Intoxicating idea Stu. I particularly like the idea of the painting almost being absorbed by you in that fashion.

(You might want to take out the extra a in line 10)

I need to go France soon!

Comment is about gallery (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Oh no! Not that bloody red wheelbarrow again!

Comment is about LES'S MINK (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

I suppose they will if you really want them to.

You have a definite feel for concise poems. Wonderfully open to interpretation, planting little bombs in the mind. This first verse is one of those where I think 'I wish I'd written that'.

Comment is about wrinkled notes (blog)

Original item by nunya

Great poem. The subject and the composition. I bet this would perform really well - the rhythm is excellent, with deft touches of rhyme.

Also, clearly an emotive piece, recalling the nature of relationships under massive pressure and trauma. That last verse - I can imagine many an old woman from my home place uttering those words.

To teach her
A lesson
Only he knew

Aye, and one of my grandads too.

Comment is about My Granddad. (blog)

Original item by mentalelf. Philk.

I love this, my Mother is an OCD sufferer and this is great cant wait to show her.

Emily

Comment is about O C D (blog)

Original item by ray pool

I'm reminded of the theme of loss which occurs when one suffers such violent indignities. I mean, when I read the first verse, it is apparent. And, there is the cycle of abuse.

It is the fragility of our own humanity, I would say.

I sit here thinking about how hard it is to even comment on this. And, then I think of how it must be to talk about this for anyone with firsthand experience. For the people who live through things like this and for those who love them and witness what they go through. It seems curious to me that society has romanticized (at least at one time) a culture of silence surrounding matters of "doing one's duty". Yet, this very condition of silence all but ensures the continuation of a cycle of violence that needs to be broken for the sake of all involved.

But, poems like this shed much needed light on these matters.

elPintor

Comment is about My Granddad. (blog)

Original item by mentalelf. Philk.

Thanks for the feedback!
A long way from my usual style of writing. I dare say it was brought on by rare Yorkshire sunshine and, of course, a glass or two of red wine :)

Comment is about Sunday Shiraz (blog)

Original item by David Lindsay

Thank you for reading and commenting.

Hmmm that last line - you got me thinking. I think it would change it significantly, the use of the word 'last' kind of brings the closure that the narrator needs :)

Comment is about I Bow To The Moon (blog)

Original item by Helen

Hi Ray -
the chance of a bit of banter between this published/
recorded songwriter and your professional musician was
too tempting to pass up. Thanks for that!

Comment is about MIDNIGHT IN MAYFAIR (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Haha great stuff, Laura. The world is full of whingers. Greetin' faced as they say even further north! x

Comment is about Dear ‘Local Letters’ Regular Contributor (Name withheld) (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

I love tittle tattle (not northern as far as I know) and its great to perpetuate local words I think mithering is the only one I've heard in my wanderings. Lovely poem .

Ray

Comment is about Dear ‘Local Letters’ Regular Contributor (Name withheld) (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Everyones spitting gritting hitting shitting whimsical pastures of pestilential sepulchritude.

We never had dummies in Yorkshire we had to suck a stick!

I never tire of reading what you write Lynn.

Comment is about Dummy (blog)

... thanks for reading 'Tourdion' Steve .. and thank-you for the comment .. best wishes .. chris.

Comment is about steve pottinger (poet profile)

Original item by steve pottinger

Victimizing the nieve, trusting, human... the pain after hits hard when ur in a small town, also. Might even be worse since there's only so many places to go to forget.. Your poem hit me hard, I appreciate it:)

Comment is about 3:14am (blog)

Original item by NicoleG

True, MC.

Although actually, they lie before election as well, which is probably how they get elected! :o)

Comment is about ASSUMING THE POSITION (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Thanks David , and thanks Mark for your lively exchanges based on a line expressing an opinion. My use of the phrase favourite things was an ironical reference to "these are a few of my favourite things" from the tune entitled "favourite things" in case of doubt. While these tunes are palliative and nostalgic and survive in many different versions, and represent a period which we should cherish, their performance in stiffly controlled environments can be stultifying, as far as I'm concerned, especially in an atmosphere charged with royal expectations and the fear that that brings. All is not what it may appear on the surface of things. The whistling of tunes by the way may soon be outlawed in public places in case of causing offence.
Anyway, I'm glad that overall you enjoyed the poem !!

Thanks Jemima - quite a lady she was, and worthy of repetition.

Comment is about MIDNIGHT IN MAYFAIR (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Cheers for the like, Rose.

Comment is about Questions of verity (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

"they give you strength" you can say that again Wendy.And they,the brave,put us moaners about insignificant things,to shame without any doubt.Thanks Wendy.Jemima.

Comment is about The Invictus Games (blog)

Original item by Wendy Higson

fantastic Ray! love the second line,definitely a 'wooh! get her!' haha.Thank you.Jemima.

Comment is about MIDNIGHT IN MAYFAIR (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Any tune - "played endlessly" - may suffer the familiarity
that breeds contempt. But the trick is in the orchestration
that any bandleader worth his/her money can bring to any
melody/tune/song. The considerable tuneful output of
messrs P and B allow more choice than most and can
be whistled: the litmus test for combating boredom in
both player(s) and the paying public IMHO.
W - a thought: is it your knowledge of conflict that has you putting "flare" instead of "flair"?

Comment is about MIDNIGHT IN MAYFAIR (blog)

Original item by ray pool

think everybody knows we need 'daft stuff' Andy.Thank you.Jemima.

Comment is about More silly stuff.... (blog)

Original item by Andy Smyth

Harry - agreed! Is it asking too much of our hard-pressed
security services to keep tracks of those allowed to
roam among us when given the benefit of the doubt they
would never grant to their targets via a law that appears
to act in one direction and resembles a colander?

Comment is about HUMAN FRIGHTS (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Love the rhyme choice altho' I can't comprehend that none
of the tunes ("Porter"/ "Berlin"?!) were "favourite things".
'They're the tops,
They're the best song-writing;
They're the tops,
With Gershwin, Schwartz and Whiting,
If you seek to find the cream of countless crops
There are plenty in the team but they're the tops!'
:-))

Comment is about MIDNIGHT IN MAYFAIR (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Liverpool and London, we cover the waterfront ...

Comment is about Ocean of difference? American and UK poets read together at the Troubadour (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

flows beautifully.

Rose

Comment is about Naked (blog)

Original item by kimafia Jones

The conclusion is just what I was thinking. Why doesn't the miserable old sod stay at home? Ha ha ha.

Good one, Laura, thanks for the laugh.

Comment is about Dear ‘Local Letters’ Regular Contributor (Name withheld) (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Ha ha, Harry - no problems, every one is safe on here!

This was one I woke up to find in my head, in the middle of the night, but it was following a Facebook conversation with someone who wanted to turn facts into being points of view.

I don't remember that anyone on Write Out Loud has does that :o)

Thanks Harry for comment.

Comment is about Questions of verity (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

I am an avid reader of the local free papers, with the letters page being a constant source of amusement and irritation. There is nothing a bored person won't complain about.

Oh, and for all the non-Northerners, to 'skrike' is to cry.

Comment is about Dear ‘Local Letters’ Regular Contributor (Name withheld) (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Hey Harry - if only!! I'd snatch the hand off anyone who offered me a job writing about brilliant gigs!

Comment is about Linton Kwesi Johnson and Hollie McNish in Liverpool, 2016 (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Ooo - Do icicles cling to your breath like diamonds?

Killer line that ^


Well done Chris :) Great poem.

Comment is about 'Tourdion' by Chris Stevenson is Write Out Loud's Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

A pretty sad piece to start with, but am liking the rising rebellion :)

Comment is about A Marriage of Convenience (blog)

Original item by Chrissy R.

MMmm, yes please, I'll have a glass! Lovely piece this, but you just made me want to drink booze at lunchtime.

Comment is about Sunday Shiraz (blog)

Original item by David Lindsay

The title keeps making me laugh!

Subject matter though, I hear ya. Great story.

Comment is about A Pointy Reckoning (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

Aha! You made it then! :D Great to see you on here Chris, and what an amazing start!

I feel a bit, erm, besmirched, after reading this! Hugely intriguing collage of images and secretions, emotions and not-qute-seen things. Excellent, such innovative use of language. I look forward to reading more of your work.

Comment is about UPON LEARNING (blog)

Original item by Chris Hardy

This feels very mystical but also very understandable, the different terms giving a exotic tune to the piece.

Very enjoyable to read through more than once.

well done,

Chandana

Comment is about Sound and Feeling (blog)

Original item by Chandana

Well, what can I say? it sounds like one hell of a fantastic night; another Troubadour gig I have missed and feel I should have attended. One day, I shall get there, to see what my old mum enjoyed on those glorious folk evenings of the 60s and 70s. Maudlin state not aided by your inclusion of those lyrics. And another superbly written review, Greg. Someone should tell the Pulitzer people about you.

Comment is about Ocean of difference? American and UK poets read together at the Troubadour (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Howdo Stuart ... thanks very much for your comment on 'Tourdion' .. all the best .. chris.

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

A humorously pacific terrorism story by Ali Hugo First :)

Comment is about Satisfaction (blog)

Original item by terry ireland

Wow! Lynn,
You`ve opened one up here!

I see no one is biting (sez `arry, sneakin` away)

Comment is about Questions of verity (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

M.C,
It is certainly a situation that needs to be watched

Comment is about HUMAN FRIGHTS (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

There`s something autumnal about this one.

Comment is about Sunday Shiraz (blog)

Original item by David Lindsay

The process of acclimatisation moves inexorably on Ian,

Comment is about A Pointy Reckoning (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

Thanks both - boys' boarding school = fear, violence, religion, war, sexual repression etc. I use semi-quotes from the English Lit we ploughed through - Owen, Chaucer, Coleridge. The title is both ironic and accurate.

Comment is about UPON LEARNING (blog)

Original item by Chris Hardy

Laura,
You could earn a living at this kind of thing lass!

Comment is about Linton Kwesi Johnson and Hollie McNish in Liverpool, 2016 (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thank you Martin. A true story I'm afraid! At least I'm still here to tell the tale!

Comment is about The No Through Road Trip (blog)

Original item by Anna Ghislena

Helen,
A very personal poem.

I wondered - if that final `last` was perhaps changed to `more` - what the effect might be on the whole poem?

Comment is about I Bow To The Moon (blog)

Original item by Helen

Hi Ken .. thanks for your kind comment on ‘Tourdion’ .. … cheers .. best wishes .. chris.

Comment is about ken eaton-dykes (poet profile)

Original item by ken eaton-dykes

A very accomplished and impressive start to your account Chris (I'm very glad we got you sorted out).

Bravo!

Comment is about UPON LEARNING (blog)

Original item by Chris Hardy

Thanks Julian

It was an absolute honour and all my pleasure to be able to go and then come back to write this review. Amazing night, poets on fire! Was bouncing all the way home :D

Comment is about Linton Kwesi Johnson and Hollie McNish in Liverpool, 2016 (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi Cynthia
You may recall we met at the recent sixties themed event in Stockport; our daughter ran you and your husband to the station as it was chucking it down with rain! Your husband dropped one of his gloves in her car, and I have kept it safely for you, but since I'm not planning to visit Sale WOL in the immediate future, I cannot personally pass it back to you. However, if you'd like to let me have your address (is this allowed on WOL site?), I will gladly post it back to you. I'm just glad it's not freezing cold or his tiny hand would indeed be frozen! Thanks - Dorinda (WOL Stockport)

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas