Dave. My influences are Lager, Red Wine, Althia and Donna and Viagra.I think that's the correct order.
Seriously, poetry should be a big tent/broad church.T.S.Eliot's Waste Land is my favourite poem but I've no time for the likes of Andrew Motion who decry the influence of rap.

Neil/Laura. I've got a pet scorpion called Gavin.We don't always see eye to eye. My nickname for him is Sting, 'cos it's like he's in The Police, The Poetry Police, I mean. All stanzas, stropes and juxtapositional - typical scorpion.Doesn't like being called Sting. No like me talk like dat, man. Well, he can stick his villanelles up his caesura for all I care.

Tom. You sound like a Spaghetti West Indian.

Comment is about Scorpion (blog)

Thanks for you comment, and sorry for the very late reply, only done poetry on here so its kinda new for me, was just trying something different on this one x

Comment is about 9 months and counting. (blog)

It was an option at one point, means life, and how the lessons you learn makes you strong.
P.s thanks

Comment is about Discovery (blog)

De docter sez I izz impotent dats why I dress impotent.
Brilliant Ray.

Comment is about Scorpion (blog)

You're the Boss, CRM. Keep posting.
(Have you thought of putting them to audio? The site needs them in mp3 format. I think this would be even better performed than read.)

Comment is about Heptonstall Chapel (blog)

Original item by C Richard Miles

Very good - I like the phrase strength scoooling. Does that mean counselling. I have had lots of that...

Comment is about Discovery (blog)

Thanks folks :) Yes indeedy, friends are hugely important, for so many reasons. As Harper Lee once wrote, you can choose your friends but you sure can't choose your family...

Friends ARE kin, to me

Comment is about For a Friend (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Reminds me of Benjamin Zephaniah's stuff. Is this connected to the 'debates' over the use of patois by white kids?

Did you SEE David Starkey on Newsnight?! I've given myself a permanent look of stunned disbelief watching that!!

Dunno who Gav is? Gavin McInnes?

Comment is about Scorpion (blog)

Interesting. Like the colloquial, although difficult to get a handle on it. Is it about the downtrodden lashing out little stings frightening Minotaurs? Maybe an unusual take on the recent disturbances? Very accomplished, is da stuff of da proper poet, innit.

Comment is about Scorpion (blog)

Extraordinary. Can't recall anything on WOL anything like it. Amazing. If it isn't too pedestrian a question, Ray - what are your influences?

Comment is about Scorpion (blog)

A lovely, lovely poem Laura - full of love and binding loyalty.

Your love, for you,
will rise
and walk
with ours.

Beautiful words to finish with. Value of self combined with the value of others - what more could you wish for a friend. x

Comment is about For a Friend (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Hi Andy, great poem, kissing chaos line is great way to end it.

It needs bit of tidying to strengthen it up like the others have said, I think I mentioned 'onto' rather than 'over' hats and 'leaves' rather than 'leafs' would be better.

Also not sure what 'the rain show down at them' means, should it be showered? In any case I love the first 3 lines of that stanza

You loved the black clouds
That hovered by the airport
Like portals of doom

Great poem mate deservedly getting comments, could work through it when I see you if you want and should be on we do as A Means to an End, cheers Jeff

Comment is about My hometown (blog)

Original item by Andy N

Ok I love the poetry, great conceit and great fun. I will come back a read more.

Cheers.

Comment is about PHILIP BURTON (poet profile)

Original item by PHILIP BURTON

Nice one

Comment is about Babe in woods (blog)

I`ll tell you the sad, sad, truth about siver tongues in a later poem John.

(I can hardly see he keyboard for tears)

Comment is about (blog)

Hi Lynn.

did you mean the Mel Brooks poem?
I will put it on again
when I see you have logged on.

no probs at all about commenting
as long as it gives you a laugh.

thanks.

Stef.xx

Comment is about Lynn Dye (poet profile)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Thank you for kind words, Francine.

I've just added another verse on the end...

Comment is about The Aftermath (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Thanks Ray. No haven;t done any for a long time, not since I graduated from graduate school. just been writing and reading mostly. I took a quick look at your poems and I like them. I need to spend more time with them. I think a great name for a prize would be the Glittery Unicorn Anemone Poetry Prize...what do you think?

