Paul, another beautiful poem well painted.
Evokes the senses and that what makes it so endearing.

I find two sentences in particular very appealing:
"the shedding skin of summer" and

"wrapping itself
like a tourniquet
around the body of winter"

More please!
Raj

Comment is about Going Around In Circles (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Daft how we feed our children a diet of lies and then punish them when they lie to us. And when they make up stories to cover their lies are they not just mimicking our own? Seems an odd foundation on which to ground our children's moral education. Yet we do it, generation after generation. I'm sure kids would accept the truth more readily than we ever give them credit for. But then lies are big business too. Take that Santa business for a start!

Cheers Paul. Apologies for not being around much.
Col

Comment is about Fibs And Secrets (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

You write as if you know exactly who you are Keith having endured a difficult journey which has led you to a point of fulfillment in your life. I hope so.

'I lived in a swamp of damp despair' sounds like my old bedsit in Brighton!!

Col.

Comment is about One of many... (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

I think we can all relate to this by degrees. The ties that bind etc. Brave are those that break free, or selfish depending on which side of the family fence your loyalties lie. A family picture portrait snapshot captured well with your pen Keith.
Col.

Comment is about A Family Gathering (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Nothing like being able to laugh at oneself Andy and I can't help but think that your humour connects these two poems. Col.

Comment is about Shopping and When I've Gone (blog)

Original item by Andy Smyth

Clever, original and humourous Andy with a touch of Dickens and Orwell thrown in for good measure. Love it.
Col

Comment is about My basement empire (blog)

Original item by Andy Smyth

I particularly like the fourth stanza and how it speaks of the choking of the remaining vestiges which survived the summer's parching effect--the anthropomorphism of the earth really communicates your message well.

elP

Comment is about Going Around In Circles (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

This is fantastic..truly. It's one of those pieces that I find, every once in while, that I could just get lost in.

elP

Comment is about Reverse (blog)

Original item by MyDystopiA

A very apt poetic observation...I've always felt sad for that cat--just another victim of anticipation waiting inside the box.

elP

Comment is about Shroedinger's Poet (blog)

Original item by A Brady

Really powerful. Love "the shedding skin of summer".

Comment is about Going Around In Circles (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

i think Karen is right.

i am wrong with this myself sometimes but look at your spelling as there's a couple of typos there and it can jar.

i would also suggest teasing the piece out a bit as it does seem a bit brief at the moment to give the poem the breath it needs to flow

but either way, good luck - look forward to reading more.

Comment is about Can Some One Please Help (blog)

Original item by Sinead Wright

I'm glad you liked this my son - come over any time to meet the boys! The other bleedin' poets should get off their arses and give it a thumbs up - or else....

ayfankyou.

Ray

Comment is about AT THE WATERING HOLE (blog)

Original item by ray pool

A kaleidoscope of possible outcomes, topsy turvy and unsettling - yellow submarine and LCD - spectral imaginings and all highly original in your inimitable style Suki.

Miaow is all I can say!

Ray

Comment is about It Was Similar To The Resurrection Oh But Not The Same (blog)

Original item by Suki Spangles

I should have said 10 years. Sorry mate

Comment is about Change (blog)

Original item by Larry Smith

Larry, I have read through all the poems in your blog including the latest addition. I like your style which seems to be developing with each new poem.
Thank you for the comment on my Poem Shell Shock. It was based on an elderly gentleman who survuved the Great War. I was 19 years in the Army and saw service in Oman during the conflict in Dhofar in the early 1970´s but nothing in comparison to the First World War.
I think our military background gives us a perspective on life which we can draw on in our descriptive poetry and prose. I look forward to reading more of your work. Thanks. Keith

Comment is about Change (blog)

Original item by Larry Smith

True experiences like yours have great impact in verse and when so well crafted really go to the heart of a devastating liberty taken and survived with consequences far reaching. Thanks for sharing. Brilliant writing David.

Ray

Comment is about Hitting the Wrong Note (blog)

Original item by David Redfield

Hello Kenneth, I have just finished reading all the verse which you have submitted to your blog. Your passion, yearning and the problems of unrequited love are beautifully and eloquently spoken. Your ability to compose verse is quite apparent. May I suggest you consider other ideas for future work as I believe you possess real potential. Thank you. I have enjoyed reading your work. Keith

Comment is about Kenneth James Keller (poet profile)

Original item by Kenneth James Keller

A deeply moving piece David.

Paul

Comment is about Hitting the Wrong Note (blog)

Original item by David Redfield

thanks Stu. glad you like it. Worth watching the film - the Dylan Thomas bit defo makes sense within the context of the film too.

Comment is about 6 x Short Poems wrote while watching the film 'The Sense of an ending') (blog)

Original item by Andy N

Beautiful.

Comment is about Hitting the Wrong Note (blog)

Original item by David Redfield

phew! close call Andy! Thanks for the laugh! Jemima.

Comment is about My basement empire (blog)

Original item by Andy Smyth

Perhaps you just need to redefine your idea of faith, Stu. I find this work 'full of faith', bursting! How long has it been since last you were 'reading the Bible aloud'? Especially with a friend? A chill ran up my spine at 'the culling of the fold', an expression I find totally alienating. I think that idea alone is a huge insight into this work. Maybe unintentional.

'Pale and inexcusable in the moonlight' is one of the BEST lines of poetry I've ever read, especially applied to 'my gut my cock my balls'. Lines like that make poets famous!

Comment is about after reading the bible, naked and afraid (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Hi Raj.

Cor, when I think about all the old wives tales I was told, it makes me wonder how daft my family thought I was (don't answer that!). No wonder I was good at Maths, I spent so much time thinking "eh, that doesn't add up" ??

Cheers Raj, thanks for commenting.

Paul

Comment is about Fibs And Secrets (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Clever Raj, very clever.

Howay the Lads. Good to see them back in the Prem.

Paul

Comment is about The sun on the Tyne is all mine, oh mine (A Premier tribute to Geordieland!) (blog)

Original item by Chakraj

I like this Ray, I like it an effin lot, like Robbie Fowler's dog these geezers are Wellard, well, sort of ?

Aythangyow. Paul

Comment is about AT THE WATERING HOLE (blog)

Original item by ray pool

agreed, 3 is excellent!

Comment is about 6 x Short Poems wrote while watching the film 'The Sense of an ending') (blog)

Original item by Andy N

thanks Linda. All of the poems were reactions really to what i saw in the film. wasn't a perfect film but Jim Broadbent is a great actor (:

Comment is about 6 x Short Poems wrote while watching the film 'The Sense of an ending') (blog)

Original item by Andy N

David, Thank you for this poem which is an example of revisiting the past in order to see what could have been as opposed to that which did not. This is where poetry takes to the floor which other artistic genres cannot adequately achieve. A memory which has remained with you, pondered and brought back to life. Well crafted. Thank you again. Keith

Comment is about Hitting the Wrong Note (blog)

Original item by David Redfield

Nice one Paul.

Old wives tales are like heirlooms aren't they??

Raj

Comment is about Fibs And Secrets (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Congratulations on POTW .
I really enjoyed this piece. As I read it i could really picture the scene. Should poetry rhyme? That's a matter of opinion, but as long as they're as good as this who cares.

Cheers Kevin

Comment is about 'Unseen' by Karen Ankers is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Love the tramlines structure Larisa.
And the mysterious Olga?

Like to see some more.
Raj

Comment is about Rzhepiks (something funny) (blog)

Original item by Larisa Rzhepishevska

Hey to the both of you, Suki and Stu,

It's a little off subject, but I'm very glad to have people read what I write these days. I truly never thought that I would become this comfortable posting it. And, it doesn't hurt that, much of the time, people get out of it just exactly the meaning I put into it.

Suki, you make a great point--the business of money-making seems to be the precise reason for perpetual war. While the media plays on our emotions to make the issues at hand seem much in black-and-white to the public perception, I've no doubt that quite sinister forces are being actively veiled. The interplay between entities (media, government, corporate) for control over how we think and what we do is very effective in making the greater percentage of us to work as cogs in an engineered machine. You've only to look at what happens to those who dissent to know that to be a truth. Hell, you don't even need to dissent--you only need to call it for what it is to be paid a visit by the character assassins.

Anyhow, before someone calls me "crazy" (again), thanks to the both of you for commenting and the opportunity for discussion--I find it very stimulating.

elP

Comment is about shedding light where angels fear to tread (blog)

Original item by nunya

Although this seems almost like thoughts out of control, I feel a technique running through it which speak of a desire to express at any cost (to the mind). The parallel I feel would be a finding of a soul and its wonderful resonance in a chaos of the undefined. Therefore great poetry!

Nice that your posting

Ray

Comment is about after reading the bible, naked and afraid (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Ok, if you really want some feedback...It's a good start! Love the alliteration in the first line. Nice punchy start to the poem. Not sure if you need the "Oh"... Maybe you could explore the idea of being "attached" to words a bit more, since this seems to be the basis of the poem. Maybe write "attachment" in the middle of a page and then see what words you can find that flow from it. You've already got "Clutching". Maybe have some physical "attachment", hands, heart, throat....maybe the attachment to words stopping breath...Please ignore this is if it's of no help. But you have the start of a really interesting piece here.

Comment is about Can Some One Please Help (blog)

Original item by Sinead Wright

Thanks Stu. I don't always like my poems, thus the revisions, but I do like 'The foggy, foggy dew'. Much appreciated comment Stu - thanks again, John

Comment is about The foggy, foggy dew (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

Everything I have seen of your work has distilled beauty of expression and this is another example - it can't fail to persuade the reader in its message.

Ray

Comment is about On Parade (blog)

Original item by Karen Ankers

Has the most wonderful rhythm and uplifting ending like a story. Well done x

Comment is about Love is...... (blog)

Original item by Genevieve

This made my heart break a little bit, then fixed, and then broke again. Such beautiful words, Cait x

Comment is about Makayla (poet profile)

Original item by Makayla

Makayla, This is unusual but I am drawn to its brevity and honesty and style. Write more. Thanks. Keith

Comment is about Makayla (poet profile)

Original item by Makayla

expose yourself to me .
lie naked unafraid.
your mind and heart
not your body
that is a womanly gift for
someone else.

lie with me awhile
and I will show you
my ugliness too.

and we will not
judge, we will not
be afraid.

it is just
good to find
another like
ourselves
and smile.

Comment is about Exposed (blog)

Original item by Hannah Orosco

As a gay man I can readily relate to your words of anguish. Keep writing. I would like to read more. Thanks. Keith

Comment is about Why I Do Not Want to Hear That You Love Me (blog)

Original item by A Brady

there is no ugliness here only growth.

Comment is about Exposed (blog)

Original item by Hannah Orosco

Martin, thank you for commenting on my poem Daggers Drawn. Thanks much. Keith

Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)

Original item by Martin Elder

sorry you didn't have time for your own lunch Greg - and/but a great occasion much enjoyed by my guest who is new to spoken word events, and myself. Thank you for organising, a treat of a Saturday lunchtime.

Comment is about No time for lunch at festival's three-hour banquet of poetry (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

This has a nice rhythm to it Keith. I particularly love the word fusillade
marvellous

Comment is about A Dagger drawn (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Thanks Keith, David, elp, suki, Stu and Karen. Your comments and reading are much appreciated. This was one of those poems that I completed and posted within about twenty four hours. A part of the inspiration came from the film 'A knights tale where Geoffrey Chaucer played by Paul Betany speaks in a similar fashion to his creditors.
But also you are right David about simple truth coming through and also elp the feeling of battle and finally laying to rest all that has been fought for.
Thanks once again to everybody who read.
Martin

Comment is about My pen (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

Raj
re "Inductive and deductive Logic tutorials." aaaaaaaaagh! (runs out of the room) ?

Comment is about Chakraj (poet profile)

Original item by Chakraj

This poem is well thought out and constructed and communicates ideas and emotions effectively in a direct way with no complexity. I particularly liked the line: "time and rain washed his colour away" and also "you say you don't remember" because I can relate to this odd phenomenon where something someone said or did made an impact on us and is lodged in our memory but they can't remember it at all. Everyone's take on reality is different according to our individual perceptions. Only criticism in my opinion is that naming the pink dog might be one detail too many.

Comment is about 'Unseen' by Karen Ankers is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

You're right about the cafe being a really good space for poetry, Ray, aided by the Lightbox's good sound equipment. Glad you managed to get fed and watered, and that Mrs P had a good time. To be fair, I think the cafe did good business, despite the lack of breaks.

Comment is about No time for lunch at festival's three-hour banquet of poetry (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Beautiful. Words that carry pain.

Comment is about Why I Do Not Want to Hear That You Love Me (blog)

Original item by A Brady