This is it Appalachia here I come

22.04.11 – 79) Day break and I’m on my way to a great American byway

Waterfalls said to be like fountains now I’m driving along the Blue Ridge Mountains

Opened in 1935 a vision for beauty to come alive

To enable people to go asunder to see first hand natures wonder

Looking down at what can be seen trees in the vall...

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The drive from Chattanooga to Ashville in rhyme

21.04.11 – 78) It rained again, another thunderstorm

Yet fresh the morning was still warm

Neath the cloudy sky of grey I began my drive again that day

Down the interstate shifting watching the mist through the trees lifting

An accident meant a detour I didn’t feel the least bit sore

Although caught on the hop there was time for...

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The drive from Memphis to Chattanooga and when I got there

20.04.11 - 77) The drive to Chattanooga had gone ok

A bit of rain on the way

On arriving of the time I had to take stock

Add another hour on the clock

For they had an extra daylight saving hour

Was it to enjoy the early evening blooms in flower?

So the hour that they did save gave me time to visit Ruby’s Cave

A...

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Apparently a tornado hit the outskirts of Memphis during the night, hence the storm and I slept through it, good job it wasn't direct, I wonder where I would have woken up.

20.04.11 - 76) It sounded like thunder crashing

I awoke to see lightening flashing

From my window across the streets rain coming down in sheets

Wind whipping it into a spray soaking everything in its way

But...

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I finally did it I "Walked in Memphis"

19.04.11 - 75) It was called the Land of the Delta Blues

But I wasn’t wearing Blue Suede Shoes

But would I get the same feel

As I walked along Beale

W C Handy looked down on me too

For the music to say thank you

No need for talkin’

In Memphis I was walkin’

Harley surprising feeling the emotion rising

Walking along Beale now ...

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Written following a much awaited visit to the Hollywood Cafe that features in the song "Walkin' in Memphis" and yes Muriel did play piano (see image) and they do have catfiah on the table and nice it is too.

18.04.11 - 74) In Memphis I stayed, to see where Muriel played

The piano every Friday and sang

The Hollywood with gospel rang

The Hollywood the place

Where she and Marc san...

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Written at a rest stop on the way to Memphis, I liked the radio station and was inspired to write the poem.

18.04.11 - 73) I was on my way down the interstate highway

Driving with care then heard coming over the air

One of many in this nation a Christian radio station

Listening without fears, at times moved to tears

Then after another mile, I would again smile

Driving on my ...

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On the road to Memphis

18.04.11 - 72) Down the road I go,

Music from my radio

Stations quite a range,

If my mind I change

Listen to music or voice,

Sure is one helluva choice

Listen to what’s on the air,

But always remember, drive with care

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The days journey, written at Texakarna a night stop between Lamesa and Memphis

17.04.11 71) Out of Lamesa drivin’ not walkin’

The sat nav doing the talkin’

Turn left at Big Spring everything fine

Over 250 miles in a straight line

Sat nav now at its best

Not needed give it a rest

Long journey, 2 hours in and just right

Time to stop for a bite

Fort Worthand Dallas may...

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Leaving Lamesa and heading for the open road

17.04.11 - 70) This morning we said goodbye

Hugs and smiles no need to cry

Our poems and songs done on the way we’d had fun

In coffee bars for fair trade our performances made

People laugh and smile while they sat a while

Schools and old folks homes too

Showing them what we could do

Bringing delight, day or night

It’s bee...

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I wrote this after the last event

16.04.11 - 69) My stint done without refute

I ended with a tribute

To the folks in that Texan town

Where the soil is a reddish brown

The wind blows across the ground

An’ the folks are nice to be around

Whether at work or play

Always give you the time of day

I came for the Forrest Fest

Like all I gave my best

I learned when wri...

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This was the last poem I read at the Forrest Fest

16.04.11 - 68) Tomorrow with my load

I take to the open road

To Memphis if I’m able

To see if they really have catfish on the table

Then what I’m gonna do, do

Is go to Chattanooga, but not for the choo choo

Then the road to the north will bring

The beauty of an Appalachian Spring

Lastly to the Big Apple

With the t...

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Another poem about the journey here, I just felt like writing it

16.04.11 - 67) Thom said seven hours from Austin

I said “yes, but don’t trust a GPS

cos’ it takes you the way that’s wrong

makes your journey far to long”

Seven hours, it took us over eight

So next time I’ll follow a mate

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During the parachute ceremony all participants are invited to sing or say something, below is what I said, completely impromtu.

16.04.11 66) Do what you do best

Any time any place

Neath the sky and stars above

But always do it with love

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The parachute ceremony part of the ritual

16.04.11 - 65) From our hands the chute was hung

Round it we spoke and sung

And on it al the while

We bounced a ball with a smile

Coming from everywhere

United a moment to share

On the chute we wrote our names

All part of today’s games

And one day someone may find

A message or wish someone left behind

Then others sat a...

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Due to drought conditions it was decided to plant he tree in November but the rest of the ritual carried on round a different tree.

16.04.11 - 64) It wasn’t dismay we didn’t plant today

But as long as we remember to plant in November

Whether or not we dance

But give the tree a better chance

As the sun sets in the west

By nature will it be blessed?

To grow and grow tall to be e...

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Walking to the annual tree planting cermony, an essential part of the Forrest Fest

16.04.11 - 63) Writin’poems not rantin’

Time to go tree plantin’

Plant a tree then we’ll see

It’ll grow then we’ll know

People care, environmentally aware

Need for green, need to be seen

Need top plant, not just stand and rant

For future generations to find

Something good we’ve left b...

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A short ckeeky one. Who is "she"? that's my secret.

16.04.11 - 62) In her cut off demin shorts

She gave me erotic thoughts

Thinkin’ I would give just two hoots

To see her in nuthin, but cowboy boots

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My first cowboy poem

16.04.11 - 61) Happy as a flea in a dog house

Or a wood lice in a log house

Happy as an early bird catchin a worm

As a cold day warmin up a therm

Happy as a pig in muck

So to y’awl I wish good luck

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A short written between  workshops

16.04.11 - 60) Writing poetry with a beat

Sure came out kinda neat

Then Tom said “we gotta go now boy

to learn the poetry of the cowboy”

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My first beat poem

16.04.11 59) Disposable cup, pick it up

Picture of coffee steaming

Contents hot, like as not

Wake me from my dreaming

To my lips, drink in sips

Going down one way

Coffee drunk, now it’s junk

Simply throw away

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Written at a Beat Poetry Workshop

16.04.11 - 58) Poetry with a beat, yes maam

Not quite a poetic slam

Write your words and go with ‘em

Just think of a simple rhythm

That’s not the only beat score

Cos’ there’s four beat styles more

Covering quite a range

Poetry to make a change

Beat about community

About promoting unity

Beat to make your enemies frown

When y...

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Last day of the Forrest Fest and my last day in Lamesa but a busy one.

16.04.11 - 57) In the cool Lamesa morning air

To the centre but no one there

So to the library up the street

To learn about poetry with a beat

That’s what we supposed

Only to find the library closed

Back at the centre and I’ll risk it

Eat my first MacDonald’s sausage biscuit

It was nice on the wh...

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Steve's Brooks party piece, Buddy Holly started singing on the projection house roon at Lamesa's Sky Vue Drive In Movie. Steve's doing a tribute to him. The Sky Vue is the last remaining Drive In, in America.

15.04.11 - 56) At the Sky Vue for a movie

Should be kinda groovy

Ain’t no time for skivin’

Waiting here at the drive in

Cool wind blowin’ by

Neath a clear Texan sky

...

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A rhyming poem based on nature also written at the school

15.04.11 - 55) The croak of a frog, the bark of a dog

The purr of a cat, the echo of a bat

Cock crows, wind blows

Across the plain, the sound of rain 

The sound of birds in flight

The hoot of an owl at night

Sound of choice, a soft spoken voice

Sound of a gull over the sea

Sound of a squirrel running up a tre...

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And so the poetry continues this is a somewhat poetry progress poem.

15.04.11 - 54) I’d come to the American nation

For poetic inspiration

I would do it whole hearted

One before my journey started

One before I boarded the plane

I would write again and again

The flight was good, everything fine

By the time we landed I’d written nine

And I would write many more

Eve...

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Written on impulse as part of the school workshop and an exercise in rhyming.

15.04.11 - 53) I love mum, I love dad

I love the good times we’ve had

I love my dog, I love my cat

I love to hit a ball with a baseball bat

I love my brother, like I love no other

I love my sister, when she wasn’t here I missed her.

I love ice cream and to dream

I love blue sky, honey from a ...

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Conceived during a workshop at a local school and recited there.

15.04.11 - 52) I’m Trevor I may sound funny

Would you like to bet your money?

I’m a poet called Trevor

People say I’m very clever

Cos’ I have the time

To write words in rhyme

I’m Trevor from beyond

From England across the pond

I’m not here to be a fool

At Lamesa’s elementary school

I’m here to sa...

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Written on location purely on inspiration visting the Aged persons Homes

.

15.04.11 - 51) There’s Beehive 1 and Beehive 2

Show ‘em what poetry and music can do

Beehive 1 we did do

Closely followed by Beehive 2

Music from Gordon and Steve

Then would you believe

Verse for all to enjoy

From John the poetic cowboy

Work we’re producing

Thom doing the introducing

Dani...

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Written at the Beehave A.P.H. as a tribute to the residents during a performance there.

15.04.11 - 50) I may need a zimmer to get around

It don’t mean to uselessness I’m bound

I may need a wheel chair

It don’t mean that I can’t care

I may also be blind

It don’t mean I have to stay behind

To some I may seem to be old

Yet I can be so bold

All my life’s experience

S...

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Written folowing a drive through Lamesa with Thom and the connversation we had.

15.04.11 -49) Affluence, influence in the air

Desolation, dust despair

Neat gardens, lawns so tame

A Streetaway it’s not the same

Flowers in rows so neat

Broken down cars on the side of the street

Strong roofs neatly slated

Collapsed roofs before the storm abated

In every town what ever ...

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Written whilst at the local radio station.

15.04.11 - 48) They said go on git down there

To K.E.P.T. you’ll be on air

Soon the mornning show I was on

“Good morning Trev” “Good morning Don”

So I read my poem just right

Hopefully to the listeners delight

Written no time to waste

Written with care not in haste

Not written as a teaser

But on my first morning in Lames...

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Written inspired by yesterdays drive here

15.04.11 - 47)Across the parched land

Little trees in copses stand

Areas by pasture fire charred

For the moment blackly scarred

Land so dry sparks fly

Dry as tinder, soon burnt to a cinder

People will firefight

Firefight with all their might

Fires they’ll eventually contain

Firefighting not in vain

Soon out of the blac...

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Written purely on inspiration enjoying my morning coffee

15.04.11 - 46)Coffee black, coffee white

Whichever to your delight

With sugar it tastes sweet

Without it’s still as neat

Nourishment for the soul

In a cup without a hole

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First morning in Lamesa 

15.04.11 - 45) Cool wind my bare arms kissed

Hot winds of Austin not missed

Winds so hot in gusts turning

Pasture fires rapidly burning

Hard to believe winds so warm

Swirling topsoil into dust storm

Dust so light and pale

Like an eerie gossamer veil

So in every nation

Beauty in nature’s creation

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We finally got there

14.04.11 - 44) Fuel tanks full, a brief lull

Till we pay, then away

GPS working, no more lurking

GPS sent us one way, Thom went the other

Me and Gordon thought “Oh brother”

Turned round and to our delight

We were behind Ashira’s car of white

She’d decided to wait, like any good mate

But of Thom’s car there was no sign

Now it’s just two cars i...

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Ready for Lamesa (well almost) 

14.04.11 - 43) Time flies I said my goodbyes

And had a laugh with the hotel staff

Drove away to collect Gordon on the way

Then we drove, to Thom’s at Lark Cove

Safe journey expecting, GPS directing

Soon we’ll all be here and give a cheer

For a journey that’s just, Lamesa or bust

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Bob "Mud" McMahon reciting at the Cafe Caffeine

13.04.11 - 42) In Austin it’s my last night

Being here’s been alright

Now I’m at the Cafe Caffeine

Thinking how great it’s been

Had a really super time

Free verse and rhyme

Sometimes speak, sometimes listen

Made my inspiration glisten

Cos there’s Motel 6 and Super 8

And performing here’s been just great

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Written on location the stone made a good desk

13.04.11 - 41) On the stone for all to see

Philosophers there were three

Meeting chatting learning

For more knowledge yearning

Frank, Walter and Roy

Each others company they did enjoy

Beneath the sun, among the flowers

They would talk for hours and hours

Often they would regale

A lost Spanish treasure tale

Perhaps...

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Written to go with the picture I took 

13.04.11 - 40) In Barton Creek upon a rock

A crested heron taking stock

Waiting for a time to strike

Choosing the fish that he’d like

Stood still ready to pounce

Then stealthily creep without bounce

Head back ready to attack

A forward lunge and a tasty snack

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Written on location dedicated to Zilker Parks founder Andrew Zilker

13.04.11 - 39) He came to Austin without a cent

To make a fortune was his intent

Of work he was not scared

Doing whatever he dared

Working whenever able

Clothes on his back, food on the table

As one would expect

For his fellow workers he had respect

Became wealthy and still cared

for the poor his...

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Written on location at Barton Springs, named after the man who first settled the area in 1837, William Barton 

13.04.11 - 38) Icy and clear, year after year

Drawing Indian, tourist and pioneer

What ever else brings people to Barton Springs

Two of the waters, named after his daughters

Two baby buffaloes that were tame

To see them the sightseers came

Indian attack always a ...

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Another impulse poem encouraging people to get up and get on with it.

12.04.11 - 37) Tonight at the Ruta Maya,

Everyone’s a star player

Getting on stage, calm or in a rage

Poetry we’re lauding, audience applauding

Reciting, delighting, would be poets we’re inviting

Let your talents flow, get on stage have a go

Be inspired, imagination fired

Don’t sit in doubt, let it a...

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Written after spending the day at the Enchanted Forrest with "Dr" Bob "Mud" McMahon the Australian environmental artist

12.04.11 - 36) Dr Bob was his nickname,

Not he of Muppet fame

But man of many parts,

Particularly environmental arts

Paintings in mud, very good

Ceramics in clay, made and fired the same day

Sculptures from pulped paper

No limit to his artistic caper

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The day after the festival

12.04.11 - 35)

This morning it was cool, just like heaven

They say it’s cold in Austin when it drops to 57

The sun up now growing stronger

Hotting up as the day gets longer

Breakfast again American style

Waffles on a plate, maple syrup over the pile

Breakfast over, e mail and blog update done

Out again into the warming sun

In my room, I...

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Another written on inspiration, my 34th to date.

11.04.11 - 34)

Open mic every night, get on down get it right

Sing, say, play, leave a tip don’t have to pay

Have a coffee, waffle and toffee

Down your throat stuffin’ a blueberry muffin

Get down and jam, rye bread with ham

Speak it out, something to think about

Don’t worry about a gaff, have a laugh

Don’t be blue at ...

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Written purely on inspiration at an event based on a poster

11.04.11 - 33) Keep Austin weird, grow a beard

Play guitar, near or far

Sing in or out of tune howl at the rising moon

Get a banjo and strum sit and hum

Make a nose to hell with poise

Double bass any old place

Play a cello slow and mellow

Dress in clothes of a bygone age

Be wise be a sage

Don’t be afeare...

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2 poems inspired during a walk by the Colorado River

11.04.11 - 31)

I missed you today wishing you were here

Standing silently or talking quietly

All I know is I missed you today

32) Notice says non native plant clearance

Remove with vehemence

None native plants spoil

Can cause erosion of the soil

Clog the river, thought makes me shiver

Down my spine, it’s n...

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Making the most of my spare time

11.04.11 - 30) The route I did take, to Ladybird Lake

I would have some me time

I wasn’t on stage for what seemed an age

Making the most of my free time

Soon by the lake I was walking

Cool winds blowing doing the talking

Pigeons and grackles feeding

Path westward leading

Time for me, no multi tasking

Turtles in the creek basking

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Festival over but not the poetry

11.04.11 - 29) Festival over for another year

Great time not at all drear

Final poems read, goodbyes said

Going our separate ways

Good wishes for future days

All of us given our best

For some there’s still the Forest Fest

To recite some more

Another poetry score

A few days away

Time for some play

See what’s in the coffers

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