Yes, Ken Dodd's dad must be long dead, so the dog must have had a bl00dy good innings! The tongue-twister could however still be kept alive a few years longer by reversing a couple of the words, to 'Ken Dodd's dog's dad's dead.'

Comment is about Ken Dodd's Dad's Dog's Dead (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Interesting controlled delivery, which is very Japanese, keeping everything in check, but hints of something not being quite right planted in there in most if not every stanza.

Comment is about Plum blossoms in snow (blog)

Original item by Dave Morgan

I've read this a second time it seems better somehow - has it got a new verse, the one about the woman going down the stairs? Anyway, i didn't 'get' that bit when i read it last night, and now it makes a lot more sense to me - good stuff Andy!

Comment is about Up on the Roof (Strangeways) (blog)

Original item by Andy N

I'm interested in the full name and address, if you have it - (The Taxman.)

Very enjoyable. I can relate to this as i went looking down the local market for a replacement laptop monitor - but thank God i didn't buy anything from there. If it's half-price it must be dodgy, especially as that cheap price still includes the profit margin!

Comment is about Tricky Mickey (blog)

Original item by Jack Pascoe

I used this as team name in a pub quiz once. ha ha!

Comment is about Ken Dodd's Dad's Dog's Dead (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

I went to see Norwegian Wood the other week, I was worried because the book is still travelling around in my veins from first reading it years ago, haunting me still - its characters and plot lines are as fragile as petals. The film didnt disappoint, have you seen it I wonder? The 'walking' scenes were incredibly powerful, the scenery just as it should be - hazed, dream like, all a bit of a blur...how could this have been left to happen - sort of feeling, walking around with the clouds pulled over your eyes...blimey I am waffling, I have this poem to thank for that. I enjoyed this.

Comment is about Plum blossoms in snow (blog)

Original item by Dave Morgan

Hahaaa!!! Another good un from you John - would love to see you do this :D

Comment is about Ken Dodd's Dad's Dog's Dead (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Loving the rhyming scheme in this Pete, and an excellent subject to boot. 'And look I am cured, the finest Parma' - great play on words there, love it

Comment is about 'New and invigorating ways to erode' - or 'the brain is impressively hard to control' (blog)

Hi Terry

Okay, I am about to state the bleedin' obvious, which is that you COULD have more time editing if you really wanted to, by not splurging as much, by reining in the sheer amount you write and spend that time instead working through the existing poems. I don't believe for a second that it's a waste of time to work on a piece of writing, even if the end result doesn't change, at least you will have thought it through.

Sorry, I realise it sounds like I'm banging on about it, but I am really struggling to understand how you don't feel you have the time to improve your poems, when you clearly state that there are aspects of every poem that you don't like.

Anyway, not for me to judge or owt - it's just good that you ARE writing, I guess :)

Comment is about Untitled (blog)

Gawd, I remember this. Like Dave, I really like how you've married the two events, plus I love the complete lack of judgement for the protesting prisoners, but a certain amount of judgement for the 'non-con' ignorant mare who is meant to be 'better' than people who have been locked up

Great poem Andy

Comment is about Up on the Roof (Strangeways) (blog)

Original item by Andy N

Hello - I was interested to read about the project in Letchworth, having poems in shop windows sounds really good! Do let us know how it goes. Was it difficult to co-ordinate? How did you find the poets, choose the poems, get the shop keepers interested? I don't quite feel up to starting a WOL in Cornwall where I live (maybe one day!) but this seems like a good way to maybe start getting some interest going. Oh, and welcome to WOL by the way! :)

Comment is about Gareth Writer-Davies (poet profile)

Original item by Gareth Writer-Davies

See, that's what I'm talking about Ray! I have to agree with you, it's not poetic enough or something, I just don't like it. I love the honesty and criticism, keep it up, that's what I'm here for.

Comment is about Untitled (blog)

Nice!!

Comment is about Spring is Coming (blog)

Original item by Andy N

Probably a tax dodge - funnier than a lot of Ken Dodds stuff though

Comment is about Ken Dodd's Dad's Dog's Dead (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

No sense trying to make sense of it,cause it makes no sense, it just is and that the saddest thing about it - nicely phrased and explained poem - David

Comment is about The Rant Of A Mind Deserted (blog)

Original item by Melanie Coady

'how did he die?'
'he was killed'
'who killed it?'
'somebody did'
'I think it was his dad'
'did he?'
'no Doddy'

Comment is about Ken Dodd's Dad's Dog's Dead (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Wonderful images here, Dave. Nice pace to it.

Comment is about Plum blossoms in snow (blog)

Original item by Dave Morgan

It's an interesting poem, Terry. Here's what I think.
"Two decades ago" adds nothing to the rhythm or the narrative.
"rob me of a due apology" sounds better, I think.
Apart from the Easter colours the 3rd verse is a bit dull.
Best to avoid secret heart and sinful heart.One heart only!
I'm the father of over-indulgence is good and ought to stand without the x-ray glance.
million sins on my hands? Assuming it means what you're saying.
It's not poetic enough for my liking and it needs a title - every poem needs a title. But plaudits for tackling "a difficult subject".

Comment is about Untitled (blog)

Or starves the other?

Comment is about one life (blog)

Original item by Beulah

What a lovely poem. Probably not the desired response but at the end I started laughing. Takes all sorts.I loved the story, though. Rhythm could be tidied up a few places.
Like, simply "Mr Nagata surveys the familiar / pulling the sack around his shoulders" Could have done without the Zen proverb verse, though the following one I enjoyed a lot.

Comment is about Plum blossoms in snow (blog)

Original item by Dave Morgan

Thanks Julian-will do!

Comment is about Gareth Writer-Davies (poet profile)

Original item by Gareth Writer-Davies

Quite so Pete : )

Comment is about Gareth Writer-Davies (poet profile)

Original item by Gareth Writer-Davies

Hi Gareth,
The gig guide is not quite as searchable as we would like - wil be better soon - but I have had a quick look through the towns list. Not sure what counts as North Herts but I am guessing Hitchin, Stevenage area? Cambridge has quite a few events. Anyhow, if you go to the gig guide and type the following into search, you might find what you are looking for, the other thing to bear in mind is that new events are coming in at around five a day, so keep watching. And you might want to set your own up. Give me a shout if you do want to do so, perhaps we can help. we will certainly give you what support we can.
there have been events from time to time in
Hitchin, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, St Albans, Stony Stratford and Ware. so it is worth searching the website from time for these places and Northampton too has a regular event.

Comment is about Gareth Writer-Davies (poet profile)

Original item by Gareth Writer-Davies

p.s just put another one up if you're interested

Comment is about Melanie Coady (poet profile)

Original item by Melanie Coady

great powerful direct imagery and emotion.

Comment is about when that daylight hit us again (inspired by Gareth Writer-Davies' Junk poem) (blog)

Original item by David Mac

Thanks for all the kind comments Melanie. You're fast becoming my biggest fan on here :).

Comment is about Melanie Coady (poet profile)

Original item by Melanie Coady

Yes it was a long winter.

Comment is about It felt like a long winter. (blog)

Original item by Marianne Daniels

Like splitting the atom! Not that I have a clue what that's about. Small but perfect as they say. Not being a romantic I could argue with the sentiment but not with the control, and I'm still thinking about it. It's also short enough to remember. A great virtue on the performance circuit. I must take note.

Comment is about one life (blog)

Original item by Beulah

Nice one Andy, my acquaintance Dicko from Salford is one of those characters. Neat juxtaposition of two unrelated events, works well. Stanza 3, "interested" for "answered"?

Comment is about Up on the Roof (Strangeways) (blog)

Original item by Andy N

Hi Greg; - glad you like 'Spring is Coming'.. Oddly enough I had this morning going to work, but that was more fog based... Not fun atall! lol

Glad you liked it anyhow.

Cheers

Andy N

Comment is about Greg Freeman (poet profile)

Original item by Greg Freeman

thanks for the comment on 'Spring is coming' Melanie.. It's one of those pieces this one that was a little interlude between longer, heavier stuff shall we say but I had great fun writing it

let's hope it a good un this year! A

Comment is about Melanie Coady (poet profile)

Original item by Melanie Coady

Hiya Laura, thanks for the comment on 'she made her mark'. I'm a fan of Tom Waits so that's a massive complement for me, cheers. She left a mark on my memory too. That one was worse than the scars.

Nuff luv 'n' tha', Jack

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

thanks for the comment on 'Spring is coming' Cat.. To be honest, it was only meant to be a little bit of fun this one while I am working on some somewhat more heavier stuff, shall we say but I did have great fun reflecting spring in all of it's beauty.

let's hope it a good un this year! A

Comment is about Cate (poet profile)

Original item by Cate

thanks everybody for the comments - it was a bit of fun this piece in-between more meatier material but great fun reflecting spring in all of it's beauty.

let's hope it a good un this year! A

Comment is about Spring is Coming (blog)

Original item by Andy N

Hi M

Raving over the section below which really sings but as ever loved all your words.

Win

"a swan, a mirror’s heart,
walks, with liquid rippling shoes,
aging where it was told to smooth,
with lacy will, the treadmill white,"

Comment is about It felt like a long winter. (blog)

Original item by Marianne Daniels

Not a pheasant plucker, Foxy; rather it's a cunning stunt, isn't it?

Comment is about Ann Foxglove (poet profile)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

I do edit some of them, but I really have to be careful which ones I choose to spend the time on. I've spent weeks taking a poem through drafts just to realize I've wasted my time, and I really don't have that much time to waste. I am a single father of two children, attend school full time, work as a part time probation officer three days a week, and I just don't have time.
I think your all misunderstanding me, it's not that I wouldn't like to try to take all my poems through the editing process, I would love to do that to anything I write that shows even the smallest amount of possibility. Realistically though, I will never have that chance, at least no time soon. I sit in the back of court rooms and write in little books that can fit in my pocket, I write in between classes, I write when I am sitting in a parking lot waiting for my kids to get out of school. These places allow me to quickly write what I can, not to examine every line and see what should be going where, what should be removed or added.
That's why I am so glad I found this website. You don't know how nice it is to be able to share a poem you have mixed feelings about as soon as it's written and actually have feedback. I would love to hear more harsh criticism, to be told more often what I'm doing wrong, but still, I love it. I usually have to hand my little notebooks to friends and wait weeks for them to get back with nothing more than a number at the top of a page (one through nine) which gives me a general idea of how much they like or dislike it. And to be honest, I can't really trust them, I think they are scared of hurting my feelings because they will rate dumb poems I put in there on purpose to be bad with 7's or 8's.
Look at me getting far from the subject. Anyway, about twice a year I'll gather together a couple hundred I think are deserving and seek out a self publishing place and make a book. It usually ends up costing me a couple hundred bucks, but poetry is my passion, I know there isn't a way to ever make a career out of it, but that doesn't matter much. As long as I think I have something to say, and a unique way of saying it, I'll be sitting in the back of courtrooms with my head down, scribbling in a little book that looks like it's been in my back pocket for too long.

Comment is about Untitled (blog)

I asked a friend's dad what his two siblings had died of in their infancy, one next to him in bed at two years of age. "Poverty, lad", came the reply. This was the twenties. The era you write about was when my grandfather died, of poverty too; having been in the trenches in WW1, the only work he could get back home was stoking the boilers at the power station. Refusing to eat much when his kids had so little, and working so hard, is what killed him.
One of the best dramas on TV for many a while was When the Boat comes In. Thanks for the memories,eh?

Comment is about No Jobs For A Man (blog)

Original item by Dave Dunn

Blimey, Ken Dodd's Dad must be pretty ancient! Are you sure he's not dead too? :)(And are you a pheasant plucker John? I think we should be told!)

Comment is about Ken Dodd's Dad's Dog's Dead (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Hello Cynthia,

The Sale open-mic was last Monday I'm afraid.

Sorry to hear that you've been ill and sorry that you missed it.

The next one is Tuesday 26th April.

Hope to see you there,
Rod :)

Comment is about Rod Tame (poet profile)

Original item by Rod Tame

thanks for the spelling mistake Ray! I am terrible with the comma also, I get rather tangled up with punctuation sometimes...
I am going to keep that 'of', I like the way that line draws out. So stubborn! Sorry!

Thankyou for the pointers.

Comment is about It felt like a long winter. (blog)

Original item by Marianne Daniels

The language bubbles, it always does and the rhymes and near-rhymes are sweet.I could have done with a few less commas, particularly commas before "and".

the places gnawed, between the faces
and rewards, of one of the faces
being yours.
But the space is what lest report,

Do you need "of" one of the faces? Does that make sense? That last line takes some unravelling too.
lacy, not lacey.
Enjoyed lots.

Comment is about It felt like a long winter. (blog)

Original item by Marianne Daniels

Hi Ray - fascinating study about the ongoing effects of alcohol - entices the reader in wanting to know more about the person and the purpose - or is this just a typical student having bad hair day

Comment is about The Student (blog)

Hi Marianne - enjoyed all of this - particularly the third stanza and poignancy of the long winter statement at the end x

Comment is about It felt like a long winter. (blog)

Original item by Marianne Daniels

I also thought of an incestuous connection.

With the others - I like this a lot, don't trash it.

Why do you bother writing all of those poems if you're never going to hone any of them? Just curious. If you're going to the bother of writing them, wouldn't you want them to be the best they can be?

Comment is about Untitled (blog)

Rod, when is the Sale open-mic? I had today in mind, but apparently not; at least no blurb about it. I've been ill. Have I missed some info?

Comment is about Rod Tame (poet profile)

Original item by Rod Tame

good stuff kealan.. one of your best i think. been in ireland the amount of times i have been over the past few years, i am well used to rain and storms so can really see this - lol.

get submitting this around M8.

Comment is about How Can god Be When Spring Rains (blog)

Original item by Kealan Coady

Thank you for reminding us of the beauty and vibrance 'of tiny talk.'

Comment is about Tiny Talk (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Thanks you so much Cynthia for reading and sharing your journey with the poems I am posting up. You are much appreciated.

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas