Really lovely! Just this morning I thought of my mom (passed away 10 years ago) as I poured my coffee in a cup that belonged to her. Thank you for capturing a sad/happy feeling for those we miss so much.
I love the line: "These keepsakes of them alight in my thoughts and find purchase in a smile"
Btw, I live in Southern Calif., so WOL has a few Californians sharing poetry w/ alot of UKers! I second Rose's post in another comment that WOL is a daily pleasure of sharing poems. Thanks to all who share; keep on writing I say!
Comment is about Pictures in Frames (blog)
Original item by Mike McPeek
<Deleted User> (9882)
Wed 30th Nov 2022 11:23
holy moly! or should I say unholy moly according to the way sick society is going.
Sad to say but of the times I have heard a lot of elderly people saying that they will be glad to be out of it
I have lost count!
Rose 😢
Comment is about SURVIVAL (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
You put that very well.
If you'll excuse me, it sounds very much like:
The Serenity Prayer.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference
I struggle daily to follow that advice.
Comment is about Prayer (blog)
Original item by Hélène
They hug their foes and swap their hopes
I feel terribly sad at the moment.
Yet Hope is our duty, for the sake of those who come after us.
Hope Hope Hope Hope Hope.
💐
Comment is about No More War! (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
"The sun is simmering against the clouds"
I love that line.
Comment is about Hint Of Skullduggery (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
As I get on in years, the thought occurs to me what that might be like.
"yet , full of love & warmth ,"
Thank you.
Comment is about every night (blog)
Original item by jezzalee
I wandered lonely as a cloud,
Then Ouch! 😐
Comment is about Country Life (blog)
Original item by Adam Whitworth
I love the concept of serendipity.
It's often portrayed as "I'VE found something", yet here, it's "SHE has found me".
I love your last verse.💐
Comment is about Serendipity. (blog)
Original item by Clare
"Today the things I carry were light as a feather
Yesterday they made my back ache and my steps falter"
Life isn't perfect,
Don't buy the lie,
Don't buy the Googgles,
Live your truthful life.
Comment is about The Things I Carry (blog)
Original item by Key Snow
The big freeze will fill
The hospitals.
And now the Tories are "gaslighting" the public.
They're threatening to send in the army to deal with the chaos they have -deliberately-created...to distract from the fact that it is THEY who have put the NHS on its knees.
Comment is about SURVIVAL (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
You tell the truth.
Much of what we see on TV adverts, from politicians to social pundits is nothing but lies.
The TV advert for those "virtual reality" goggles sums it up.
it basically says:
"Are you unhappy with Real Life?-then buy this".
In other words "live a lie".
Comment is about Perfect (blog)
Original item by JustKelvinMasilela
John Botterill meets Joyce Grenfell.
You got it spot on.
I think you should do a video series!😄
Comment is about A Golf Lesson (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Lovely story, Uilleam. Cute!! And thanks M. C. for seeing the humour. John Botterill meets Joyce Grenfell is what I was going for! 😂
Comment is about A Golf Lesson (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Thanks John (Botterill) and Stephen (Gospage) perhaps we all go through awkward life episodes and are able to survive it and see the good that eventually comes of it. 🌷
Comment is about baggage claim delay (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner
Definitely felt like this before...& so I turn to prayer.
Comment is about Prayer (blog)
Original item by Hélène
When I worked at Grimethorpe, Uilleam, we reckoned that half the houses there were wired into the street lighting!
Comment is about FAIRY LIGHTS (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Thank you for your lengthy and detailed explanation of your poetry and that of the reader relating to what is written rather than trying to interpret the text. This had not occurred to me before and has opened a new vista in my understanding and future approach to poetry. I shall be on the lookout for more of your work with interest. Thank you again
Keith
Comment is about Irretrievably lost (blog)
Original item by Alita Moore
Many thanks as always for all your likes, folks. Excuse me if I don't mention you all at the moment!
Thank you John. Very nice comment.
Got it in one, Uilleam....
Comment is about FALSE WIDOW - THE SEQUEL (blog)
Original item by ray pool
<Deleted User> (33540)
Tue 29th Nov 2022 19:04
To me Jamal this is a tell it like it is poem and as the previous comments point out requires repetitive readings. Thank you.
Comment is about Critical (blog)
Original item by Jamal Buchanan
<Deleted User> (33540)
Tue 29th Nov 2022 18:53
Is there an end in sight Tommy-take your time to think!
Thank you.
Comment is about Complainers Complaint (blog)
Original item by Tommy Carroll
<Deleted User> (33540)
Tue 29th Nov 2022 18:48
Yes Stephen keep adding to your necessary reminding collection
lest we forget. Thank you Sir!
Comment is about No More War! (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
A wonderful, concise painting of a picture, Julie.
Comment is about Crimson Leaves (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Glad to hear that something good came from it, Frederick.
Comment is about baggage claim delay (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner
Some lovely turns of phrase here, Mike. 'Crashing the gate at my life's own party' is so close to what so many must have felt. As for scuffing an open goal, the pros in Qatar seem quite good at that.
Comment is about Wrong Spaces (blog)
Original item by mike booth
Thanks for the likes and comments. Yes sorry about leaving the speaker sign, I’d probably have done the same 😁. Hope you enjoyed your walk John.
Comment is about Crimson Leaves (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
A welcome addition to the tradition of ascerbic humour that has
somehow fallen out of fashion.
Comment is about A Golf Lesson (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Our 3 n a bit found her mum's feather duster the other day, she was wielding it like a sabre...I sustained a severe dusting to the nose.
Comment is about A Golf Lesson (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
pity me not them
they're all to blame!
As The Daily Bile and its so-called "journalists" continue to pump out same old poisonous dog-whistling sewage.
Comment is about Complainers Complaint (blog)
Original item by Tommy Carroll
Hello Alita. You say:
it's my vision that the reader take ownership over the poem
I think I know what you mean - another WOL contributor said something similar to me recently, when I was trying to" interpret" his poem.
Comment is about Irretrievably lost (blog)
Original item by Alita Moore
Funny you should mention gaslights John; as it 'appens, there was one of those right outside our house, and it was on Christmas eve, 1952 when my dad had one of his bright ideas............😢
Comment is about FAIRY LIGHTS (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Tue 29th Nov 2022 14:03
My goal as an artist is to create something that makes people feel something. Something that reminds them of a memory, a moment from childhood, whatever. I want my poems to feel like a friend that understands how you feel. This friend can't fix your feelings but perhaps they will help you feel less alone or ashamed of it.
Emotions are very personal. So it's my vision that the reader take ownership over the poem. Your emotions are unique because they are the result of a lot of different influences that are unlikely to occur in another person exactly the same. Despite this we relate to each other. Its my goal to write something that makes you feel heard or understood in a way you can't describe with words.
I write all of my poetry in a single sitting and I write it directly. I write all poems with no planning or forthought. I simply feel something and write down what I visualize. The images go from one to the next and I write that down. That's important because it's worth noting that what I write could very well be total jibberish. So if you don't understand something it's not your fault.
In the case of this poem, I find it impossible to grasp the idea of something being lost. A good friend that I tried to help died recently at the age of 23 due to an overdose. I have grieved her death, but even still I simply can't fathom the idea that I'll never see her again. I can't fathom the idea that her dreams and my dreams for her were completely useless. They were intangible. I like the word "irretrievably" because it suggests you have tried. That after many attempts you have simply accepted it cannot be done. But at the same time it's not truly final. You never know. You never will know. You will never be able to comprehend the idea of something being irretrievable.
So the goal of this poem is to make you feel heard about this emotion of feeling just about this idea being on the tip of your tongue but never being able to take that last step and to fully grasp it. It's goal is to invoke your own experiences and memories and to connect them with the lines. Perhaps each line invokes a moment of your life. An image, a sound, whatever you like. My goal is for you to connect with the words written and take ownership in them.
If you didn't have emotions or memories all my poetry would be close to jibberish. I intentionally included the occasional comprehensible line because it helps keep the reader grounded. If instead you read my poetry and get lost and don't connect to it immediately then perhaps I have failed as an artist or the poem simply is not for you. Think of each poem as its own individual, where it can either accept or reject you. I like this idea because it let's the authority of words and imagery stand on their own. If you don't generally connect with imagery or words then that's a very valid reason to think my poetry is garbage (which I insist that this always be a possibility, because I can't know).
my goal is write something that you connect with. And I want that connection to be personal and private between the reader and the poem. I believe in many ways my poetry won't achieve its full potential until I'm dead. That's because I think it's at its most powerful when the writer is unknown. Perhaps you were to see this written on the wall I a public restroom, would that change its impact? I see myself as the mother of my poetry, but I do not have control over what the poem does. What it says to you or anyone else. How it's interpreted. Who it makes angry, sad, or happy. But I think in a way that speaks to how profound and fluid our understanding and connection to words, images, and ideas are. Perhaps the poem is well connected to in this century, but not the next, and then people like it the following. It's not necessarily because the poetry is bad, but perhaps it's simply that every poem is waiting for the right time in your life and the lives around you to be fully "understood" (as I discussed, the definition of this is decided by the reader). Indeed this could be the case in a single reader's lifetime (you like it at one point, abhore it the next, and like it again later). Perhaps if I were to write enough poetry I could capture enough emotions and feelings that there would always be at least one poem that spoke to the reader. If someone lived a very different life than me, then it would make sense they may not relate to emotions conveying, and that's okay.
My point is that if you don't connect to the poem then that's okay. If I accomplish my goal, then you understanding the poem comes secondary to you relating to it. Perhaps when trying to understand it you may focus on what each line makes you feel. What it reminds you of. Maybe then you can comprehend it. But if you can't or won't then that's perfectly alright. If it makes you feel something (ideally a sense of relief from finally feeling heard) then you don't *need* to understand more. Nor is there necessarily a reason behind each word choice. For instance line two suggests a commentary on self harm (and it could be), but I saw it as more the impact of bleeding one's self to feed another being. That's how it connected with me, anyway. But there's no invalid interpretation. The only person that can decide what's valid is your own heart.
Sorry for this super long rant. I have a lot to say about my poetry! Thank you for your comment. I'm happy to discuss more or clarify if you'd like. Otherwise, I'd be super interested if you read a line and it connects with you. Consider sharing what memory or emotion it brings up (if anything). I'd love to hear your story.
Comment is about Irretrievably lost (blog)
Original item by Alita Moore
I thought you were going to tell me the gas lamplighter lit them, Uilleam.
And thanks for the Likes, Stephen A. Holden, and Stephen G.
Comment is about FAIRY LIGHTS (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Brilliant poem, Uilleam, written with great spirit and perception.
Comment is about Anti-Social-ist Behaviour Dis-Order (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
I loved 'prance en trance'. No, actually I loved all of it. Evocative, though I don't know why. Top job Frederick! 😎
Comment is about baggage claim delay (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner
Beautiful poem, Julie. I lived your poem this very morning! 😀
Comment is about Crimson Leaves (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
A brilliant if desperately sad poem, Stephen.
Comment is about The Lowest of the Low (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thanks Stephen, Nigel and Uilleam for your comments plus thanks toHolden and Leon for the likes. 😀
Comment is about A Golf Lesson (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Profound and complex. I am unable to grasp the content but would welcome some understanding of it.
Thank you
Keith
Comment is about Irretrievably lost (blog)
Original item by Alita Moore
A poem which needs closer attention as there is a lot to uncover and understand. Written from experience and with courage.
Thank you for this
Keith
Comment is about Critical (blog)
Original item by Jamal Buchanan
In the those far-off days of my childhood 1948+, our fairylights were substantially made, of glass and brass-and filaments!
I kid you not, there were such things.
And when dad was putting them on the tree, if one wasn't working, a flick of a fingernail on the bulb would often shake the filament, causing it to re-connect then stay lit.
Oh, the wonders of technology in those days!
Comment is about FAIRY LIGHTS (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
I was very familiar with those things in my youth.
Comment is about Her Prayer Beads (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Aaaaaaw!
Silly me, I've just tried to click the "loudspeaker" on your pic-thinking I'd hear some birdsong.😕
I need to get out more-Really!
Comment is about Crimson Leaves (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
My square peg has been hammered
Into this round hole.
I know the feeling.
Comment is about Wrong Spaces (blog)
Original item by mike booth
Terrible truths hidden in humour!
it’s a ten hour wait for an ambulance call.
Comment is about A Golf Lesson (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
I'm intrigued by:
Poets think not,
Methinks I overthink!
Comment is about Poetry or Philosophy? (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Hope you sell plenty of your books John.
It sounds a worthwhile cause in the fight against Cancer thanks for the link up.
Comment is about J.G.Barwell's Radio Show (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
"don’t get too attached."...Always a good policy!
i love you and i am leaving you because i love you and leaving you will hurt but not as much as being left by you will hurt and i love you
Sounds very much like real life.
Comment is about always moving, dont get too attached. (blog)
Original item by chaiaido
Grandad will have a bump as big as a golf ball me thinks
so next time you pick up a golf ball William hide it in the bushes like Grandad says he never does - - - great poem John.
Comment is about A Golf Lesson (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Hélène
Wed 30th Nov 2022 16:26
Yes, Uilleam, us Catholics are everywhere it seems! In adulthood, I became an unattached spiritual explorer, & then about 20 years ago joined a little neighborhood Protestant church after my semi-wild teenage son started going there (wanted to support his efforts to walk the straight & narrow!). When my deeply Catholic grandmother (owner of the black rosary beads) was in a wheelchair, I brought her to the Protestant service for an outing, & when my deeply Catholic uncle complained about this, she told him sternly, "God is everywhere!"
Comment is about Her Prayer Beads (blog)
Original item by Hélène