Great rant mate, and yes you must be right with the inspiration, it's such a relief when it says you can skip this video in 'X' seconds!

Comment is about Just Another Load of Shite (blog)

Original item by Marksy

Speeding through Somewhereshire on a train to who knows where - love it! some great observations here!

Love the pace of this Marksy & the nice 'bridge' bit in the middle, great poem and sounds like a good rant which is what I like!

Comment is about Speeding on through Somewhereshire (blog)

Original item by Marksy

Powerful stuff, some great lines here and love the title!

Comment is about Human Wreckage (blog)

Original item by Marksy

Hi Marksy, thanks for reading Snakeskin Sid! - as a Bolton Wanderers fan, Frank Worthy was one of my heroes and a bit of a character on and off the park, the difference was he could play football! Thanks, glad you like it!

ps Enjoying your work!

Comment is about Marksy (poet profile)

Original item by Marksy

Thanks Marksy, as a Bolton Wanderers fan, Frank was one of my heroes and a bit of a character on and off the park, the difference was he could play football! Thanks, glad you like it!

Comment is about Snakeskin Sid! (blog)

Original item by Jeffarama!

deep and lovely! this touched my soul! well done

Comment is about Believing (blog)

Original item by emmy92

Can you guess who it's about yet?

Comment is about Mr Twee (blog)

Original item by Marksy

Love it! Why do I keep thinking of Frank Worthington?

Comment is about Snakeskin Sid! (blog)

Original item by Jeffarama!

Thanks, Dominic. Hopefully people have cottoned on to the fact that you can also read all the 10 top poems by clicking on the links in the story. My favourite one is 'CCTV Central', on the list of commended poets.

Comment is about Leaf encounter: Linda France wins National Poetry Competition (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

I've received a copy of the top poems in the prize, supplied by the Poetry Society(I'm such a joiner). Linda France's poem is clearly good: sound, movement in flavour and texture, the presence of the flower - I'm not so sure about Bernard. Is creepy the new sexy? He supplies a queasy softness among the hard stems of the greenhouse. Anyway, a strong poem, and if it's not my cup of tea, that's the way of it. My favourite was the commended: Gift of the Sloth, by Debbie Lin.
Linda France gave a highly articulate interview, and on the subject of the competition: "You enter these things and you don't expect to actually win." Good for her.

Comment is about Leaf encounter: Linda France wins National Poetry Competition (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Looks OK to me Rachel, and well done getting a topic poem up so quickly.

Comment is about sand (blog)

Original item by Rachel Bond

Hi Ian
I liked you Norse poem, added to Laura's blog, the Bitter Skald. "Necrotic spots" directly touches branch and limb. We're barking up the same tree!

It is a fantastic world picture, the world tree, resilient but vulnerable: one can't help but think of Ash Die Back in global terms - though I hadn't realised yggdrasil is the Giant Ash until recently.

The idea of the 3 sisters at the well of destiny daubing the trunk with mud to protect the tree from disease somehow points at once to ancient knowledge, modern helplessness.

I better look through your poems...

All the best, Dom.

Comment is about Ian Whiteley (poet profile)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

reet gradely, lad.xx

Comment is about Allus tummlin’ i’ summat (blog)

Original item by C Richard Miles

hello , thanks for the comment on my pancake day poem. yes i am well , i seem to do lots of things except write poetry ... must try harder.

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

yep - love the old norse stuff - posted this last year - sits close to the theme particularly Dominic's:

Yggdrasil

Odin’s Horse.
Noblest of trees.
where Gods assembled daily at their courts.
Nine worlds sat around you.
Your branches stretched towards the heavens –
home of wyrm, eagle and stags.
Your roots in three directions -
to spring and wells.
Creator of the valley dew.
at the onset of Ragnarok
you shivered and giants walked the earth.

A hart bites from above,
decaying on your sides,
whilst dragons chew from below.
Now loss of leaf
and ash dieback
destroy your ancient crown.
Necrotic spots
on stem and branch.
In summer.
born upon the breeze,
Chalara Fraxinea.

Comment is about The Bitter Skald (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Whoa, Richard! This reminds me of trying to translate Virgil at skooil.
Can you do an audio with this?

Comment is about Allus tummlin’ i’ summat (blog)

Original item by C Richard Miles

Hey Harry,

Poetry-schmoetry lol. Just glad you're both ok, albeit with the dreaded lurgy. Antibiotics don't sound too good mind, but even so, just glad to hear from you :)

Get well soon.

All our love

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

Original item by Harry O`N eill

Why thank you folks!

This didn't set out to be Norse poetry, have to say haha. I've had that first verse for ages now, trying to make it into different things and it stubbornly refused to fit into anything, until I thought of the word 'skald'. Looked it all up to see if I could genuinely use it, got a bit excited, and it started taking shape. I used several skaldic devices, themes and ideas, and even tinkered with the idea of actual form, but that seemed to be almost impossible, and I was happy with what I was doing so left it to one side.

Dom - you have educated me. I had no idea there was a 'thing' about Nordic stuff in general, so it's even more pleasing to me now! Ooo, and I love your poem there - jampacked full of the skaldic preference for alliteration. I love alliteration anyway so to have the freedom to write as much as I liked in one poem just added more joy to it :) I looked up the tree - really interesting!

Anyhoo, epic ramble over. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment chaps, appreciate it :)

Comment is about The Bitter Skald (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

good Laura, that strikes a chord.

The Norse thing, with its mortal gods is a lot more interesting than that Greek heap. And so hot right now! Scots are re-engaging with Scandinavia, BP is at the British Museum singing the North Sea song. I bet a lot of the W-Loud crowd are hearing the call. It could be a good strand to run a VIking series here?

Just a thought: slightly meadish last night,
Dom.


The greasy pole?
That’s the tree of life,
Yggdrasil:
a one eyed man’s
white, giddy gallows

Nine nights swinging
in the wind
above 3 witches’ shallows
that is,
the well of destiny

chuck in your shiny
dirham, son,
spend a penny
on the fates.
Time’s short

your thread is cut with shears
but that's no leave
for tears, my dear
life’s good
so let’s be merry.

skol.

Comment is about The Bitter Skald (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Chris,
Just struggled up through a fug of antibiotic mist
to let you know that I sent you a couple of e mails
about our dreaded lurgy, but they both came back.

Have a good night at the spoke, We`ll see you anon.

Comment is about Chris Co (poet profile)

Original item by Chris Co

Never 100% sure of the correct "spelling" of dialect words - if anyone has any suggestions to improve this, I'd be very grateful!!

Comment is about Allus tummlin’ i’ summat (blog)

Original item by C Richard Miles

This is in memory of my foster brother Michael. I have brought together some of the stories of his extraordinary life. He attempted to spend Christmas on Ben Alder in the highlands, as he had so many other years, but was overcome by the unusually cold conditions and lost his life there. He was 64.

Comment is about Michael (blog)

Original item by Freda Davis

Excellent use of words and language XXXXX

Hope you are well love

Keep up the good work

Ged X

Comment is about The Bitter Skald (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

this is as good as anything you've done Laura - right up my street - you can't beat a bit of norse poetry.
Beautiful use of language and image rich - gotta say you are moving apace on the technical side of poetry - no longer the ranter eh?

Comment is about The Bitter Skald (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

mystery upon mystery

Comment is about On the trail of Ted Hughes: more twists in tale of biographer's row with estate (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks Steve. I love the camaraderie and the high concentrate of femininity in the hairdressers. They work really hard and people walk out feeling great. I love hairdressers.

Comment is about Ode to The Hairdressers (blog)

Original item by CathyLCrabb

Thank you you's. I am pleased with the meter of this, it staggers like the protagonist.

Sadly Solar, this is more an ode to my weak willed guzzling than a comment on the drain of the emergency services (and since you are of the stellar persuasion did you know that everything is worse for those on the over-festive frontline when it is a full moon?)though I can tell you no paramedic was pestered during the writing of this poem!

Comment is about Tipples (blog)

Original item by CathyLCrabb

How on earth did I miss the chance to use that line, Starfish? You've embarrassed me.

Comment is about The Hoaxers (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

And their promises are a pocketful of mumbles too. One of my favourite songs incidentally.

Comment is about The Hoaxers (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

This is so sweet. I can never get my dogs to pose for a photo, they always shoot off - something to sniff, something to chase.

Comment is about Canis Angelicus (blog)

Original item by STEVE RUDD

Hilarious. Hope you aren't writing from personal experience!

Comment is about The Ballad Of The Artful Dodger (blog)

Original item by Yvonne Brunton

My reaction is the same as MC Newberry's, and for access to particular books there are clearly alternatives to having them sent directly from home.

That aside, it does seem even from the occasional media coverage that our prison system is in serious trouble. For instance, I find it deeply disconcerting services are being tendered out to private companies.

Comment is about Carol Ann Duffy leads poetry reading outside Pentonville jail in books protest (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Yvonne, I suspect this entry will pass off with less vitriol than my previous take on Benn!

Comment is about The Hoaxers (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

No wonder you've been under the blankets for so long, Bonny. You've been composing this magnum opus.
I can completely relate to your hero but would suggest he invests in that useful tool of bodgers, the rackate'een.

Comment is about The Ballad Of The Artful Dodger (blog)

Original item by Yvonne Brunton

Hi Yvonne

Freedom of Spirit Trust for Border Collies

www.fostbc.org.uk

Comment is about Canis Angelicus (blog)

Original item by STEVE RUDD

Ah so true - and the list of extra verses could be as numerous as all our MP's xx

Comment is about The Hoaxers (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Hi Steve,

love this and second your emotions. By a weird coincidence I am looking for a rescue dog - a border collie. xx

Comment is about Canis Angelicus (blog)

Original item by STEVE RUDD

I own up that I had never heard of him, but shall read him now. Thank you Frances.

Comment is about He wrote in the trenches, and died in 1918. But Isaac Rosenberg did not see himself as a war poet (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi Bessie
Thanks for making me reflect.
My Mum was really good with a needle, but she was very talented (artistic) at colouring black and white photographs
I actually enjoyed writing this (which isn't always the case)
I've seen you're doing a slam in Warrington. I won't be going, but what are the rules? I'm always intrigued at the various kind of slams

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Hi Yvonne
Thanks for taking the time to comment on my little piece 'Snapshot'
I found a couple of old photo's of me when I was a tot, and realised (from the snaps) how different life was for me, compared to what my Grandchildren are ploughing through
I've started scanning the important photos (with ancient relations etc) and noted the names of those who will fade from memory in another generation, and put them into a Powerpoint slide-show

Comment is about Yvonne Brunton (poet profile)

Original item by Yvonne Brunton

Indeed, Frances. What is the point of these people reading, they asked when the idea of educating all children was mooted in the early nineteenth century. As for prisoners...

Comment is about Carol Ann Duffy leads poetry reading outside Pentonville jail in books protest (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

It is inspiring to read all of this. what brilliant folks there are about. Poetry is alive and well, and being reported here.

Comment is about Aid for inspiration: poets win Literature Wales bursary awards (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

What a fascinating story Greg! Intrigue still surrounding those two poetry giants.

Comment is about On the trail of Ted Hughes: more twists in tale of biographer's row with estate (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi Greg. The Tudor is always a possibility and more so if you'll be there. Hopefully......

Comment is about Greg Freeman (poet profile)

Original item by Greg Freeman

I know from social media that there has been a great deal of interest in this article, Frances. It has made me want to read more of Rosenberg's poetry. Coincidentally, there was a BBC4 documentary the other day on another "forgotten" war poet, Ivor Gurney, who survived the war, but who sadly died in an asylum http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03zq4cb/The_Poet_who_Loved_the_War_Ivor_Gurney/

Comment is about He wrote in the trenches, and died in 1918. But Isaac Rosenberg did not see himself as a war poet (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

For me this what poetry is and does, snags you emotionally or intellectually, or even amusingly. It might be classic lines or just someone reading their own poem at an open-mic night that has resonance, touches me in some way.

On the Today programme last week, I noticed that, when the young woman could be heard reacting to hearing her first sounds in 40 years of life, John Humphreys took a minute before he could introduce the next item.

And I am old, Father William.

Comment is about If you have tears, prepare to shed them now: the poetry that makes chaps weep (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

A superb review Greg which I found moving in itself, so the play must have been something else. Hats off to Simon Armitage.

Comment is about The Killing of Sophie Lancaster: a tragedy that continues to haunt (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

I hope we meet one day, too, Dave - and it could be sooner than you think! Will you be at Write Out Loud Wigan in May by any chance? I'm planning a lightning tour of the north that week.

Comment is about Dave Bradley (poet profile)

Original item by Dave Bradley

Hello Yvonne,
Thankyou and Thankyou for reading this twice. The story is 95% true but I'll leave the boundary for you to identify.

Comment is about t'Monkey - "Deliverance" meets "Kes" (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

The advantage of Google is that it reminds us that machines can be as falible as humans and your brief encounter with the Thurgs reminds us there's nowt so queer as folk. I enjoyed reading this so much I read it again.( or was it just my laptop playing up again?)xx

Comment is about t'Monkey - "Deliverance" meets "Kes" (blog)

Original item by John Coopey