Hee-Hee, I enjoyed this too!
Never in a million would I go up a mountain - even if just to take it all off without a care...
So who was up there watching? Was that your Easter nod?
No more chocolate for you!

Comment is about Here's The Sting (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Loved 'Sometimes', it reminds me of a poem I wrote called 'Wardrobe Mistress' - similar subject.
I liked the slow build up and the 'beautiful' pay-off.
I'll keep reading - catching up with your words...

Comment is about Karen Ankers (poet profile)

Original item by Karen Ankers

Wonderful story-telling. You have a poet's sensibility and expressed it well, took your time and told the tale with sensitivity. Loved it. (Hope you don't mind but I've just blogged it here: https://wordpress.com/post/francesmacaulayforde.wordpress.com/7201)

Comment is about Unseen (blog)

Original item by Karen Ankers

Hey there, Colin..thanks for telling the story about the young man. That's very close to the scenario I had in mind when I wrote this, though I did try to use baseball-related idioms and metaphor to describe attempts at communication with those who are more "wordy". I read an article once about selective muteness which described it as anxiety disorder, but, the piece doesn't really exclude silence as a choice. Sometimes it's just easier.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Colin.

elP

Comment is about selective mute (blog)

Original item by nunya

Keith,
As someone with whom Our Lord is beginning to get a bit serious, I`m thinking a lot about that `Birth, death and resurrection bit ?

Comment is about Here only for a while... (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

yes we did ??

Comment is about Here's The Sting (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Thank you ever so much C?L, Raj, David and Graham for reading and commenting. I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on this.

I hope you don't mind if I reply to you collectively this time.

The idea for this came from imagining what capers you could do on a supposed duvet day. Next thing I'd started concocting a set of instructions. I decided to make them partially highly specific and partially plain ludicrous. I haven't been hiking for about 20 years, although many people have suggested I should take one ?.

Please tell me you spotted the Sting reference, just so I know it wasn't wasted ?

You are all very kind and thoughtful chaps....and I'm a silly old Hector desperately looking for my sensible cap ?

Paul

Comment is about Here's The Sting (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Heya Cynth

Agreed. I stopped shaving pits and legs a long time ago, initially as a private rebellion, then not so private. My body, my rules.

Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Change is a permanent state. Nothing ever stays the same. The only thing about change that even feigns to remain the same is people's resistance to change!

Comment is about Change (blog)

Original item by Gelo leysa

Aww thanks everyone ?

Hehe Ray - there IS no unsuitable situation for boots like that ? Big love to you too.

Cheers Paul!

And Colin - rap? Hahaa - I shall have to give it a go when I start learning this for performance! ?

Comment is about Darlin' Dancers (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Paul sit down, relax, breath deeply!

The effects of eating all those Cadbury Cream Eggs yesterday will gradually wear off and you'll be fine again.

You're being eggstremely silly!

Comment is about Here's The Sting (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

like it

Comment is about 'The Insignificant Poet' by Daniel Dwyran is Write Out Loud Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Let's meditate on 'impermanence'.
Practicing this art will make a lot of us happy.

As my wise old father would say "The only thing that's permanent is change". Bless him.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

Comment is about Change (blog)

Original item by Gelo leysa

Hi Colin,

Many thanks for your feedback. It's funny you mention it because I'd been toying between the two ideas for what seemed like ages before I uploaded this. However, I can now see sense in breaking it up and have done so. Thanks again

Neil

Comment is about I, Once Removed (blog)

Original item by Neil Robertson

"Duvet Days" merits a track in the Oasis album What's the Story Morning Glory. I can hear it now.... lead guitar solo and all.

Enjoyed that Paul. Your private expedition puts all other tales of adventurers in the shade!

Nice one.
Raj

Comment is about Here's The Sting (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Many thanks, MC.
I sang and played "Sammy B Goode" at our village coffee morning on Saturday for the old ladies. We passed a cup round and they kindly gave £80! I had to kiss a few of them for that though!

Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

I love this Paul, it captures the sillyness of modern day hiking, summit selfies, duvet days - but at least they are out there and living albeit giving the one finger to the drudge of work. I've been on a lot of mountain hikes with a fair few annoying companions who have insisted on singing The Happy Wanderer - you know, that Val-deri,Val-dera knapsack nonsense. Why? Just why?

Cheers
Col

Comment is about Here's The Sting (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

Ha-Ha, Ha, Happy Easter Mr Coopey, very good. Many thanks to you,

And thanks to David and to Old Shoes the likes.

Paul

Comment is about Eggocentric (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

excellent writing Neil although I'm struggling with 'Joy, too, is a futile / fleeting fling' - too many f's perhaps? Maybe simplify to 'Joy, too, is futile / A fleeting thing'. Just a thought. Thanks for posting, Colin

Comment is about I, Once Removed (blog)

Original item by Neil Robertson

I can imagine 'It's bothering me...' would be a very effective performance piece. It would certainly speak to many.

Comment is about ian winter (poet profile)

Original item by ian winter

Wonderful!
Many layered; sensitive; clever metaphor; well-written.
Now I'll have to read your other poems, Ian.
So pleased to have found your work.?

Comment is about TIGHT SHOES (blog)

Original item by ian winter

I hope you're working on a victory stanza JC

Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)

Original item by John Coopey

Good to see a rhythmic style in use.
Without getting too religious about it:
Annunciation - or enunciation?

Comment is about 'The Insignificant Poet' by Daniel Dwyran is Write Out Loud Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi JC - got your update about the TCT on my profile page.
And, as a great man once used to declare: Action this day!

Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)

Original item by John Coopey

Thanks all for comments. About the only thing I didn't put in was "tongue in cheek" but I suppose that's a taken. I'm glad you enjoyed this defamatory tribute, he's one of my impressions I don't have to explain afterwards.
Colin, sorry if you're not well. It would have been nice to see you, but there's a will...

David, a bit of an uphill struggle but it's all good at last!
Thanks for your help anyway mate. An OBE may be on the way .

Thank you elP for liking my silly side.

Paul, it's good to broaden one's scope , so try stopping me
aythangow.

John, nice that you got back on this - I like to spread a little happiness in the compost bins. Words like cabbages I think benefit from a rhyme.

Love all you readers!

Ray

Comment is about PRINCE CHARLES's LAMENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Another great poem from Daniel. Well deserved to have Poem of the Week and an interesting interview. I think the responses so far say it all. P.S. Hope you continue at Folk Plus ?

Comment is about 'The Insignificant Poet' by Daniel Dwyran is Write Out Loud Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences via the Q&A's Daniel. I have always felt that POTW provides an excellent platform for WoL contributors to expand on their inspirations, methods etc. And let's face it, the process of writing is a continual one of learning.

I have often wondered whether open mic events which mix music and the spoken word are the right venues for poetry. There needs to be a respectable level of silence, respect and interest for the spoken word performance to work. It doesn't always follow that the musicians or people who have come to listen to the music are so much bothered about listening to the poetry, and vice versa perhaps.

I used to attend one particular local event until a musical act was included. The act had often travelled a distance, been paid expenses and therefore had to made good use of, which meant the local regular spoken worders were cut to one piece each. The whole dynamic of the event shifted. Apologies if this sounds like the beginning of a wider discussion thread!

But well done you for persevering. We can all certainly relate to having to pull over and write down our rants before they are forgotten. And well done for picking Pam Ayers. And well done on POTW.

Colin

Comment is about 'The Insignificant Poet' by Daniel Dwyran is Write Out Loud Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Teenagers.

And females not so young either. The saddest sight I ever saw on a tram was a young girl/teen putting on make-up until her whole face looked like an audition for clown-school, a full paste job with a clear outline that completed the mask effect.

I'm sure she thought she was much prettier. And she looked ghastly. Actually ugly. Sometimes I HATE the 'beauty business'; the deliberate exploitation of youthful vulnerability and the degradation of charming, natural beauty.

And those perfume commercials! I almost growl at the TV, wanting to throw a heavy pot through the screen. They are obnoxious!

Comment is about Laura Taylor (poet profile)

Original item by Laura Taylor

Very well deserved Daniel,

A harrowing experience perfectly reproduced!

and perhaps the best Q & A answers we've ever had.

Great Work!

Comment is about 'The Insignificant Poet' by Daniel Dwyran is Write Out Loud Poem of the Week (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Colin, Thank you for this. It is an assessment of what is happening and the possible outcome of technology. There is a guy, whose name escapes me at present, but he is tragically confined to a wheel chair and yet despite his disability he is a foremost scientist and gifted with perspicacity. He recently made a statement that technology would destroy humanity. Many people with religious beliefs are convinced that we are living in the End Times. There is a lot to think about here. In the span of my own life time I never envisaged a society so advanced. A family of four sitting at a table for lunch, all on their mobiles and not one word of conversation between them. My 9 year old nephew who seldom converses but is permanently transifixed by TV or his latest Play Station.You are right it is scary. Thanks. Keith

Comment is about Befuddled (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

mushroom charming - I have visions of you standing in a field jumping up and down and chanting strange incantations to raise the white buttons from the ground.

after moving to my present country abode some twenty odd years ago there was one year and one year only when the neighbouring field spawned a huge quantity of field mushrooms. Never seen it since. It was quite magical.

Cheers
Col

Comment is about Mushroom Picking (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Poetry is most certainly in your blood as I can see from your latest offering The Bleeding Hour and also Greener Grass, The Fight and The Past, Present and Future. You write from deep within and from that place comes some beautiful verse. Thank you. Keith

Comment is about old shoes (poet profile)

Original item by old shoes

I was just reading an article about cryogenics and artificial intelligence and how the tech nerds in Silicon Valley are buying into research to make them immortal through the process of brain mapping and transplantation into robot bodies. And as I read it I couldn't help but think who this technology would be made available to. There is a belief that the human body will inevitably become redundant yet for billions of people their lives will no doubt become subservient slaves to this new breed of humanoids. I know this is a bit tangential but who will be interested in an old granny with dementia? Or anyone with a health problem or belief that doesn't fit the brief? Or just plain ordinary folk? By coincidence I watched the film Prometheus last night. Scary science. Cheers, Col.

Comment is about Befuddled (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Hello Raj, thanks for the comment on Mushroom Picking. The mushrooms were huge, bigger than in any shop. Thanks again. Keith

Comment is about Chakraj (poet profile)

Original item by Chakraj

Hello MC,
Sorry I only just saw your comment on my song Sammy Be Goode and the issue you have in accessing my Just Giving page via FaceBook.
I don't want to seem presumptuous but if you would like to make a small donation to the Teenage Cancer Trust I have attached a link to their webpage where you can do so directly rather than needing a FaceBook page to access my JustGiving one.
Many thanks,
John

https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/support-us/donate?gclid=CJHjxc7NqNMCFfYy0wodTVUFqw

Comment is about M.C. Newberry (poet profile)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

always difficult to pin down your exact meaning elP but - taken literally - I knew a teenage boy who chose not to speak, but instead of baseball he played football/soccer. There is so much here which seems to fit his situation although I can't confess I knew him well, he was the son of a friend. I have no idea what triggered his self-imposed silence (he did speak sparingly to a few close family and friends during that time) but your second verse maybe suggests an answer. I wonder also whether he felt his voice was lost within a large family - a household where many outside and fleeting visitors regularly stayed. And through it all he played football for his local team and now, as far as I know, is a well-adjusted twenty-something with a job and partner. Thanks, Colin.

Comment is about selective mute (blog)

Original item by nunya

French teacher's joke about Easter egg moderation - "One egg is un oeuf".
Boom boom.

Comment is about Eggocentric (blog)

Original item by Paul Waring

It comes to us all, Ray.
The new gizmo works well. I'll be seeking your advice on it soon!
Excellent impression of Ole Big Ears which works brilliantly with the content. Loved the overt sexual imagery as well as the less overt. And that "ravages/cabbages" rhyme.

Comment is about PRINCE CHARLES's LAMENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Hi Ray, enjoyed all of this....the funny poem, the reading and the very good impression, I'm looking forward to hearing some of your others. Congrats on your first reading!

Aythangyow for posting and Happy Easter.

Paul

Comment is about PRINCE CHARLES's LAMENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

through this is found your strength

Comment is about myself. (blog)

Original item by Maria Renea

Its that time again isn't it.

great reminder

Old Shoes

Comment is about <untitled> (blog)

Original item by Louis Audet

Wonderful imagery Keith. You painted a superb picture of country life there.

Glad to know you had a great morning yield.?

Comment is about Mushroom Picking (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

Nice piece Wardah. Quite enlightening!
I like the title too.

Raj

Comment is about Know This (blog)

Original item by Wardah

Nice piece Wardah. Quite enlightening!
I like the title too.

Raj

Comment is about Know This (blog)

Original item by Wardah

You shine like a star in the darkness Maria.
A simple but stunning rendition.

Raj x

Comment is about myself. (blog)

Original item by Maria Renea

beautiful smile often hides deep pain ..... the sufferer knows the truth while others take them at face value.....beautifully expressed!!!!

Comment is about myself. (blog)

Original item by Maria Renea

Very, Very Funny! And your reading tops it off so well.

elP

Comment is about PRINCE CHARLES's LAMENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

I liked this! Love the line "Oh, lead to the dance once more"

Comment is about In Consequence Of Love (blog)

Original item by Adam Whitworth

I can't help but feel you should have signed off with an "Aythangyow". But this was very good and I enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for spicing up my snotty Easter weekend Raymondo. I was contemplating gate-crashing the Woking WoL evening at the New Inn on Monday and meeting you and Greg but I'm just not up to it. Maybe another day if you like. Cheers for posting this. Col

Comment is about PRINCE CHARLES's LAMENT (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Well said, Harry. With you, we're never left "Dancing in
the Dark"!

Comment is about An Easter answer? (blog)

Original item by Harry O`N eill