Dedicated to the enduring memory of:

Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca,

1896 - 1936, gypsy, homosexual, poet, anti-fascist

murdered by fascist militia in Granada, Al-Andalus.  

Lorca’s blood wedding

full of vaginas bleeding

into the lemon-tree- soil of suffering spain

reminds me of nothing more than the toil, toil, toil

of life in Al-Andalus.

Pries...

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True friends laugh
when you laugh
Cry when you hurt
Know your favourite colour
The cut of your skirt (or shirt)
They feel when your down
And know when it’s real
See all the signs when
you’ve had a rough deal
When you’re far apart
Their best wishes they send
You know it’s genuine ‘cos
It’s from a really true friend

The Urban Poet 2019

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The value of forgiveness
is not forgotten.
nor does it wash away all hurt
from the memory within.

It is released from the vice
of resentment
but still it echoes with
the resonence of regret.

words and foto Tommy Carroll

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Doctors are being driven to despair,

As a crisis unfolds in health care.

The system is creaking at the seams,

Disillusioned doctors leaving early to pursue retirement dreams.

Surgeries closing at the rate of two a week,

440 G.P.s lost last year as their pressures peak.

As our growing and ageing population does soar,

If the G.P. service fails,the N.H.S. could be no more.

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No matter where I tread

Or how high I lift my feet

Stinking piles block the way

Some are very deep.

I don't bother stepping over

No left, right, in-between

There'll be a new one in it's place

So hard to keep things clean.

Shoveling all day and night

Trying to make it through

These landmines of emotions

Left behind by you.

The plot I tilled and furrowed

I plan...

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Uncle Fred, recently dead

came back suddenly to life

at number 32 Tavistock Crescent

and made a mockery of the present

while trams went by with a metal sigh,

and our hands were joined as we held our breath.

The tiny voice began to issue

from somewhere near the aspidistra

while Mrs Mulvaney in a velvet dress

appeared to be in some distress,

and the trams went by w...

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I'm an emergency exit that 
You can never truly go out with
So tell me what is so great about him
Is it that he's a bad boy and you're addicted
I wanted to get lost in your eyes spend the day with you

Then I realized I'm nothing but a heartache
That will drown in his own misery
Find someone that I could call a friend
Damn it I just wanted to get lost in your eyes

Admit it I'm too swee...

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The bird who lost both wings 

There was a bird once from the blacklands
Of Khem.   that ibis metropolis  where one 
morning as the sun set sail
a bird made of  metal
rose from ashes of a light
 no one saw 
I and wonder swarmed the city
Like a single massive locust

Some thought it a gift from Thoth, winged
Others believed it was Seth himself
A trick of blood and meat like
The thirte...

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We don't know

who you are man

but man can you

play guitar

with fine finesse

and black mustache

a showman's

what you are

that snazzy hat

part of your act

the mystery of

black shades

we tap our feet

to your blues beat

hope the music

never fades

the usual

ain't what you do

it's all part of

an act

yodelladyhoo

out of the blue

a fla...

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Let us drive

Friday, May 31, 2019

7:35 AM

I stay clear

Will you be my friend dear?

Will you hold my hand today?

And remain friend forever

Should I take you?

And make feel through

The ocean of love

And sincerely believe

Mingle with me

And not struggle

give your hand and voice

I shall really promise

You can never go wrong

I dedicate...

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In the chaos of the time

When fruitless words have fallen

to aria of wind 

When the end dictates 

the beginning of a virgin earth

wiped anew with destruction 

In the residue of life

Where will the memories lie

of the child, of the youth 

and the wise old man

In the hand of death in the eyes that see

In the eyes of you and in the eyes of me

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Transient

The twists and turns of life bring confusion

                                                  to the soul

A perpetual quest for gratification is a

                                    ruinous odssey

Chasing after ideologies and false gods

                                a futile undertaking

National and political conflicts come

                               ...

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why is it that

everyone says how

things will get better?

And at first you won't believe them.

but then as soon as

you get your hopes up

it all goes down.

And you cry, because you believed them.

again here comes the hole

that eats you whole

And then you say you won't believe anymore.

you are me.

and i am you.

we are both

                     ...

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BEST SELLER

flickering words
at night
like firefly's
light
gently
nudging
me
vanishing
suddenly
ingenious
flash
just beyond
my grasp
would create
magic
if i could
grab it
thoughts
elusive
as liquid
through a sieve
forming
to hide
in the corners
of my mind
inside me
resides
a Pulitzer
prize
an exceptional
essay
a brilliant
array
of poems
lines
words
and rhymes
...

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As I walked

through the garden dew

'tween clipped box and shapely yew,

'tween hard hornbeam and

'tween friends

a perfect peace descends

As I walked

from the round green room

past dusky shade and roses' bloom,

past shapely hedge and

past huge urns

the garden quiet returns

As I walked

in the lakeside glory

to the enchanted terrace torri,

to the ...

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Life is  a fabrication of palatable lies.

Swimming through consciousness,

Shoaling like fish, open mouthed,

We take in all that we can swallow.

Hallucinating a fragile reality

Clinging to shreds

Pulling at threads

Holding our heads

We long for dignity.

Pulled to the earth

From a home in the sky

Spinning between birth and death

Eyes tightly closed

We swallow l...

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You choked the life out of me when I was a young  child

Upset me for a life time as you screamed your heavy burden

You boxed me like a punch bag, beat me with a peace pipe

bullied my confidences to the brink of  its creativity 

But you only hurt yourself 

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When they were making love

he whispered 'Ti amo da morire!'

and promptly did

causing her great embarrassment and mortification.

She would have preferred his love with tonic, not neat.

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Poets are renowned for navel gazing and being introspective. Here are three poems to prove the point. But hey, all navels need an occasional inspecting now and then. :)

The Unpublished Poet

He took a clipboard and a ballpoint pen.

He sat in the sun and then …..

He gazed at the sky, the inexplicable clouds,

Listened to trees sigh, untranslatable tones,

Thought of all that he...

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Some 'Quality of Mersey' poets after performing their odes to our beautiful Earth/Gaia installation by Luke Jerram at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral last Monday. This event was part of the Mersey River Festival 2019.

Photo from left to right: Ruthie Adamson, Jenny Hesketh, Barry Woods, Lucy Pickavance, Michelle Wright and Ali Harwood.

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Come find me in the dark, before life begins

Where I stand tall and unafraid

Where I dwell frustrated yet elated

The darkness where I was born into

The darkness that I was meant for

The darkness where I come from

And where I am to emerge from...

The darkness you're keeping inside...

Come find me in the birthplace of raw ideas

Where we will spend ages shapeless, hove...

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I share your sadness

in my time of need,

but bask in your heat

in the azured heaven

of canicular days.

The cold is also tied to you

and I am frozen in your hue.

Mental calm and serenity flow

from your presence,

and we can feel reassured

in the body of your essence.

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Nothing comes sugar coated
Forget what I want to hear
All facts only
No punishment here

Her insights are a gift
Taking time to think of me
Disregaurding would be hurtful
Both to her and
To me

If I were to go down a dark path
If she were to sit and watch me fade to black
Would be a waste of a beautiful friendship
A heartache that couldn't be taken back

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We live in a society of sanitized brutality.

Austerity increasing exponential wealth disparity, despairing for community. 

Who has put a price on life to ration out a tiny slice,

and grip us in their vice, disguised as moral order righteousness? 

Pretenders to the throne, to throw us only scraps and bones. 

The corporations profit all by raised invoice and taxes slashed,

as ...

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Trauma Department

The doctors scream at the nurses
The nurses take it out on the patients
Blaming them for their illnesses

At night they join together 
For a performance 
Wherein everyone switches places

And lives with 
The outcomes 
Of the operation

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The name she should have taken at birth had been long forgotten except by her mother, and she had been known since as Pen Alahn, Quiet Death.

She had not been expected to live long, cursed as she was by the gods with her limp.  She had not spoken until her third summer, interrupting the Elders at the Feast of Thanks, screaming simply, “They Come”.  The other women giggled and her father had sla...

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Fred Floppit tries to save his reputation (and a pram)

When the Shrapnel girls got Kalling

They put the world to rights

With philosophy and politics

And talking bloody shite

Around a pram, atop Cesspit hill

They whiled the hours away

With idle gossip, and chit-chat

To pass the time of day

Thora Shrapnel was holding court

With her sister, and h...

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Today, let our pursuits be anything
but trivial.
Poetry can twist and shout, cajole and flay;
not ours.

This time let it be the small-minded
spirit of self-interest
that is homeless. Should it not be 
the most generous genius
settled at the heart of our craft?

The hour has come
the soul has waited long enough.
We breathe the air 
of Buddha, of Socrates:
Acting accordingly our...

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Caring crusaders and daring debaters

Emmeline, Greta, Ruth

Your voices sound loud with the bold toll of truth.

Uncowed and defiant. You refused to give in.

Life-changing campaigning is a wonderful thing.

Marathon runners: hard-trained and focused 

With miles in your strides

And pain hardly noticed.

Everyday heroes with strength in your limbs

Your drive and passion a...

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Love, the source of your existence,

seeded in the heart of humanity, from

distance to distance, it's persistent,

it has no condition, only that you'd listen

to the feelings of aww

that begs you to embrace the religion of love

as your decision.

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Dear future generations, it is with the deepest regret that we write this letter,

Concerning all the tomorrows we borrowed, and should have served you so much better,

And while we'd debate whether it was too late to save all from being lost,

To contemplate a change so great, at the time, seemed too high a cost.

We realise now we cannot disavow our reticence or reservation,

And ...

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"you" are the distant moon
Bright and shiny
yet, so far...away

and I'm the tide,
your smallest change
cause turmoil in me

What I forgot, is that,
the moon is destined
to love the pretty stars
not the distant earth
which is so close, yet,
so far...

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Here I go, take a step onto the stage called life.

Finally awake for the first time. Fully present here and now. What a gift.

Hold onto your handlebars. 

I take this breath like dope.

Into my blood, down into the depths of my being.

Where being is seeing.

Like a probe searching for answers.

My feet carry my swiftly as I walk.

Rooted firmly in the earth, I am strong.

Rema...

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the sensation of feeling alive, 

like happy and living,

have been slowly leaving my soul.

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Eighty years she lived;

through two world wars,

and the ‘Troubles’.

There wasn’t even standing room

in the church;

the overspill crowded outside the door.

Mother of six children,

and all their friends and in-laws.

My Granny,

and grandmother to all my cousins

and their friends,

and their friends’ friends.

A hub for transfer of all the news

when phone...

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We’ve argued whether to leave or remain,

opinion reigning where fact is scarce or false,

creating division between fellow peoples.

Our society is complex; divided, too –

we have purposefully created an out and in,

with no real reason to pit one against other.

We’re people sharing a planet – that’s the point;

plastic is synthetic; politics is as well –

unlike plast...

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The violin cries tears 

And sings of heartbreak songs 

Recounting the happy through its legatos 

The sad through its staccato 

The heartbreak through its ricochet 

and the final goodbye through its detaché.

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The Chain it has fallen

Gone broke, and gone bust

Thousands lose jobs

Thousands bite dust

But still must pay bills

With no more income

Chain-maker's in mansion

No problem, ho hum

Millions, no problem

Stored in the bank

Splash round same lifestyle

Drink sauvignon blanc

A case of one biting

Off more than can chew

A la Roman Empire

This Chai...

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Grievances endured at the barrels of my heart,

Eroded the barriers masking the forbidden thoughts:

I dreamt of longevity, the feeling of being secure,

It was a plan, and plans inevitably become obscured,

My dream of this future became a catalyst to my motivation,

You were well aware, as it was always kept transparent,

But you harbored your guilt and let me use my motivation to su...

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A LAPSE OF CONCENTRATION

After we met, when we both

watched out for the other

(you were as sharp as a needle),

when we quietly moved on to “going out”,

I was drawn, most of all, by your

darting, quizzical eyes (swift as arrows)

and that slight furrow lying low in your

forehead (you said this was unremarkable,

I said maybe you should chill a little).

And now and then y...

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Good for you,
    found your flow.
Good for you,
    got that healthy glow.
Good for you,
    navigating storms like a willow.
Good for you,
    used your pain as fuel to grow.
Good for you,
    no more living on tiptoe.
Good for you,
    no longer afraid of the scarecrow.
Good for you,
    escaped the tornado.
Good for you,
    found your rainbow.
Good for you,
    taking time to...

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They met ,silhouettes of caressing minds.. 
Fascinating rendezvous, one of its kinds 
Seldom strikes those Northern lights. 
Pure ecstatic emotion ignites.. 
No present,no past or future claimed.. 
Relation, enigmatic and unnamed.. 
Meeting, crossing those reality bridges.. 
Embracing, holding hands in admission.
in another parallel life and existence
Walking towards a spectacular horizon...

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Jesus Wants You! 

He forced the door and entered, stepping over shards of glass, 

to effortlessly melt into the chamber’s darkened mass. 

And, as his torchlight searched for ‘victim-drawers’ to rifle through, 

out of darkness, rasped a voice; “Jesus is watching you.” 

He froze - was someone in the room inviting conversation? 

Or maybe he was hearing things (or his ...

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I blinked at the sight of her goodbye tears

As she turned her back on the watching eyes

And I readily recalled the dismissive sneers

Employed for another audience during her rise;

A great public service that questioned austerity

Fearful of the cost to what had to be done

Disdainfully dismissed with arrogant asperity;

No tears then...when she thought she had won;

But kept in...

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I, too have watched a myriad words die,

all for want of you, fearless audience -

your special someone with that kindly eye

and ear who could best, sans wilful offence

urge me to test myself, by composing

a thousand lines and honing them to one.

Your wisdom, without combative ego's

ingrown need to sound 'clever' (not far gone

in self-esteem, I mean) might serve adv...

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I Told Myself But Never Admitted To
What I Knew…..
Insinuations. 
And Yet There’s Still That Part Of Me
Waiting To Get Back Home, Back To My Room
And Say,
That Trip Took A Really Long Time,
Now….What Was I Doing?
How You Managed To Keep Us All Together
Without Figuring Me Out?
A Card Up His Sleeve, The Gambit Was Mine.
But I Can’t Seem To Turn It Off.
And I Can’t Explain The DejaVu.
...

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When my line manager

asks me about my development plan

and where I see myself

in one, three or five years time

I begin to think how in a year

I would like to be painting watercolours

beside a mountain stream

somewhere in the Bavarian Alps

in three years eating cantaloupe

and drinking black coffee

on an early morning

in a European city I don't yet kn...

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A day without E is better off Breathless,

May my soul escape if my stream is empty.

Seek and find the girl named E,

packed with love she doesn't discriminate,

Her race is spectrum body tailored to your preference.

Undergo E she'll turn the toughest man empathetic.

Open your eyes wide as the sky,

Her love brings out a high unreal,

to experience one must be willing ...

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imagine if you had stayed there forever 

on the cross fit, arms flailing comically 

legs metronomic, pumping sad alone 

nothing in your stomach but powdery bile 

sweat pouring off you, drenching the floor 

pooling in dewy puddles on the pedals 

staining the blue carpet tiles, trickling  

in salty ravines, hitting the mirrors 

cascading down the steps, bursting forth 

fro...

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