From the 'Wings' series

They announce the occasion
White for the virgin.
Black for death
Red for love.
Pink for a girl
Blue for a boy.
The loudest colour of all
Embarrassed cheek of girl or boy.

We have had them all
Confetti in our lives.
Throw me red rose petals
Shower me with love.
Spray me with your rainbow
Dazzle me with your spectrum.
No need for pots of gold at the en...

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SUPERSONIC GROUND RACE

Countdown has begun as a crazy driver gets ready to go.

It’s a race over the desert to reach Mach 1.

As he sets off g-force increases and a silver dot shoots

over the ground trailing dust. In a second

he has gone a mile reaching 600mph.

With a bang he careers through the sound barrier

ending up a dot on the horizon.

Yes, he has done it, the faste...

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Badger, badger, black and white

Camouflaged against the night

Brambles rustle as you brush by

From your sett, elusive, shy

Living in a close-knit clan

A forager, no threat to man

Nature’s civil engineer

By British public held so dear

But omnivore of stocky build

Defra say you should be killed

Accused spreader of TB

A sniper’s bullet’s saved for thee

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Will you dance with me tonight,

until the early morning light ?

Will you hold my hand,

whilst I listen to my favourite band ?

Will you drink beer with me,

whilst I shed my last tear ?

Will you walk with me,

hand in hand,

to the promised land ?

Will you follow the rainbow with me,

to where dreamers hide

and true love resides ?

Will you lay down beside m...

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Moving On

staring through the window
at that dark and dismal place
where shadows danced and jittered
and a stranger had my face
I was shocked, but not surprised, to find
my future hopes would never last
if I stayed gazing in the mirror
and obsessing with the past

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An evening, sitting, wanting, ripping, blackening.
An acerbic wind.
Wait for the train and the glut of passengers to spill out.
The end, endless encircling madness, himself in the wilderness.
Girls, Judas and their selfish wives, lives pass, suck Jesus.
In his selfish mask.
Tormented, pushed down, I’m full: kill, hell thoughts.
Giggle to stifle grief, uncomfortable familiar family and perfe...

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the day after the social worker phoned,
Remember To Leave Reality At Home
the voice from behind the curtains boomed.
She said Ray, have you left ‘ality at home?
I nodded and laughed. She frowned
and asked What is ‘ality, Ray?
as if I were The Light, The Truth and The Way
and would never dream of letting her down.

And when the school report suggests
she’s below average intelligence
I re...

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Everything forgiven’s forgot

Peace made way to war again

Boundaries and manners were lost

Dignity was dug into a dirge

Pride slurped from a baby cup-

Oh let’s not talk in sombre wilting

Of how a mind was skewed and tilting

The only saving grace to be

That hindsight wasn’t paid to me

As- if I’d known how you would leave

I’d never give my heart to grieve

And I’d’ve s...

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ONE MORE SHOT

And the stains upon the bar
Tell another sorry tale
Of love and loss and tragic lives
To drink, to drown out the wails

As another washed out soul
Seeks the solace of the glass
To wash away the memory
Of another broken pass

Another wheeler dealer
Another gambling god
Another weary player
Bet his life upon the sod

The rings around his eyes
Mark the toll and tell t...

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Flowers

I picked Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

and Peploe’s Tulips

then arranged them like the

perfect wedding day.

I tied the bouquet together

with kisses from eternity,

and wrapped them in moonlight

from your favourite landscape.

I presented them to you

like a Jane Austen hero,

as your eyes lit up

my universe.

I waited like the stars await their fate.

...

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Leaving you stood in the snow
I almost turn around
And shout you
To come and share
My umbrella.

Almost clear some handspace
And almost pull out
My spare pair of gloves
In the middle of
My bag

And almost take
My little black hat
Off my head
As a symbol of
My endless love.

Almost pull my scarf off
That makes Tom Baker’s
From Doctor Who
Look like a pair
of earwarmers.

Almo...

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formed in v they fly

o’er top o’me

bellies, usually driven snow,

this morning

honey dipped in hiemal morning’s glow

til’ falling, scrap and skreel

fo’ morsels discarded

by genteel and boor

for there is no inequity

in commission to cloy the

ever open maw

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And then the heart does flutter

From the slightest of embrace

From the slightest tiny mutter

From the lips upon your face

And it’s like nothing ever changed

From the time we both were one

From the time before my heart broke

From the time that you where gone

And in that stolen instant

From a place within my heart

From a place no longer distant

From a place...

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I was born in Texas and raised in Arkansas. I was taught that if you worked hard and tried even harder you could accomplish anything.

In some ways this is true. At the age of 26 I joined the army.

Even though my service from 1986-1988 was a little boring. I did something that at the time was unusual for a Woman. I served along side Men and pr...

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The script

grips

the grey matter

with no questions

tendered or rendered

to hide

the creases and flaws

of the catechism curtain

Incense clouds

the view

from the true

sense of reality

Morality kneels

on glass - stained

water - unholy

drips into tears

Guilt trips

filter into veins

trembling, shaking

in silence

occupied by

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I always liked the jacket my Dad wore.

One day I found it

Hanging lonely and forlorn

In a wardrobe

And I thought of him and me

And remembered he was a bigger man than me

I tried the jacket on

And felt him close once again

I always liked the little pocket for a watch and chain

But to my dismay the jacket didn’t fit, not at all

It was too small

Though he was a b...

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Glad it is over ,

sad im leaving

yeah at Cagney's im  asking in English where the other room be  ?

and the Irish in the room are pretending they dont understand what im saying

i looked right in the eyes of one like " who the fuck are you talking to ? "

you'll not want to find out who i am

let me tell you a secret = im looking to lose the head

next minute im being served guinne...

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No-one was harmed

when it went off, although

there were plenty of casualties

by the end of the night.

I’m still finding bright sparkly

ruby-red 30s under the sofa

to this day. I ate that much

meat that week it

nearly turned me vegetarian.

I smiled and said: “Sod it,

I bet we won’t do this when

we’re septuagenarians,” and

you agreed with me. My

...

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#TimBernersLee

#Internet 4 #free

#way it should be

#mass #Security

#Watching #you

#Watching #me

#In #secrecy

#Veil #Descending

#Weektrending

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Will they come through the darkness? Will they come?

Or screaming with the dawning of the sun?

Is it time to fire the beacon?

Lest men’s resolve should weaken

Should we tell the boy to beat the battle drum?

Does that eastern glow mean Jarrow’s over-run

And presages the stinking Viking scum?

To visit us with thunder

To pillage, rape and plunder

Returning thence ...

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Emotion recollected in tranquillity

don't do it for me:

see the river Brent courses,

and see the people flow,

all kinds and conditions

in rain and sun and snow.

You might know

the greenman in kingsbury,

who abhors the national front,

wanders in kew gardens

and sometimes has a punt.

There's westminster traitors

brixton dreadlocks edged with hats

disp...

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Climbing in a rare window

of good weather,

good meaning merely hostile not lethal,

through a window

into the Death Zone;

through a window

into an insane dream-world

where nothing is normal,

the mind cannot think or remember,

the brain cannot function.

There is only the divine obsession, the Satanic compulsion.

Base Camp. On a hot day, the Gilkey memorial is od...

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TO THOSE WHO MET THE QUEEN

Me, I just hate Palace.

It's quite simple, brother.

Buckingham, Crystal -

As bad as each other!

:)
 

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Black gritstone Laithe barn facing the watery late afternoon sun

Echoes to the clatter of bovine hooves on shiny dung slicked cobbles

Milking complete, the plod to grazing fields underway accompanied by buzzing flies

Tails flicking, heads shaking, the small herd spreads though the running grass each cow finding space

The field edge drops away into the steep wooded valley patched b...

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Rooted in shadow all that seems
forgotten a forrest.
Oxygen the light to blister skin
and leaf that pray before the rot.

Blighted my reflection now a name
that haunts the ghost to ridicule
perception, give credence to hollow
earth and burn buried beauty

Starved of light a lantern hidden
lost by mist to jewel an empty socketed
skull bone ring that pulls upon a finger
to twist and thr...

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Fair

Labelled “fair” but tastes a lot like abuse

Snidey guffaws and earnest propaganda

"What do you think?" asks the BBC news

About poverty and this seasonal weather

I think that it’s fair – evenly balanced

For every free banker, an ATOS corpse

I think that it MUST be ever so just

Royal babies emerge and my widescreen warps

Rational, reasonable, really right, right?

L...

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Around the shadowed corner, wicked lies,
Through telescopic lens and focussed eyes.
The autumn trees encapsulate the path
And crunch beneath the wheels they idolise.

The building crowds descend before the knoll
To catch a glimpse of this passing idol.
He, showered from all sides with the applause
And peppered from above by seasons fall.

Idyllic is this scene to which he greets,
As smi...

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I am in a spring mood today,
For me it’s always Sunday.
I walk with a charming smile
As I have my own and unique life style.

I don’t care if it’s winter or autumn,
I always sing my own anthem.
Wednesday looks at Friday with envy,
So what? Sundays are plenty!

I walk and I smile.
There is nothing that can rile.
Autumn, fogs and rain?
So what? It’s not the main!

The main is my mood,
...

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The day they murdered JFK

They took our hopes and dreams away

Ideology, power, greed,

Sowed the all-American seed.

Hating that world-famous face

Planning another in its place

Uncaring of the status quo

They muttered "He deserved to go".

Ruthless to ensure completion

Witnesses doomed to death's deletion

Those who plan a coup d'etat

Will carefully make sure...

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BROKEN GLASS.

Angst the gangster of my pain

Will I ever write again?

Of flowers in the field

Coloured blue as steel

Once annealed

By sunlight shining through the broken glass

Before the dearth of earth alas

Now cold,

As old as time, dying.

Birds still soar, trying.

Their songs now lost

Beneath the roar of memory

Lost to greed.

The need to feed our eyes

...

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Staring out at me over a gulf of sixty years,

Your glassy-eyed optimism, born of NHS specs

Your staid gaiety in checked dresses

Bunting fashioned from austerity

Displayed in glorious mono, black and white

Jostling just to have self-created fun

And celebrate a distant Queen you’ll never see.

How perfectly the instant caught you

Spots on the negative though

“Mam! Ther...

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Feel your breath against my skin

kiss my lips and i'll give in,

warm my hands within your grasp

I hear your beating heart, 

as time slips away 

silent whispers are here to stay 

under the covers I find you again 

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For my daughter Rebecca.

There are moments in life

Which imprint

On heart and mind

And soul.

Many years ago now

I remember

My moment well.

Mothers Day, and I

Was alone.

Marriage gone. Children gone.

I stood

Gazing through misted windows

Grey street, grey skies

Leaden heart,

And round the corner came

A little grey 2cv

Chugging its nine hour jo...

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A busker grinds out

‘Fool for your love no more’

with a voice that sounds

like boots on gravel.

While I sit on a bench

and unravel

you in my lap.

Twat.

You write what

I should have years ago.

That one about the snow

somewhere near Werneth Low.

Well I saw that first,

probably before your birth.

You mention Heaton Mersey

I remembe...

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NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

This man won medals for bravery

Served in a world war

Mourned for his dead comrades but never

Complained about it

Came home, collected his demob suit

Walked away whistling

Determined to make the best of it

This other man lost a limb, didn’t care

That you would notice

Completed his education then

Went on to hack it

Never asked for...

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The much in demand Socialist Folk Singer Alun Parry plays ThePoetry Spoke at Gallaghers As Guest Musician - this coming Thursday -  21st November - from 8pm!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsoc6AJC-yA

Of Alun's debut album "Corridors of Stone", Lianne Steinberg, a music writer in the Big Issue said of the album: "The Liverpudlian singer-songwriter packs more weight in the punch of his folk songs th...

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So humble,

so gentle,

so beautiful,

a star shines in your eyes.

So graceful,

so kind,

so thoughtful,

a star shines in your eyes.

So angel,

so talented,

so unassuming ,

a star shines in your eyes.

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Love is two

Love is hello again

Love is a moment in time

Love is needing to be loved

Love is wanting to hold you now

Love is the spark when we touch

Love is two hearts beating as one

Love is the closeness when asleep

Love is curling up so close to you

Love is emptiness without you

Love is waking to your smile

Love is sad when you go

Love is you and ...

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Summer daze,

drifting into falling gold

to finish.

We put away our home from home

of orange-brown acrylic,

leaving debris tucked in pockets.

Bottle-tops and old lip balms;

dirty skins and baccy strands;

ciggy filters; bits of grass;

fairy dust and magic eyes;

sugar made of salt.

Litter from the happy hours  

and many fields we danced in

under dark and di...

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photo credit: Sarah Greenfield 

Flavored Water

Almost every pot starts this way

Olive oil

Sweet and hot peppers

Purple onions

Garlic and little bits of ginger root

Another stone soup is under way

Stewing on low heat in oil

And just enough water to steam

(Cause you know they don’t mix well)

Until vegetables with chicken legs and thighs 

Hardly sizzle together

...

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I do not give a shit

about Vietnam,

I do not give a shit

about destroying villages

nor paddy-fields,

I couldn't care less

about this poem

nor could I be bothered about

my neighbour's troubles

nor the shit that falls through

my letterbox

demanding payment-

as long as I can

fall back-wards and cry.

words and foto T Carroll

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Thembi

She walked slowly,

Lumbering swaying –

Upon ancient migratory

Paths now worn

By their own intricate networks,

     She groaned;

A slow rumble from

Deep in her hungered belly,

The acacia trees

Looking too frightful

To venture food,

She had left behind

Her young son,

Somewhere back there

Where ‘they’ didn’t care,

The thirst proving

...

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When dinosaurs walked tall on earth,
And Tesco was yet to be…
Women who wanted meat and shit
Relied on chaps like me…
We gathered up our clubs and spears,
And risked our very lives,
To bring back meat and furry skins
So as to get some loving from our wives…

But then, some bollix invented Tesco,
And the Dino’s all died out,
And things g...

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David Coldwell reads The Football at the 2013 Derwent Poetry Festival.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jGZ58WLDvo 

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If death is thought the ultimate

what price a part or two?

To be left as a mindless torpid trunk

the Elephant in the room.

And a limb’s not a limb – it’s a piece of shit

when blown into a muddy pit.

The scalpel only adds subtraction

in that theatre; sealing disconnection.

If death yields a hero – is life shame?

Return, with only self to blame?

Nobody t...

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You should be here
Whistling the national anthem
When they march past
In their dusty uniforms.

You should still be here
With your smile
And medals out-shining
The rays of the sun.

You should have come home
And walked down my street
And should have seen
Men walk on the moon.

You should have seen England
Win the Ashes
And had children
Waltzing on your knee.

You should have ...

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I sat beneath your majesty,

pondering my intent,

perusing the shadows of your sacrifice,

weighing the balance of hero's, against my upcoming event.

As I sat in morose contemplation,

of the dilema I did face,

and read the names of those sacrificed,

so I could make choices in this way.

I wondered if you'd diliberated before you went to war..

if you'd looked around you and ...

Read more …

Out of conciousness i fall,

reality is nothing but a vision,

no rhyme, reason or understanding,

finding answers must surely be my mission.

I find myself at great ease,

in this unknown time and place,

walking this strange little world alone,

no worries carried by disgrace.

Trying to find some sort of sign,

looking for a path to take,

i stumble ...

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