Unfortunately too true. The hope they had and the hard work they did to achieve it are now scorned. We want it all and we want it now.
Jennifer
Comment is about GENERATIONAL (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Separation is dramatic, and divorce unimaginable!!! Nice one.
Jennifer
Comment is about BEDDED BLISS (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Philipos
Sun 2nd May 2021 16:41
Thanks Greg and Brian. A very interesting discussion. Let's continue to enjoy reading him, without minimising the other issues.
Best wishes Steve
Comment is about Mister Larkin (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
All the holes, tears, lines, scars and wrinkles are just signs that we've truly lived, just yesterdays kiss on the face of today. ❤❤
J. x
Comment is about Dream On (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Sun 2nd May 2021 14:05
thanks M.C. for your comment on that poem.
we will not mention it by name
in order not to scare anyone.
what exactly does MC stand for?
besides master of ceremonies?
?
Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Some people may see that this is an updated version of a poem, which I have written before, and which has some alterations.
Comment is about Pubs (blog)
Original item by Stuart Vanner
Thanks for the like Aviva
Comment is about Old, New And Incomplete (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Thanks for the likes. Nigel, Stephen A, Stephen G and Tom.
Comment is about The Covid-19 Memorial Wall (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
If poets are to be cancelled for having irregular (evil? depending on what passes for that in whatever generation) views, at times, then I'm afraid very few would survive scrutiny. I read poets whose viewpoints I abhor, but value something in their writing anyway-- yes, separate the poetry from the poet.
And Stephen, good job
Comment is about Mister Larkin (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
I love this Aviva, "Dream on" past all the holes and tares that got us all of our memories, I hope we are around long enough to make new shoes old and comfy, and a new teddy bear soft and broken in.
thank-you for sharing this. J.D.
Comment is about Dream On (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Thank you Nigel for this, and in fact all of your poetic responses. ?
I am sure people will soon be visiting my poetry blogs just to find your poems, and I'm very happy if they do!
Comment is about Buried Treasure (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Thank you Nigel, for your poetic response ?
I don't know if I should but I feel incredibly proud to see that my comment inspired a poem. You captured the essence of it perfectly.
Comment is about Vigil (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Well done Andy
2021
Big birthday bash
awaits next year
twelve months to go.
Comment is about (#NaPoWriMo 2021 - #Haiku of Life (2021 (blog)
Original item by Andy N
Gales blow raw emotion
soaking soft cotton wool.
Comment is about Buried Treasure (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Thinking and feeling
locked inside poetry
keeps it forever.
Comment is about Vigil (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Well said, Stephen. And I agree with you about separating the poetry from the man.
Comment is about Mister Larkin (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Philipos
Sat 1st May 2021 21:39
Enjoyable read Sanja, welcome aboard WOL.
P. ?
Comment is about Alone (blog)
Original item by Sanja Atanasovska
I feel the same as you do, Greg. I have always struggled to reconcile Larkin's wonderful poetry with the his appalling personal views. One cannot dress them up or attempt to contextualise them; they were blatantly racist and should be condemned as such. I heard about the passing of Anthony Thwaite but I don't think it is a bad thing that the letters and all the subsequent revelations became public.
So how can I write a poem like this? Well, unlike, say Wagner (whose well-known prejudices are vividly on display in his operas), Larkin's racism does not by and large seem to have spilled over into his poetry. I don't subscribe fully to the idea that you can separate the art from the artist but I do think one can enjoy Larkin's verse without having to give consideration to his bigotry. The poetry exists in its own universe, which seems blissfully sealed off from his more uncomfortable views, although of course his poems are not always devoted to pleasant themes. My poem is concerned with the poetry, not the man.
So this poem should really be a tribute to the poetry, not to Larkin himself. I'll change the postscript to this effect.
Comment is about Mister Larkin (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
The sad but true story of life in human terms when progress is
measured in profit's worth. Check author Bill Bryson's comments
about the activities of the US Park Service in his book "A Walk in the Woods". It provides dispiriting reading.
We know times pass and all things change
And, that, it seems, now includes the range!
The sound of the saw that sees an ancient tree fall
Precedes the cement mixer that builds another mall. ?
Comment is about Cowboy Blues (blog)
Original item by d.knape
Thank you for the sudden appearance of this poem,
It resonates deeply and will also be like a wandering bird returning,
At the bus stop, the dinner table, on waking.
Comment is about Appearances (blog)
Original item by Adam Whitworth
Thank you Ghazala and Adam for commenting ?
Thank you also to everyone who has clicked 'Like' for this poem ?
I'm really grateful to everyone who takes the time to read, like, or comment my poetry. I know I use the same couple of phrases to offer thanks each time but I really do mean it each time ?
Comment is about Buried Treasure (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Thanks for the likes KJ and JD, it was written for a video, hard to represent with a screenshot
Comment is about Old, New And Incomplete (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
I really like this lovely poem. Composed as only an artist could.
Comment is about Buried Treasure (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
I’ll take extra care next time I visit.
Comment is about Sad Saturday sewer story (blog)
Original item by hugh
Thanks for the likes, Hugh, Ghazala and Stephen G. Thanks also for the kind comment. Upsetting scenes indeed.
Comment is about India (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
I am a Larkin fan too, Stephen, but not unashamed, I fear. The racism that he shared in his letters to Monica was awful. The poet who edited his poems and those letters. Anthony Thwaite, recently died. He might have spared Larkin's reputation somewhat had he kept them out. I'm not saying he should have done, but ...
Comment is about Mister Larkin (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thank you Nigel for commenting ?
Comment is about Body Language (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Thank you Stephen for commenting ?
Thanks also to everyone who has clicked 'Like' for this poem. ?
When we put exactly what we're thinking and feeling into a poem, it turns out that it isn't only available for us then to know what we're thinking and feeling, but stays available (if we let it) so we can never forget exactly what we thought and felt. It can be a mixed blessing.
Comment is about Vigil (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
Wonderful images, Brian. Has a certain horror theme to it, redeemed in the last verse.
Comment is about A Boy on the Shore (blog)
Original item by Brian Hodgkinson Jr.
My thanks to Aviva for the enthusiastic response and to Ferris for his support. The likes of John, Hugh, Julie, Holden and Leon are also much appreciated.
Comment is about Sell-By Date (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
An impassioned poem, Julie. It really captures the urgency of the situation and its global reach. The pictures that we are seeing are harrowing.
Comment is about India (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
I wish I could have read this much earlier in my life ?
I will use the power of your incantation against any future heartache.
Comment is about Incantation (blog)
Original item by Ghazala lari
Thanks. I think i'll leave heart in twice. It is important after all.
I keep meaning to get onto Zoom Greg. It just hasn't happened yet and didn't see this until now.
Comment is about My Isle of Wight School Trip, 1987 (blog)
Original item by Emma-Jane Stradling
I've now attended another reading, at Bacup, where the poet laureate said specifically that he was aiming to present a different set of poems at each library. It's a great way of appreciating the extent of his work. At one point he disarmingly burst out laughing at a double entendre in one of his poems ... something about pulling his own cracker ...
Comment is about Simon Armitage launches library tour at 'Ashby-de-la-Zoom' (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Philipos
Fri 30th Apr 2021 10:13
I know what you mean about dreading those 'Big O' occasions. Me too.
Enjoyed.
P ?
Comment is about (#NaPoWriMo 2021 - #Haiku of Life (2021 (blog)
Original item by Andy N
Great observational work here Greg. Cities are becoming empty shells as the office work gets devolved into home working, making these significant edifices more like modern sculptures. If MK is anything to go by they are like dead or dying monoliths that nobody wants but even now Santander are building another huge one!!
Mayors eh? No matter what stripe!
Comment is about Vauxhall (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thanks for the comments, MC, Phil, Stephen, and Graham, and for the Like, Holden. It was my first visit to London in over a year. I wasn't impressed at what had gone up in my absence. Actually, I'm not against towers per se. But none of these at Vauxhall have any architectural merit - some towers do, imo. These ones are just cheap and very, very nasty.
Comment is about Vauxhall (blog)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thanks JD and Ferris for the likes. Thanks to everyone blown away with the comments and likes on this attempt. ?
Comment is about Cherry Blossom (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
Unsure at what to do
the poem says
it is possible
only if you want.
Comment is about Body Language (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
2019
Volts of lightning
rubber soled shoes
helped stage fright.
2020
Day off week off
normal working hours
never came back.
Comment is about #NaPoWriMo 2021 - Haiku of Life (2019 and 2020) (blog)
Original item by Andy N
Thank you Ghazala and Stephen for commenting ?
Thanks also to everyone who clicked 'Like' for this poem ?
This is one that sometimes makes me wonder 'is it really a poem?'
I can hear myself answer too (two answers): "It is" and "It isn't"
Comment is about Body Language (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari
??? Brilliant! Wonderful! Stylish! Clever! Amazing!???
Comment is about Sell-By Date (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thanks for the like Stephen G
Comment is about Cherry Blossom (blog)
Original item by julie callaghan
jennifer Malden
Sun 2nd May 2021 18:19
Nice One. Some things are more appreciated with time, think of wine, antiques, trees, an old saddle is infinitely more comfortable than a new one! An old friend too is usually worth more than a new, just because of the time passed. Like Jason's comment too.
Jennifer
Comment is about Dream On (blog)
Original item by Aviva Rifka Bhandari