and my addled brain is just labouriously whelming. (see what I did there, politically bipartisan), I feel a whelmed poem coming on, Ta ra 😀
A good bit of writing Uilleam
Comment is about REJOIN THE EU! (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
This poem releases the unnatural or unnecessary beliefs that is fed by the society (supernatural believers) to us, and urges to look towards things positively and as they come. I'm going to save this.
Thank you.
Comment is about Just Be (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Highly descriptive and the chaos crisp at it's imagery. The foreboding events been described at it's best.
Thank you for this.
Comment is about A Nocturnal Holocaust (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Thanks for that permission Telboy, extremely generous of you; I was half expecting to be called into the headmaster's office for a vigorous spanking with a copy of Woman's Weekly...ah well, if only😉
You tell me: "...you are obviously entitled to post on any subject you choose, but..." you forgot to add - à la Basil Fawlty of the Towers:
"DON'T MENTION THE WAR!":
on our Freedom of Movement,
on Asylum Seekers,
on Immigrants,
on our Clean Inland and Maritime Waterways,
on the NHS,
on Junior Doctors,
on Nurses,
on our Railways and Transport workers,
on the Homeless,
on our Teachers,
on our Farmers,
on our Civil Servants (yes you, Dominic Raab).
Re the NHS:
As early as 2005 or so, Jeremy Hunt's NHS policy book: 'Direct Democracy: An Agenda For A New Model Party' called for the "denationalisation" of the NHS, and for it to be replaced by an insurance market system. That is now being enacted.
It was co-authored by Tories Kwasi Kwarteng, Michael Gove, Douglas Carswell, Daniel Hannan and Greg Clark.
The destruction of every last vestige of the UK's "welfare state" and of the public services is the primary aim of the Tory party; it's nothing to do with "feckless teen mums" or "people in small boats" as the Murdoch client press would have the gullible believe.
Comment is about REJOIN THE EU! (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Brilliant idea, superbly executed. Funny yet sad. Just how I like my poetry. Bravo JD!
Comment is about The waiting lists (blog)
Original item by JD Russell
Amazing poem, Clare. You capture a tortured mind (I think) with poetic power, showing how you use writing to fend off demons.
I am scratching with my pen
Trying to write her out
Brilliant! I am in awe.
Comment is about Mirror to my Soul. (blog)
Original item by Clare
Thanks everyone for your kind words and encouragement! Loved reading the French, Clare, and the Dutch, Kevin. I (a USA Californian) have only a conversational knowledge of French (from a French-Canadian (Québecois) dad who gave all his 5 kids French names...thus, the accent marks on my name which I used throughout childhood, dropped during my working adult life, and then resumed using as an old-ish retired lady when the poetry started). My Californian niece has "Ce n'est qu'un au revoir" tatooed on her arm in memory of my dad (whom we all called papa). Merci tout le monde!
Comment is about Ce N'est Que... (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Chère Clare. Ma grand-mère avait l'habitude de dire "ne te rabaisse pas John, le reste du monde le fera pour toi". Vous comprenez assez bien.
"Extraire l'éternel de l'éphémère."
-Charles Baudelaire
Comment is about RUINS OF NINEVEH (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
puisque nous parlons tous français ce qui me fait grand plaisir, je vais continuer dans la même veine. C'est un poème intéressant bien au-dessus de ma tête mais j'ai tout de même apprécié la lecture
Comment is about RUINS OF NINEVEH (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Merci Kevin!
Par les soirs bleus d’été, j’irai dans les sentiers,
Picoté par les blés, fouler l’herbe menue :
Rêveur, j’en sentirai la fraîcheur à mes pieds.
Je laisserai le vent baigner ma tête nue.
Sensation
Arthur Rimbaud
Comment is about RUINS OF NINEVEH (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Powerful and devastating in its pounding language and imagery, Keith. A fine poem. Thank you!
Comment is about All for a Greater Order (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Beaufitul, touching and true, as with all your writing, Helene.💕
Comment is about Ce N'est Que... (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Room for everyone here on WOL. Just keep to the T&C's
"WOL members by their nature are overwhelmingly liberal and share your views"..............a rather sweeping statement I think!
Comment is about REJOIN THE EU! (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
I hope you get through it soon Jed. Let me know if I could be of any help to you. And thank you for passing the information about the book. I'll surely give it a read.
Thank you.
Comment is about From a mental health ward room (blog)
Original item by Jed
C’est un très beau poème, émouvant et qui fait réfléchir. 💕
Comment is about Ce N'est Que... (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Fri 21st Apr 2023 12:14
Thanks, I'm still on this ward in a room with a door with a little window. I hate me being here. Its probably a good place for a lot of the other patients but not for me. I should have been left at home to get through what I needed to.
Thanks for your concern.
The heroic. Journalist Patric Cockburn wrote an illustrated book with his son who suffered schizophrenia. His sons artwork really captures the ambient vibe of these places. Sorry I can't remember the title. But you can find it under Patrick Cockburn.
Jed
Comment is about From a mental health ward room (blog)
Original item by Jed
Uilleam, you are obviously entitled to post on any subject you choose, but you're preaching to the converted with all this anti-brexit anti-tory stuff. WOL members by their nature are overwhelmingly liberal and share your views. So why not try other subjects, I'm sure you could turn out some gems. Just my opinion, no offence intended.
Comment is about REJOIN THE EU! (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Thank you all for your likes and comments.
We want our sovereignty back!
Where from?
From Europe - 20 odd miles across the water?
No, from the Asia-Pacific CPTPP trade bloc thousands of miles away!
Well done Brexiteers!
To paraphrase Rudyard Kipling's Epitaph
We could not dig; nor in daylight rob:
Therefore we lied to please the mob.
Now all our lies are proved untrue
They’ll never live the dreams we slew.
What tale shall serve us here among
Defrauded angry old and young?
Comment is about April Fools (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Trevor,
Thank you for this poem which brought memories flooding back of the endless hours I spent in the local public library as a boy. Since those days I have haunted every second hand bookshop, often with a packed lunch, to leaf my way through shelves of books. My study is strewn with books of every possible description.
Thank you for these well chosen words.
Keith
Comment is about Legacy (blog)
Original item by Trevor Alexander
Reading this and picturing it was heartbreaking for me. Briskly written and thought provoking. Also, I strongly believe in "mental health above everything", and such treatment and ignorance only makes it more hard for people to get cured.
Thank you.
Comment is about From a mental health ward room (blog)
Original item by Jed
A poem that speaks about the importance of books, preserving them and making it available for the future generations. Beautifully written.
Thank you.
Comment is about Legacy (blog)
Original item by Trevor Alexander
A beautiful poem, honoring family, a cherished time piece, and oh! books, wonderful books. Really like how you weaved the imagery of the passing of time, watch hands turning, and human hands turning pages of books. Splendid!
Comment is about Legacy (blog)
Original item by Trevor Alexander
A deeply felt poem linking the generations and establishing the debt we owe to the past.
Comment is about Legacy (blog)
Original item by Trevor Alexander
Sublime in its descriptive power I detect a spiritual reality as the poem progresses. The soul is the power house of our being. It stands in the face of storms and trials when it comes to the forefront of who we really are. A powerful piece of writing, guaranteed to stimulate the senses.
A treat to read.
Tthank you
Keith
Comment is about Mirror to my Soul. (blog)
Original item by Clare
I was mesmerised by this poem which held me from within. It is rich in an impressionist language which is akin to being on the crest of a wave as I read each line.
Thank you for this
Keith
Comment is about Serpentiform (blog)
Original item by Kealan Coady
I'm torn with this. It's a compelling view in the light of chronic underfunding of so many of our vital services - not least the NHS and education. I do think however, that the 'pomp and ceremony' does bring value. Whether it's enough to justify the expense though.... A provocative piece Steve.
Comment is about Crowdfund the Coronation (blog)
Original item by Steve White
Thanks so much , Stephen, especially for the Larkin reference, for as you know, I am a fan!
The poem stemmed from a passing thought at my dad's funeral, 36 years ago, 'Am I showing sufficient, obvious grief?'
Grief, like justice, has to be seen to be done!
I like the major's line, too 😂
Comment is about Rites of Passage (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Thanks for this, Steve. I think that pay-per-view might be an idea, as it would require flag-waving royalists to put their money where their mouth is. You would have thought that some of the better-heeled guests could cough up something.
Thought-provoking and challenging as usual.
Comment is about Crowdfund the Coronation (blog)
Original item by Steve White
A superb, rather Larkinesque poem, John. I really enjoyed it. It's true that dress codes are more relaxed at funerals but have attitudes changed? I remember the Major in Fawlty Towers:
Major: 'I'm going to a memorial service, Fawlty'.
Basil: 'Tie's a bit bright, isn't it, Major?'
Major: 'Oh, I didn't like the chap,'
Comment is about Rites of Passage (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Yes, the countryside certainly has become a playground (or playpen!) for some, Keith. Thanks for this interesting poem.
Comment is about The Old England (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Thank you, John. I appreciate your comment. Yes, the war will end, but what will replace it? Real peace seems unlikely. Perhaps a festering truce?
Comment is about Sloviansk (14 April 2023) (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Utterly brilliant, I loved every word. Some of those phrases may appear in a JDR poem in about ten years😁.
Comment is about Charlie Darwin (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Thanks so much, Holden and Keith. Really valued and appreciated your comments. My wife says the poem flies in the face of how I actually respond at these events. I was trying to get to the truth but who knows where the truth really lies amongst so much social conditioning?
Thanks Nigel and Stephen A for the likes. 😀
Comment is about Rites of Passage (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Fits together really well.
Comment is about End of a Beginning (blog)
Original item by John Gilbert Ellis
Thank you so much Holden & Russell, Stephen A and Stephen G. This poem means a lot to me: my brother, Pete, and my son, Kieran, have gone before me. Love does not stop with the death of the beloved.
"All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.” —Walt Whitman, Song of Myself.
Comment is about Charlie Darwin (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Wed 19th Apr 2023 21:55
A profound, special poem, John, full of beautiful imagery! And the title succeeds in bringing together the multiple layers of meaning!🌷
Comment is about Charlie Darwin (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Wed 19th Apr 2023 21:01
Extremely truthful and written with flair, John! Every stanza is excellent! 😎
Comment is about Rites of Passage (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Think I've hit a memory button somewhere for you all, thank you for the comments
Comment is about The Wail of Two Cities (blog)
Original item by JD Russell
A poem which describes our outward demeanour when in certain situations. It is as if we are required to behave in a certain manner. This has often troubled me as it is false and conjured up to meet the occasion and lacking in any true emotion. Should we not be so conformist and act naturally? The poem is well written and true. However, it focuses on the Rites of Passage rather than every day feelings and how we are when in public view.
I enjoyed this and thank you.
Keith
Comment is about Rites of Passage (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Thank you, John! You know me, I sometimes can't help turning things a little sinister 😄👺
Comment is about The Memory Of Her (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
A wonderful snapshot of a life possible for us all 🌈
Comment is about Le Nu Provençal (blog)
Original item by David Cooke
Yes ,don't give in to it, Mike!
Superb writing 🌈
Comment is about The Hill (blog)
Original item by Mike Bartram
let time dance like a dervish,
let well-being flow like water,
let eternity wash away your fears.
Let's all do this Helene!
Nice one 🌈
Comment is about Stepping Out (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Nigel Astell
Sun 23rd Apr 2023 00:16
Care free flyers
Soaring high above
Wingless troubled souls below.
Comment is about 3 x more haiku about Change (blog)
Original item by Andy N