Very well deserved Daniel,

A harrowing experience perfectly reproduced!

and perhaps the best Q & A answers we've ever had.

Great Work!

Comment is about 'The Insignificant Poet' by Daniel Dwyran is Write Out Loud Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Colin, Thank you for this. It is an assessment of what is happening and the possible outcome of technology. There is a guy, whose name escapes me at present, but he is tragically confined to a wheel chair and yet despite his disability he is a foremost scientist and gifted with perspicacity. He recently made a statement that technology would destroy humanity. Many people with religious beliefs are convinced that we are living in the End Times. There is a lot to think about here. In the span of my own life time I never envisaged a society so advanced. A family of four sitting at a table for lunch, all on their mobiles and not one word of conversation between them. My 9 year old nephew who seldom converses but is permanently transifixed by TV or his latest Play Station.You are right it is scary. Thanks. Keith

Comment is about Befuddled (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

mushroom charming - I have visions of you standing in a field jumping up and down and chanting strange incantations to raise the white buttons from the ground.

after moving to my present country abode some twenty odd years ago there was one year and one year only when the neighbouring field spawned a huge quantity of field mushrooms. Never seen it since. It was quite magical.

Cheers
Col

Comment is about Mushroom Picking (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Poetry is most certainly in your blood as I can see from your latest offering The Bleeding Hour and also Greener Grass, The Fight and The Past, Present and Future. You write from deep within and from that place comes some beautiful verse. Thank you. Keith

Comment is about old shoes (poet profile)

Original item by old shoes

I was just reading an article about cryogenics and artificial intelligence and how the tech nerds in Silicon Valley are buying into research to make them immortal through the process of brain mapping and transplantation into robot bodies. And as I read it I couldn't help but think who this technology would be made available to. There is a belief that the human body will inevitably become redundant yet for billions of people their lives will no doubt become subservient slaves to this new breed of humanoids. I know this is a bit tangential but who will be interested in an old granny with dementia? Or anyone with a health problem or belief that doesn't fit the brief? Or just plain ordinary folk? By coincidence I watched the film Prometheus last night. Scary science. Cheers, Col.

Comment is about Befuddled (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Hello Raj, thanks for the comment on Mushroom Picking. The mushrooms were huge, bigger than in any shop. Thanks again. Keith

Comment is about Chakraj (poet profile)

Original item by Chakraj

Hello MC,
Sorry I only just saw your comment on my song Sammy Be Goode and the issue you have in accessing my Just Giving page via FaceBook.
I don't want to seem presumptuous but if you would like to make a small donation to the Teenage Cancer Trust I have attached a link to their webpage where you can do so directly rather than needing a FaceBook page to access my JustGiving one.
Many thanks,
John

https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/support-us/donate?gclid=CJHjxc7NqNMCFfYy0wodTVUFqw

Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

always difficult to pin down your exact meaning elP but - taken literally - I knew a teenage boy who chose not to speak, but instead of baseball he played football/soccer. There is so much here which seems to fit his situation although I can't confess I knew him well, he was the son of a friend. I have no idea what triggered his self-imposed silence (he did speak sparingly to a few close family and friends during that time) but your second verse maybe suggests an answer. I wonder also whether he felt his voice was lost within a large family - a household where many outside and fleeting visitors regularly stayed. And through it all he played football for his local team and now, as far as I know, is a well-adjusted twenty-something with a job and partner. Thanks, Colin.

Comment is about selective mute (blog)

Original item by nunya

French teacher's joke about Easter egg moderation - "One egg is un oeuf".
Boom boom.

Comment is about Eggocentric (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

It comes to us all, Ray.
The new gizmo works well. I'll be seeking your advice on it soon!
Excellent impression of Ole Big Ears which works brilliantly with the content. Loved the overt sexual imagery as well as the less overt. And that "ravages/cabbages" rhyme.

Comment is about PRINCE CHARLES's LAMENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Hi Ray, enjoyed all of this....the funny poem, the reading and the very good impression, I'm looking forward to hearing some of your others. Congrats on your first reading!

Aythangyow for posting and Happy Easter.

Paul

Comment is about PRINCE CHARLES's LAMENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

through this is found your strength

Comment is about myself. (blog)

Original item by Maria Renea

Its that time again isn't it.

great reminder

Old Shoes

Comment is about <untitled> (blog)

Original item by Louis Audet

Wonderful imagery Keith. You painted a superb picture of country life there.

Glad to know you had a great morning yield.?

Comment is about Mushroom Picking (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Nice piece Wardah. Quite enlightening!
I like the title too.

Raj

Comment is about Know This (blog)

Original item by Wardah

Nice piece Wardah. Quite enlightening!
I like the title too.

Raj

Comment is about Know This (blog)

Original item by Wardah

You shine like a star in the darkness Maria.
A simple but stunning rendition.

Raj x

Comment is about myself. (blog)

Original item by Maria Renea

beautiful smile often hides deep pain ..... the sufferer knows the truth while others take them at face value.....beautifully expressed!!!!

Comment is about myself. (blog)

Original item by Maria Renea

Very, Very Funny! And your reading tops it off so well.

elP

Comment is about PRINCE CHARLES's LAMENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

I liked this! Love the line "Oh, lead to the dance once more"

Comment is about In Consequence Of Love (blog)

Original item by Adam Whitworth

I can't help but feel you should have signed off with an "Aythangyow". But this was very good and I enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for spicing up my snotty Easter weekend Raymondo. I was contemplating gate-crashing the Woking WoL evening at the New Inn on Monday and meeting you and Greg but I'm just not up to it. Maybe another day if you like. Cheers for posting this. Col

Comment is about PRINCE CHARLES's LAMENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Well said, Harry. With you, we're never left "Dancing in
the Dark"!

Comment is about An Easter answer? (blog)

Original item by Harry O`N eill

Thanks Raj for reading and commenting. Happy Easter to you, too. May all your eggs have two yolks ?

Paul

Comment is about Eggocentric (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Nicely observed Mark. That does give pause for thought. I feel that a similar tribute in a communist country would be mourned and vilified today, but America gets away with it and still lives on that inglorious past that set the country up.
Thanks for your points.

Thank you elP. Imagine fast forward to a future time - even rock gets weathered eventually . i'm thinking of the San Andreas fault creating a massive island promontory! and lake. A very appropriate poem too full of gothic symmetry.

Ray

Comment is about NORTH BY NORTHWEST (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Thanks David, Ray, elp and Colin. This is as you rightly say is the prelude to something David. It was something I wrote for my wife of whom I rarely read my poetry to these days as it can be overload. But she said to me that I ought to post it, so here it is. So you are also right elp about things left unsaid, it can be difficult to break through.
Glad you like the cheesy grin Ray and Colin. You are right Ray it does lighten it a bit What are the chances of us both writing the same thing again Col spooky!
I realise that sometimes I can get a bit intense with what I write so your comments are much appreciated.
cheers
Martin

Comment is about let us talk (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

Hi Daz, thanks for your comment and message. Please never under estimate your poetry. I have just read Hey Hipster and it is really good. You are right about conformity as it is nothing more than a form of conditioning which robs people of their very inner being. Keep writing mate. I love it. Keith

Comment is about dazzer (poet profile)

Original item by dazzer

Nice one Paul . HAPPY EASTER!!

"it's all about me, not you

and I'm chocolate enough..." -- quite Willy Wonkarish.

Oeuf à la coque (can you say that in English?)

Raj

Comment is about Eggocentric (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

i loved the journey....it sure feels the same..you wish to enjoy the countryside and scenery, but the jerks and bumps spoil it...and of course leaving the place where u lived for long, is always a sad experience, and the fear of moving to a new place is also a sad experience.....i loved it till the end....hope u enjoy ur new den....lol!!!

Comment is about A Sad Memory (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

I can only echo the previous comments Martin and what a coincidence we have both posted poems with cheesy grins! If you wait long enough two show up at the same time. Thanks for posting yours. Col.

Comment is about let us talk (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

Hi Keith, thanks for
the comments on my poems. I often wonder if anyone actually reads anything I write. I'm interested in your comment about conformity in your profile, one of my relations served in the army until he was about 40 and has only just really found his own voice. Ive enjoyed reading your poems especially a mountain journey. Daz

Comment is about keith jeffries (poet profile)

Original item by keith jeffries

I could think of a few cardboard cut-out shapes that would have left better stains than a quilt! Oh the temptation borders on the Adam and Eveable - the despoliation of his Garden of Eden - just because it is so inviting to be done, a metaphorical act or performance.

the imaculate front lawn or garden is surely an extension of the front parlour - there but never used, except maybe for the doctor or priest.

but in their defence they are a dying breed as so many are buried under concrete and gravel, cars and caravans. And the run-off during storms from these grassless patches has only increased the chance of local flooding. "They paved paradise, put up a parking lot hahahaha"

great idea for a poem Keith. Cheers,
Col

Comment is about His Cherished Domain (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Nice one Keith. I treat lawns for a living, so know only too well how obsessive some people can be over their lawn (It's a man thing). I know of one guy who cuts his twice every day, and trims the edge with a pair of scissors.
I think this poem captures the psyche of such obsessives
Cheers Kevin

Comment is about His Cherished Domain (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Just my version of someone deciding to become very small just a little too late...

Thanks all for reading and I hope to keep reading more from each of you.

elP

ps
..can't resist the urge to look up more about Wyeth...

Comment is about discontinuity (blog)

Original item by nunya

A character study in the light of a brief space in time...

Cinematic...that's my favorite word for your work.

elP

Comment is about what god has joined together let no man put asunder (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

This makes me think of all the things left unsaid...sometimes when we are in the greatest need of explication, we just can't find the proper context...

This is very sweet, Martin. Its speaks, in a strong voice, of being time-tested and surviving.

elP

Comment is about let us talk (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

I once had a daydream of Rushmore being swallowed by the earth..MC has a point, though--my dream may one day come true...



Percy Shelley's "Ozymandias"

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

from, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias

Comment is about NORTH BY NORTHWEST (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Quite cleverly written, Keith..I will never understand this modern adoration of the front lawn. It seems most like a living room with an outrageously expensive couch on which no one is allowed to sit!

elP

Comment is about His Cherished Domain (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

MC, thank you for your comments on the content on the poem A Frontier of Contrast. It makes for some interesting reading. I agree with your use of the word indolent as this can apply to most Latin countries as I well know having lived in Spain for many years. There can be no doubt that California is an economic giant which will always attract wealth but what it has invested in its pristine beauty it lacks in culture. America is highly multicultural which cannot be said of its southern neighbours who are more monochrome in their complexion. America has no cohesive culture but a dynamism to succeed; to create wealth. Yet when the wealth has been created they are stymied in their search of culture. Thank you again for you comments which I value. Keith

Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

The Mount Rushmore memorial bears some passing
similarity to the reasoning behind the monument told of
by the poet in a famous poem - the ego that demands
"Look on my works (O ye Mighty)...and despair" And who
knows? The great heads of those past presidents may
also be worn down to barely discernible fragments by
the remorseless ravages of time...and be the subject of
some as yet unwritten poem.

Comment is about NORTH BY NORTHWEST (blog)

Original item by ray pool

An intriguing and entertaining tale of two places - or
maybe that should be two attitudes of mind.
I recall reading somewhere that California's economy was
larger than some countries; also that San Diego is
the naval hub of the USA itself. Two factors that surely
help keep the Golden State at the forefront of estimates
of financial worth.
I retain the suspicion that the Latin temperament is
responsible for the quality of life of its people. Indolent
is a word that comes to mind. Further south, South
America has numerous national examples that keep
populations in poverty whilst a select few with professed
socialist sympathies do not seem keen on sharing the
wealth they hold. The indolence occasionally erupts
into violence (Venezuela is currently teetering on the
brink!) by those masses who lose patience with the
way they are being kept in financial chains, with job
prospects and any opportunity of improving their lot
in life dismissively denied in perpetuity.
San Diego may be pristine but the optimistic traffic
headed that way indicates the attraction such a
prospect holds for those not satisfied with their more
"colourful" existences.

Comment is about A Frontier of Contrast (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Hi Col, thanks for the wonderfully nutty (and wonderfully well-crafted) comments, just what the doctor ordered on such a cold and miserable day. Thanks for the dvd prize, too, loved the eggheads titles.

So pleased you picked out 'albumenandwomen' for praise. And, yeah, the cow and egg gag, very good. I was tempted to use "boeuf, boeuf, boeuf" but, sadly, couldn't get it to work.

Immense thanks for this hilarity. Happy Easter. Hope you feel better v.v. soon.

Paul

Comment is about Eggocentric (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Yay! Happy Easter! Send chocolate - I hear it soothes a sore throat.

gossamer thin and fetherlite - it's a chocolate egg filled with condoms! What a surprise!

albumenandwomen deserves a prize - on its way a dvd box set of the Eggheads TV Show Series 1-18 with 6 celebrity specials and spin-off shows Are You An Egghead? / Revenge Of The Egghead / Make Me An Egghead. Congratulations!

there's only one thing separating a French cow from a French egg and that's a bee - work it out.

toodle-oo ?

Comment is about Eggocentric (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

What a great story Col to go with the poem. Everything has a price, even paradise. (is that another verse I wonder?)I love that word skedaddled by the way. There's something deeply ironic about heads in the cloud !

Ah the versatility of words David. A wry comment if ever I saw one. I'm saving the audio for a Prince Charles debut , fingers crossed.

I'm glad you highlighted that line Paul - I know you like a twist lightly adjusted to suit. The film was a real classic, especially the music of Bernard Herrmann. (who wrote the Psycho music too).

Happy Easter all.

Comment is about NORTH BY NORTHWEST (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Yes both of u r right thanks Raj and el Pintor. x

Comment is about Other cares (blog)

Original item by Nicola Byrnes

Laura, love this, love it with a capital L. I didn't get chance to post a comment yesterday but I kept thinking about this wonderful poem. Great subject, very original with so many good lines and clever weaving in of the song lyrics, too.

Big thank you Laura for posting this. A real Easter treat ?

Paul

Comment is about Darlin' Dancers (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Ray, very good this, especially:

"in all their rocksure
cocksure majesties"

I must watch this film again, thanks for the reminder.

Paul

Comment is about NORTH BY NORTHWEST (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Very impressive website Maria!

Comment is about MARIA TOSTI (poet profile)

Original item by MARIA TOSTI

Ha, I almost have some first hand experience of this Ray. I drove up to Mount Rushmore last year through the theme park towns of Deadwood and Sturgis only to find my goal shrouded in cloud. Off course you have to pay because it's cleverly concealed - not just by clouds - so I asked if I could turn around and leave having found myself in a queue of cars. Fortunately they said yes so I skedaddled away and went in search of something else, a campsite I believe. There followed a very long drive across South Dakota and Iowa and endless fields of corn, soya and sunflowers. God Bless America!
Col

Comment is about NORTH BY NORTHWEST (blog)

Original item by ray pool

this doesn't sound like Tenerife Keith. btw do you get called 'Tenerife Keith'?

I do like this poem, it takes the reader on the journey, squeezed in with the goldfish. In my mind I took a side road at the mention of Nan. Got me thinking how some elderly people might feel leaving their homes and being shunted around council run care homes, perhaps ending up in places they had no connection with.

there is also a 'Jerusalem' feel to this. And did those feet etc. Except the feet are the furniture lorry wheels cresting the hill and the dark satanic mills are your tall satanic chimneys. Good work Keith.

Colin

Comment is about A Sad Memory (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Hello Keith! Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to read my poem. I read your poem in your profile and I really liked it. I saw you write a lot. It is a good thing!

Comment is about keith jeffries (poet profile)

Original item by keith jeffries