A powerful piece as always Keith and one in which it reminds us that art in any form is always subject to the whimsey of those who think it second best. I feel both angry and sad at all that is going on in the world today. Thank you for this piece old friend
Martin
Comment is about An Assault on Culture (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
A very provoking and thoughtful Poem Tommy. Dare I say one of your best yet. Love it also the painting
Comment is about The Purpose is? (blog)
Original item by Tommy Carroll
There is a whole art to breathing just to help our mental health as much as anything. Nice one Helene
Comment is about Painting with the Air (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Love it Bob. I don't get on the site so often these days so it is good to see you are still posting . Nice one
Comment is about The Unknown (blog)
Original item by Robert C Gaulke
Thanks for the reminder that we need to stand up to the playground bully where ever he rears his head.
Comment is about Icarus (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
There is some great story telling here. Love it
Comment is about The Forgotten Girl (blog)
Original item by Nila
There is some very clever use of words here. Love it
Comment is about Hireath (blog)
Original item by Emma-Jane Stradling
A great piece Holden. As Stephen says, a timely piece . Nice one
Comment is about Peddlers. (blog)
Original item by Holden Moncrieff
Thanks Graham, glad you enjoyed it! - on revisiting, I think the feckless one who stole the saucisson away should be a drummer - they have much bigger ham-like arms than bassists!
Comment is about Cold Meat (blog)
Original item by R A Porter
It sounds like you're "gonna be poloni, this Christmas" RA.
A very clever piece, well done, G
Comment is about Cold Meat (blog)
Original item by R A Porter
A timely poem in view of what is happening in the world, Holden.
We can only hope that several 'peddlers of the mirage' are soon exposed to what they are.
Comment is about Peddlers. (blog)
Original item by Holden Moncrieff
Thank you, Graham and Uilleam. The world must continue to support Ukraine and convince Russia that its unprovoked aggression is never going to win.
And thanks Nigel, Stephen A, Steve, Manish, Holden and Tim for liking the poem.
Comment is about Icarus (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Mon 11th Dec 2023 06:01
Thank you, Manish, your kind encouragement really means a lot! 😊
Comment is about Peddlers. (blog)
Original item by Holden Moncrieff
Yeah, mythologies have always intrigued me, and knowing about them makes me feel closer to learning about people and their cultures. Thank you, Uilleam, for reading my poem :)
Comment is about The Forgotten Girl (blog)
Original item by Nila
Fear only
that you
don't feel
it's presence.
Comment is about Canvas of fear (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
I wonder what the man Jesus would have to say about the Jerusalem of today? He would surely weep.
Comment is about Jerusalem (blog)
Original item by Edbreathe
Thanks for the explanation-good point!
Comment is about Canvas of fear (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
Thank you to Uilleam, Steve, Manish and MC for your comments and others for their likes. Events in Gaza have had a profound effect on both national and international politics. They have highlighted what has for so long been kept in the shadows. The Conservative Friends of Israel who compromise 80% of Tory MPs and the payments made by Israel to our political system to advance their own aims. Turkey has withdrawn from NATO and Algeria has threatened to decalre war sending weapons to the Palestinians. Only America stands alone in support of their offspring. Britain sat on the fence 'Abstain' displaying a lack of courage and not representing the people of the UK. The cat is out of the bag. Apartheid Israel is in for one hell of a shock which they so richly deserve.
Thank you again,
Keith
Comment is about An Assault on Culture (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
A profound, challenging poem, Edbreathe. Perhaps more will be understood when one crosses over the river of life into spirit.
Comment is about Jerusalem (blog)
Original item by Edbreathe
Thank you Keith.
Your writing accurately describes the details of a purposeful systematic execution of a genocide performed with the cowardly complicity of the UK’s political leaders.
Might I add that, contrary to suggestions, no such act is being comitted against the UK people, or indeed against “The West” as some smooth-talking and fashionable conspiracy theorists (one of whom is currently acting as propagandist for Netanyahu) would have us believe.
The only people “diluting and destroying” our culture are UK politicians who are busy stripping away the basic human rights we have fought to establish here and in Europe over the last couple of centuries.
Comment is about An Assault on Culture (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
I agree with you Keith. Somedays all you can do is throw up your hands and scream, then move on.
Comment is about My Allotted Time (blog)
Original item by Tim Higbee
Thanks Tommy.
Did you paint that yourself-I like it-a galaxy?
Comment is about The Purpose is? (blog)
Original item by Tommy Carroll
To U. O. C
There is a clear distinction between caution and fear. Caution is a state of being vigilant and proactive, driven by optimism, to protect ourselves and our loved ones from potential harm, whether it is from known or hidden adversaries who may be plotting against us.
On the other hand, fear can be either genuine or unfounded. Unfounded fear often stems from internal vulnerabilities, such as when someone we trust betrays us, or it may arise from hypothetical scenarios that may or may not occur.
In comparison, caution is always preferable to fear as it allows us to safeguard our interests and avoid falling into unforeseen traps set by potential enemies.
Comment is about Canvas of fear (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
A fellow poet -now passed - did martial arts, he gave us a demonstration of Tai chi; it seems to be a natural form of exercise and makes sense to me.
Comment is about Painting with the Air (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Thanks Moonlight.
May I suggest -and that appears to be part of what you're saying- is that the best we can do with fear is to recognise it, (for that's what ultimately ensures our survival), but to not let it rule us, otherwise we never learn from our mistakes?
Comment is about Canvas of fear (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
Thank you Stephen.
Ukraine was never my "second-favourite country": it merely forms part of a long line of tragedies which in my lifetime includes Nothern Ireland, Iraq, Yemen, Palestine's Nakba-from the year I was born, and now Israel October 7th and on and on....
Please keep up the good work Stephen.
Comment is about Icarus (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thank you Nila.
Such mythology is always fascinating, and continues to provide us with a way of understanding even today's world.
Comment is about The Forgotten Girl (blog)
Original item by Nila
Thank you for sharing the harsh events that Refaat Kareer and Mosab Abu Toha faced. This poem broke me.
Comment is about An Assault on Culture (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Thanks to all for the likes.
It gives me comfort amidst my guilt-ridden doubts on this affair, that those who have genuinely suffered from and survived the horrors of the Holocaust are intent that no-one else should similairly suffer.
"To be a Jew means always being with the oppressed, never with the oppressors.”
Marek Edelman – last surviving leader, Warsaw ghetto uprising.
Comment is about Never Again Means Never Again-For Anyone! (blog)
Loved it, Tim, meaning and the rhyming. The lines,
"Can I sue my parents if life becomes too rough
Scram at the Creator and say I have had enough", hit me hard as it reminded me of a close relative who was over-pampered by his parents throughout his schooling, and then when the hard college life began, he coldly put the blame on them.
I particularly loved the last stanza. "A colorful kaleidoscope of descriptive words from your allotted time" is such a great line.
Thank you.
Comment is about My Allotted Time (blog)
Original item by Tim Higbee
Thanks for the like Stephen.
Glasweigans have just told him what they think of him as he skulked away with his minders through the railway station.
Comment is about النكبةAl Nakba: Day 27,375 and Counting… (blog)
Thanks all for your likes-and for your comment Keith.
The cynicism and hypocrisy of those in power (and in so-called oppostion) who deliberately incite hate for the purpose of distracting from their own morally bankrupt actions knows no bounds.
Comment is about Betrayed (blog)
By the way, keep the torch burning! For goodness sake!
Comment is about Icarus (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Yes Stephen, it"s all to do with money of course. We can all be virtuous in our support for the underdog against the bully until we start to feel it in our wallets!
The world needs to stand together against the bully. Make Ukraine a part of NATO immediately and then give Putin three weeks to bugger off! or else!
It's the only thing that will work!
Comment is about Icarus (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
In this poem, the Norns are the Fates according to Norse Mythology and the Moirai are the Fates according to Greek Mythology, I just wanted to portray the power held by higher beings according to different mythologies. Even Gods like Odin and Zeus were nothing in front of the Gods who held the power of fate and destiny.
Comment is about The Forgotten Girl (blog)
Original item by Nila
A mighty poem, Pete. Disturbing in its strange exultation.
Comment is about Jerusalem (blog)
Original item by Edbreathe
Two whiskey chasers
toxic larger cans
Christmas Eve party
woke up dazed
three days later
caravan in Wales
scented note left
see you later.
Comment is about Calling Christmas Poets 🎄 (blog)
Original item by Ruth O'Reilly
To forgive
Releases one soul
Giving the other
Time to heal.❤
Comment is about Liberating souls eternally (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
I love this
Breath is such a basic thing it fascinates me
Comment is about Painting with the Air (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Thanks all for your comments and likes.
Your wait is over MC: you’ve just read a poem from “…a British descendant of the viciously poor…”.
Mum frequently told me of the fear of the workhouse which was ingrained into her family memories. My forbears came to Britain to escape grinding poverty in Ireland, and mum’s warning “cleanliness is next to godliness” still rings in my ears-she was the youngest of eight- the child who should have grown up to be my uncle died at the age of six or seven from TB (tuberculosis) in what was probably among the last of Lancashire’s workhouses.
Comment is about Zephaniah (blog)
SW - I wonder, have you ever been cancelled on WOL for your
contributions? I am among whose entries have been found
worthy of cancellation but remain eternally optimistic that
variations of view are "no crime". We post material "at or own risk" so to speak, and debate about entries and other comments are part of the life-blood of vigorous healthy writing. Just tell
me when I've used vulgarity and abuse at any time...if you can.
Remember Voltaire! Cheers.
MC
Comment is about Zephaniah (blog)
Deeply emotional and utterly honest. The third line has a profound quality which is essential to any lasting relationship. I found the poem moving and well expressed.
Thank you for sharing this,
Keith
Comment is about Promise of love (blog)
Original item by Michael Rios
Culture is indeed a vital part of a nation's identity - and that of its allies where they exist. We owe it to ourselves to defend
that which created our identity and preserve it from those who would dilute and destroy it. The most prominent example of
my lifetime has been World War Two when the fashionably
maligned British Empire (as was), acted together to combat
the Nazi tyranny, which, if left unchallenged, would have undoubtedly forged an irrrestible alliance of evil with the
imperial Japanese expansion and the Soviet Empire, that even the USA - largely unprepared for war back then - would have found impossible to survive...caught in a vast pincer movement from east and west. On such things does our very existence depend. Nations must always be ready to meet the challenge.
Comment is about An Assault on Culture (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Thank you, Keith. Yes, culture is always a target and this phenomenon in Gaza, like every other manifestation of war, is wrong. We have seen the same in Ukraine and in all the peace campaigners and music fans killed on 7 October.
Comment is about An Assault on Culture (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Succinct and builds up to its conclusion. Thank you, Mike.
Comment is about This Day Is Old (blog)
Original item by Mike Bartram
The pseudonymous Will Shakspere could not have written either the sonnets or any of the plays attributed to a man from Stratford. In the late 16th century Stratford had a population of 1,500-2,000, while Oxford had around 5,000-6,000, London had a population of some 200,000 which is significant when assessing the type and quality of education required to write classical poetry as exemplified in the Sonnets and plays. I have of course given all the supporting evidence to identify an aristocrat with a vast reference library to account for "Shakespeare's" literary sources (approx. 3,000). However, I also assert that it is simply impossible to appreciate or fully understand either the poetry or plays without knowing who the author actually was because the numerous allusions made in them refer specifically to an aristocrat, a prolific polymath who was connected closely to court society and who had travelled abroad. None of these unique attributes appear to endorse Will Shaksper as a poet or playwright. His family were illiterate for three generations and there is no evidence that their son was otherwise-since the school and parish records do not list his name? See:
Who Was William Shakespeare?
https://qudosacademy.org/2021/11/09/who-was-william-shakespeare/
A Literary Genius or Fraud?
https://qudosacademy.org/2021/11/10/a-literary-genius-or-fraud/
Dick Whittington & Shakspere
https://qudosacademy.org/dick-whittington-shagsper/
The “Lost Years” Debate?
https://qudosacademy.org/the-lost-years/
The Meteoric Ascent of a Literary Genius
https://qudosacademy.org/the-meteoric-ascent-of-a-literary-genius/
Nevertheless, I appreciate your comments and participation.
leonidas
Comment is about The Shakespeare Myth or "Academic Bardolatory" (blog)
Original item by leonidas kazantheos
Done.
Comment is about Thanks so much for your donations so far - please keep them coming in 2024! (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thanks Keith, so sadly true.
Comment is about An Assault on Culture (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Nila
Mon 11th Dec 2023 13:20
Thank you Martin, for reading my poem and for the positive feedback :)
Comment is about The Forgotten Girl (blog)
Original item by Nila