A man dead
And another dead
Doesn't matter
Where it takes place
It’s a man dead
And another dead
Human life as cheap as the newspaper you buy
As disposable as crisp wrappers
As worthless as yesterday’s news
A man dead
Another
On its way
A machete
A gun
A slash across the throat
Thank god it’s not you
It’s certainly nothing ... new
© David Mellor
Man dead in suspected Woolwich terror attack
David was born in Liverpool in 1964. He left school with nothing, rummaged around various dead end jobs, then back to college and uni. In his 20s he first discovered poetry, starting writing and performing and has done so ever since. He has lived on the Wirral for the past eight years.
Where News is the Muse
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
If Ukip Want To ... This Guy's Not A Kipper!
We couldn’t bear to get pally
With those awful plebs in the valley
We’re sure that they’re simply not nice
Because we read every grim tale
In our grail Daily Mail
Of course we all pay our taxes
While each of them just relaxes
And lives off the fat of the land
They’re all lounging and scrounging
In free houses and flats
With more kids than Family Planning had planned
This is only just one of their perks
Scarcely one of them works
I wish that someone would please explain
It just doesn’t make sense
That while we mugs pay their rents
Our savings disappear down the drain
With each large benefit hand-out
Surely no-one possibly can doubt
That something’s gone terribly wrong
They’ve over-sized tellies
Plus over-sized bellies
And excuses just drip off their tongue
While we’ve scrimped and saved
Been discreet, well-behaved
They have been having a ball
Soon we'll have our backs to the wall
Now I don’t want to scare ya
But all the folks in Bulgaria
Will soon pour over here in their droves
We’ll just have to give up our car,
Champagne, caviar
Queue at Sainsbury’s food-bank for loaves
Yes the outlook seems bleak
But we won’t whinge or shriek
We won’t riot or even complain
We’ll keep a stiff upper-lip
Take a very firm grip
Then move to one of our villas in Spain!
© Peter Flint
Des Lynam endorses Ukip ... in song!
Peter is 77, belongs to Rossington Writers' Group, Doncaster, and writes short stories and poems for his grandchildren. He taught for forty years...mainly English.
With those awful plebs in the valley
We’re sure that they’re simply not nice
Because we read every grim tale
In our grail Daily Mail
Of course we all pay our taxes
While each of them just relaxes
And lives off the fat of the land
They’re all lounging and scrounging
In free houses and flats
With more kids than Family Planning had planned
This is only just one of their perks
Scarcely one of them works
I wish that someone would please explain
It just doesn’t make sense
That while we mugs pay their rents
Our savings disappear down the drain
With each large benefit hand-out
Surely no-one possibly can doubt
That something’s gone terribly wrong
They’ve over-sized tellies
Plus over-sized bellies
And excuses just drip off their tongue
While we’ve scrimped and saved
Been discreet, well-behaved
They have been having a ball
Soon we'll have our backs to the wall
Now I don’t want to scare ya
But all the folks in Bulgaria
Will soon pour over here in their droves
We’ll just have to give up our car,
Champagne, caviar
Queue at Sainsbury’s food-bank for loaves
Yes the outlook seems bleak
But we won’t whinge or shriek
We won’t riot or even complain
We’ll keep a stiff upper-lip
Take a very firm grip
Then move to one of our villas in Spain!
© Peter Flint
Des Lynam endorses Ukip ... in song!
Peter is 77, belongs to Rossington Writers' Group, Doncaster, and writes short stories and poems for his grandchildren. He taught for forty years...mainly English.
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Hadfield Shows us Earth from Space
Sunrise is a sequin poised
on the bolt of silk that wraps the Earth
in blue. Islands are luminous snails
or exclamations marks
shouting ‘Look’. The Outback,
an abstract from the walls of The Tate.
Lights reveal where people live,
cobweb cities with roads that snake
or segregate the buildings into blocks.
Patterns emerge. Deserts, ridged and whorled
like human skin under a microscope.
Perspective shifts. Near and far are one.
His camera fails to catch
the grinding heat of sand, the tug
and pull of wind through hair
but shows the desolation of the Aral sea,
grit in the eyes of storms, our place
in a universe too vast to understand.
Looking up we see the astronaut
behind the lens. The scientist, teacher,
poet, most of all, the man
who searched within himself
to find the courage for his voyage
and then reached out to carry us along.
© Jan Harris
Chris Hadfield: 'Space was too good not to share it'
Jan’s work has appeared in Abridged, Ink Sweat and Tears, Ribbons, and A Night at the Movies, an e-book published by the Poetry Kit. Her proudest achievement is becoming a grandmother.
on the bolt of silk that wraps the Earth
in blue. Islands are luminous snails
or exclamations marks
shouting ‘Look’. The Outback,
an abstract from the walls of The Tate.
Lights reveal where people live,
cobweb cities with roads that snake
or segregate the buildings into blocks.
Patterns emerge. Deserts, ridged and whorled
like human skin under a microscope.
Perspective shifts. Near and far are one.
His camera fails to catch
the grinding heat of sand, the tug
and pull of wind through hair
but shows the desolation of the Aral sea,
grit in the eyes of storms, our place
in a universe too vast to understand.
Looking up we see the astronaut
behind the lens. The scientist, teacher,
poet, most of all, the man
who searched within himself
to find the courage for his voyage
and then reached out to carry us along.
© Jan Harris
Chris Hadfield: 'Space was too good not to share it'
Jan’s work has appeared in Abridged, Ink Sweat and Tears, Ribbons, and A Night at the Movies, an e-book published by the Poetry Kit. Her proudest achievement is becoming a grandmother.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Sunday review
Siobhan McLaughlin's poem 'Aleppo' started off the week reminding us of the horror of war arguably being best described by poetry. The comment on the poem by Mari talks about the rhythm in the poem and they are maintained very well.
Ajit Sherawat's 'Sarabjeet - The twenty two years' illuminated a case that I had not heard of before and emphasised the pawn-like existence that people in the wrong place at the wrong time can get trapped in.
Steve Pottinger's 'Angelina' illustrated that real insight can come from unlikely places. I like the description of Gary drinking the silence.
I am sure that all Poetry24 readers and contributors would join with me in wishing a speedy recovery to fellow editor Abi Wyatt who is a bit unwell at the moment. Take it easy Abi, and get well soon. have a good week, everybody and keep the submissions coming.
'Catwalking in Catastrophe' by Peter Flint on Tuesday did an excellent job of contrasting the situations that humans are finding themselves in and the florid extravagance that is based upon exploitation.
Luigi Pagano's "Behind the Facade' talked about the Cleveland kidnappings and showed how thin our civilisation can be. I like the way that the poem considers the future in the last stanza. Life must go on and part of that is trying to understand what happened and why.Ajit Sherawat's 'Sarabjeet - The twenty two years' illuminated a case that I had not heard of before and emphasised the pawn-like existence that people in the wrong place at the wrong time can get trapped in.
Steve Pottinger's 'Angelina' illustrated that real insight can come from unlikely places. I like the description of Gary drinking the silence.
I am sure that all Poetry24 readers and contributors would join with me in wishing a speedy recovery to fellow editor Abi Wyatt who is a bit unwell at the moment. Take it easy Abi, and get well soon. have a good week, everybody and keep the submissions coming.
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Angelina
Gary
never known for his subtlety
three pints in at The Anchor
half an eye still on the game
orders another lager
swigs
stands tall at the bar
and tells us all
this changes nothing
he wouldn’t kick her out of bed
hilarity
he’s no oil painting himself
never has been never will
shouts of he should be so lucky
in another life in his dreams
burst
of the old anglo-saxon
to put us in our place
and then the surprise
he takes a sip and asks us
imagine
the quacks went at your jewels
with a knife
to save your life
could you would you tell the world?
Gary
never known for his subtlety
three pints in at The Anchor
drinks the silence
nods and tells us
courage
looks and more balls
than all of us together that Lara
and then Gary orders another lager
half an eye still on the game.
© Steve Pottinger
Angelina Jolie has double mastectomy due to cancer gene
Steve Pottinger writes and performs poetry whenever and wherever he can. He has a website at stevepottinger.co.uk and can be found on twitter at @oneangrypoet
never known for his subtlety
three pints in at The Anchor
half an eye still on the game
orders another lager
swigs
stands tall at the bar
and tells us all
this changes nothing
he wouldn’t kick her out of bed
hilarity
he’s no oil painting himself
never has been never will
shouts of he should be so lucky
in another life in his dreams
burst
of the old anglo-saxon
to put us in our place
and then the surprise
he takes a sip and asks us
imagine
the quacks went at your jewels
with a knife
to save your life
could you would you tell the world?
Gary
never known for his subtlety
three pints in at The Anchor
drinks the silence
nods and tells us
courage
looks and more balls
than all of us together that Lara
and then Gary orders another lager
half an eye still on the game.
© Steve Pottinger
Angelina Jolie has double mastectomy due to cancer gene
Steve Pottinger writes and performs poetry whenever and wherever he can. He has a website at stevepottinger.co.uk and can be found on twitter at @oneangrypoet
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)