This is not my country

    of origin, but it has adopted me

and I have adapted to its ways,

             its tongue, its eating habits.

    Thirty years is a long time

to go without Yorkshire pudding;

             a kiss from a cotton-mill lass;

    a chat with a sharp-tongued tinker.

But I keep this all under my cap,

    out of fear more than out of

             resp...

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http://www.petecrompton.com/content/Audio/footballers%20wives.mp3

performance poem

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So Bishop Dow has told us

And Jim Jones thinks so too.

Flooding is the curse of god

for the naughtiness we do.

To these brain dead barmy Bishops

It all seems clear as day.

The good lord sends his rain on

the decadent and gay.

So, by this godly logic

AIDS is vengeance too

The kid born blind is paying

for the sins of God knows who.

Their Jesus, who died for our sins,

has not q...

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Friday 4th April 2008, is the day that I will be doing my reading as part of the DLR Poetry Now Festival (www.poetrynow.ie). That’s right, it’s getting closer and I have been looking forward to it since I found out about it in January…

Therefore there is something ironic about the title of the festival…  It is indicated within the title that the Poetry should be straight away… Right Now… no waiting...

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Let us try

to pause the mind

unwind the dizzy eyes

sing a song for calm

and just listen

to the silent music of the stars

to the overture of the moon

to the speech of the seasons

to the symphonies of the sea

let the sunset flow

between you and me

rest the words in a poem

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Drinking absinthe

We are all in the gutter

And our star is Wormwood

Fallen, insalubrious in paramount ways

From this vista we spring

Legs like galvanized slinkies

Lurching, bounding in an emerald haze

Of joy and greed for the vivid

Sate us with hues and inform us buffoons

Crown us with garlands of Wildeian tulips

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What is that substance you sniff up your nose?”

“ Its Far more trustworthy than you! Of that I know!”

At once God jumped across the table, in a single leap

And with one swing off his fist, knocked the giant off his feet

The giant fell with an earth moving thud

Which caused an earthquake, it is understood

The giant replied, breaking God’s nose,

He fixed it at once, he wa...

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http://www.writeoutloud.net//public/poetview.php?poetID=16

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Independent - What does that mean?

In my flat; never to be seen

No one to help me, make a brew: You’re

Independent now, they said.

When it’s time to make my bed, I find it a

Bit tricky

I ask for some help, a hand comes up: You’re independent now.

My meal for one, it’s easy they said

Don’t worry if you burn your fingers'.

A neighbour; he’s independent too

He shouts a lot, and throws...

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Walking talking contradiction

Counter clockwise rhythm

has got you dancing to a different beat

your body and mind moves forward

while you heart and soul retreat

you talk small think big

while you dig your own grave

while trying to save others

brother slow down

you act like a superhero clown

while laughing crying and wearing a frown

people can’t tell whether yo...

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Loves path is not straight or true

When there are maybes and questions anew

The hard part is answering them, working through

So that instead of one against the world it may be, we two

Our hearts did not ask for Cupid’s arrow to invade

To set up a true foundation on which love can be made

We will talk, make love, and let our feelings trade

Whatever happens, for us, for this time h...

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This world was haven once,
and life was destiny
to be written
and remembered.
And then the ground broke,
and everything fell apart.
Where forests stood
now stand concrete.
The taste of fresh air
is now stale and congested.
Dreams loved the silver lining
on clouds now grown dark,
and nature suffers,
weeping still
from what she lost.
This world is locked
in a vice
that we call our own,
and all those
free to roam
now ru...

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Eggs, Eggs, Eggs

Happy is the man who finds his place

Beside a waterworks with chickens to tend…tenderly

The eggs are warm - three a day even in the wintertime

Happy is the dog who gets to race

Around the garden in the late sun….sunnily

The eggs for sale - one pound per box in the honesty box please

Happy is the shepherd with ruddy face

Whose sheep come by come by…sheep...

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William Henley 1849 to 1903 suffered from tubercular arthritis from childhood and spent most of his life in great pain.  He had one of his feet amputated as a result of his illness.

He met Robert Louise Stevenson who became a close friend and described Henley as burley, boisterous and piratic. Stevenson used him as inspiration for his Long John Silver character in Treasure Island.

I love this po...

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The picture was taken during a walk round Swinsty Reservoir in Yorkshire last Saturday,fantastic day. I haven`t blogged since last year, I have just been too busy. Since I joined the WOL Team I have had lots to do. November I went on a tour of China and then it was Christmas ,it takes time writing letters and cards and then there is all the shopping for presents and visiting family and friends. ...

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