A lament on life. Reflections which often pour themselves out into our consciousness and leave us bewildered and sad that we grasp so little while we are here.
Thank you for this John
Keith
Comment is about A sophomore sky (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Thank you Martin, John and Stephen G for your kind comments. They are always appreciated and a source of encouragement. Thank you Tom, Stephen A., Holden and Pete for your likes.
It means a great deal to me when people such as yourselves take the time to read my poetry and comment on it.
Thank you again
Keith
Comment is about It flashed before me....... (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
That's great news. I'll make a note of your names. I love a bit of humour. It helps strike a balance I think and also makes the serious stuff better received once it's presented.
Comment is about 'Don’t go down to the Railway Inn with anyone else but us!': Write Out Loud's poetry jam returns to Marsden jazz festival venue (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Cheers, Martin. I’m just the customs official. The inspiration comes and I just pass it on. Not sure who does quality control, but I’ll check into it and get back to you. Best, Bob
Comment is about In the hold (blog)
Original item by Robert C Gaulke
Ray this is really good writing. The first verse sings out. For some reason to me reminiscent of Blue Aeroplanes music. One of your best pieces for me. We’ll done sir!
Comment is about BEWARE (blog)
Original item by ray pool
LAST THOUGHTS ON LARKIN.
Growing up in the time of Larkin, the nineteen sixties
began for me during the Bristol bus boycott of ’63;
plundering birds’ nests,’ scrumping apples, and
street games played in dark streets on dark nights,
as the last refrain of a crowded train headed for the hop yards.
The poet in me unborn but still breathing; dreading
the scorn and anger of a generation still high on war
and colonial power.
Had I walked into the café on a wet Sunday afternoon
as he sat with his lady friend in some non-descript
Northern town, watching his eyes rise above
horn-rimmed spectacles; feeling the ice-cold glare
of a stare devoid of poetic eloquence. Could I,
on overhearing this quintessential Englishman
say, with the same insouciance and measured tone
he uses to order a cup of tea; ‘I hate blacks.’
Yes, they fuck you up, your mom and dad;
as do those who spill their bile and then retreat
back to academia, leaving others to reconcile the dilemma
of whether great art overrides the offence.
Comment is about Simon Armitage reflects on 10 Philip Larkin poems to mark centenary (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
There is no escaping the potholes around here, Martin. I blame the council!.
A super poem, with its gentle rising and sudden falls. Like life, it kept taking me by surprise!
Comment is about Potholes and craters (blog)
Original item by Martin Elder
Thanks so much, Martin. I have to confess the Waitrose line was for comic effect. I'm a Lidl Co-op man, in fact! 😂
Comment is about Middle-Class Achievers (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
I think this is something a number of us can equate to . Particularly dare I say it of a certain age. But I have to confess at shopping at Aldi and Sainsbury with only the occasional foray into Waitrose
Wonderful stuff John
Comment is about Middle-Class Achievers (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
You paint a wonderful picture with this poem.
Love it
Comment is about Mirage (blog)
Original item by L. Ong
Love it Bob . This one has a slightly different rhythm to your earlier work
Nice one
Comment is about In the hold (blog)
Original item by Robert C Gaulke
There is some fabulous lines here all rich with what they evoke. Wonderful stuff and a salutary reminder of what continues in the middle east.
Thanks for this John
Comment is about No place for love (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Absolutely superb Keith. This is so rich in imagery that positively jumps off the page.
Love it
M
Comment is about It flashed before me....... (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
This has the feeling and the rhythm of a song. Fab
Comment is about Too Cold To Snow, Too Painful To Cry (blog)
Original item by ZTK Space
Linda what a star you are. Right from the word go you have been a constant source of encouragement to me personally as you have to a number of others in Stockport WOL. I am so glad to see you are coming through all that you have been through. Keep on writing
Love and blessings
M
Comment is about ‘I now help many people find their own pleasure in writing. You can't put a price on that' (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thank you, Ray. He was a complicated person and obviously had a sense of life ebbing away, even in his forties. Perhaps writing poems became too much of a chore. We should be grateful that he was so prolific for so long.
And thanks to Brenda and Pete for liking.
Comment is about Late Larkin (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Hi Isabel
I would like to read if possible please
regards
Martin Elder
Comment is about 'Don’t go down to the Railway Inn with anyone else but us!': Write Out Loud's poetry jam returns to Marsden jazz festival venue (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Nicely sinister, Ray. I've had my fill of wasps and stinging nettles recently.
Comment is about BEWARE (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Hi Isobel. I would like to be added to the list of contributors to the open mic in Marsden, if that's OK. I will stick to five minutes and read some humourous stuff. Well, poems I think are funny. Looking forward to meeting up with everyone! John 👍😀
Comment is about 'Don’t go down to the Railway Inn with anyone else but us!': Write Out Loud's poetry jam returns to Marsden jazz festival venue (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Hi Andy. Glad to hear you can make it.
I'm hoping everyone who turns up will have the opportunity to read but I will make a note of the fact you're performing.
Look forward to seeing you!
Comment is about 'Don’t go down to the Railway Inn with anyone else but us!': Write Out Loud's poetry jam returns to Marsden jazz festival venue (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thanks very much Keith. Lovely comment.
Yes, I was primarily poking fun at myself, but I knew my readers might also be caught up in the self-same web. Hence the title! It's the way satire works.
Like you, I'm a conformist with a rebellious streak. But, do I dare? Do I dare? 😂
Comment is about Middle-Class Achievers (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
I really enjoyed this poem as I suppose so many of us are able to relate to it. I was a born conformist, very obedient and if a sign said keep off the grass I almost jumped back onto the pavement. I have always entertained the idea of being something of a renegade but in all reality I fit well into the box you describe. It must be an English thing.
John, thank you for this very entertaining poem. Well written.
Keith
Comment is about Middle-Class Achievers (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Fri 12th Aug 2022 01:50
A beautifully written, truthful poem, Stephen! 🌷
Comment is about Love & Grief (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
Thanks for your comment on my profile, Clare. Really enjoying your poetry. Very personal, brave and, well, poetic! 😎 I think 'My sweetest inner child' is exquisite!
Yes family and I all well, thanks. Hope you and yours are likewise.
All the best. John.
Comment is about Clare (poet profile)
Original item by Clare
This poem reminds me of a meeting I had where I was advised to go to work at a coach building firm. That looked too much like hard work. Really like your poem, KJ.
Comment is about Army Factory or Pit (blog)
Original item by kJ Walker
A life story told with great panache. A very considerable achievement, Keith.
Comment is about It flashed before me....... (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Thanks
The weird thing was, it actually happened.
I opened the fridge and stood for about 5 minutes just staring in !,,
Comment is about Fridge (blog)
Original item by Edbreathe
Sounds great, Julie. Hope it goes well! 😀
Comment is about Kirkby Lonsdale Poetry Festival (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Thanks for the Likes, Stephen A, Stephen G and Holden.
Comment is about IF IT WA'N'T FO' THEE (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Thanks for the like,. Uilleam 😀
Comment is about Middle-Class Achievers (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
The brow of this hill of calvary.
the very cusp of our salvation
no more Zionist apartheid
see the skull beneath the skin
the crown of thorns, this ordinary sacrifice
*
I was brought up a Catholic. Now in my 70's I have great trouble with the idea that Christians can annually "celebrate" the execution of an innocent man at Easter, or daily at Mass.
Amnesty International's position on this sad state of affairs (apartheid) confirms what I have thought for many years. A pity that the voice of moderate Jews in the UK Labour Party have effectively been silenced on this matter.
Comment is about No place for love (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
His was a hard act to follow, even for him - some are lucky to be creative right to the end, so it is sad, but then perhaps he had lost his muse. You have hit some truths with your poem Stephen, a brave stab at a difficult subject and very thoughtful and honest.
Ray
Comment is about Late Larkin (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
An interesting piece and a contemplation of the normal with a twist!
Ray
Comment is about Fridge (blog)
Original item by Edbreathe
Entrancing writing and a delicate and beautiful image boldly described. A kind of Gibran ideal.
Ray
Comment is about Mirage (blog)
Original item by L. Ong
aye, the shadows reaching into forever..........
.....if ye got that boat 'heading' for a new horizon. ye could be forgiven for never wanting to touch shore, for the fear the madness follows you.
Nice one Brenda.
x
Comment is about # Upside (blog)
Original item by Brenda Wells
'our architects consider themselves powerful and untouchable.'
it is not that in turning this world to a laboratory 'they' have been seen.................
................there are galactic courts being set up and spanning more than this current fragility...........
'every excuse, is now being neutralized. every excuse, is now being neutralized.'
Comment is about No place for love (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Hi Isabel, I have been before and would like to read. Do you require pre registration? Best wishes Andy
Comment is about 'Don’t go down to the Railway Inn with anyone else but us!': Write Out Loud's poetry jam returns to Marsden jazz festival venue (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Brief, to the point and true
Thanks
Keith
Comment is about Love & Grief (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
Thanks for your comments Greg, Carol, Holden and Stephen. I must confess that my tongue was firmly in my cheek with this poem. It came to me as I was mowing the lawn, keeping the 'garden tidy.' The self-loathing doesn't last, Stephen. As Dylan once sang, "I'll soon get over that!"
Thanks too for the likes L. Ong, Julie and jeronth.
Comment is about Middle-Class Achievers (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Impressive and moving,Keith.
Comment is about It flashed before me....... (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Nature can be cruel, but it's nature. Well described, Julie.
Comment is about Dinner Time (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
A very clever one, John. I am now some of things I used to despise; it's hard to despise oneself though. We only live once.
Comment is about Middle-Class Achievers (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Thu 11th Aug 2022 13:19
A really cleverly written poem, John, and the ending is sarcasm perfectly delivered! 😎
Comment is about Middle-Class Achievers (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Thank You Keith, Julie & John
Yes, had a lovely couple of days in a beautiful place
Comment is about Golden days (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
keith jeffries
Fri 12th Aug 2022 20:03
These verses are so appropriate for Police Forces which seem to have lost the reason why they exist. I had always held the belief that the Police were there for the prevention and detection of crime. They have become political pawns. They now seem side tracked by all and sundry.
A good poem. Thanks
Keith
Comment is about A plea to politicians.We need more bobbies on the beat !!! (blog)
Original item by hugh