The Shout

     It has been long in the heart but -

never really noticed in the eye,

  it has been a life long courtship that persists

    it stays silent, quiet, unsaid and unrecognizable,

      like a child you employ to do house cleaning on estates;-

        ‘every misunderstood wound has one, and all

          are misunderstood wounds in Manchester -

             sh...

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Welcome to Manchester;

To the Tóraidhe Party Confluence;

to the land in which

the pursuit of greater affluence on behalf of

the already obscenely affluent

results in vast quantities of verbal and physical effluent;

which will of course be removed

by United Futilities

who’ll dump it

on our land and in our streams;

a “service” paid for

by those who have next to no...

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Often used as a fake New York city from 1920 but Manchester, you ain't fooling
nobody.
The mucky Neo Roman columns built on hurt and hierarchy are testemant to lives,
lived in poverty.
Lowry could see, he correlated the city funnels with, human misery.
Here I sit, here I stare, at the weathered wealth of my city,
Old buildings are barely standing,
Outflanked by looming apartments,
But I'm ...

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Heavens open up.

Cats and dogs cascading down.

People disappear.

Afterword

My second crack at the Senryu poetry form. 3 non rhyming lines, 17 sylables arranged  5,7,5

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The following piece is a snippet from Buzzin Bards Manchester Poetry Anthology, submissions are still open at:  https://www.localgemspoetrypress.com/buzzin-bards-poetry-anthology.html

While you’re too busy being two-faced 

I’ve got one face with many layers. 

Take me at face value, or take a detour, 

reforged, like Ant Man upon my deep pores. 

Tryna get 1UP, that’s a weak score...

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The dawn never breaks, the sun never sets.

Dirty grey brown sky is as good as it gets.

Malevolent and brooding it hangs like a veil.

Twenty-three feet above the Arndale.

Where uncouth youth roam in packs.

Their flint like scowls as keen as tacks.

Malice and boredom forged the frowns.

On the not so bright future of Mediocre Town.

But don’t be fooled, these kids are scho...

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Under August Skies

We sat around the table Mam

but none of us got fed,

for the Corn Law has been biting

and we don’t have any bread.

The mill wheels have stopped turning,

so we haven’t any jobs

and we’re under-represented

by the parliamentary nobs.

So we gathered in the field Mam,

with our banners and our flags,

and the soldiers sat in lines

with their...

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A new home to Grandparents, ‘immigrants’ from Eire
A sense of community and not “them from over there!”
Neighbours blurred into family, my Mum and my Dad,
Protective eyes everywhere, show the young good from bad,

Dirt, scuffs and laughs forge irreplaceable mates,
Arguments then make-ups with r’kid until late,
A house full at me mam’s for ‘community’ meals,
Irlam Rotary provided r’kids fir...

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Shall I compare thee to a Manchester summer’s day?

You’re a bit damp and soggy

I’d love to sit in your company

But the ground seems a little boggy

Outwardly bright, but temperamental

Presently fine, so I’ll risk it

As Carpe Diem is essential          

Blink and you’ve missed it

But thou art as bright as a summer’s day

Through skies laden with smog

From Ancoats, Droysl...

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In their wool blend suits

And Primani boots

Crusaders on a mission  

Like jockeys before the National

They jostle for position

As the 7:22 snakes into view

They anticipate her breaks

She grinds unto a squeaking halt

Before the incumbents make their escape

Hands in pockets lined in pockets

Aligned to the doors

They brace and embrace the putrid heat

Swim toward a ...

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She started life as a Roman fort
And became a name synonymous with music and sport
Attracting the greats, the waifs and the strays
Providing a stage for the Babes and the raves
A settlement where three rivers meet
Where the Industrial Revolution rose to its feet
And jangly guitars discovered their beat
Where Emeline, bound, did us all proud
Where the Nazi’s dropped bombs and hatred to the ...

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One people. One voice. One Love....
United as a city, we rise above the hate.
Because these are the bricks that we built.
A labour of love. And it’s the workers’ hands
That make them great.
From the beating heart of Albert Square,
The vessel of music takes us everywhere.
It owns a bucket hat and Adidas footwear.
You can feel it alive in the streets, in the air.
Indie music. Madchester. No...

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ECCLES CAKES

Referendum what a bore

The man in the street will still be poor

And the rich will be richer than before

The press will descend on Manchester

And what she declares the world will swallow

The public’s chance to change tomorrow

Leave or stay? Remain or exit?

United Europe? Or Sporting Brexit?

The lying deceitful corrupt elite

Boring yawning I’m snoring ...

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3Write is a new free monthly writing event at the heart of the local community in Ashton-under-Lyne. It takes place every first Saturday at Ashton Library starting at Noon on Saturday 5th March, and is open to people of all ages and abilities.

The premise is 3 themes per session, and 3 styles of writing per session. We then 3Write. With the growing spoken word scene in Tameside (with big p...

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/Floating-In-Space-vanished-Manchester/dp/1499516002/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1402492784&sr=1-1

I feel a bit cheeky advertising here, but one of the perils of self publishing is that if you don't take advantage of the internet, nobody will hear about your work; my book is now available as a kindle e-book or as a paperback.

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The Quiet Compere Tour is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Manchester – The Three Minute Theatre - Friday 31st January 2014

York – The Cityscreen Basement Bar - Friday 28th February 2014

Birmingham – MAC Hexagon - Friday 21st March 2014

Kendal – Brewery Arts Centre - Saturday 26th April 2014

Liverpool – Blackburne House Café - Frid...

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“Got 10p for a cup of tea?”

“If you show us where you can get one for that price,

I'll give you a quid”

He never did...

Irregular Apocalypse.

Lonely and irksome.

The bitter glow of jaundice

tears at society's rustic chains,

one tragedy at a time.

“The Freemasons took my children,

they took my baby.”

Now she's hopping magic buses,

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What do you do with a drunk in GAY bar,
What do you do with a drunk in GAY bar,
What do you do with a drunk in GAY bar,
Early in the morning!

Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning!

Tell 'im, “sorry, it's members only”,
Tell 'im, “sorry, it's members only”,

Tell 'im, “sorry, it's members only”,
Early i...

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enchanting  armies of harmony...Phalanxes of rhythmic phoenixes.......remixing life to art art to life dark to light death to life.......music is our sanctuary music is our life to art art to life the art of life is the heart of life...... lifes A cycle like sum hyped CD or 12 inch vinyl spiral tribes thrive.........revolutionary recital....like breath music’s vital enlightened or suicida...

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Total Art….he art...she art……soulful hearts…..open arms…….vocal craft…..motion dance…….oceans calm…………Notions of the dark….like Napoleon….blown apart……….focus sharp…..fire opal vase……..golden mask……………ghosts of ones selves past……nations reincar…..woeful gasps…emotions scarred…..ter disa………. souls un-charred……wondering star…..melodious bars……opulent spark…….associate all parts…..ahh the holy who...

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Shame - the greatest shambles; a sham

sex and guilt, beauty and modesty; molest

pitted in the stomach like acid,

spat swallowed pity, feeding starvation, an unquenchable famish, unsensibly sore

malnourished habits die hard, and lonely, resentfully

twisting and turning and diving, deprived

Lies for eyes, for ears and the nose; twitch

flies on the flesh of ...

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'The Men Pomes' by Gerry Potter
8pm, 29.2.12 - 3.3.12
Studio Salford, Kings' Arms, 11 Bloom Street, Salford £7 / 5
Tickets can be bought on the night at the door or bought online http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_northwest&query=schedule&venue=kingsarmssalford&month=1&day=29&year=112&interface=kingsarmssalford

Creator of Chloe Poems and writer of smash hit play 'Miracle', Ge...

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Pretty homeless.
Her caramel complexion told not the stories she did not tell,
Nor did I ask.

No bucked teeth,
No smack-banged jitters
mixed with incoherent stutters...
but beauty in the most surprising of places.

Piccadilly Gardens on a sunny Mancunian afternoon
the busy city stands in shock
at the thought that anything can happen.

Without the badge such beauty...

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in the crepuscular wash of sodden November

ambiguous buildings in damp lethargy

lean over militant shoulders

umbrella bonneted

cast eyes glare pavement blinded

pragmatic heels bark through pools

dogged determination

crammed trams and insular buses

wheels hissing

r...

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There was nobody else here
the body said
without leaving any clues
like a detective novel would.

There was no cold murder
with the thrust of
a steel knife
and no silent voilence
that stung in the night.

This body lay there un-found
with a zen like silence
for long than it could remember
staring at the moon-light
the sun-light
and then the moon-light again
fo...

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