A Rush

A bright spark to a dull mind

searchlights beam for inspiration

as the tunnel is abandoned

its dampness gone, the stench with it

Lights scan the heavens and horizons

body and mind exhilarated

transported, enervated to peaks aloft and wide

Ideas fuel enthusiasm to burst the samovar

milk boils over in fleshy wonder

It is worth it, it has arrived

the track...

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Everything in this world comes, to stay a while - then goes,

Be it a gargantuan dinosaur or a softly fragrant rose.

Maybe one day we'll accept the fact - it's right before our nose,

But being mindful of how we are - just WHEN, do you suppose?!

.......................................................................................................

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A violent attack

innocent victim struggles

sharp steel blade

strikes without thought

cuts deep inside

senseless barbaric killing

another life lost

hundred thousand whys

angel of knives

sends a message

to those who

carry lethal weapons

stop and think

before street crime

leaves more scars

for more families

one day it

might be your

Mum and Dad

...

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We wish you a red and green Christmas

It was Christmas Eve in the workshop

And the elves were feeling jolly

Their little woollen hats

Were decked with mistletoe and holly.

Their faces alight with smiles

Not a sad thought in their heads

For Santa had agreed that Christmas

Should be green and red.

No blousy buxom Barbies

Or action men with guns

Just lots of fair...

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Building a civilization
is a lot like baking a loaf of bread:
All you need are the right ingredients,
a little know-how,
and an oven.

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Take this poem

read it

with open eyes

mull it over in your mind

let it roll off your tongue

let the taste of it

stay with you for a while

may it make you think

and satisfy your appetite

let it linger

until you get hungry again

a poem is a plate of words

served up with relish and spice

wipe your mouth when finished

once satisfied

be glad the po...

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I was sat outside a Manchester caf,

What happened next will make you laugh.

Sitting  there with my dog  next to me,

Having eaten a sandwich ,with a cup of tea.

A man rushed by wearing a posh blue suit,

Dropped 50p in my cup ,"Your dog looks cute."

A lady sat opposite next to her cup,

I dropped a pound in it,she was made up.

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The chorus of the poor
Says the Economist,
As if it is a given,
An expected outcome.
A Greek tragedy
To be rewritten
In modern for the hungry
Minds of the better off,
An entertainment for the few,
While the poor hold out their palms
With a radical point of view,
An imaginary paradise called equality.

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Silent Echo

Regenerate a voice that sales no promise

Agitated by a spoil that is only common

A vivid Spectrum isolated with gray

Drift away to mend the tired

Outcast the routine, Cure the Trial

Lift a torch to a unstable reaction 

Turn a corrupt citizen from tame

Spark ignited through guidance 

Spoken word left to disadvantaged miracle

A friend with a passion to stay 

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Pure and dear 

Love that wins hearts 

Bring millions of souls near 

Yet so fragile even so sweet

Just like the sweet white rose under a feet

Trampled and broken 

Withered dry and being lifeless all around the day

Whatever there was inside

Nothing seems to remain within its wall

Nothing to keep its inside firm and fay

Love if loved 

True to one's heart 

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Engage or Disengage

My writing's unconventional

My head is kinda shot

My readers don't know what to do

To stay or to stay not

I push our social boundaries

Convention I abhor

My lines can be emotional

At times a little raw

I pour the rush and tumble of

My mind out on the page

It's up to you as reader to

Engage or disengage

Don Matthews Augu...

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With remorse, never

Friday,30th November 2018

I never regret

and let

her speak the mind

I find no artificiality

yet we had no meeting ground

the differences were never found

but we couldn't get on well

the doom was likely to swell

"should we part"? I parried the question

she didn't reply but made no mention

I understood the gravity

there w...

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It’s best to sneak up on the reader.

Change the meter,

Change the rhyme,

Change the tone,

Or change the subject.

Try to do something unexpected,

Like confessing a crime

Or secret perversion,

Even in a

Short poem.

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The code is in the message  -- the message is in the code

it's a riddle,

but you live it everyday trying to figure something out

every day you're trying to open up an envelope

every day you're trying to scratch off a secret

There's going to be some pay back,

there's going to be some take off point

...and everyday your wondering when it's really going to hit the fan

you...

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my mind drifts

restless and disconnected

searching for a tethering point

the moment escapes me, nearly

tentative steps

towards a blank space

hope to get there by morning

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BLACKDOWN RIDGE

I thanked Maggie McIver, deceased, today –

she’d left a bench, with an envied view,

to walkers on top of Blackdown ridge

who sometimes stop to train their eyes,

to stretch a bridge to the northern side

of the gentle Downs that sit so pretty

some ten straight, clear, bright miles away.

Her bench was placed just off the track,

its back to the scores of...

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Purely real is gone today

idea mirror past

A rag squeezed bone dry

Nothing more to imagine

Tales told once told 10 times

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Today, my soul feels restless.

But for me that's just today, 

for you there's not another day to feel any other way. 

Besides breathless. 

God I want so badly to help you.

Please come back for just one moment

so I can help you.

Somehow we lost you in the laughter.

We didn’t think you could be hurting.

You loved just hard enough.

If I pulled the sun back...

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My heart is broken, my  head is fryed
my lifes a mess, i hope your satasfied

you through me up you through me down
you brought me back, smashed me on the ground

my heart is aching this pain is changing me now

these scars show i have a past
it keeps coming back around just as fast

love has taught me nothing  but that one thing

never to trust again......... again never to trust aga...

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A record slides from within its sleeve

palm supported to the deck;

the needle descends,

he takes  his place

to where she curls up with that special face.

While reaching down to pull him off

he stays her hand for Rachmaninov,

a musical climax steadily building,

his spirit soaring.

Something about his isolation worries her

as he closes his eyes;

she sulks a...

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Maybe my path 

will see lighter days,

right now I’ve got to make light

in the most creative ways,

so I’ll grab my brush 

with bright colours I’ll paint,

a world that is mine 

And in that world I’ll play.

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 I can't see her so

Where?

  Somewhere? 

She was here once, 

I turned

but

I see her nowhere  

so where is the somewhere she is is?

Words and fotos Tommy Carroll

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God please calm my mind
And heal my heart, I am drained
Please take away pain

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Are we a person who is inward looking out, other people around moving at a pace while we consider it's just another race, perceiving that insane normality could be on the sharp point of a blade, maybe the slanted edged absorbing disciplines to be normal, the other sliding down into the depth of hellfire losing the will to be strong, evidence of any emotional adjustment regressed to a former self o...

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No-one ever accused me of being a skilful rugby player.  Don’t get me wrong, I could catch, pass, even punt with a degree of accuracy.  But my contribution lay in other areas.  I was an unpleasant player.

I was never quick but relatively fit, so I played at loose forward, whose job it was to spoil the play of the opposition and ideally win the ball from any breakdown (preferably legally) and ge...

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He had a disintegrating childhood.

Broken home, residential and foster care.

Joined the army aged fifteen and three quarters.

Married. Three kids. Divorced.

Married again. Three more kids.

Six tours back to back. Left the army, sick to death.

Friends disintegrating in his arms. Just kids.

Home to family. To hope, but more despair.

Rows and harsh words. 

"Get a job, we ne...

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Nice day for a white wedding?

Empty bedding...never bothered.

Never booked it...clever author?

The best man, yet never offered.

Groomed bachelor...ego altered.

Empty nest...eagle's balder.

Being regal in a tuxedo faltered.

I cry not...yet eyes watered.

Still the rock...yeah Gibraltar.

If she arrives, hello altar!

If she doesn't...hella awkward.

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Has the cold winter air pierced through my body
With thoughts choking on you
My body becomes numb 
The memories of you come flooding in
Boards under my feet start to crackle
The pressure of your memories flooding my apartment
Like a child getting hurt for the first time the pain is unbearable
I could lock myself in the bathroom but the pain is still there
There's no running from the dire s...

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BIG HARD MAN WITH A KNIFE . READY TO TAKE A LIFE . DIGNITY AND RESPECT TAKEN OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS . THESE POLITICIANS SUCH FOOLS . NO RESPECT FOR THE LAW . CRIME IS ON THE RISE . THIS IS NO SURPRISE . TEACH THEM YOUNG BEFORE IT ENDS AT THE BARREL OF A GUN !!! 

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Rip off the band-aid, get it over with
I never thought it would come to this
Clear mind, clear eyes
Walking straight, no more lies

Don't rely on me and I won't let you down
You can't count on me, I'll only let you down
Don't reach out for me, I'll only let you drown

These feelings are getting harder to fight myself
Pulling teeth to admit I need some help
It's cutting deep on the webbi...

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Philosophy or poetry?

Plato preferred philosophy,

He would being a philosopher.

Poets, of course, are  liars by profession,

And endeavour to give an air of truth

To airy nothings.

Poets, like children, personify ideas

Through extended metaphor and simile

Imagine in more than one dimension

A golden age, an Arcadia, which poets have invented...

Is bewilder’d by these sp...

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I was at bar last night and saw fabulous kiss
Between lovely strangers, both wearing nice dresses
Drinking their night away, without any stresses
Snuggling up very close on the dance floor with bliss

Seeing them escape scene to the washroom, they go
Telling my wife follow to tell me about tale
As she's curious as well, so she simmers on trail
To find out the details of affair in shadow

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I want to tell a story now, it happened long ago,

So gather round and pay a heed to me.

It tells us of the reason, ‘cause I’m sure you want to know,

Why the fairy sits atop the Christmas tree.

It had just got past midwinter and old Santa Claus was vexed,

The rebellious elves were going out on strike,

And Mrs Claus upset him with the news she gave him next,

That her mum wa...

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They can’t Hear the Music Anymore

Take me back to the start again

Into the light to where words blind me

Right back into the heart again

Into the streets that run ragged

A jagged reality where no one smiles

Drinking in the world they listen silently

Volume lights blinking on maximum

Android ‘Throb Box’ wires dangle

Into the tangle that was once a thought

Eyes wid...

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Albert Edward Burrows   by KJ Walker

With iron grey ‘tache

And eyes of steel

Attractive to women

Sex appeal

A massive frame

Chiselled and bold

A liking for young ‘uns

Although he was old

Police were in fear of

This man so strong

Though they saved him that day

From the baying throng

He’d married a local

A fair maid called Hannah

She was much yo...

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Beautiful but rare

Every colour with a story

Longing for care​​​​​​​

With shield to protect itself​​​​​​​

Plucked by many

But valued by few.

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My mom took me to the second hand store, 

Where I roamed the aisles 

Unsatisfied by the lack of conformity.

The clothes did not resemble the brands I was taught to marvel.

On the first day of class my first year of high school

My classmate told me that Jewish people are

Cheap. 

Stingy. 

Selfish. 

But my Jewish family was not religious. 

I decided that I was not J...

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our mothers

          are windows

through them

          we see the world

and in them

          we see the faintest

reflection

of our selves

they are not easy to

                               break

but neither are they

unbreakable

to break them

          we run the risk

of injury

our knuckles crack

as does their glass

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I think about it all the time...

the sweet temptation,

manipulation! - 

wrapping my thoughts around the mind

I am wondering

How many books I need to read?

How many courses yet take...!?

to hold the leash...

- control the bitch!

She is a mess, she is wild...

I gasp from her ideas saying:

Oh, no you didn't...

- she is destructive!

But God! I...

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It clings to you like a feeling

Personal, intimate 

like a second skin:

of eyes that stare;

perceiving your world. 

Every thought clicked; a motion 

To cleave its coils closer

To know you more

Than any lover can

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SALAMANDER

From dripping dawn to milk churn

to sheep and village fountain.

From orchard and empty

mountain road to gurgling cherry town

I carried a yellow-black fire symbol

through deserted evenings

in hidden streets where men put away

their tools with an apprehensive glance

until at last, we met and drove

the winding road to Olonzac,

and sat next day in the b...

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Winter 

Winter nights draw in
A fire burning brightly
Cold air locked outside

© 2018 Taylor Crowshaw

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Thaw-Irkhet-if

at last the light

the promised light

slipping from Osiris’ grip

crushed by the wheel of centuries

yet

this is not the land of the lord of silence

this is not the fertile valley

this is not the underworld

this is the harsh light

of an alien world

where sacred sarcophagus

is rent asunder

and remains displayed for voyeurs

of the dead

my...

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Allowing a wall
Before their rational thinking stand,
Inured to their heinous deed
Of every brand,
From head to toe
Involved in corruption grand,
Also while fellow citizens
Gasp for air,
Not giving an ounce of care,
Barefacedly they dare
Unjust war to declare!
"Valorous,wiping you out
We shall make the land bare!"

"Chained, cruel and corrupt
Honest - thieves and cut-throats
Us to ...

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Show me the country

Where they glorify the torture.

Where people are hungry

And the well- known murderer,

Can walk freely and be free.

Show me the country

Where everyone is deceived

And the people are cleaved,

The backward there means forward,

Where to say the truth is awkward.

Don’t rotate the globe

With a hope to find this country.

You won't find it on the pl...

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i can’t think of any other words

i’m sorry

you’re the puzzle piece 

that didn’t fit

and i bent your corners

and snipped off where you stuck out

and although the puzzle started looking pretty 

to me 

you suffered and 

it was so obvious but

i was so stubborn ‘cause

i wanted it to look perfect but

you didn't belong 

and i'm not sure if this means much

but

...

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How did we get to where we are now

With iPads and mobiles and all things technological?

Messaging, emails, air drops and more

Things go out of date once they leave

the factory floor.

To some of us it's seems only a short life ago,

when spinning tops reigned, and rocking horses

were all the go.

The cursory Christmas stocking filled

with surprises, like oranges, nuts and d...

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XXX

The exes come one by one
Bearing memories wrapped in the present

After a few drinks they insist on
Chronologies you can’t remember

Their eyes start to twitch as you 
Attempt to stoke dying embers

To the night they proclaim
Their judgements you were

An asshole and 
They’ll never forgive it

And then you make out 
With razor blades between your teeth

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only so high roll the sun up the sky 
that a guild of mists should profit thereby
that artists among us may train their eye
on those untouched sheaves of gold they so prize

silence between thoughts in the ideal world...
enter the whistle or pip of one bird
frame and magnify the lyrical word
for her plain song purport may yet be learned

bright is the morning, the shadow has passed
...

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