Totally agree!
Comment is about If there was a rain like such (blog)
Original item by Ankita Srivastava
Hear, hear!😏
Comment is about Why to this court this case you did bring ? (blog)
Original item by hugh
Thanks JD.
I wonder just how much of the original there is left after countless "restoration" jobs?
And how many steam engineers / craftsmen are there still working who are capable of carrying out such work?
From time to time, a magnificent sight on the East Lancs Railway.
https://www.eastlancsrailway.org.uk/about-us/the-flying-scotsman-at-elr/
Comment is about Returning home on the Flying Scotsman 1983 (blog)
Original item by JD Russell
Thanks Cody.
I sometimes find that concluding lines tend to sum up a piece; they serve as a "target"-and then I build up around them.
Comment is about Writers block (blog)
Original item by Cody Roach
The beauty of Nature is healing, I love the sound of running water in gardens and in the wild.
Comment is about Circumspect (blog)
Original item by Clare
All the more poignant for its simplicity, Stephen.
Comment is about The pretty, little flower girl (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
Thanks Tim.
I must say, I prefer to take the train rather than drive, when I can.
Driving through the Lakes for instance, beautiful as the scenery is, I need to keep my eyes on the road-so frustrating!
Comment is about My life on track (blog)
Original item by Tim Ellis
Very evocative, JD. Its whistle is very distinctive, like a cracked copper kettle. One of my own recollections of train travel was being unable not to watch the mesmerizing rise and fall of the trackside telephone wires. Are they still there or has technology seen their demise?
Comment is about Returning home on the Flying Scotsman 1983 (blog)
Original item by JD Russell
A lovely picture of Forget-me Nots-saw masses of them the other day.
A very sad piece John.
Comment is about RHAPSODY IN BLUE (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Another marvelous piece from WOL’s own “war poet”.
Comment is about Playtime (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
thank you, Bethany,
Comment is about Returning home on the Flying Scotsman 1983 (blog)
Original item by JD Russell
Thank you all (John, Uilleam, Manish, Kevin, Keith, Hélène, Graham and Stephen A) for these kind and fascinating comments. I agree that one can play vigorously as a child without becoming a violent lawbreaker and it's also clear that many women can be aggressive and commit crimes.
Neverthless, there is an undeniable link between boys' belligerence and the nastiest manifestations of violence in society, culminating in war.
War correspondent, Graham? That's kind of you ,but these people are brave (and often quite young). I think I'll stick to poetry for the time being!
And my thanks to Telboy, Clare and K Lynn for liking this poem.
Comment is about Playtime (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thanks are due to Keith, Uilleam, Hugh, Bethany, Kevin & Matilda. Rules are there to be broken. As Emily Dickinson did so long ago in her beautiful poem: "Because I could not stop for Death."
Comment is about My body is a pebble (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Thank you for taking the time to read & comment on my little folkloric tale, Kevin, Stephen, Manish & Uilleam 🌈
And for the likes Hugh, Moonlight & Clare 🌹
Comment is about The pretty, little flower girl (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
A colourful poem if ever there was one, Helene! 🌈
Comment is about Painting with Words (blog)
Original item by Hélène
<Deleted User> (35860)
Tue 30th May 2023 22:03
JD you have put me in first class!
Comment is about Returning home on the Flying Scotsman 1983 (blog)
Original item by JD Russell
Succinct & brilliant as usual, Stephen 👏
Comment is about Playtime (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Tue 30th May 2023 21:00
Thank you for your sweet words, I appreciate them a lot! 😊-Oizys
Comment is about Bitter Beer (blog)
Original item by Yasoda
Playing all those aggressive style games in our childhood never made us bullies or law-breakers. Sadly I think the world is gradually dispossessing itself of any balance of humanity and the aggressive seem to be on an upturn currently. These bubbling-under scenarios usually come to fruition in a very big event. God forbid!
Stephen, ever thought of being a war correspondent? You'd do a great job!
Comment is about Playtime (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Loved this one, John B. A day out with mum always sounds like fun. Ver well written, my friend.🌻
Comment is about The Escape Committee (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Great poem Stephen. My world of little girls (3 sisters and friends) never played war type games. My only brother did (cowboy hat, belt, gun, etc). Some kind of evolutionary/survival/ territorial thing in males (while females took care of the babies, etc)? War is a horrible mystery to me but sure hope we humans evolve away from this, one of these millennia.
Comment is about Playtime (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Sweet, kind, funny, mum and son. Excellent rhyming too. Loved it.
Comment is about The Escape Committee (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Simply stunning, Clare. The audio was beautiful. This poem is a triumph.
Comment is about My Sweetest Inner Child. - repost with audio (blog)
Original item by Clare
Thanks guys! Uilleam, thanks for clever colored poem...gave me my morning laugh!
Comment is about Painting with Words (blog)
Original item by Hélène
I've never got poems that start with 'and' as if it's a continuation of an earlier piece which we should be aware of.
The poem itself is very 'glass half full' which goes against my natural instinct. If only folk could be more positive.
Comment is about My body is a pebble (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Wind forward a few hundred years...will any woman allow men to dictate what they wear?
Comment is about "I wear my hijab as an act of purity and modesty." (blog)
Original item by hugh
Yes Bethany, we have to cling to some hope.
MC, I use the word “politicians” to mean political leaders everywhere in the world.
Comment is about Falling short (blog)
Original item by Tim Ellis
Yes Greg, I did a bit of googling about the Fleet while I was writing this and it’s quite interesting. I must’ve crossed the river thousands of times during my life without realising it.
Comment is about The River Fleet (blog)
Original item by Tim Ellis
Thank you for your kind words, Kevin. ☺️🌻. I am trying to be brave! Push your boundaries and try something new. I came very close to death earlier this year and it has made me determined to feel the fear and do it anyway!!😂
Comment is about My Sweetest Inner Child. - repost with audio (blog)
Original item by Clare
Coffee and chocolate cake. Oh yes please.
Thanks for this,
Keith
Comment is about The Escape Committee (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
The bigger boys are naughty boys. Stephen thanks for this as it offers a different perspective to what is now taking place on the continent.
Thanks,
Keith
Comment is about Playtime (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thank you to all who liked and commented on this poem. It is much appreciated. As poets we are the vanguard of freedom and our eloquence must shine out. So called academics and intellectuals have their own axe to grind and they will always over step the mark. We must remain alert. The enemy is both within the gate and outside of it.
Thank you again,
Keith
Comment is about There are no Frontiers (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
<Deleted User> (35860)
Tue 30th May 2023 13:02
And so it will go on in exactly the same way Tim from day to day but despite that my hope remains that there will be one day coming that will surprise us all-you do believe me don't you
what was that you said Tim, yeah right? 😅
Comment is about Falling short (blog)
Original item by Tim Ellis
<Deleted User> (35860)
Tue 30th May 2023 12:54
Lovely heartfelt and very poetical wording Oizys
Comment is about Bitter Beer (blog)
Original item by Yasoda
Thank you Moonlight, much wisdom there.
It's time I travelled now - off for a walk in the sun.
💓
Comment is about Time travel (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
Kevin, beware; do not attempt the sonnet form lest you be singled out as a racist bigot-see my post.
A distinct LACK of intelligence appears to be a growing problem in many academic circles.
Comment is about There are no Frontiers (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Thank you Keith, and very well put; There should be no frontiers, but sadly, Salford University is making sure that there are.😕
Salford University in Lancashire has deemed the Sonnet form of poetry to be "too white and too western"; so they want to "Decolonise the curriculum".
A University of Salford slideshow shared with staff stated that teachers have
“simplified the assessment offering choice to write thematically rather than to fit into pre-established literary forms…which tend to the products of white western culture,”
(All of which just goes to show how little 👎Salford University 👎 knows about literature.)
"The scholar Samar Attar claims in Arab Studies Quarterly that the “formation of Italian literary texts between 1200 and 1400 cannot adequately be understood without reference to the various Arabic and Islamic sources that date back to the seventh century onwards.”".
https://daily.jstor.org/the-heretical-origins-of-the-sonnet/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Studies_Quarterly
Comment is about There are no Frontiers (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Well said MC.
I'm the worst of procrastinators-and self-sabotager.
I never do today what I can put off till tomorrow.
Comment is about CARPE DIEM (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Thank you Stephen.
A sad and lovely poem.
💐💗
Comment is about The pretty, little flower girl (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
I completely echo John's comment here, Stephen G. The toys just get bigger, worsening the peace of the world. Powerfully juxtaposed.
Thank you for this.
Comment is about Playtime (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thank you Hélène, for your colourful language.
Strange how we associate colours with emotions.
I was feeling blue,
Then I met you,
It was all blue skies,
Until he stole your heart,
then I saw red,
But I was too yellow
To fight for you.😕
Comment is about Painting with Words (blog)
Original item by Hélène
Whilst I remember playing with a small cap gun and playing "goodies and baddies" or "cowboys and indians" in the school playground- I don't remember the girls doing so-did they ever?
Is it a white western cultural thing?
Is it a uniquely / mostly male thing?
Is there an element of brainwashing going on?
Comment is about Playtime (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
How very true, Stephen. Men are just boys with bigger toys. Brilliantly executed! 😎
Comment is about Playtime (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
A beautiful poem encompassing a wide spectrum of spirituality, A joy to read! 😀😎
Comment is about Painting a Dream (blog)
Original item by Matilda Simakaj
IThanks so much for your comments, Kevin and Stephen. I think you are both correct! 😂👍
Comment is about Healing (blog)
Original item by John Botterill
Thanks for your comments, Clare, Keith, Uilleam, John and Kevin. Our current AI is really just superior data processing but it could be argued that what passes for 'intelligence' in many jobs is often no more than this.
Inspiration? That's another matter. I don't believe anything will replace human genius.
A bigger worry is whether AI, frustrated by its limitations, has the capacity to do anything about it. Who knows?
And thanks to Nigel, Hugh, K Lynn and Grace for liking this poem.
Comment is about AI (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
A poignant poem, a sad song, brilliantly described, imaginative and evocative with every stanza.
Thank you, Stephen A.
Comment is about The pretty, little flower girl (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Wed 31st May 2023 12:02
Serious? yer avin' a laff!
The Heege Manuscript which ‘pokes fun at everyone, high and low’ is among the earliest evidence of the life and work of a real minstrel
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/31/mad-and-offensive-texts-shed-light-on-the-role-played-by-minstrels-in-medieval-society
Fellow WOLers, you must never be boring,
For the high and the mighty need lowering,
Now you stand on the shoulders
Of piss-takers who’re older;
Truly ancient extractors of urine.
Comment is about When did performance poetry get so serious? (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman