This really made me 'smile out loud'
(That's like a laugh out loud, but with just one moment of noise)
I love the connection of these flowers with pom-poms ?
Comment is about Peony Pom-poms (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
As ever.. beautifully descriptive.
Another masterpiece.
Comment is about In Sharp Contrast (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
I'm just not sure about the 'in shame' part: not sure whether it should be a shameful decision and not sure whether those who take that decision do or don't feel shame at the time of choosing, or even at any later time... some do, some don't?
I like a version of this poem where it leaves it open as to what emotions or consequences are associated.
So you lower the sails,
Before the voyage even gets
Its say.
Either way, it is a great poem. Thank you.
Comment is about Fine Print (blog)
Original item by Holden Moncrieff
Ghazala, I wrote this in reflection of what my addiction has done with my life. I realized that I had feebly built my life on a very unstable foundation. That foundation and what I had built on that foundation needed to come down. I am learning how to lay and build on a new foundation in my journey toward sobriety.
Comment is about all these broken pieces (blog)
Original item by Shehariah
Keith,
Thank-you for another masterpiece. This poem says so much to me I wont be able to express it all. For one, this poem made me happy, thinking that good times will come and go like the changing of the seasons. then I was overwhelmed with sadness, realizing that our mortal lives only get one cycle of seasons. Also I like the connection of nature and our lives, and you covered a wide range of wildlife and nature paralleling our complicated lives. Great poem, thanks. J.D.
Comment is about In Sharp Contrast (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
In the cause of freedom of speech, I regret Phillipos's decision
leave WOL. Not least when that freedom is under pressure as
never before when it sits uncomfortably with present attitudes
and expressions of opinion that shout down anything contrary.
The various comments here are welcome in the cause of "voicing" varied views - thank you, one and all..
I was especially intrigued by a remark from "Marsha" who states:
" I don't appreciate the poem so much but it is a voice that should
none the less be permitted to speak." "Permitted"? Hmm.
I am somewhat confused. Is this about the technical merit or
otherwise I employed - or about the content and its intent.
The former is arguable but the latter can hardly be refuted in
the context of what is witnessed or heard all too often now.
Onwards and upwards!
MC
.
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
I have stated this before and I will (with a heavy heart) say it again. 'Most' of the kerfuffles we experience here on WOL appertain to members comments and NOT the actual poems themselves.
Personally I think the MCN poem is quite a balanced statement of (as Leon says) it takes two to tango!
I don't believe it shows Philipos in a good light to bring any other comments about his issues with 'non-locally born' neighbours into the equation. Sorry P.
If comments stuck to the work and not members proclivities, WOL would be a better place and it would then be up to the moderators to review anything untoward.
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
But you're really Sumpin
(even if you don't know that most of your poems are sumpin too)
?
Comment is about Nuttin & Sumpin (blog)
Original item by d.knape
A happy, hopeful poem. And maybe your time is now !!
That is how your poem has me feel, somehow...
J.D.
Comment is about In time (blog)
Original item by Ghazala lari
Thank you for the additional likes and for the kind comment Stephen G
Comment is about Woodland Dell (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Keep trying. May it's the last step to success?
Comment is about all these broken pieces (blog)
Original item by Shehariah
I now feel compelled to stick in my twopenneth.
The poem itself was about slavery, and didn't mention race. It could have been set in any time or place. Historically people of all races have been enslaved.
This poem is anti-slavery, and sets about pointing out that the buyers and sellers are equally at fault, and therefore is not racist in any way.
Some of the comments did have a racist undertone, and while I am a supporter of free speech I believe that Greg was right to call them out.
In my opinion there are three levels of racism
1. The person making the comments
2. The people who support the comments
3. The people who hear the comments, and don't call them out.
I hope that I don't fall into any of these categories, and am glad to see others like Greg, seem of the same opinion.
WOL is a great site. And I enjoy most of the postings on here.
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
That took a turn for the unexpected, Aviva!
Comment is about Jumping The Gun (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
You’ve certainly stirred the pot here, MC. Personally, I favour alternative views of history, even though I may not agree with all of them. Likewise, I am sad to see Philipos go.
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
It’s right that we should all play to our strengths, Stephen G. If I got caught one-on-one with a nippy winger he wouldn’t go any slower to give me a chance. Likewise if I got lucky enough to tag him at the bottom of a ruck .......
And thanks for the Like, Stephen A.
Comment is about PROPS (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Marsha
Sun 30th May 2021 23:05
As repellant as some truths are they are never-the-less truths, even if they are merely the truth of another's opinion or belief (fact or otherwise)
The greater danger is silencing a voice which speaks its mind...the danger being we can never comprehend a mind we refuse to engage, therefore we can never change or educate a mind which might benefit from that engagement.
Those that silence voices in a manner which is merely suppression are storing up a volcano of hate that their bloodline may have to deal with.
Some people who say they value freedom of speech are really only referring to their own, they are destined to at some future point be deafened by those they silence....and not in a good way.
PS, I don't appreciate the poem so much but it is a voice that should none-the-less be permitted to speak.
Anyone who has ever lived in a place where freedoms are truly oppressed would know this truth, I doubt some of those with influence at WoL have ever ventured into such territory in real life.
Oh, and here's an after thought from the front line all you frontline scribblers...words are easy..easy, easy, easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XdLNqWYgGI
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Hi Rasa, thanks for reading 'Why Poems?' and for your kind comments about it. It popped straight out after reading this entry by our WoL comrade Vautaw:
https://www.writeoutloud.net/public/blogentry.php?blogentryid=96591
I've enjoyed many of your poems so far, it's great to have you here and I always keep an eye out for your work. ? Tom
Comment is about Rasa Kabaila (poet profile)
Original item by Rasa Kabaila
Thank you for commenting, Stephen ?
Thanks also to everyone who has clicked 'Like' for this poem ?
Comment is about Jumping The Gun (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
I was a bit the opposite, John. Good at drop and place kicks but couldn't tackle, and terrified of being tackled!
Comment is about PROPS (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
I can only echo the words of J.D. and Keith
Comment is about Woodland Dell (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
<Deleted User> (30611)
Sun 30th May 2021 21:27
I'm sorry to see Philipos go for expressing an honest view. That's his choice of course, he could have stayed and continued to express a view that whilst unpalatable to some WOL members is however widely supported in the country as a whole. And I do not believe the view to be racist or bigoted, just honest and realistic.
As for the poem itself, MC has rightly pointed out that it takes two to tango.
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
A good, thoughtful poem.
Comment is about Jumping The Gun (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Who told you that you are a worm, and/or what makes you believe that you are?
Comment is about worm (blog)
Original item by mona
J. D I've got that 'probably going to regret chiming in' feeling too...
It seems to me that Philipos was saying that there are two types of immigrant, the type that doesn't seem to contribute much positivity to the society about them, and the type that does... and Philipos seemed to think that the type that isn't contributing positively is also the type that breeds large families, whereas the implication seems to be that the type that contributes positively is the sort that isn't doing that... because he says there are equal amounts or importance to each type of immigrant - (uses the word Equally) - so if there wasn't that polarisation then the overbreeding would balance out?...
The gap that I note in this concept is that truth be told, every population of people (every nationality or group) has people that contribute positively and people who don't, and people who have large families and people who don't...
It isn't that immigrant populations are any different than the nations they emmigrate to in that respect, its just that people seem to complain more about that due to biases of perception and attention?... which I suppose is what bigotry means, right?
Oddly enough, the same basic principle is the answer to the question about buyers vs sellers (not the bigotry aspect, but the existence of various types of people within any population)..
In the lands where slaves were taken from, whether of the same nationality or of any other origin, there would be a smallish number of people behaving illegally, to better themselves regardless of the cost to those around them... and some of those decided to be slave traders... There are people of that type in every country that's why there are justice systems and prisons in every culture.. .. but the point is that in the lands where the slaves were taken to, to be bought and used (which would motivate the traders to act illegally and with disregard to others).. buying and having slaves was not a criminal activity, it was legally endorsed. That's the difference as I see it, and I think it is a very important one. ?
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
I am probably going to regret chiming in, however one opinion would be to blame our own greed for slavery. One of many examples is the early American colonial farmers needing cheap labor to work the tobacco fields and bring the crops to market to fill ships going, (guess where?)... Just saying........ J.D.
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Philipos
Sun 30th May 2021 19:25
Have just been leaned on by 'One of the WOL Management' team for my views on this, and decided to quit the site as a protest against their opposition to free speech.
Will spend more time catching up on my other emails, but I would like to say a big thank you to all who have supported my Blogs in the past, plus the shared comradeship.
Keep writing the muse.
P
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
I'm not sure about the direction or the motivation of the comments
but find their presence interesting.
The point of my little poem is that there is a tendency to focus on
the buying rather than the selling back in the day when such
things were the accepted "goings on" of those times, long before -
and even since those days. Little is heard about the fact that the
sale of human traffic had its willing sources. Today's revisionist
reviewers of the (selective) past actively neglect any mention of it at all and that certainly deserves to be discussed/challenged.
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Philipos
Sun 30th May 2021 18:16
Greg, I shall happily take up your challenge. Bye WOL
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Why are these people 'dutifully' working in the NHS, Phil? Is that the deal that allows them to stay in this country? I may be misinterpreting your point, but the tenor of your comments strays towards rank bigotry. It is easy to think, oh, leave these appalling old racists to their own devices, anything for a quiet life, but such views are not what Write Out Loud stands for, and I feel obliged to say so. We have been poetry friends in the past, and it grieves me to make these comments. However, if you don't like them, the option is there, as you put it, to 'sling your hook'.
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Philipos
Sun 30th May 2021 17:55
Absolutely correct, the people traders of earlier years were Arabs, well and truly preying around the coasts of Africa.
Now, where I live, we are being out populated by those none locally born, who stand in the town square fist waving and shouting about the unfairness of everything, as they encroach everywhere by stealth of over population.
Equally, I know of others from such parts settled over time, and having adapted to the ways of the country they were inspired to come and dwell, dutifully filling the slots of our over challenged NHS, and wondering why on earth these rapidly growing malcontents don't go and sling their hooks.
Planet earth will be unable to sustain the rapid growth of such foretold catastrophic events. All earthlings are living on borrowed time due to depleting resources.
Just ask David Attenborough.
And thank you for having the courage to say it.
P ?
Comment is about SLAVERY KNAVERY (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Thank you JD, Keith and Aviva for the likes. Thank you to JD and Keith for your lovely kind words. It really is a magical place.
Comment is about Woodland Dell (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
I agree with JD, it is an outstanding poem where the poet takes the reader into her world of complete natural serenity.
Thank you for this
Keith
Comment is about Woodland Dell (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
So very descriptive yet beautifully written as to stir the imagination and retrieve past memories.
A good poem
Thank you for this
Keith
Comment is about In Ancient Ruin (blog)
Original item by Tommy Carroll
Thank-you for taking us along to this place of yours (ours), It is beautiful. In my minds eye from your words. and the picture helps. Outstanding poem. J.D.
Comment is about Woodland Dell (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Thank you Holden and Nigel for the likes, I can’t lie Nigel the have used the fifty shades quote with a variety of colours?.
Comment is about Hedgerow (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Thanks for commenting Nigel ?
When I went to university a close friend of mine from 6th form also went to the same Uni and in the second year when students move from campus into digs, she, I, and a few other Uni friends rented a place together.
While I was in that relationship he used to visit me at that house and got to know everyone there... then, when our relationship came to an end, especially because I couldn't tell people the traumatic and hugely personal reason why, she and the other friends of that house chose to keep inviting him around frequently, and when I said I found that difficult and could they meet him elsewhere they basically said that I didn't have the right to tell them who could visit the house.. so, I room surfed with other friends and barely ever returned to my own room.
The she of this tale is the same as features in 'To A Friend To Be Forgotten' and 'Sauce For The Goose (Rough Justice)'
Thanks also to Holden Moncrieff for the Like, and to anyone else who might like this poem ?
Comment is about Where Are You Now? (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Intriguing comes into your bed
wants to know
ex-lover in hiding
not speaking
staying silent
but why?
Comment is about Where Are You Now? (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Thanks for your likes
Holden
Aviva
J.D. Bardo
julie
Stephen G
and
Stephen A.
Comment is about Love Found Us (blog)
Original item by Nigel Astell
Sat 29th May 2021 23:29
kindness
is catching,
to say it
out loud.
?
Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Philipos
Sat 29th May 2021 20:20
Great memory and beautifully retold.
Enjoyed.
P.
?
Comment is about the first kiss (blog)
Original item by mona
Wow, John. That only leaves two options for me.
Comment is about Drifter (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
I was never much cop with the ball, MC, but I was pretty good without it. I couldn’t really play myself, but I could stop those who thought they could.
Comment is about PROPS (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
For a moment I thought the picture was of you in younger days going
to feed your fish!
They played rugby at my school when I much preferred soccer in the old left back position. More often than not - left back in the changing room. ?
Comment is about PROPS (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
I wonder how much train(ing) was required for this?
All aboard !?
Comment is about 'My kingdom for a train' ... poems for 18 rail stations along the Shakespeare Line (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
"Kind" = kinder = a natural grouping. But the message is well taken.
Comment is about MANKIND (blog)
Original item by d.knape
A poem with a reminder that to forgive and not forget; that a little love instead of push and shove is required. Racism is a blight on society and as individuals we need to harness our thoughts and actions to combat and overcome it..
A good poem
Thank you for this
Keith
Comment is about CONTRAST (blog)
Original item by J.D. Bardo
julie callaghan
Mon 31st May 2021 15:22
Thanks for the likes Holden, Greg, kJ and Aviva, thank you for the kind comments. I use the term “smile out loud” too.
Comment is about Peony Pom-poms (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan