Let me know if you find them. I guess they don't do social media.

Comment is about Where are the wise ones? (blog)

Original item by Wonderer

Thanks for getting back to me on that, Stu. I probably worry a little too much about semantics, truthfully. Though, I must admit that personal deliberation on the finer details is part of what draws me to writing. However, I can see where that kind of tweaking could make a piece very dry and dull. So, yes, I agree--the flow is ultimately what keeps the reader. You make a great point about the pace. It's such an odd thing that a writer's choice of words can have such a profound effect on the subconscious that tempo becomes innate to a piece.

I've never performed live. It sounds like fun and might even be good therapy to help get rid of self-consciousness. I remember getting performance anxiety so terrible once that my eyeballs were shaking--literally. I can laugh about it now, but I don't want to feel that sensation EVER again. Anyhow, it would have to get easier the more you do it--performing pieces aloud, I mean. Watching a performance would probably be a good start for me.

elP

Comment is about cataclysm and containment--Stage 1 (blog)

Original item by nunya

Rose, thank you, what a touching compliment. I've only been posting here for just over two weeks and I'm incredibly happy to be part of so many interesting, creative and inspiring kindred spirits. There are so many people on here encouraging each other's work and sharing humour too, as you and several others do. If I was 40 years younger I wouldn't hesitate to to say, "big up yourselves"!!

Hazel, thank you, short and sweet, and on the money.

Paul

Comment is about The News (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

I think about this all the time.

Comment is about Where are the wise ones? (blog)

Original item by Wonderer

I know I know I know
The shock of the new

Comment is about The News (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

amen (and love) to that Juan!






Rose ?

Comment is about Write Impact (blog)

Original item by Juan Pablo Lynch

re-being a ropey version of Oakley or, butt-poor Bono impersonator-maybe-but I think I can say with fair certainty,that you would beat that 'duo' hands down,when it comes to writing poetry!

An opportune moment to say thanks Paul,for bringing a breath of communicative fresh air,to WOL.



Rose ?

Comment is about The News (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Thank you Rose, lovely to read your insights, it always amazes how many different creative interpretations can come from a piece. Reading the rich variety of feedback about poems makes being on WoL so interesting and enjoyable. As for me singing, imagine a poor man's Bono or a ropey Phil Oakley from the Human League! Paul

Comment is about The News (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Thanks Hazel - A funny thing is time and to a musician like me means the disconnecting of real time for playing in the moment - hard to describe. Poetry can transport us too !

Paul, I sweated over that line, wondered if it made sense ; glad it meant something. Weirdly I was listening to the very same CD - wonderful playing by top guys and that super whiney Donald Fagin. Yessir, playing was a highlight but never generated those fat statements. Mind you, I did buy a house off the back of it - 2K down . Hardly possible today!

Thanks Jeff, a sort of taking liberty sort of line, but that's how it feels now.

Ray

Comment is about FUNKY MEMORY (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Samantha,I was about to (as I am now doing) praise this simple worded,but honestly effective poem.But,before I did,I decided to read your profile to find my name on your favourites list.

Some undiscovered 'soul mating' going on here I think!
for which I thank you,very much.

I hope you enjoy a long stay here.




Rose??

Comment is about An Old Note Hidden (blog)

Original item by Samantha Howard

thanks so much cynthia. really glad you enjoyed it and fully grasped the ideas behind it

Comment is about i will ruin everything eventually (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

I bid you a warm welcome Stephen-enjoy!






Rose ?

Comment is about Stephen Jones (poet profile)

Original item by Stephen Jones

as the saying goes Stephen,war itself is the enemy.Great poem my friend.




Rose ?

Comment is about Melancholy Bondage (blog)

Original item by Stephen Jones

i think it all depends on how the poem is going to be read, both in the mind of the reader or by the poet themselves. assonance provides a lovely flow live and that flow transfers to how one reads the piece in general. if its a block of text telling a story there is less need for assonance but if its something that needs to be rolled and spilled out down the page (and thus the mind of the reader) then its an important part of making it flow.

does that make sense?

in the case of this piece it really affects the way it is read. the words tumble down and provide the poem with a breathless quality that i think works well. it would sound very good live, perhaps as part of an overall larger piece. do you ever perform live?

Comment is about cataclysm and containment--Stage 1 (blog)

Original item by nunya

this has the 'force feeding' aspect about it Paul which in sad reality,that,is how it (the news) is almost inescapably served up.

fortunately,there is also the more acceptable kind of 'force feeding' which we most certainly would not want to escape-the gifts of nature!

let me hear you sing-# and so say all of us!#



Rose ?

Comment is about The News (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Really like this line too...when I invented promise.....conjures up all sorts....Jeff...

Comment is about FUNKY MEMORY (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Thank you again Cynthia, you have absolutely nailed it, I'm so pleased it has come across as I intended. Thank you again for such positive comments. Paul

Comment is about The News (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Thank you Cynthia for your warm and wonderful comments. I wasn't aware of Kingsolver's novel of the same name but I'm very intrigued to read it now! And I agree wholeheartedly with your comment about families! Paul

Comment is about Lacuna (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Love Hangover Part Two

The secret recipe
works every time.

Understanding is vital
trust builds love.

Mr Tickle says
Hello Miss Foreplay.

Pink fluffy handcuffs
can't come off!

Till the next
love hangover starts.

Comment is about Write Out Loud at Stockport art gallery tonight (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

A great idea- originally expressed - with pizzazz.

Comment is about Living With Roommates (blog)

Original item by Josie Harris

A poet can almost go 'gaga' with that intertwining of senses and ideas that play constantly through the mind, the diverse associations that whizz into multi-focus, each unique, yet somehow always connected, layers upon layers. Getting such relationships into viable thoughts, let alone words to share, is a real talent.

Superb conclusion.

Much enjoyed.

Comment is about i will ruin everything eventually (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

CBT never feel a duty to explain, I seldom do. But you must be happy with it too. Like the young lady in question, you can never own it just shape it!

Comment is about The Spanish Girl (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

A compelling idea very evocatively expressed. The title is superb.

Comment is about Read You Once More (blog)

Original item by Tom

Fantastic. Such a clear thought possessing such magnitude of intent and so fittingly expressed is the sign of a real poet. The title is priceless.

Comment is about Little me Big me (blog)

Original item by Hazel ettridge

Splendidly conceived, and beautifully written. Much enjoyed.

There is a famous novel by Kingsolver too, isn't there, called 'Lacuna'?

I used this word in a line like 'lacunas of slippery sleep' and my kids said, 'Don't use such difficult words, Mum.' And I replied, 'Look it up. It fits exactly what I want to say.' And they did, and they said,'OK, accepted.' Families are tough critics, and worth their weight in gold.

Comment is about Lacuna (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Very interesting - clever concept - drawing out the sameness of the average morning shattered by 'the news'. The repetition at the end is brilliant, simulating the idea that the words can't quite be 'taken in', or that they 'hammer the senses'.

The never-ending variations of poetry are thrilling to write and to read.

Comment is about The News (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Thanks Jeff and Raj for your interesting comments about this poem that tries to describe the flow of a mundane morning in someone's life that is suddenly shattered by bad news. A bit dark I know.......! Paul

Comment is about The News (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Stu and Graham, you have hit solidly on the 'bugbear' that has kept this work out of circulation - the necessity to explain the background. How could the child possibly not know that I was 'white' ? It was purely 'idea' in this instance that completely overlaid reality; she was influenced 'not to see'. And this is such a huge concept in all arenas of life, in all cultures, in all histories. It is the whole under-structure of the poem.

And that is what has exhausted me - how much to explain - how much to assume the astuteness of the reader, the worldly experience. I didn't want to explain, I really didn't, but I couldn't see how to avoid it.

If anyone has any input to suggest, to avoid this central 'explanation', please feel free. Because I'm stymied.

Graham, I said 'Merry Christmas' in the middle of May, basically the only Spanish I knew.

Comment is about The Spanish Girl (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Nice one Paul.
I likened that to a mantra. Still resonates.

Sadly bad news sells but at the end of the day good will triumph. Always has.

Raj.

Comment is about The News (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

£4 sounds good!...Jeff...

Comment is about Hi-resolution New Year (blog)

Original item by Chakraj

This is simply wonderful!...Jeff...

Comment is about Little me Big me (blog)

Original item by Hazel ettridge

Worlds still a wonderful place...but politics & religion will see us all dead one day... Well put.....Jeff..

Comment is about The News (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Raj, well-expressed, and I've had my 'fill' of resolutions too. And, I wish for some of those things too, most especially DT. Paul

Comment is about Hi-resolution New Year (blog)

Original item by Chakraj

Love it. The part and the limitless expanse.

Infinite grace.

Raj

Comment is about Little me Big me (blog)

Original item by Hazel ettridge

Now, now that was the desired response.
Let the dichotomy commence.

Thanks Hazel. Sat nam.
Raj x

Comment is about Hi-resolution New Year (blog)

Original item by Chakraj

Ray, another great line, in addition to the one Hazel points out, is "when the now was all and more". Takes me back to so many great moments in life, including buying Steely Dan's 'Aja' in 1977 and, in my tiny bedsit, listening to the funky flavours of the track 'Josie' for the first time. Maybe you were also referring to highlights of playing in your band? Paul

Comment is about FUNKY MEMORY (blog)

Original item by ray pool

A beautiful and unusual take on the cycle of life and death.

Comment is about The carbon cycle (blog)

Original item by Alex Smith

At least you can have your funky memory NOW. Love the line 'when I invented promise'

Comment is about FUNKY MEMORY (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Yes, he does that to you doesn't he? No-one else like him. Touches the deepest places. Lovel the way you captured him.

Comment is about You're My Man (blog)

Original item by Tom

A bucket? Or a bucket list? Half full or half empty

Comment is about Hi-resolution New Year (blog)

Original item by Chakraj

And thank you for your compliment.?

Comment is about Filling the Void (blog)

Original item by Stephen Jones

Becoming my truest best self with God has been a heavy burden on my relationship...As I question His will...knowing I have free will...I have made mistakes and had to forgive myself because God has already forgiven me.

Comment is about Filling the Void (blog)

Original item by Stephen Jones

Thank you Jeff and Hazel.
May we all find our own refuge. A place we call home.

Raj

Comment is about The Miracle of You (blog)

Original item by Chakraj

I sensed Zen Hazel. I feel connected. Namaste.

Only yesterday I finished a little book on Mindfulness by Anna Black -- filled with beautiful, bite-sized practices.

I have watched Tara Brach before. I feel drawn towards her and her belief in radical acceptance is rather endearing.
When she mentions the 'awakening heart' my mind delves deep into my earlier classes on kundalini yoga where we worked on the awakening of the sleeping serpent within us (mula badha).

My journey continues Hazel and I'm in the final stages of completing my first book on managing smoking addiction through staying in the "now" and watching the cravings come and go. Wonderful.

I'm keen to know more about your mental health charity, MBSR and MBCT.

Love&Light
Raj

Comment is about Chakraj (poet profile)

Original item by Chakraj

Thanks for taking the time to comment on Panic in the Paddock, its very much appreciated! It was the first time I tried writing in that style and I'm glad it came across well.

Cheers

Stu

Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)

Original item by ray pool

Well deserved. A future Poet Laureate in the making.

Comment is about Alice Oswald wins £5,000 Costa poetry prize (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Stu, you mention assonance and I must say that I usually stick with words that best fit personal expression. Though, for this piece, I consciously chose some (mortared vs the rejected word, stacked) for the way they sounded. I'm sometimes at a loss for which attribute (linguistic vs auditory) is of more importance...hope that makes sense.

And, Ray..thanks for the suggestion. We are forced into a physical existence..why should we confine our writing to it? Dali's works are a stretch of the imagination--an imagination that I don't doubt exists in many with no means of expression through language. Fuck the constructs of "poetry" (did I really say that?).

Thanks to the both of you for commenting.

elP

Comment is about cataclysm and containment--Stage 1 (blog)

Original item by nunya

Beautiful work...the structure is such that you are urged to continue reading to the end once you have started: a sort of slide of words.
However the line that says Tantrically tainted...Tantrically comes from tantric/tantra which I am not very much familiar with but seems to have to do with becoming one with your partner on an emotional, spiritual and sexual level...and tainted refers to having been damaged in some way from the mixture

What this lying is saying is that the two becoming one has corrupted both...maybe it's talking about fornication and the poem is a plea of forgiveness for such act plus a request to be swept up into oneness with divinity
?

Comment is about Filling the Void (blog)

Original item by Stephen Jones

I am really digging this poem...there is an ambiguity in the relationship of the person who wrote the note and the receiver that leaves me wondering if they are just 'best friends' or lovers, maybe even just close siblings. Great work

Comment is about An Old Note Hidden (blog)

Original item by Samantha Howard

cheers both, glad you enjoyed it.

Comment is about i will ruin everything eventually (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck