GET READY TO SHINE
I right now in this moment in time
Shal manifest light in your life and mine
Iv decided that now is when I should start
To express my desires held close to my heart
So read this carefully if you will
Whilst in silence and physically still
I was given a gift of magic so pure
Its time to start to use it more
With eternal light from my soul
I demolish darkness to make me w...
Wednesday 30th September 2020 11:02 pm
Also by Sarah Louise mcnee:
BALLOON | DECEIT | COPY CAT | CLAIRE STAMP | ANTHONY WALKER | SILHOUETTE | GALLERY | SUPERFICIAL | End S.R.A |Psychoanalysis
Photo by Edurne Chopeitia on Unsplash
In my cottage in the hills
I am immune to the world’s ills,
or so I like to think.
On evenings of freezing fog,
I throw another log on the fire
watch closely as the flames reach higher,
take another sip of whiskey
stroke the back of my young dog,
Who feels the spirits in the breeze,
pick my book up from the stone cold floor.
Reading ...
Wednesday 30th September 2020 9:45 pm
Also by John E Marks:
NEWS OF THE WORLD | Fable | Not forgot | These streets aren't meant for dreaming | Blue | Waiting to be born, again | Day-of-the-dead | Alderman dies at funeral | Kicking leaves through dappled sunlight | Love | A collection of aphorisms | Dust motes for Dante Alighieri 1265 - 1321 | Die Wahrheit macht frei ('The truth sets you free') | Warmer than blood | Doppleganger contagion | Coffin ships | A silence | September's rain | Bright star |shadow our cat
Shadow our cat
communicates with us
he realizes that we cannot
speak cat so he watches
our human behavior
and uses it to communicate
with my wife and me
if his food bowl
is empty he does not meow
he just goes and stands
by his bowl and stares at us
if he is ready for bed
he goes to the bottom
of the stairway and stares at us
until we join h...
Wednesday 30th September 2020 9:02 pm
Also by Clyde McCulley:
afraid of the dark | the sound of the sun | a gull or an angle |Underground (Part 25 to 27)
NB. Three more haikus about the Underground
25
Northern train at stop
Pauses like it is watching
You walk your two dogs.
26
Getting hotter and
Hotter, it feels like the train
Is overheating too.
27
Pausing for breath
The guard wakes up the girl
For her ticket home.
Wednesday 30th September 2020 8:18 pm
Also by Andy N:
Consequences VII | Underground XXII to XXIV | Underground Part 16 to 21 | Consequences Part 5 and 6 | Underground Part 13 to 15 |Coils
Oh how we twist,
In the roiling firmament, this unrelenting mist,
Where no shape drawn is permanent, where nothing can persist,
Oh how we twist,
Oh how we turn,
A flicker flame of turbulence, watch it all burn,
In bitter flames of recompense, when will we learn?
Oh how we turn,
Oh how we coil,
Serpentine around the wrist, slicker than oil,
The tightening grip you...
Wednesday 30th September 2020 5:41 pm
Also by Jason Bayliss:
Safe | How Little | True To Your Truth | Be Content With You | Dry Your Eyes | Child | Uncle Sam | A Pocket Full Of Rye | The Rose, The Stem And The Thorn |An Old Fool
No need to argue that point.
Years ago I dismissed it and
I know my rationale precludes
any thoughts of revisiting it.
As an educated person any
contrary viewpoint deserves
an answer, so I’ve developed
several I use without thinking.
Honestly, my logic is defensive.
I protect my legacy like you.
I don’t want to and won’t
accept a flaw I’ve lived with.
...Wednesday 30th September 2020 5:14 pm
Also by Dan Holtan:
Symbiotic | Subtle Savior | War Wounds | Incite To Write | Exit Stage Life |PEST CONTROL
I've just had a visit from pest control
You know - those people who take the role
Of addressing nocturnal visits by mice
(And maybe other things not seen as "nice").
It seems another tenant made a complaint
About an absence of rodent restraint.
I live in a house two centuries old
And frankly would be surprised to be told
That it was free from timorous wee beasties
That s...
Wednesday 30th September 2020 4:16 pm
Also by M.C. Newberry:
PRACTICE | APOLOGIES | MOVING ON UP | CONVICTION OF PURPOSE | MISS ME BUT LET ME GO | GRATITUDE | AS TIME GOES BY | A REMINDER TO BLM | WHEN YOU'RE OVER SEVENTY...WHO CARES? (2) | LAUGHTER LINES | WHEN YOU'RE OVER SEVENTY....WHO CARES? |One!Two!Tree!Four!
A man burst into the doctor's surgery and flung open the door.
Jumped on the doctor's back and counted."One!Two!Three!Four!"
"What do you think you are doing?"shouted Dr Pugh.
"Well doc,everyone did say I could count on you."
Wednesday 30th September 2020 3:07 pm
Also by hugh:
A swan's dream comes true | An addiction to cycling and exercising my dog | David Clarke ,while walking his dog was tragically killed by a herd of cows | Etiquette of proper attire | The vicar's despair,no-one there at prayer ! | A virus laughing matter | "I am no longer a letter box,coronavirus has changed a vile veil attitude." | HANDS,FACE,SPACE AND RULE OF SIX. | Amanda,a young girl homeless on the street. | Human warmth by a homeless guy | A grave gift ! | A shoplifting trick | A loss of sleep | Revenge | An alarming attack |Another Woman
About her stood
charred pillars
With the tourists
brushing past
while carrying
sodden momentos
dousing bonfires
from her past.
Her burning invisibility
and thier backwards
glancing toss
remains a wishfored
present
but glowed in its
unseen loss.
Words and image: Tommy Carroll
Wednesday 30th September 2020 2:09 pm
Also by Tommy Carroll:
That Woman | Broken Masonry |Here Nor There
Where am I
I am Here
although some would say
I am not all Here
but if I am not Here
where would I be?
the answer of course is
over There
I wish I was more Here
but sometimes my mind wanders
and I end up over There
the grass always seems greener
over There
There is similar to Here
only farther
yet there is nothing wrong with
being somewhere in be...
Wednesday 30th September 2020 12:27 pm
Also by d.knape:
Mother Inez | Speaking of That | Old Men | DUCKS~~~a very fowl poem | Old Clothes, a poem by O.L. Buzzerd | Checks & Balances | Rain Revives | Credit Card | Replacement Parts | Cooperation | LIGHT OF LIGHTS...( A LOVE SONG) | Spice Of Life | As Summer Fades | The Man We Used To Know | Act Your Age | She Tends My Wounds | I Am A Man | HOMECOMING | MADNESS | I Can Only Imagine | GIVING | Fork In The Road | Masked Emotions | Making Allowances | FASTING |On the Limitations Of Hand Gel
My love life is a dusty relic of the Stone Age
The risks of COVID are too much to handle
My new blow-up doll's not quite the same
But dames are just not worth the candle
I miss the gossip working from home, and
I'm growing obese eating non-stop cookies,
I'm depressed from thinking about my fate,
Facing queer street from on-line bookies
The allotment affords me a b...
Wednesday 30th September 2020 11:06 am
Also by simon lucan:
The Untouchables | Glad Eye | Runt | Blue Calfskin Nights | The Truth In Hot Sudden Tears | The Deepest Caverns Are In The Heart | Words That Mend Broken Dreams | What Became Of That Poor Girl? | Ghost Of Eden | Midnight In Moira's Garden | Only The Shadow Of Her Face | She'll Soon Come Back I'm Sure | Rungs | Winter In The Sky | Rain Doesn't Matter Now | Bold | Ginger And Fred | Saving Me For Later | Feline Grace | Brown Velvet | Flowers Are Yesterday | From Heart To Zero | Old Flames | Half-Fallen Rain | Nailed To My Doom | The Look Of You In Love | Black Poplar | No Tomorrow In Your Eyes | A Heart With No History |Your Way Will Find You
I will defend your right
to say things that I don’t like
and though I may disagree
it doesn’t mean that I detest you
I’ll try my best to understand
how you reached that point of view
However uneasy listening
don’t bite your tongue
Let us see and hear you
come and speak freely
You may offend me
but then I’ll know we’re not in tune
Perhaps we’ll both learn something
if but how to be...
Wednesday 30th September 2020 10:38 am
Also by Tom:
Marriage | Bury Me At Sea | Ghost Café |shower drain
i invite you in my life to feel something again
to turn my numbness into happiness;
you are my happiness
you make me my happiest
no one loves me as much as you do.
day in and day out i consume your love and affection.
soaking up every last bit. the feeling of feeling something for someone again excites my soul.
feeling anything is so hard these days.
but then i a...
Wednesday 30th September 2020 7:29 am
A DECEIVING EYE
Season 5 has gone for a reason Where losers cry for freedom And winners jump in fear The eye is so deceiving For it is set to receive the friendly foes BB Naija Is a deceiving eye in Nigeria! Where people are set to receive BB Biafra Inside Africa. Laycon has set to lay beside a corn Where Dorothy has set to consume the whole area. BBN is the deceiving eye Which has deceived so many pe...
Wednesday 30th September 2020 6:54 am
Also by Chinwendu C.E Rays:
OUR EYES ON LAB FOR VACCINES | NEVER SAY NEVER | SAY NO TO PLAGIARISM IN OUR WRITING WORLD[raise your pen against plagiarism] | THE LIVING VOICE **dedicated to my grandmother Late Mrs Nkechi Omelazu** | CAN I MARRY A POETESS? | SECRET BEHIND MY FACE | SHARK MANSION |Opposites Attract
Slightly hungover
scruffy brown
leather jacket
chats up
somewhat amused
smartly dressed
pin stripe
bespoke suit
mobile numbers
contacts exchanged
text sent
False Eyelashes x
date confirmed
Shiny Shoes x
Wednesday 30th September 2020 1:52 am
Also by Nigel Astell:
The Confession | Thoughtful Changes |First love
The mornings we spent laughing
with eggs and bacon
and cups of sweet tea
because we didn’t really
like coffee yet
and with flour on our faces
because we were making pancakes
and you decided to start a fight
These are some
of the warmest places
in my heart
It´s so sad
I can´t remember
what kind of tea you liked
Tuesday 29th September 2020 11:19 pm
Also by Liam Osaneo:
the good kind of sinking |Desire
knees buckle beneath the heaviness
of your creamy taste between my lips.
Inside I'm like a waterfall: gushing, dripping, a soiled mess
I tremble, drunk on your desires
and, the vivid scenes you whisper to me-
- makes me only want you more.
Tuesday 29th September 2020 10:54 pm
Also by MARIA ELENA:
Ignorant to society |TOXIC
i believed every word thats when the tables turned
i fell for the pretence of feeling me at first
part of me always knew this was heading for the worse
cause i know im not the only girl youre lying
to the only girl you crying to
i was stupid to feel special
but fresh out of heartbreak how was i to know who you genuine too
you got such good timing shouldve noticed the mind game...
Tuesday 29th September 2020 9:36 pm
tissue box
They could try again in a few years,
Yet she left the box untouched
And sewed her skin with salt
-Even though she was cleaned
By the torrent of tears.
The tissue dissolves in his touch,
It leaves residue as it brushes his lips,
It breaks away on his finger tips;
He absorbs it,
a more sinnued heart
Tuesday 29th September 2020 7:23 pm
Raindrops and Puddles
Drip
Drip
Plop
Drop
Spitting
Splatting
Sploshing
Splashing
Hydro power
Drizzly shower
Tropical, magical
Storm clouds soaring
It’s raining it’s pouring
It's raining cats and dogs
Great for ducks and frogs
Streaming down my pane
The never ending rain
Splish, splash
Drip drop
Drip
Puddles
puddles everywhere
from which your dog can...
Tuesday 29th September 2020 6:50 pm
Also by julie callaghan:
Autumnal Glory | Celebrate Good Times | Gone Fishing | Three Months Until You Know What! | Six Months Ago, Six Months To Go | The Puzzle | A Moment On The Lips | The Roundabout | Poor Performance | Thank You WOL | The Butterfly Tree | Hands, Face, Space | Here I Sit | Autumn Scene | Guilty | The Rule Of Six | The Hokey Cokey | Market Day | Too Late Too Soon | Eclipsed | Every Cloud | Turn Back The Clocks | Money, Money, Money | Boat Trip To Gumusluk | Day Trip To Bodrum |Fleeting Images
The other day I caught myself staring at your image
Embedded in the cliff-side pool.
Surrounded by flowers and foliage,
Miles away from you.
Your skin porcelain,
Flaws hidden,
Eyes clement,
You didn't even seem human.
And maybe you weren't.
You were perhaps just an abstract concept,
An evanescent concoction of pigments,
Who swam away, leaving behind no remnants.
When I thought ab...
Tuesday 29th September 2020 3:45 pm
Also by Shifa Maqba:
Within These Walls |Jack Dempsey New York New York.
Oh god. Oh Dear.
A hangover in New York New York.
Small recollections through
hazes of alcohol pulsed pain.
Shaking fingers fumbling
for coffee and cigarette.
In a dark wood cased cabin
from sweat stinking bunk.
A million other people
who jerked through the same dance.
Night before around the world.
I stepped in time with you.
...
Tuesday 29th September 2020 1:51 pm
Also by mentalelf. Philk.:
Clean dry socks, Falklands 1982. | Leaves up. | I'm all Lost. In The Supermarket | My Crazy Diamond two | Gods supermarket | Devil take you | The Liars Smile. | (untitled) | Impulse | Splashing along | TikTok TikTok Tik Tok Times running out...... edited | A soldiers tale 1982 | Accross the ocean. Falklands 1982. | Dreamtime? |Monster
Monster
He stands alone, enormous greystone arms across his navel,
Colossal beast of Swift's Brobdingnag, condescending
To righteous Lilliput, flung like a hand of gravel
Around his feet; tiny houses housing tiny people who cradle
The distant organ that plays the first bars of The Lark Ascending.
A rough-hewn monster drips moss from his back, slicked black slate
Displays ...
Tuesday 29th September 2020 12:40 pm
Also by Chris Hubbard:
Desperation Road | Desperation Road |Death, You'll Die!
Death, You'll Die!
You'are mortal,
Bound to die a day.
You are far from artist,
With his work he keeps you at bay.
The artist drinks life to the brim,
You just can't touch his fame.
As you kill body,
But just can't touch his name.
You harm the soul of near and dear,
But the harm's ephemeral,
Soul overcomes the harm
Which causes for you an alarm!
To disappear.
Stabbing in...
Tuesday 29th September 2020 11:08 am
Haiku
Tuesday 29th September 2020 9:14 am
Also by Hazel ettridge:
Beach Meditation 26.09.20 | The Wind |Before the Enemy Comes
They treat our tears with
Contempt
Hand in hand with
Greedy frustration
They roar like lions and
Block all roads to
Equality
They trespass on us
Night and day
Creating for their
Conscience a
Mocking symbol to
Love’s power
Masked creators
Who conjure their lives
On torn pieces of paper
Our kings and queens
Can never be conquered
...Tuesday 29th September 2020 5:50 am
Also by Josephine Underwood:
Here Shines | You Made Me Feel Funny | Wounded Flowers |Dreaming
Ujjal Mandal, India
Keep dreaming till the dark night
Fades in the morning light.
Tuesday 29th September 2020 3:00 am
Also by Ujjal Mandal:
Love of a Mother | The Innocent Flowers | We Need a Poet in Life | Black is Gold | Dreaming like the River | Inside the Mask of Blackness | Beauty is Everywhere... | What is Pure Love? | If the Reality |Split in Half
There's beauty in heartbreak
Though you don't see how something so excruciating can be overcome.
A heart severed by love's misfortune, the knife still clenched tightly in her hand.
Such a guilty culprit escapes the clutches of grief.
You turn away
Under the pouring rain your tears are still obvious.
I watch you break before my eyes
Your world shattering among the turmoil
Feel the pain
...
Tuesday 29th September 2020 2:34 am
Also by Jordyn Elizabeth:
Agoraphobia | Tempestuous | Frisson. | Rage | Kindred Strangers | Conquering Monster's |September 2020 Collage Poem: The Silence Still Talking
Herring-packed collisions gravitate together
In her own Wonderland she avoids the looking glass,
Red rain washes the stain away
Tonight we re-zoomed our relationship
Renewed our unspoken vows
The gods of Zoom count their coins in the jungle
Pollocks ! she cried, I'm at the wrong disco!
Marching onwards in this town of mine
The anger of the forgotten people
And those...
Monday 28th September 2020 10:59 pm
Also by Stockport WoL:
September 2020 Collage Poem: Out of the Land |Racist let us kill a great nation
If made to have
An axe to grind
Rubbing with nails
A social scar
Left behind,
Ethnic groups
Itching to go for
One another’s throat
Hard may not be
To find.
With the aim to gain
Cheap popularity
By using impish trick
Employing scare tactic
To hack social fabric
Phony politicians
Exhume the hatchet
Among ethnic groups
To blow
Previous petty clashes
Out of proportion
From ...
Monday 28th September 2020 10:15 pm
Also by Alem Hailu G/Kristos:
The saga of Abdissa Aga | A false positive | Soft Target | Pat Ethiopia on the back than stab it in the back |Welcome October
It was a cold and crisp evening,
9:30pm and the full moon shone down
brightly on my path,
Guiding me,
As my feet crunched through
fallen scattered leaves.
A sharp chill filled the air
And the smell of wood burning brought me
back to the good aul days.
If I had just awoken from a coma I
would have known for certain that it
was Autumn.
Amber lea...
Monday 28th September 2020 2:55 pm
Also by Emer Ní Chorra:
Rolling on |Sugar Smacks
Under her skin
She dreams of violence
Punching her boss
Drowning her co-workers
The most tragic headlines
Pale in comparison
With her balsamic
Idylls
Where to put all this
As it burrows deeper into
Her waking thoughts
Past her jokey edges
She thinks somehow
Her mind’s preparing her
For the earth’s future
Or the next election
Monday 28th September 2020 2:47 pm
Also by Robert C Gaulke:
Exactly | The Work | Don't Grow Up | The Crazy Teacher | Brazil | I'm Crysexual | Meeting Her Needs | Coming Soon | What does freedom mean to you? | Who killed whom? | What the book wants | Sixty-Forty | What haunts you the most |NINETEEN SIXTY TWO
Through that small window of time I see
the Rendezvous Cafe a napkin and me.
Perfect Italian cup to my right
the smell of coffee pure delight.
Quintessential Mayfair heat
in the early sixties' historical street.
On the napkin doodles and words
as if a moment could care -
but the rounded coffee spurred me on
establishing me there.
Still I write and that w...
Monday 28th September 2020 1:55 pm
Also by ray pool:
ESSEX HAS FALLEN! | SECOND WAVE | ENDING UP A VEGETABLE | STAY SAFE |Tomatoes 2020
It’s been a bumper year
for plants bought from
or donated by neighbours
we met at the Thursday night
clap for health workers.
Re-potting, tying, staking,
feeding; rewarded by
a glut of all shapes and sizes
basking in shafts of sunlight
thrown down our sideway.
The enrichment of salads,
casseroles, stews. But is it
ever worth all that effort,
when yo...
Monday 28th September 2020 12:46 pm
Spider
eight limbs lower so small and afraid,
a two limbed child chases your dance,
dragging their feet and fate to you,
but your step to a web is slow,
to small to catch the beat of their murder,
might they show mercy and turn it down?
for you to dance in silence.
[2020]
Monday 28th September 2020 11:57 am
"UN HOMME ET UNE FEMME"
I confess that the transphobia kerfuffle with JK Rowling largely passed me by, so I’ll admit to being a bit shaky on the facts of the story. As I understand it, JKR lampooned the fabricated terminology and imagery of menstruation rather than calling a spade a “woman” and for this she was accused of transphobia.
Let me say from the off that I have no issue with anyone getting a new willy or fan...
Monday 28th September 2020 8:59 am
Also by John Coopey:
GANSEY | CONSPIRACY THEORISTS | HAPPY RUBY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY | COOPEY'S GROUPIES | THE MAGPIE | THE CONTOUR LEGACY LEG PILLOW |Veiled
She walks masked, meandering,
unacknowledged through her neighbourhood
Wishing earnestly that she somehow could
share her true self
remove the make-up painted veneer
she hangs nightly on a shelf
how emancipated she would feel
no longer enslaved within her mind
because of this facade
strangers think her, the vapid kind
no thoughts of value
within her head, you'd fi...
Monday 28th September 2020 6:56 am
Also by Flavia Gordon:
Suppression | BROKEN | Fools Rush In (Inner monologue of a childhood sexual abuse survivor cont'd) | (Promise) Land Ahoy | Just a Bit Torn | Father Figure | Good Things "Cum in 3s" (A poem of "self" discovery) | Alternate Universe | Matters Not | Besotted and Loving it! | A Song of Frigidity and Desire | Palm to Palm, Skin to Skin | Duality at Play (inner monologue of a childhood sexual abuse survivor | Fake it 'Til You Make It Pep Talk | The Healing of Ancient Wounds | Bare Minimum | MY SAVIOUR, MY SAVANT (An ode to my paid weekly "friend") | I Concede | Imposter Begets Imposter? | Karma the Uninspired Bitch | My Super man | Rush Hour Treat... | Transference and its counter | A Client's Woe |Your Scar
(for the little girl who haunts my dreams still)
Dear Daddy,
Not that you'd care, but
All that I wanted was to make you proud
But, I was too stupid
Too fat
Too loud
All you ever did was bring me down
I was your scar
Your permanent frown
I was your verbal punchbag
In your whiskey fuelled state
Never felt I was your child
Just a vessel for...
Sunday 27th September 2020 9:53 pm
Also by Stephen W Atkinson:
How free are we? | Political Irrigation! | Her Last Dance | The Thief of Breath and Hugs (part 1) |I Knew You Were Waiting
One day you may hear on the radio
an otherwise trivial song in which
the great Aretha Franklin delivers
an almost throwaway off-the-cuff line
"I know you did"
Here the words of a mother to a child
of any age bring comfort to the soul
defeated in anguished misery
who may only mumble "I did my best"
"I know you did"
Sunday 27th September 2020 8:50 pm
Also by Adam Whitworth:
Before The Morning | Requiem | File Under The Wrong Heading | If I could Walk On Stilts | The Poet Speaks (To Himself) | Daylight Still | The Body Of Odysseus |Vimy Ridge
the spirit of death
kissed you
on this ridge
your work is done
no triumph no glory
but for ever
silent
© by Jan Theuninck
Sunday 27th September 2020 6:23 pm
Also by Jan Theuninck:
Yperite |The Old Man with the Beard
I’m the old man with the beard
Who lives in the sky
I am the universe
And the universe is me
I’m the man who sees everything
I’m the eye in the sky
I can see everything in ten different ways
And I gave the names to seven different days
I can see things big and I see things small
And no matter where you are
I can hear your call
There are some who reve...
Sunday 27th September 2020 6:21 pm
Also by Steve Higgins:
A Thousand Years Ago |Transitions
Beginnings are endings
Endings are beginnings
Forgiveness is healing
Healing is forgiveness
Grace is loving in pain
Pain is to love with grace
Love is to sacrifice
Sacrifice is giving for love
Faith is to grow
Grow is to let go
Let go is to start
Start is to end.
Sunday 27th September 2020 5:47 pm
Also by Raquel Lacayo:
Wandering words |Deflowered
I see you flowering her
the way you once did me.
Playing virtual footsies,
oozing lyrical chemistry.
Move on they say,
look the other way.
And so it shall be,
my focus is on me.
Sowing wildflower seeds,
shining in the rain,
dancing through the pain,
singing in a field of weeds.
Sunday 27th September 2020 5:41 pm
Also by Vautaw:
Books, Music & Poetry | Mambo Moment | After the Pandemic | Love Looks Good on You | Modus Operandi | Maybe Next Time | Consumed | The Poetry King |Respect
Respect
When little children, no angels where we!
In the mid to late sixties that would be.
So often chased up and down our street.
By the poor local Bobby pounding the beat.
Little devils maybe, daft tricks we played
But to our elders, respect we always paid.
That respect included the police for sure.
As they would often knock on my front door!
'Michael's done this, Michael's done...
Sunday 27th September 2020 4:52 pm
Also by Mike Bartram:
A Different Rule | For PC Harper | The First Day | Your Spell | I'm A Scouser | Lazy Day |Hall of Residence(a students lament)
I’m all alone and in despair
A desk, a computer and an office chair
A reading lamp when life grows dim
But at least people can see that I’m in
I never dreamt it would turn out like this
All the years of learning, now it’s hit and miss
Instead of a new life and making friends
I’m stuck in the house going round the bend
My tutor looks older on the screen
His clothes seem shabby, where’s...
Sunday 27th September 2020 4:48 pm
Also by Rick Varden:
Life in reverse gear | That don’t impress me (very) much |Messiah Of The Fields
Messiah Of The Fields
They left me hanging on a cross
The saviour of the summer crops
Just rag and straw so no great loss
My blood is in the wheat and hops
I faced the black and vicious hoard
Their coal cruel eyes and sharpened beaks
I am the ragged overlord
Who scares the crow yet never speaks
They pray to me to save their soils
From dark boned devils ...
Sunday 27th September 2020 11:21 am
Also by Ian Whiteley:
Britannia Waives The Rules | Aching All Over | The Mound |The Blame Game.
She spun and spun
And weaved a web
So intricate
So delicate
And at once impenetrable.
No one could see
The pedalling feet beneath
The turning of the many cogs
The machine whirring and wearing away inside of her.
Her past an ever present.
Her future already decided.
Fate was never to be on her side.
They'd seen to that.
They stole her innocence
Her joy
Her pride.
Bitter was ...
Sunday 27th September 2020 10:44 am
Also by Jain Gawne:
Rotten Fruit |The Omnipresent Threat Of Death
Society is lost,
Consciousness is gone,
They have rejected their spirits,
It didn't take very long,
Electronically connected,
Yet physically farther than ever,
People don't want to face themselves,
It's a thought they dread to endeavor,
The clock is ticking,
Just take a deep breath,
Your losing your mortality,
The omnipresent threat of death,
Materialistic clyde...
Sunday 27th September 2020 7:48 am
Ready, Willing, and Able
The vast
Forgotten reaches
Of the universe
Hold no answers
To the mysteries
That inspire curiosity.
You will not find
What it is that you seek.
The mysteries of life
Shall stay as they are.
Wondrous
How we come so far
Travel for so long
On such epic journeys
To arrive with the same wisdom
Happiness is the closest thing
To an answer
We may ever fin...
Sunday 27th September 2020 5:31 am
Also by Eric Berard:
Story Time | Among Eternity | Adventure | My Flame | Balance Through Darkness | Reach | Speak to Me | A Moment of Serenity | Soft | Gravity | The Calm | Overwhelming Light | Electric | Two | Arrow | Inhale, Exhale | Surface | Heart to Share |Why not cry, Wolf?
When my tears come they will
be defrosted snowflakes from
a self-sequestered squad of four
deliberate deep-sea divers
hired to harvest each
teardrop
grown from a kernel of salt
with care
from beneath an iceberg.
This map of Alaska is a scale model
highway of my heart.
These tears that would b...
Sunday 27th September 2020 1:38 am
Also by D.W. Hamilton:
Diary of the Forgotten Man | Sports on TV |Shadow
A shadow came to me
A shadow that bought me light
I want to hold
But shadows are untouchable
I want to see
But it disappears under the light
My shadow, my sweet darkness
You showed me the light,
That I didn't notice.
My shadow, my sweet darkness
Why the distance gets bigger
When I took a step towards you?
Am I following u
Or you are following me?
Am I around u
Or u are...
Saturday 26th September 2020 8:43 pm
Ghost Filter
You laughed at my
pointless remark
and showed me the setting
on the new, new dot machine,
like a 'ghost filter', black,
grey, chrome and you're
hardly there;
the leaves of
some exotic plant
filling the solid plates
of silver face, torso.
I said such things are
pointless art.
You said that the only thing
that's certain
is that nothing
is certain,
t...
Saturday 26th September 2020 6:59 pm
Also by David Blake:
Dream Triptych |Cliff Edge Prisoner
On a cliff edge, arms open wide
Free fall to hell with just one more stride
Close my eyes, feel the wind blow
Which way will it take me
I don’t know
Fates out of my hands
I won’t decide
I’ve lost control, I’ve lost my pride
I’ve lost my voice
I’m scared to speak
I’m tired and fragile
I feel too weak
Just when I think I can learn to adapt
My feelings sink straight back into a relapse
...
Saturday 26th September 2020 6:50 pm
Also by curiousdud3:
Standing in the Rain | Leave a Light On For Me | Long Lost Guy | Silenced (Set Him Free) |Breathe in
Just breathe
Slowly
Deliberately
In
out
In
Out
Breathe as if it were your very first breath
Everyday
Just breathe not as if it were your last
Not as if you were running a race
Breathe
Feel your lungs fill with air
And then
Slowly
carefully
Release
Expel
Discharge
In
Out
In and
Out
Just breathe
Don’t let all that would pull you...
Saturday 26th September 2020 5:44 pm
Also by Martin Elder:
Remember |Chilopsis linearis
Contracting sheets of limestone rough, tough rugged eyes among tumbled bluffs
Crumbled stuff, sending you down into the yellowjackets, swatting mad tumble
Mud and algae, sweat, lost glasses, lost off our asses on some strong stuff
Ending up on the long end of someone else's courtesies, lucky they didn't murder me
Words are brief, meaningless most times, too centered on our own rhymes
Focused ...
Saturday 26th September 2020 1:02 pm
Also by Patrick Kennon:
Scribble shell | Fingermusic | Pholcidae | Mo |Ribbons From Christ
You can call yourself
I'm burning from the 2nd floor
Can you hear me?
God is gone to a better place
Please don't hold the wave
Please don't hold the wave
I am coming down
I cut myself today
I let the blood dry up
Picked the crest just to see if I would bleed again
Something in the way you say you're okay
Makes me want to end it
So cut the tie today
Please don't hold the...
Saturday 26th September 2020 7:26 am
Also by Mikey V Kinsey:
Game of Flies | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Firefly Truth? | Life Story | Soy Sauce Flavor | Boys | The End Soon | No Smoking In The Coffee Shop | Light By Death | Words of The Waiting Man 35 | Attachment Anxiety |Letters to the prince, part 1
Strange life indeed-
It allows our lives to pass through it,
Sometimes it’s easy like breathing
With few letters to be sent home,
Soon everyone forget to remember us.
However at times-
Most times to some of us,
We go through the eye of the needle,
Extruded and shaped for purpose,
Conditioned for difficulties and life privation,
Where the weaker the process of preparin...
Saturday 26th September 2020 6:04 am
Also by Mphiliseni Mthimkhulu:
The hero goes away | Many people are dying, dead |Sudden Attack
The heart stops,
stomach drops,
and fear attacks
tearing and scraping the insides.
Stepping back, it’s not the right time.
It’s too delicate; my hands are tied.
I stall. I ruminate. I do all the things not to destroy this.
I dread that I will, gravely… to the point of not moving.
This is what it’s like when people become a ghost.
It’s too much to go forward.
So, I turn
in the opposite...
Saturday 26th September 2020 5:26 am
Also by kimberly:
The Arrival | The Gift and the Curse | in your city | One More Moondance, My Love | Amongst the Shadows | in your flood | this is not my own |TRUE COLOURS.
The fox was hungry, so went to grapevine,
thinking, it will be, a feasty dine,
went there, and jumped and jumped,
and tried to catch till it was nine.
She failed and roared in thunder voice,
grapes were sour and full of noise,
not they but I am rejecting them,
as an eater its my choice.
And this story resounds with we all,
making excuses when we fall,
but what if it w...
Saturday 26th September 2020 3:37 am
Also by MANISHA SAINI:
A QUESTION. | BEAUTIFUL IN YOUR OWN WAY! | WHEN MY HEART CRIES! | WHILE LOOKING AT THE MIRROR! | FAR FOREVER? | FROM SPRING TO AUTUMN... | THE THREE MUSKETEERS | JITTERS IN FETTERS! |Mid night blabbering
It's a lovely night I do feel, angels spread their wings as i sleep. Harmony and peace flowing here. Darkness has a heart touching song to play. As i gently lay to sleep, i can here the symphony of love so deep.
Friday 25th September 2020 10:10 pm
Tread gently
Tread gently
through the graveyard.
Beneath your feet
a dreamland lies.
The fortunate who
dwell in it
are free of all
worldly pains and sufferings.
They bask in eternal rest.
Tread gently
through the graveyard.
Friday 25th September 2020 8:46 pm
Also by Abdul Ahmad:
Silenced | Fall from grace | Floral dance |A love song in the time of pestilence.
I shall not ask for your hand in marriage without a mask on your face.
Surprises are like viruses that diminish the potencies of passions.
Do not touch my body when you brush pass me on a cool summer
evening of shaded trees and spotlighted cars rushing by who knows where.
Gather your feelings when your bloom flowers, when your jogging body
pass mine so close. I can smell ...
Friday 25th September 2020 7:24 pm
Also by vincent berquez:
A love song in the time of pestilence. |JAIL BAIT
The excitement for the young to be involved in a protest
With the belief that all these causes seem to make sense
Just remember to think of your future
Because good jobs are rare with a felony offense
Friday 25th September 2020 7:17 pm
Also by Joe Marcello:
JUST APPEARED | UP THE HINDSIGHT | THE NUMBER 2 COMBO |The Walled Garden
I thought that in these trying times, when so much is doom and gloom, a little taste of something light and wholesome might be a good idea! I hope it comes across as quaint - and not sickly-sweet!
The Walled Garden
I played within a walled garden;
The sun shone on the honeysuckles and the lilacs and the tea roses.
And it shone on me.
I’d been dressed in my lemon organza dr...
Friday 25th September 2020 5:52 pm
Lockdown in the Local
The pubs are shut
The grass aint cut
The pints not flowing
The lawn needs mowing
The pies are cold
The snacks are old
The crisps are stale
The lack of ale
The jukey's quiet
The waitress fired
The buzz is gone
The fire ain't on
The food disposed
The doors are closed
Goodbye my Local
Thursday 24th September 2020 9:51 pm
Climate Change (and us?)
The planet turns, the planet turns;
The adults fiddle while Rome burns.
And children yet to be conceived
Have every right to feel aggrieved.
And us? We tiptoe through the mines
And join the back of frantic lines
In shirtsleeved January sales,
Pursued by ever-warming gales.
Exhausts and power stations spout
Unheeded warnings all about.
But politicians mu...
Thursday 24th September 2020 5:38 pm
Also by Stephen Gospage:
Blessed are the lovemakers | Honours System | Big Lad | Dreams |IN SEARCH OF A SUBJECT
IN SEARCH OF A SUBJECT
Brought up on fish fingers
and church on Sunday.
A lawnmower land
of new beginnings.
Robin Hood and Batman
carried the day.
Not from here, nor there;
not middle-class or worker
and wrong accent
as my part-time pals
would remind me
and not much good at fighting
or football or maths.
Enamoured of the pen
from an early age,
...Thursday 24th September 2020 2:22 am
True Love
Beauty is something that I thought I knew until my eyes took yours in
Tenderness was just a thought until I felt your touch
I never knew how it felt to be complete until I held you in my arms
True love was just a wish until God brought you into my life
Thursday 24th September 2020 1:35 am
FIE THEE, inkanDESCENT with your rejection!!! This is... Well read on
WILL KNOW IN SEPTEMBER
Will know in September
Just heard today but it won't be long
Stare out above daylight passing
Will I always be there?
Covering back daring to face
Encroachment of night?
I watch the flying birds
Sense panic exert towards light
You keep staring towards
We must get back to house
The encroachment displayed receipts
You wrote a letter to ...
Wednesday 23rd September 2020 7:39 pm
Also by Aaron Murdoch:
People say "Ewww, you don't write like you come from the Wirral!" And yet I can't write a better metaphor than this! |In Waves
That phrase,
That phrase you love to say
It has become overdone, cliché
No, it’s not a phase
Wait,
Years, not days
And see
I will not change
Not this way or that way
Though I may grow,
I may expand in waves,
I will not change
To fit your phrase
I will only expand,
Expand in waves
Is that okay?
That I will stay?
That I won’t change?
That I can only expand,
Expand in waves?
Is th...
Wednesday 23rd September 2020 3:06 pm
Also by Alexandra K. Parapadakis:
I've Been Wrung | Who is the bully? |My Martello
Incredible views standing looking out to sea
Always though what a great home it might be
No1 and 2 both residentially converted long ago
No3 invitingly waiting for me to give it a go
Round Buildings work for me in an appealing way
Windmills, lighthouses, and it will happen some day
A Martello Tower in Folkestone all of my own
Who could possibly want any other kind of home?
...
Wednesday 23rd September 2020 2:50 pm
Also by Dean Fraser:
Bench Looking Out To Sea On The Kent Coast | Quantum Stairway | The Boots | This Poem Is Not Mine | Turning Back Time In Margate | Exercising Mind, Body And Soul | The Dancers Of Life |only one way out
only one way out
just like you heard
down the mountain
don't think.
follow the center
of your future river
down
pass the shed of your
cousin.
walk.
the country turns dead earth into wood
and i turn it further thus
snapped off in haste once
pegged for eager duty
and held up to the sun for
those gathered to admire
a tree, a length of tree, a stout
handle to the living,
...
Wednesday 23rd September 2020 3:03 am
Old House
Midnight eyes wide awake.
Curtains flicker in time with my fluttering heartbeat as
menacing wind moans round the window frame.
Floor creaks to nobody’s tread, and
There’s nothing under the bed
If I don’t look……
Tuesday 22nd September 2020 11:27 pm
Also by Trevor Alexander:
2021 | Ties That Bind |WASHA-QUON-ASIN
WASHA-QUON-ASIN*
Many who had hiked through Canadian wilderness
[ A cenutry ago ] Took notice of a bird in flight
A rare one the Ojibwa called
Washa-quon-asin--He who flies by night
At once: a hunter, a guide, a trapper
A living made from the furs in his sight
A rare one the Ojibwa called
Washa-quon-asin--He who flies by night
Into his forest lair, he...
Tuesday 22nd September 2020 8:26 pm
Also by Dee Allen.:
APOCALYPTIC SKY |The Crab
No matter your patience
Or how long you wait
You can't change his motion
Or alter his gait
He'll scamper and shuttle
He'll dodge and he’ll weave
And just why he does it
You cannot conceive
Watch with some wonder
While rolling your eyes
He'll veer side to side
While you swallow your sighs
He won't get embarrassed
He won't feel ashamed
He's doing it his way
He will not be blamed
...
Tuesday 22nd September 2020 7:16 pm
Also by David Lindsay:
Onion Limerick | Hull | Hierarchy (etheree) | HOFS |A message to God and my Nan
You left nothing but your last breath that I cherish and hold dear
But tell me how I’m supposed to breathe when you’re not here
I’m constantly living in fear
The person who loved me the most just gone
But I can still hear her calling
I still hear her song
Everybody says life is too short but I think it’s too long
I don’t know if I’m going to see her again though I need her n...
Tuesday 22nd September 2020 5:31 pm
Also by DarkerDaniKing:
The monster |Constancy and Betrayal
I was enjoying sitting in the garden, pondering the beauty and the timelessness of nature, compared to the fickleness and unreliability we see in our leaders and found myself writing a villanelle. First draft below – may yet be edited but I wanted to share it now.
Constancy
Reminders of a life, a dream now torn
Scabia, flags and tulips, forget me nots
Behind the privet hedge a rolling lawn
Tuesday 22nd September 2020 3:37 pm
The Silence Still Talks
Confined to a tiny apartment
terrified of a viral threat
she rocks in her chair listening
to voices in the corridor
Who is going out?
To voices in the street
Who are they? Are they infected?
She turned off the TV months ago
when depression became too much to bear.
In the silence she waits
for the danger to pass
listening to the constant
chatter of...
Tuesday 22nd September 2020 9:27 am
Also by Nicola Hulme:
Where Are The Rats To Race? | You’ll always Be My Friend (You Know Too Much!) | Know You Better |I Want To Live
Why are all the Selifish . Causing Disruption . Why so selfish It Hurts .
We only have one life and it Matters to Me. So why try and take it so we can't be free. No one knows how to kill or Cure these Horrors we are facing . No one can say When it will End . We know the know All's think they know Everything . They cause more bother than sense. We have to live with the Consiqensas No matter what...
Tuesday 22nd September 2020 6:24 am
Also by Wendy A Higson:
Black Lives Do Matter But So Do All |Dead Lovers and Lifeless Arms
My heart is in hiding, wounded and bleeding.
Anger’s anesthesia is wearing off
and I can only get so numb,
but it’s never numb enough.
I cannot retreat far enough
into my dark comforter’s lifeless arms.
They no longer hold me like they once did,
no longer embrace me in the safety of shadows.
My lovers surround me
and gaze at me with cold, empty eyes.
Their comat...
Tuesday 22nd September 2020 4:52 am
Also by Shehariah:
What of Us | We Walk to the Sun | Tension | Into the Unknown |The Pandemic
The world has gone from worse to worst
With people dying left and right
We know the cause but what's the cost
A dying race from an embrace
We hope that cure will come for sure
And see that worst will come to pass
Tuesday 22nd September 2020 2:57 am
The riot of ‘85
Not so infamous as ‘81
when Liverpool went feral
and anger blazed for nine whole days,
the riot of ‘85 arose
in Toxteth when someone
was stabbed and four men’s freedom hung in peril.
I didn’t know that then, although I was
stranded in the middle
thinking “What the fuckin’ fuck?!!”
In ‘85 there was a lack
of means to know the cause.
We had no internet to solve...
Monday 21st September 2020 3:26 pm
Love is...
Love is peace
That burns with desire,
The passion can char your soul.
Love is free
And the payment required,
To give and to embrace a soul
Love is blind
It sees into your heart
At the kindness, the beauty within.
Love is hope
That despairs when we part
And yearns for your arms to return
Love is calm
It torments the head
It breaks and it shatters...
Monday 21st September 2020 3:08 pm
Also by Gary Cuming:
For you |Time
There is a way in the window
I sit here thinking of them all
How to set myself free from the weight of it all
Is there time for it or am I just a glaze of dust in it all
I rather believe that time isn’t important
It’s just something that keeps us going
Time isn’t the problem it’s the value of it that controls us all
Sunday 20th September 2020 7:39 pm
Also by Destiny:
Be aware | Love |River that flows in you
On a flowing river,
Crossing by the Mosis,
Trying to carry out a dozen of pain.
Felling again in your thoughts,
Smelling of the roses,
Standing by your side in your arms.
Would you like,
To me my life,
Crossing the might just for you.
Would you hold and be my soul,
Crossing the river that flows in you.
She said would you hold me,
God has just called me...
Sunday 20th September 2020 6:20 pm
Also by Bhavesh Ahalani:
Breaking free | A fight to survive |Masks of grief
Masks of grief
Inside the chapel they stare back at me, blankly
eerily in alien unison
unrecognisable, camouflaged
thirty faceless faces incognito
Some are shrouded in blue, antiseptic in appearance
others are black in a practical, washable material
occasionally there’s a soft bandana or a patterned attempt at prettiness
painted on the masks of grief
We ha...
Sunday 20th September 2020 11:41 am
Prince of Wales
Fear looms quick,
As the great war comes a knocking again,
Raised from the hands of many,
Sister of King George V,
Arising to plunge a lance to the enemy,
The German Blitzkrieg comes,
Leaving her wanting,
Dogs of the sea,
They will meet their match,
Fear looms swift,
In the fog of war she strikes,
To sink the Kreigsmarine,
Glancing blows to Bismar...
Sunday 20th September 2020 7:01 am
Also by Chaston Nealy:
Somnus | Kingsbane | Extremophile | Creation | Cronus and Zeus | A Game of Sorts |Puppet Master
Make my eyes turn to sandpaper
Watch me cry my rivers dry
And leave
Me lifeless, gasping for air
Grin at my dying breaths
And be the wind that makes my lungs
Balloon and burst
I am hanging by the last threads of my heartstrings,
So I beg, do as you will with me.
Saturday 19th September 2020 7:10 pm
Also by M3RK:
Butterflies | Work of Art | In Stone |The Layers of Age
The Layers of Age
I feel the layers of age as I draw each breath
every movement is a reminder of years past
I am crouched through frailty and surgery
my body aches intermittently with each twist and turn
Life is slowing down quite perceptibly
but I worry not about this inevitable process
My mind and soul are still invigored
temptation still attracts carnal desires
T...
Saturday 19th September 2020 4:44 pm
Also by keith jeffries:
A New Love | Shake off the Dust | Nothing is Lost |Life’s riddle
Thoughts being to swirl deep within. Subconsciously my thoughts work endlessly, collecting stray fragments of information hoping to unlock part of a riddle.
All the while I lay in bed half awake and half asleep.
On the surface my train of thought seems non existent.
unable to focus or so I believe the truth is my mental capacity has reached its limit within me.
My daily routine...
Friday 18th September 2020 3:26 am
Also by Michael Rios:
Self Control |Keep In Mind
You have to move forward in the world
Because no one else will
Keep pushing yourself or time will remain still
Make efforts to get where you want to be
It’s not hard, all you have to do is believe
It won’t take just words, you need action
In life, doing nothing won’t have a reaction
All opportunities will pass by if you waste your time
You’re on a path to you futur...
Thursday 17th September 2020 8:15 pm
Also by Kiba Williams:
Lovely Maiden | DejaVu | One and only Friend |Seduction Unleashed
Mesmerizing she looked in that yellow attire
Captivating my heart she translated into a desire
My eyes were glued to her chiseled shape
Such were her curves that I felt seduction…
Bewitched I remained testimony to her youthful charm!
Those rosy lips of hers showcased a favor
Whatever she spoke looked like a flavor
All through my thoughts I kept thinking
Peeping at her,...
Thursday 17th September 2020 1:12 pm
Also by Neilkanth:
Incestuous Mind! | Ode To A Naughty Teacher |KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE
(For John Lewis 1940-2020)
When Dr King led the March on Washington in 1963
You were the youngest leader to address the crowd
And you died the last remaining speaker,
Eighty years old with strength and individuality
Acquired slowly and painfully;
The still visible baton scars
From freedom bus rides
And other peaceful protests
Prove it.
...Thursday 17th September 2020 11:46 am
Inconsequential Madness
Fires seething, breathing, spewing forth
Molten vulgarities unto this earth,
Feeding on the despair and indifference of
A society that has rid itself of all those things
Which are true and good,
Nothing is intolerable anymore, for the flames
Have consumed all, beggar and borrower alike,
And smothered nature's sight,
For the heart which cannot see shall be mute to
All that could open...
Wednesday 16th September 2020 11:49 pm
Also by E-Rock:
Again | How It Ends | Love Lost | Cutting the Strings |Lost
Whipped by a raging virus.
You could have contained it.
Weeping for America.
Today the virus is forgotten.
Wednesday 16th September 2020 10:16 pm
Also by Sally Clearwater:
Gone |Feelings
The five, physical senses of animals:
Sound, sight, smell, touch, taste -
Excite fight or flight
For survival of the individual and the pack.
Or they invite association, sexual mating,
For continuance of the species.
We humans with our superior brains
Take our senses well beyond the physical
Into the broad sphere of emotion,
Which we call our 'feelings',
Literall...
Wednesday 16th September 2020 4:45 pm
FOR MINNIE WITH LOVE
You know that song by John Lennon whatver gets you thru the night well this small story tells of a good little creature that helps me get through these almost apocalyptic days and nights.
&
I'll never forget the day I got mi cat, they let her out the little carry box and she walked on my coffee table, then she wondered off so casual like an estate agent checking out my flat. Into every roo...
Wednesday 16th September 2020 9:47 am
Also by Shaun Fallows:
31 THOUSAND THOUGHTS AND COUNTING | THE PROMINENCE OF THE PENCIL WIZARD |Going where the water flows
I'm not going to be the one who fix it this time
Or try to keep it together
I'm not going to be the cause of more problems
Or try to break it apart
I'll let it just be the way it is
And if you want it this way lets stay this way
You do you
And I'll be me
Wednesday 16th September 2020 5:38 am
MAGIC INK
MAGIC INK
disappeared
as if
not here
pencil
on page
completely
erased
frenetic
path
no
photographs
vanished in
air thin
invisible
like the wind
inside
the eye
stormy
skies
land of
oz
tornadic
toss
magic
ink
back from
brink
yellow brick
road
to
paper gold
Tuesday 15th September 2020 9:39 pm
Also by cindylee loucks:
STRANGER THAN FICTION | IN STREAM |Putting Out the Lamp
Putting Out the Lamp
In the dusk of early evening one day
I awakened from a belated nap,
And came to find nobody back home yet,
Only the wall lamp flickering away.
I, the child, quickly getting quailed,
Started running away from the dark haunted place,
But soon stopped for looking backward
For some reasons I couldn't quite grasp.
Probably it was the left-a...
Tuesday 15th September 2020 2:36 pm
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