Cheers from across the pond,
C.

Comment is about Banvard's Folly (blog)

Original item by Christopher Anthony Leibow

Hello Philipos,
thank you for your comments. The last line is a deliberate hybrid composed of a Dylan Thomas quote and a reference to the Christian line which goes, 'and the little Lord Jesus no crying he makes'. I am attempting to draw a link between the birth of Christ and his death, because he is about to re 're-born' by overcoming death. That is why the last line reads that way.

Comment is about Mourning Dawns (blog)

Thanks for your comments, Dave on Mem & Reflect. Glad I didn't disappoint after all!!! X

Comment is about Dave Bradley (poet profile)

Original item by Dave Bradley

Sorry, Elaine, should have made myself clearer. I think "played shadow puppets" reads better. I thought the first line was rather long in relation to the rest of the poem, though maybe that's no bad thing. Poems never are finished, that's the way to look at it, can always be made better.

Comment is about Elaine (poet profile)

Original item by Elaine

Beautiful. I love 'In your plough of tomorrow.'

Comment is about For a Friend (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Great images in this promoting a gateway to a thousand thoughts.

Comment is about Beyond The Green Gate (blog)

Has a rail journey feel this rhythm. Agree with much of what's already been said about this in terms of creative writing.

I wonder what readers will think of our society in a hundred years time if they see this.

My fav lines was: 'by the burial grounds where the dead cannot rest'

Comment is about I Live Over There (blog)

Outstanding. It works well, poetically , but the optimism about love and friendship which radiates through it is very very heart-warming and that's what really makes it. Wow factor indeed

Comment is about For a Friend (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Great atmosphere recreated CRM - elegaic and evocative of Gray's famous poem. You paint a highly descriptive picture of the place and the sad charm of its dereliction. My first published poem was of such a setting.

Comment is about Heptonstall Chapel (blog)

Original item by C Richard Miles

Wow, one of those poems that make the hair stand up with wow-factor impact!
"my mind will walk with yours" - spot on, you said it and said it so bl**dy well!
Fantastic poem, love it. X

Comment is about For a Friend (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

I enjoyed this Scott. IMO to avoid an inversion in the last line, it may read better thus: 'So he makes no crying at the dying of the light'

Comment is about Mourning Dawns (blog)

Glad you liked Mem & Reflect. Did I not read it at yours last time? Anyway, many tas for the comments. XXX

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

I will volunteer to lead the B walk then. I should warn peeps that I have no experience of crag walking though, nor have I ever been in the brownies or girl guides. I will also need a volunteer to carry the backpack with all the booze in it...

I do hope lots of poets will turn up. It would be good to meet people off here. Debs - you have no excuse for not showing!

I don't have any nature poems Dave - they are really not my favourite type of poetry - so you might have to make do with something else - or I'll just listen... xx

Comment is about Join fellow poets for a walk in Ted Hughes' stamping ground (article)

Original item by Julian Jordon

Passionate and sincere. Friends so important eh and lucky in the case of your subject.

Comment is about For a Friend (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

A lovely, heartfelt piece Laura. You friend is very lucky to be so well thought of :) x

Comment is about For a Friend (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

I am certainly aware as a self-publisher, performer and occasional promoter of poetry that there is a distinct resistance in some people to becoming consumers of, or audiences for poetry.

People I meet(including many poets) often seem unsure whether the form is (or is supposed to be)entertainment, education, a blend of the two or something else completely (perhaps based on shared catharsis).

There is also a sense that a lot of it is little more than self indulgent showing off (particularly in performance).

Personally I have loved poetry in its live out loud form since I was child taken to see Zephaniah aged about nine, a love that was only deepened when I started performing Shakespeare not long after.

Comment is about The beat of our hearts: how to combat poetry phobia (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

A very raw piece Lisa and a fascinating read. I think Ray's critique is great - he is the one poet you can rely on to really embrace the work of art as well as the underlying meaning - and do so in a helpful tone.

For most of us it is hard to imagine what it must be like to be an addict and the indignities they must suffer. The closest insight I've ever had was reading 'A million little pieces' by James Frey - brilliantly written, though I understand it has been the subject of some controversy.

I am so glad that your work is being appreciated by the wider WOL community. It is impossible to know what will strike a chord though. Sometimes really good pieces just don't get commented on.

Thanks for your message on my profile - it is appreciated. :) x

Comment is about The Patient (blog)

Original item by Lisa Milligan

Eh, don't be jumping on me bandwagon now Dave ;p

Thanks for the comment chuck, appreciate it.

Comment is about Dave Carr (poet profile)

Original item by Dave Carr

Another fine piece Kealan - really love the twisting of the 'nothing', and is that a little tribute to your hero there, with the reference to ham? ;)

Comment is about Nothing Happens For A Reason (blog)

Original item by Kealan Coady

Oh, Thom, such a deeply sad poem. The lilting of the line "I let the ashes blow" works well. What interests me also though is the fact that the protagonist is the one who controls what's going on here. They are the one who lets the ashes blow and the words scorch all things. A lot of levels to this poem. I liked it a lot.

Comment is about Ashes Blow Over All Things (blog)

Original item by Tom

Hi John, yes the "quote" is mine, not from any poem I've written - though I might have to use it now - lol!

And whether taken to the dark places of imagination or a past reality or a light place or any other kind of place - the ability to transport the reader is, as you say what a writer aims to do xXx

Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)

Original item by John Coopey

Wow. Hadn't planned to log on, but had to, to salute your courage, wish you good luck and say that you really MUST keep writing. Brilliant. What a riveting read.

Comment is about The Patient (blog)

Original item by Lisa Milligan

Hi Lisa

Welcome to WOL - great start!!

Loving so many lines in this, and as Petrova says, the progression from whisper to scream is excellent.

Totally agree with the sentiments expressed in this wonderfully-written piece.

Comment is about The Patient (blog)

Original item by Lisa Milligan

Thanks Hun & ditto!

Think I've got an eyelash in mine - damn! xXx

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Hello m'dear - soooo many thanks for taking the time to read and comment on so many pieces!! You appear to have been up most of the night on WOL :D

Take care, and see ya soon

Moi xxx

Comment is about Elaine (poet profile)

Original item by Elaine

Thank you so much Isobel for you kind comments about For my parents.

I've added something on my blog which may answer your question about whether or not writing helped :) x

Comment is about Isobel (poet profile)

Original item by Isobel

It was me! It was me!
I lost internet connection just as I was posting it, so it didn't all come through.
I think you must be a secret Trucker's Moll, what with all the interest you showed Thomas about the poem!
Would you settle for having "Foxy Lady" painted on the side of my wagon?

Comment is about Ann Foxglove (poet profile)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Climb inside such a mind and see what ye shall find!

Well written John and an interesting look at possibly why - I don't know enough about Mr Ripper (I'm assuming that's who you're referring to) to know if his motives were ever understood.

Lots of lovely sickly lines and nice shocking vocab from the "saint" with a great ending - yes asking to be forgiven the "minor sin"

Marvellous.

Comment is about Minor Sin (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

I bet you were a bit of a lad, Harry.
Silver-tongued and all that!

Comment is about (blog)

Thanks John, that means a lot and is good to know - I hit the mark then?! :) x

Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)

Original item by John Coopey

So much pain here Thom. The lines about searching for meaning and the "burning words... scorch all things" resonate strongly with me.

Powerful piece.

Comment is about Ashes Blow Over All Things (blog)

Original item by Tom

V powerful, Scott.
I'm intrigued as to whether the word "starring" in the 3rd stanza should be "staring" - but then again, don't tell us - the ambiguity adds to the mystery.
The final line is very Dylan Thomas-esque.

Comment is about Mourning Dawns (blog)

Great piece Lisa,

I love how the whisper becomes a scream. Also love that line, "punch me where I'm broken" so powerful but think you're spot on with "patient" - I imagine an addict won't believe they're a person. They are, after all trying to escape something either externally or more likely internally.

And the repeated demand not to be treated like a degenerate - excellent.

Comment is about The Patient (blog)

Original item by Lisa Milligan