this is hilarious and also strangely sweet.

Comment is about ATTIC DARTH VADER (blog)

holding hands is excellent. a really descriptive snapshot of an intimate moment that belies a far greater meaning. pure poetry!

Comment is about Michelle (poet profile)

Original item by Michelle

Thanks! Its about as meticulously crafted as my poetry gets, in that it took me a morning to write. I was trying to think of a way to acknowledge my influences and poetic heroes, and i opted for this. hopefully i have done them justice. the tanka is one of the only pieces of work i have had published so far!

Comment is about voices (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Really enjoyed this Stu.

Comment is about voices (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Love this Lynn, gave me a really good giggle :)

Comment is about ATTIC DARTH VADER (blog)

Really enjoyed reading this Cynthia, everything about it really - the rhythm, the light hearted tone, the layering of ideas, thanks x

Comment is about Points (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

I love this one!! All of it - can't stop re-reading it x

Comment is about stepson icarus I (07/03-05/2015) (blog)

Original item by Zach Dafoe

Hi Martin, thanks for comment on Eternal City, yes just been to Rome, amazing, amazing place! Will probably go back and I rarely go same place twice!

Really enjoyed this poem here, felt like I was there, you've captured imagination, I also like the nautical and geographical references, excellent stuff, jeff

Comment is about Not from round here (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder

i find humour in it too. i find humour in everything though, so maybe im not the best judge! but yes, it was written to be darkly comical in places.

Comment is about dysmorphia (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Stu! How did you get into my head!? I love love LOVE this. I have no fancy words or critique...just love :)

Comment is about dysmorphia (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Once again Ray an astute observation by yourself. Tommy

Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)

Original item by ray pool

Indubitably! lol

Comment is about Dana Lee (poet profile)

Original item by Dana Lee

I read it as you toss and turn
inside a dream of a lost iron love
hoping this new peace will help you forget
we always say time will do it - - - why?

Comment is about Iron Lung (blog)

Original item by Katy Megan

Fine sense of movement as the general becomes the specific in terms of time, almost like the feeling of entering a new arena when it has been building up in your mind. Again, a sense of helplessness. Nature as well as being mind expanding, can also appear uncaring as I think you have it here. (bit of a mouthful, sorry)

Comment is about the paint and the puddles (blog)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

Thankyou for your kind words , Laura. It would be nice to hear you sing on a Rhezpik.

Comment is about OLD SEPP (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Points are as tips. There is always something behind a point.

Comment is about Points (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Harry O'Neill is right: musically, rhythmically it is so good. I would like to add: it's a catchy melody. After listening to it I I also felt like singing.)))

Comment is about OLD SEPP (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

The tablets are a bit too much of a technicolor antidote to
`fit` the loneliness of the blackly monochromed mundanity

But the last two lines allow the poem to expire aptly.

Comment is about claret (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

I wonder if tonight`s vote will lead to them participating in the dream without being able to continue milking the system.

Comment is about economy domine (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Ta Martin re Paint and puddles.

Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)

Original item by Martin Elder

Ray, I can't remember whether I've commented on your work before but this is real quality stuff.
One of my criteria when reading a piece is "would I have liked to have written this" definitely.

Excellent work

Graham

Comment is about ON THE HEATH (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Katy,
those first two stanzas read like an (unlike that
picture) touching acceptance of age.

However, that last stanza tells us that the old opposition to
that Negative Pressure Ventilation is still there.

This one `got`to me a bit.

Enjoyed it.

Comment is about Iron Lung (blog)

Original item by Katy Megan

this is great

i know thats not exactly a constructive review, but i dont really know what to make of it other than i like it.

Comment is about What those who know don't hear (blog)

Original item by Twilbury Wist

This has a profound point to make(excuse the pun). Everything seems to devolve back to geometry, and that is a challenging idea. How rooted we are in form. You might be interested in these ideas as expressed in the holy kabbalah: what is known as the Naples arrangement . I found this in a book called The book of Thoth. Please check it out - great truths.

Comment is about Points (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

ah Ray, it's always a pleasure reading your poems. I also plopped a comment on your pigeon post to help keep you hydrated. Take care.

Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)

Original item by ray pool

Thanks for your comments Greg. I like the first line, but it has no connection really apart from to imagine how cold it would be so defrocked! The last line sort of Xmasy but a big stretch of credibility!

Comment is about Greg Freeman (poet profile)

Original item by Greg Freeman

your poems are always intriguing - I never know whether I like them or not - which is a good thing, and a compliment, of sorts.

The last 6 lines are simply sublime - I want them!

Comment is about stepson icarus I (07/03-05/2015) (blog)

Original item by Zach Dafoe

again, great lines Ray.

Comment is about PIGEON POEM (blog)

Original item by ray pool

I was going to say just the same Greg but wasn't brave enough to admit I didn't quite understand. Thanks for stepping in first.

Great lines as always Ray.

Comment is about ON THE HEATH (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Patricia,

A short but succinct piece which sums up the realisation that soulmates do exist after all! Well written.

Comment is about Clarity (blog)

I like this a lot, Ray, even though I'm not sure what it's about. Some arresting images in this poem, including "scentless shell" and "small lockets of cold". And the seagulls "in a plague of white".

Comment is about ON THE HEATH (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Thanks, guys.
I'm glad you posted, Col, because it drew me to your post which I've commented on there. A grand trip down memory lane.
MC - I might have been a bit presumptious about his resigning. He seems to stick like shit to a blanket.
Yes, Harry. The Gods of Parody certainly smiled on me with "Blatter/Qatar".
One again, thanks for commenting

Comment is about OLD SEPP (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

I like the theme of this rantpoem, I myself being of a ill disposition, adjusted my diet accordingly, although I was never one for takeaways and the like. I have substituted honey for sugar and virtually eliminated potatoes from my diet and feel better for it. It's just common sense after all !! Simplicity, fish and olive oil is the key.

Comment is about FOOD FOR THOUGHT (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

I am getting on in years somewhat. I sometimes get jostled by rude people intent on speeding past me. As to the police and their intentions, when I called them, at a major police station 300yards distant, some years ago, it took them 3 hours to answer the call, to prevent a serious robbery taking place. Of course by the time they came the robbers had buggared off. The only reasons why police should speed is if there is a murder being committed, a robbery with violence or the like and finally a bad accident [although by speeding they cause more accidents] The public in need !!!! [ironic] The reference to the other 'speed' has reminded me of a 'Canned Heat' song speed can kill you too babe 1970's. The likes of Jeremy Clarkson, the daft, and his obsessions; you can't get more contemptible !! In a recent case in Rochdale a man was jailed for just 6 years for smashing into another car and killing the driver. Despite a large petition to increase the sentence it was upheld. You can probably tell from this addendum to my rant, I am not a fan of cars especially those that go fast, when they don't need to.

Comment is about cars (blog)

Original item by joe ranter

John,
Musically, rhythmically, and humorously, one of your best.

And the satire of that stanza six is exact...you`ve got it all in. (not to mention that Blatter/Quater rhyme)

Keep `em comin`.

Comment is about OLD SEPP (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Thanks, everyone, for your comments.
We tend to produce writing in accordance with our
various conditions - physical and/or mental - that much
is evident from other contributions, so the subject of
obesity seemed relevant.
I guess this is as near as I'll ever get to a "rant" - clearly
considered OK elsewhere on this site - but good manners
got the better of me!

Comment is about FOOD FOR THOUGHT (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Old Sepp - he will go
Where the barking dogs go!!
Nice one, John. But I would argue that his stay was, in
fact, too long - justifying the lines:
"His tenure at FIFA
Should have been that much briefer"
Cheers

Comment is about OLD SEPP (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Cheers Huw.

Comment is about THE FUTILITY OF WAR (blog)

Original item by THE PEN AND THE PAGE

I look on it as another poetry triumph for Marsden. But here's another point of view http://www.partisanmagazine.com/the-algonquin/2015/7/2/wheres-the-weird

Comment is about Simon Armitage wins Oxford professor of poetry election (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

He is far more credible than Duffy - a PC checkbox choice, if ever there was one.

Comment is about Simon Armitage wins Oxford professor of poetry election (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi Cynthia,

Thanks for your comments :) There is no imagery, there is no sensationalism. Just facts.

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

nice one John, hopefully with a gun. Funny you should post this at the same time as my 'Vinyl Memories' poem. Old Shep was on the Separate Ways LP by Elvis which was the first album I ever bought - a second hand copy at my primary school jumble sale.

This is all completely unrelated to your poem of course but I was reading on Wikipedia that "On October 3, 1945, Elvis Presley sang 'Old Shep' at age ten for his first public performance, a singing contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. Dressed as a cowboy, he stood on a chair to reach the microphone. He came in fifth place, winning $5 and a free ticket to the fair rides." Well I never knew that.

Cheers John.

Comment is about OLD SEPP (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

with respect MC - is this poetry? - or as Cynthia wrote, an article? Not that I disagree - obesity is a modern day obscenity. We also have a strange concept of poverty in this country too.

Comment is about FOOD FOR THOUGHT (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

10,000 years ago me and you, MC, we used to hunt the aurochs.
When we killed, we ate. Kills were valuable and the fat from an aurochs or two could sustain us through a winter.
Nature knows this. It made us crave fat since fat was good.
But now although we live on a fat-rich diet we have not advanced anthropologically. We still crave fat.
It isn't coincidence that all good things to eat have lots of fat.

Comment is about FOOD FOR THOUGHT (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

This 'article' is good for lots of comments, I'm sure, because it is so relevant. Laziness is a big factor because COOKING would go a long way to ensure better eating habits. Cost not so much, as healthy food is generally available at 'reasonable' prices; it just happens to be raw. etc. etc. etc. And, yes, business needs to be harnessed for sugar and fat additions. etc. etc. etc.

I often wonder if people even know they are greedy. Habit is a cruel master.

Comment is about FOOD FOR THOUGHT (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

HI Becky Thanks for the comments on THe Chicago poem. It's appreciated!

Comment is about Becky Sowray (poet profile)

Original item by Becky Sowray

Mark,
It`s called gluttony...(a situation brought about by increasing prosperity and the over-eating of it`s rewards)

And the kids! have you ever seen so many fat little kids waddling around as now?

The `good` news is that it is now reportedly happening in China also, and their urban kids are waddling along just as much like fat little penguins as our own.

As China now has an immense and growing problem with it`s ageing population, no doubt those skinny kids
in the rest of Asia are eyeing the situation hungrily in
the hope of `immigrationally` joining in the feast at some time in the near future.

And so the world goes on!

Comment is about FOOD FOR THOUGHT (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

The force of this proposal is hard to resist - until you
understand that the "murderous machine" is, in fact, the
idiot behind the steering wheel and accelerator pedal.
Like many other things, the car is a "tool" designed to
provide a useful service for its user. However, "markone man" (as defined by an ex-SAS acquaintance) can spoil
the party by behaviour that defies belief in rational
thinking. Finally, from my experience, coppers don't speed
at every opportunity. Traffic conditions make that a most
unattractive proposition at the best of times. They go
at speed when the public are in need. Dah-dah-dah-dah.

Comment is about cars (blog)

Original item by joe ranter

I'm extatic, honest...

Comment is about This Place (blog)

Original item by alan barlow

Thanks for all of your kind comments.
I guess it would be fair to say this is how I reacted to this situation some years ago now. Subsequently I have found myself in the intervening years working with people in social deprivation in one way or another and perhaps I may have approached the situation differently now but none the less he was quite dogmatic in making assumptions about me and as a result was not open then to hearing any different.

Comment is about Not from round here (blog)

Original item by Martin Elder