Wow that touched me. I can so identify

Comment is about Undercover (blog)

Original item by ~just me~

Right. I made up a pretty nice world too

Comment is about Your beauty behind my eyes (blog)

Original item by LeGou

I would love that too. Nice feeling thanks

Comment is about Excited (blog)

Original item by Poetryum

Yeah I love to rhyme. A total addiction. It really increases the vocabulary. Keeps my old mind churning lol

Comment is about I Rhyme (blog)

Original item by Mrs Claire Baldry

I have to agree with Stu--very beautiful with powerfully descriptive imagery.

elP

Comment is about Cracked Symbols (blog)

Original item by Suki Spangles

Thanks for your comment Natasha - also to have a lady add her thoughts! Anyway, i'm sure we all feel these basic sadnesses . I think simplicity and directness carries through and maybe reaches the parts. x

Jon i'm pleased you found favour with this. I've dreamed of getting POTW but never dreamed it would be with this kind of offering; it just came out in a rush. Probably the only way .
Thanks a lot. Ray

Comment is about 'Schoolbuddy' by Ray Pool is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Well, MC, I can't rightly argue with the church in dockland's Poplar. Though, I notice it's somewhat similar to this quote I just found from Carl Sagan while trying to locate the originator--

'In science it often happens that scientists say, "You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken," and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.'

Please don't mistake me for trying to be cute about religion. I realize that faith is very important to those who are believers. But I've heard some pretty egregious arguments defending some pretty far out stuff. Most are utterly forgettable and have absolutely no chance of getting inside a reasonably sound mind. Though I can't recall any in particular, I did just see this--

"God does not believe in atheists, therefore atheists do not exist."

--not in the least clever, as I'm pretty sure you'd agree.

As far as "honesty is always the best policy"--that one should definitely be on the list. I'm most certain there's at least as much virtue in asking 'who's asking the question' as speaking up with the truth without a thought for consequence.

Thank you kindly for your thought-provoking comment, MC..much appreciated.

elP

Comment is about suspension of disbelief...or, you are what you eat (blog)

Original item by nunya

or this:

https://angelatcarr.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/poetry-competitions-submissions-december-2016/

Comment is about Poetry competitions (blog)

Original item by LEE JAMES BLUNT

hi ray
david cant make it so im staying in bed. i will endeavor to make it next year as early as i can.

many congrats on POTW, about bloody time too

Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)

Original item by ray pool

A church sign from docklands' Poplar in the 1960s that has
stayed with me for its essential truth:
Those who never change their minds never correct their
mistakes.
But here's one to stimulate argument:
Honesty is the best policy.
(Is that always the case in this life, I ask? I suspect not).

Comment is about suspension of disbelief...or, you are what you eat (blog)

Original item by nunya

Thanks Andy - I sent a response but it got lost(!?) I meant to say that you're right about the brevity factor. I think I wanted to be a sort of voyeur and apply a bit of self righteous ego for the last lines.

Ray

Comment is about THE WORSHIPPERS (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Thanks Stu. There is now a sort of stereo approach with this re the title and the first line; i'm glad you took it on!

Ray

Comment is about DESSERT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

very evocative David - and that's from a still outraged and haunted ex-punk - piercings and pimples now long gone.

We were plenty cash strapped back in them days that's for sure - I remember saving up and paying £4.10 for my copy of Never Mind the Bollocks from the tiny Virgin Record Store on the Queens Rd in Brighton - never understood why it was so expensive at the time.

When punk wore off I got into Mingus, Miles and Monk amongst others but found secondhand copies at car boots a much more economical way of expanding my record collection - now since flogged on Ebay as I needed the shelves to house my extensively published works of poetry.

All the best,
Colin

Comment is about Chasin' the Breeze (blog)

Original item by David Cooke

I agree Emer, but I also think that we are much better than that. We are the only rational living beings yet we still act so irrational.

Comment is about World based on lies is not what we enjoy (blog)

Original item by LeGou

Hey Ray
A worthy winner and full of detail that will be familiar to a lot of people.
Made me stop, think and be grateful for what I have in life but frequently moan about
Loved the first stanza with childhood friend rememberances before the illness took hold.

Comment is about 'Schoolbuddy' by Ray Pool is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi Gus
Powerful slab of dark, unrelenting energy. Amazing stuff !

Comment is about I'm Losing the Light (blog)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

subscribe on this link or on their Facebook page for regular updates on worldwide poetry / writing competitions, residencies etc. Quite varied. If you win anything my fee is a mere 10% of your total earnings ? good luck.

http://www.aerogrammestudio.com/

Comment is about Poetry competitions (blog)

Original item by LEE JAMES BLUNT

Check out Cathy's Comps & Calls

http://compsandcalls.com/wp/

Comment is about Poetry competitions (blog)

Original item by LEE JAMES BLUNT

Hi Martin,
Thank you for your kind comment and feedback. Thanks for reading!

Comment is about Sun And Air (blog)

Original item by Suki Spangles

Sorry Colin coming back late to you - That phrase Do me a Favour is what I would call verging on rudeness and despicably accusatory. Witness people like Alan Sugar , sorry Lord Sugar. Knowing some comics over the years it would easily be used as a defence mechanism when the ego gets threatened(which does happen to those on stages often). Thanks mate. In answer to your question about the nurse: "do bears shit in the woods?"

Ray

Comment is about DO ME A FAVOUR (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Thanks you LCPTB. Like yourself I can look back some! You make a salient point about family (no choice) and close friendships; we're all in the queue It is often hard to maintain accord with those close to the deceased I have found when they associate you with the old life that has moved on. Think on't. I had a tiny feeling those two lines were like a dash of cynicism but relevant.

Cheers, Ray

Comment is about SCHOOLBUDDY (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Suki, thanks for the compassionate comment, another strand in the picture; I honestly feel a suspension of sadness because of the poem and all comments have been a kind of exorcism of the sting sounds cheesy I know. The value of communication cannot be over estimated. It's nice to bask in POTW, though I felt a tiny sense of guilt as if I was using the event to capitalize on it. Another lesson learned in the big picture.

Ray

Comment is about SCHOOLBUDDY (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Nice surprise to find your comment Kyle to add some refined weight to my poem, which seems to have hit squarely in the mind's eye, thank goodness. As you have a broad and mature viewpoint in your work, I do value it.

Cheers buddy.

Comment is about 'Schoolbuddy' by Ray Pool is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks, Suki and Stu. I believe that I'll leave the list open for future amendments--this is only what I could come up with while making dinner last night. Time will reveal further worthy additions, no doubt.

elP

Comment is about suspension of disbelief...or, you are what you eat (blog)

Original item by nunya

Because we like to starve our souls and feed our ego instead. Humans are silly.????

Comment is about World based on lies is not what we enjoy (blog)

Original item by LeGou

Very good?

Comment is about World based on lies is not what we enjoy (blog)

Original item by LeGou

cheers suki, high praise indeed to be compared to one of my favourite bands.

funnily enough, two of my favourite uses of spoken word in music are in GSYBE songs. 'the car is on fire' etc from 'dead flag blues' and the coney island, they dont sleep anymore on the beach bit from 'sleep' having said that i find it very difficult to concentrate on anything from the remainded of that album after the amazing, air raid siren style guitar solo from 'sleep' which might be my favourite 3 or so minutes of music.

Comment is about though we kneel before you like a child (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Wordality! It certainly is a word now. Cheers for reading, and your feedback.

Comment is about Cracked Symbols (blog)

Original item by Suki Spangles

Well, first of all, the title has Godspeed You Black Emperor all over it. Secondly, the poetry - this read out beneath some delay peddle feedback would be formidable. Seriously, I love the imagery here, difficult to pick out one line, but the openeng grabbed my attention. Cheers Stu!

Comment is about though we kneel before you like a child (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Ray, this hits hard in a quiet, normal way.

I think that is why it is so effective as it highlights the moments we stop, or are forced to stop unexpectedly in the normal daily routine to be reminded of something meaningful from long ago and what made it so.

Comment is about 'Schoolbuddy' by Ray Pool is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks Stu.

Hi Nat, thank you. This is a re-post of something I wrote in 2014. I'll message you x

Comment is about Kaleidoscope (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

thanks nat!

Comment is about though we kneel before you like a child (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

golly what a fine piece of writing. clever, philosophical and wonderfully open-ended and up for (mis)interpretation

great stuff.

Comment is about DESSERT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

lovely stuff elP and that last line, along with the bath line, kicks me in the gut. great stuff.

Comment is about suspension of disbelief...or, you are what you eat (blog)

Original item by nunya

gosh there is so much assonance and general wordality (not a word but should be) that taking it all in is a baffling task. beautiful stuff.

Comment is about Cracked Symbols (blog)

Original item by Suki Spangles

gorgeous words laura. i read on fb about the meaning etc, i cant think of a greater honour.
hope your are well.

Comment is about Kaleidoscope (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Hi MC

Just as well the human spirit is capable of adapting to whatever it's born into.

Merry Christmas Ken

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

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Hi Harry.

Many thanks for your complementary comment and personal observations on those times. A period if I'm not mistaken when the exchange rate was four dollars to the pound.

Ken

Comment is about Harry O`N eill (poet profile)

Original item by Harry O`N eill

Cheers David - you have now put this old bugger onto the horns of a dilemma and rightly so. It really was a simple dessert and likening it to a sun and the sinking down of the spoon, but as always your perceptive mind has raised the alternative, which actually might be better. I now think "desert" would set another image and expand the two simultaneously, bringing in a deeper meaning. That might be clever. I'll alter it. The idea of innocence lost must have affected you in your travels many times.

Thanks mate, hope to meet up !

Comment is about DESSERT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Rest in peace, Ann xxxxx

Comment is about Kaleidoscope (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

This is great Ray, funny and sort of sobering; I reckon you could safely lose the last four lines without sacrificing the impact.

Andy.

Comment is about THE WORSHIPPERS (blog)

Original item by ray pool

I know I have left a comment here already, but it is interesting how this poem has affected so many. The refective comments on the passing of time, reacquaintance, loss, etc. Fully deserved potw. Not sure if that makes you feel any better. I hope so. Take care Ray.

Comment is about SCHOOLBUDDY (blog)

Original item by ray pool

A timely intervention to take on all the b.s. Perfectly realised. Not to mention Black Friday..

Comment is about suspension of disbelief...or, you are what you eat (blog)

Original item by nunya

Ken,
An enightening piece of social history.

My first married love nest was half of one
of those `two up two down` one hundred and
twenty year old slums off Scotland road in
Liverpool. I could write a book about that
street, and the things that went on in it.
I eventually got the other half, and could
tell many tales about bringing up a young
family in the conditions you describe.

However (for truth`s sake) after ten years
they were `cleared` and I took possession
of five consecutive - brand new - houses or
flats one after the other...(It was called
an `enightened housing policy` and was one
the perks enjoyed be me - and the rest of
the `baby-boom` population.)...Of course
this was before the oil discovery and the
`financial globalisation` which done away
with all those jobs in Thatcher`s time.

I`ve just listened to Carney`s recent speech
about how B.O.E. policy has ensured that all
of those `quantitively created` jobs will be
around a while yet...But looking at the low
productivity insecurity of their existence,
(and the antics of the `Let`s hazard it all`
leave brigade) I fear for the continuing job
prospects of the present young generation.

(Great rhyming all through!)

And (btw)...I don`t mind muck heaps...but I`m
not goin` in any fridge/freezer with ya!

Comment is about HAS THERE REALLY BEEN A RECESSION SINCE TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT (never noticed it myself) (blog)

Original item by ken eaton-dykes

Thank you Mark for your revealing comment. I have been overwhelmed on this ; there seems to be a common link emotionally that we can all recognize. I think the main thrust is the dashed hope of another meeting, really a forlorn one . I am not familiar with the film but you reveal the story which seems to conform well.

Cheers. Ray

Comment is about 'Schoolbuddy' by Ray Pool is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

I certainly hope so, Ken.

Comment is about IN THE GROTTO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Mixing a strong dose of reality in the memories of many who
have known less "social support" than now, the humour
helps that medicine go down. This brings the less
appealing side of the past to vivid life (and death).

Comment is about HAS THERE REALLY BEEN A RECESSION SINCE TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT (never noticed it myself) (blog)

Original item by ken eaton-dykes

I have read this poem a number of times and it stands up
so well in its intrinsic shared humanity and recall of times
gone. I was reminded of the opening scene of one of my
favourite films "Stand By Me" in which the main character,
now a man and successful writer - has heard of the death
of his own best friend when a boy long before. Touching
and true to the way we have of never quite letting go of
those extraordinarily powerful links with others as we grow up.

Comment is about 'Schoolbuddy' by Ray Pool is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks, Harry. Good to know it brought you pleasure and
perhaps helped relieve some of the day to day concerns
that affect us all. I have considerable respect/affection
for the Christmas "standards" and it was with those in
mind that I decided to compose this annual approbation,
primarily with the situation faced by the men and women
of our dedicated armed and public services each year
uppermost in my mind.

Comment is about CHRISTMAS SNOW - a song for the Season. (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Hi there everyone. This acknowledgment does mean a great deal to me and i'm bowled over by all your thoughtful and nice comments. Dominic and Stu, to quote Betjeman my heart is a little thumping fig (of colour) at your line spotting. Stu, can't wait for the badge. Colin, blimey I am blushing! It sounds like a hard act thanks so much.
David, love you and your valued opinions.
Greg, Always ready to stand and deliver.
Graham, a valued and salient point you make which adds extra dimension, and thank you for placing your generous comment.
elP, A big thank you; I think your observation is a good one and true,
maybe if their is a hope for us all it is best expressed simply.

happy Xmas all. Ray

Comment is about 'Schoolbuddy' by Ray Pool is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman