LIVERPOOL POETRY (Remove filter)
THE COLLECTOR
THE COLLECTOR
Thou shalt pass the plate of brass
With felt to deaden the ring of coins
Or take the collection
In bag of leather or bowl of wood
Remembering to avert thine eyes
At the widows mite
And the rich man’s notes.
Thou shalt wear a smile
Of indifference
Even unto those who turn their heads
Or pass the parcel quickly to their neighbour
Or over th...
Friday 19th April 2019 10:39 pm
DEATH OF NELSON
DEATH OF NELSON
(Benjamin West 1738-1820 – Walker Gallery, Liverpool)
Some think victory complete
Raising hats celebrating,
But others huddled solemnly
Around the pale figure
Know death is waiting,
That he only lingers awhile
To say farewell and to savour
A little of the triumph.
In the background a confusion
Of sails and streaming signal...
Saturday 8th April 2017 5:08 pm
GEORGE MARTIN
GEORGE MARTIN
Some of us never get to feel it
That magical moment
When you hit the ball just right
Or that high note
The one that shatters glass.
And we never experience
The thrill of discovery
As Lord Carnarvon
Staring into history
At the tomb of Tutankhamun.
But you had more than your share
Though you never looked for it
They say...
Friday 10th March 2017 10:47 pm
1916
1916
What moved them to throw caution to the wind
To break out of committee room and bar
Ignoring those who warned this was too far
Those who later condemned and said they'd sinned
What fearsome lightning their resolve confirmed
To face artillery and armoured car
What deafening thunder what shooting star
Incited rebellion, what fire that burned
In bra...
Monday 16th January 2017 10:07 am
THE ROYAL CHARTER
THE ROYAL CHARTER
(Wrecked off Moelfre, Anglesey 1859)
From Melbourne to Liverpool bound
in less than fifty eight days, by sail
and steam the Royal Charter comes
via Queenstown in Ireland and around
the Skerries with cargo of wool and hides
weighted with golden dust and coins
from fortunes made in a far off land.
To Moelfre’s razor rocks on Anglesey coast
a total...
Thursday 28th April 2016 1:09 pm
PAUL KANTNER
PAUL KANTNER
(1941-2016. Jefferson Airplane)
Don’t you want…
Something different from those straight singers,
Fresh faced kids in suits or beach wear;
Something better than a Willy Loman future,
War in Vietnam and conscription;
Soldiers with guns on campus
And the politicians
The ones you wouldn’t…
Somebody to love…
Yeah she was a banker’s daughter
Oh man, but her voice
Wa...
Monday 1st February 2016 9:55 pm
AFTER MASS
After Mass
you would walk us
to the newsagent
in your Sunday best
with waistcoat,
watch chain
and monogrammed
umbrella.
As you chatted
over the papers
Sunday Times
with News of the World
hidden inside
we each chose a gift.
I reme...
Thursday 17th December 2015 10:42 am
HAMLET FROM THE FRONT ROW
HAMLET FROM THE FRONT ROW
In the front row ready to watch Hamlet
I stretch out my legs contentedly
“These are the best seats and the cheapest
You can see everything from here”
Says the guy next to me
“It’s like being part of the action”
I nod politely
The ghost doesn't appear
We have to imagine him
At the back of the theatre
So we swivel our heads
Unco...
Tuesday 13th October 2015 8:14 pm
CILLA
CILLA
Not the TV host with a brazen giggle
Winding up the gormless on ‘Blind Date’
Or tugging tears on ‘Surprise Surprise’
Nor the glittering star, clutching champagne
In morose interviews after Bobby’s death
Her grief bubbling up
Pressing behind aching eyes
But the fragile, stick thin girl
Trembling on stage
Warmed only by a single
And cruel spotlight
Picking out every contour
Of...
Sunday 2nd August 2015 10:19 pm
MY FATHER'S WATCH
MY FATHER’S WATCH
Almost a year after he died
I’m wearing my father’s watch
Automatic, Swiss, 1947
I looked it up on line
The local old fashioned jeweller
Says it’s a very nice watch
Leave it alone, don’t mess with it
Just wear it all the time
It has old fashioned ways
A turn before bed, another
In the morning and one
Just about midday
Although automatic
It needs the attention
...
Thursday 9th July 2015 11:54 pm
TOOLS
TOOLS
This is a chisel of precise age unknown
With handle smoother than the skin
Of a child. I have sharpened the blade
By rubbing it on stone. Feel its bite.
This is a wood plane given to me
By an old man who had it
From his father. Their spirits guide
My hands. Feel its weight.
This is a machine I bought myself
Under its skin of shiny plastic
Is an...
Wednesday 11th March 2015 10:37 am
NUMBER 72
NUMBER 72
Once there were three offices here
One north, one south
And the regional one above
First time I visited
‘Chelsea Girl’ was below
A security guard stood on duty
Just inside our entrance
They say he sold fruit and veg
When the bosses weren’t looking
Later other shops
Occupied ground and first
If you didn’t take the lift
You could hear their ...
Friday 6th February 2015 10:29 am
EXCITEMENT
EXCITEMENT
That snow white Vauxhall Cresta
With its red leather seats
And stunning chromium bumpers
Flashing through the town streets
In the front passenger seat
I waved to friends going by
As dad raced the engine
Keeping the rev counter high
That pure white Vauxhall Cresta
With its iconic look
A classic sixties motor
The best one in the book
The pu...
Monday 16th June 2014 6:23 pm
BERSHAM
BERSHAM
We wonder amongst the ruins
Rusting trucks and cutting gear
Severed cables protruding
From weathered walls
And the pit head wheel
Still proud above us
Preserved temporarily
By municipal crumbs
And volunteer labour
Only open occasionally
For public inspection
We whisper questions
Reverentially
Here the miners lamps
Here the cramped cage
...Sunday 20th April 2014 3:36 pm
THE OLD COMMODORE
THE OLD COMMODORE
This faded slab stands to commemorate
David Lewis of ‘The Conqueror’ late
A Montgomery man ‘The Old Commodore’
Who served under Nelson in times of war
Then as a harbourmaster in peacetime
A grand old seadog not far past his prime
Here in Aberystwyth he lived and died
His watchful eye always on the tide
In this peaceful town on Cardigan Bay
He dropped...
Sunday 23rd March 2014 7:50 pm
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
This man won medals for bravery
Served in a world war
Mourned for his dead comrades but never
Complained about it
Came home, collected his demob suit
Walked away whistling
Determined to make the best of it
This other man lost a limb, didn’t care
That you would notice
Completed his education then
Went on to hack it
Never asked for...
Friday 15th November 2013 8:21 pm
URBAN LULLABY
URBAN LULLABY
Sing me a lullaby
Of breaking glass
The click of stilettoes
As they pass
The scrape of Cuban heels
On paving stones
Sing me a lullaby
Of drunken groans
Rock me to the rhythm
Of lovers moans
Leave the light on downstairs
As darkness falls
Sing me a lullaby
Of cats on walls
Police sirens outsi...
Sunday 6th October 2013 9:42 pm
HOME TOWN
Aberystwyth
a mouthful of a name
meeting of two rivers
that flow into the sea
Aberystwyth
youthful memories of
a town still tugging
at my sleeve like
the hauling of nets
bursting with fish
the smell of diesel
and blood on the
harbour wall
Aberystwyth
all caravans and students,
churches, castles, seagulls,
soggy ice creams,
postcards, monuments
a...
Sunday 1st September 2013 5:27 pm
AMERICANO
A shot of espresso
With hot water
That’s Americano
So much larger
If you want to linger
To take it all in
The cup like a soup bowl
Saucer like a plate
Steam rising before me
Strong aroma
Of roasted coffee beans
A soothing blackness
O Americano
How I love you
How I long to feel your heat
And your bi...
Saturday 6th April 2013 6:11 pm
IMPATIENT SPRINGTIME
IMPATIENT SPRINGTIME
Impatient springtime
caressing the shore line
under a watercolour sky,
gentle white tipped
blue waves with breezes
blowing in our ears
whispering of warmth,
teasing us to put away
colder morning memories,
urging the shedding of
woollen scarves and the
lengthening of dog leads.
Copyright(c)David Subacchi.2012
Friday 15th March 2013 11:36 pm
VALENTINES
VALENTINES
What starts as romance
Ends up as routine
With variations
For years in between
Anonymous cards
Carefully picked verse
Until you just sign
For better or worse
And each time you try
To write your own lines
You find out how hard
Are good Valentines.
Copyright(C)David Subacchi 2013
Sunday 17th February 2013 1:48 pm
INDIGNITY
INDIGNITY
Is this the final indignity
Your royal bones in the common view
Your curved spine exposed to mockery
Collected from a Leicester car park
Was defeat at Bosworth not enough
Thrown from your horse into a field of blood
Betrayed by those in whom you trusted
Wounded by a bard’s cruel fantasies
Richard last of the Plantagenets
Where ...
Tuesday 5th February 2013 10:35 pm
UN CAFE E UN LIMONCELLO
Un café e un limoncello
A coffee and a limoncello
Dopo il pranzo
After dinner
Un café e un limoncello
I am captivated by ritual
For me food and drink
Have to mean something
Dopo il riso , dopo il vino
Per piacere, please
Un café e un limoncello
After the rice, after the wine
There’s plenty of time
For a ...
Thursday 3rd January 2013 8:26 pm
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