I'm old enough to remember the words of Denis Healey -
holding forth about squeezing them (the rich of his day)
"until the pips squeak".
Those that make it,
Who earn or take it,
You can bet your bottom dollar
Won't volunteer to forsake it.

Comment is about Panama scandal and atrocities of government (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Hi Jemima - thanks for the encouragement - I needed a little push, ha ha.
Actually, I can't help wondering if I am actually less shocked about the Panama papers than most. This is because I have known about a lot of it for some years from blogs I've read online, but of course fresh evidence has brought it all to a head, and rightly so too.


Hi Patricia and Stef, I think that's a good suggestion for a title, but seeing as the poem I came up with was on a couple of other issues as well as the Panama papers, I chose something else.
Well, after all, I couldn't have you asking for royalties, could I? Ha ha ha. Thanks guys x

Comment is about SCROUNGERS! (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Thanks P &S. They do wind me up when I meet them!!

Comment is about SNOBS (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Helen,

A lady called Dora won ours...but Annes (all sleek sophisticated feathers) should have got it!

Comment is about Easter Bonnet, Sonnet (blog)

Original item by Helen

This has me imagining Vardey in a crown and a cloak.

(just saying this is hurting me)

Comment is about On Top! (blog)

Original item by Helen

Lads...lads!...didn`t you ever see `The Life of Brian` ?...The Christian `Holy teachings` were written in the glory days of the Roman Empire...Remember? Sanitation, roads, bridges, acqueducts, Baths, dome construction, etc;...not to mention such trifles as philosophy, drama, architecture, law, Military discipline... a working world order. Oh, and I almost forgot Hippocrates and medicine. (my voice is getting tired).

Within a relatively short time, (after the persecution) the
implications of those holy teachings were being debated and scrutinised by some of the best philosophic brains in the empire under the chairmanship of the Emperor.

Some hundreds of years later, the priceless early translations of Aristotle and co (which had by then vanished from the West) were recovered via the efforts of the Moslem Philosophers in Alexandria and Spain who had been studying them. (all of this is in the -uncontested- history books).

We should also not forget that this `scientific` age has brought with it two enormously fatal world wars (And in the last one - which we tend to overlook - two atom bombs were actually dropped on densely populated cities).

But to get back (wearily) to the actual poem (which, on its own is quite reasonable)

As the Christian doctrine of the Fall tries to indicate: Mankind will maim and murder in the name of almost anything.

When The murdering and maiming of others (and oneself) is done in the name of a scripture, then the recognised present-day authorities of that scripture should come out and make themselves clear about such an interpretation of it...I don`t hear of that being done.

We`ll never get anywhere by imagining that the highly scientifically educated terrorists are ignorant savages sitting around campfires.

Comment is about SEPARATION (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

spot on descriptions.Well done Mr Pool.

P&S

Comment is about SNOBS (blog)

Original item by ray pool

yep! defo! we go with J.J. on her idea-our suggestion for a title should you have go would be along the lines of......

'keeping it in the family'.....eh what!?


P&S

Comment is about SCROUNGERS! (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Ian -
"I would not seek to separate Christians from their Bible
Or the deeds for which it's liable!"
I need only consider the "Christian Militias" of backward
lands to go along with your reply.
It is a matter for incredulity that in this 21st century
(when you'll probably find a television in a mud hut!)
we still have sections of humanity that fall back on the
products of two thousand years ago and make selective
choices to suit their depredations.
"Love thy neighbour as thyself" is thin on their ground!

Comment is about SEPARATION (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

heavy splitting mawl is in itself a poetic turn of phrase!

i did write a poem this morning and posted it, first time in a while, and it found me in disturbing mood. its funny on here though, as soon as its up its gone due to the sheer amount of stuff posted. not a bad thing though i suppose.

I cant say I have given up the pen entirely, as I am now 10,000 words deep into my first novel which is as unappetizing and strange as you would imagine! it is completely exhausting writing it though, being in someone elses headspace all day.

Comment is about HOW SHOCK TRAVELS (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Always nice to get a comment on prematurely buried poems, Stu! I am at work with a very heavy splitting mawl, and have gone all primitive. I know you're busy, but pick up thy pen and write, please when poss.
All the best to you and yours.

Ray

Comment is about HOW SHOCK TRAVELS (blog)

Original item by ray pool

a touch of dylan thomas here i think, if only in the lines;

the log splitter's axe

the forceful blow

or the ravage of tooth and claw

lightning striking a shivering moor.

which are wonderful.

Comment is about HOW SHOCK TRAVELS (blog)

Original item by ray pool

ian this is fantastic, like the song tupelo by nick cave mixed with deadwood. i totally get the underlying themes but even taken as a descriptive piece it is wonderful.

Comment is about Tumbleweed (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

Lynn,you must do a poem on this 'Panama papers' scandal.Can you believe how bloody hard faced these people are,even after being exposed! grrrr! Thank you.Jemima.

Comment is about SCROUNGERS! (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Thanks for your kind comments on my poem, Boys and girls, Ray.

Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)

Original item by ray pool

Hi Tommy, cheers for your comments on Scroungers. I like your profile piccie, and have to say that yes, I voted for Corbyn too.

Incidentally, I saw him in person yesterday giving a terrific speech at Harlow, pressing for all the important things for the majority, instead of the elite few. Power to the people!

Comment is about Tommy Carroll (poet profile)

Original item by Tommy Carroll

I like your poetry Martin especially returning to something she once saw allowing her to break all the rules break what had become law :)

Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)

Original item by Martin Elder

I would not seek to separate Christians from their Bibles;

Religious belief should not be a cause for blame

But I stand shoulder to shoulder with any free-thinking man

Against those who maim and murder in its name.

just saying *wink*

Comment is about SEPARATION (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Thanks very much for your kind and supportive comments on 'Catechism' Lynn - much appreciated

Comment is about Lynn Dye (poet profile)

Original item by Lynn Dye

thanks for the comments and thoughts on 'Catechism' MC - we can only hope that we would be prepared to make that stand - but until we are tested, I guess we just don't know

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

Original item by M.C. Newberry

thanks for the insightful comments on 'Catechism' Harry - yes, it was a very sad tale - but, in a way, it just made the poem more poignant and relative - it is only in what we say and our own actions that we can and should be judged - I think the victim in Glasgow was a truly honourable man..

Comment is about Harry O`N eill (poet profile)

Original item by Harry O`N eill

Thanks to everyone for the comments and likes

Comment is about Catechism (blog)

Original item by Ian Whiteley

Like it

Comment is about Dotage (blog)

Original item by Dusty- Kennedy

Cheers, Tommy, thanks for your kind comments.

Actually, I wondered if it would have sounded better if I had sworn, lol, particularly about those paper clips! :o)

Comment is about SCROUNGERS! (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

What a great rhythm to this Ronnie. A small masterpiece of analysis and quite a deep concept all round. It can't be faulted in my view. It has humour too. It could be used almost as a reference manual for macho behaviour.

Comment is about Boys and girls (blog)

Original item by Ronnie Leek 1

STOP PRESS - due to unforeseen circs at the club, the April event will be Thurs 21st (3ed tues after that) thank you

Comment is about Write Out Loud Bolton is back - at new venue tonight (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks Martin. If in doubt, cover with woodchip and paint over. I have a feeling woodchip might have a resurgence but with much bigger chips (would have great texture). x

Comment is about Woodchip (blog)

Sh*t wind and paraffin! By the time I logged on I've forgotten what I wanted to say.

Comment is about Dotage (blog)

Original item by Dusty- Kennedy

Comment is about 00robin2.jpg (photo)

Original item by Dusty- Kennedy

Apologies and thanks for pointing out the spelling blip M.C.Newberry.
thanks so much for your comments
many thanks tommy

Comment is about Dotage (blog)

Original item by Dusty- Kennedy

In the late 18th century, the emergent America relied heavily on Mediterranean trade but that was fraught
with risk and danger. The captain and his charges
aboard a US merchant ship that was boarded by the
Barbary coast pirates (Morocco., Algeria, Tunis and
Tripoli - with their allegiance to the Ottoman Empire)
were held captive for 10 years. It has been estimated
that well over a million Christian captives were taken
between 1530 and 1780 by these Muslim autocracies
during raids on ships and lands beyond their own. The
UK and France were left alone because they could afford
to pay a "tribute" and it suited them to do so. The
depredations ceased when the US approved funds for a
punitive naval expedition to confront and defeat the
offending lands and their rulers during the following
decades. The line from the US Marine Corps anthem
"From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli"
- has the last words recalling that important victory.

Comment is about Heaven (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

This is fun - and so many of us will identify with "the here
and now" loss. My long-term memory seems to click in
when I'm lying in bed, putting off getting up!
In closing, I mentally edit your last line as -
"Just lost the here and now."

Comment is about Dotage (blog)

Original item by Dusty- Kennedy

The "holy teachings" upon which the prominent religions
base their beliefs were created when the world and
humanity were beset by fear and ignorance; when those
who could read and write were the religious orders and
even the nobility had to rely on them in that respect.
Ancient mankind around their campfires needed the
prospect of something better beyond their senses.
Now, the world - changed by science, its knowledge
widened and enlightened with the years, should contain
humanity that has kept up with and adapted to these
changes, able to select and match the ideas of two thousand years ago with what has accumulated in the
meantime. It is, of course, nonsense to take the stance
that this can't happen. It IS nonsense to take the view
that it SHOULDN'T happen. Adaptability - even in seeing
old writing with new eyes - is hardly a sin but rather a
blueprint for erudition and evolution. Religion comes
within its scope without its "positive values" being lost.
The sin is to go backwards - not forwards - and that is
where the absence of free-thinking is to be deplored
in a world that moved to reaching the heavens and not
just praying to them.

Comment is about SEPARATION (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Your last two lines sum up very many people's issues on this subject Dusty. Well put. Tommy

Comment is about Dotage (blog)

Original item by Dusty- Kennedy

...and you didn't even swear, well done. You'll expect me to like this work Lynn and I do. Tommy

Comment is about SCROUNGERS! (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Thanks Ray :) TS Eliot hahaa :D

Ooo I like your comment that it gives it a Tom and Jerry feel! Fred Quimby era, obviously! ;)

And cheers Steve :D I may well learn this one then!

Comment is about Dante's Cat (blog)

Original item by Laura Taylor

TS Eliot hahaa :D

Ooo I like your comment that it gives it a Tom and Jerry feel! Fred Quimby era, obviously! ;)

Thanks Ray :)

Comment is about ray pool (poet profile)

Original item by ray pool

or,
I would not care to separate musselman from Christian;
?

I gather the saintly way is pretty much a universal: like bigotry and dogma. I don't think we will ever be spared the fanatics, but what do we with them? Forgiveness... that's hard!

Comment is about SEPARATION (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Thanks Steve, I wrote another Batman piece to the prompt – Unlikely Couples.

BATMAN AND ALICE
wOW! sPlaT! How did I get here? KerPow!
"Welcome to Wonderland," said Alice.
KerPlunk! Holy BatMobile! What is this place?
"You must have fallen down the rabbit hole," said Alice.

Where's my BatPhone? Where's my BatMobile gone?
I bet CatWoman had a hand in this!
Suffering tadpoles! How do I get outta here?
"Just defeat the Queen of Hearts," said Alice.

Ain't that the broad that made some tarts?
Blam! She sounds like some kinda poker hand!
I'll need an ace up my sleeve to beat her.
"Quick, drink some of this poison," said Alice.

Bah! You must think I'm the Joker! Or something?
This is darker than a Gotham subway!
PussyGalore! You've got big rats down here!
"That was my Cheshire Cat," said Alice.
23042+10

Comment is about Day Three (blog)

Original item by Andy Sewina aka Danny Wise

Thanks

Comment is about The Evil Tree (blog)

Original item by Matt

Succinct and true, MC.

Comment is about SEPARATION (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Cheers for the like, Steve :-)

Comment is about SCROUNGERS! (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

Hello Harry
Thank you for your lovely compliment.

As for the Panama stuff, yes, you have a point, I think another poem may be coming on soon!

Comment is about SCROUNGERS! (blog)

Original item by Lynn Dye

I really love this poem, Harry.

While I think it would work without the last piece, I do like its inclusion and can understand why you have become fond of it.

I think the last verse works in either format to be honest. Maybe you wrote it differently in the original as it tends to drift into fantasy. In which case, I suppose it depends on whether you want it to stand out as different, or whether you prefer it to fit in.

Sorry, I'm not much help, lol :-)

Comment is about Afterwards...(again) (blog)

Original item by Harry O`N eill

Thank you for your comment on my profile. Much appreciated x

Comment is about kimafia Jones (poet profile)

Original item by kimafia Jones

I loved this piece....it helps me view my ideas for writing from a different perspective... Again it's a very lovely and inspiring piece

Comment is about Helen (poet profile)

Original item by Helen

Thank you Martin. That really means a lot. I am only just starting out, but it is something that I would very much like to do once I've built up my confidence a bit. I think at the moment I'm probably writing too much and that's something that I will have to work on.

I massively appreciate the feedback, thank you

Comment is about Into The Wilderness (blog)

Original item by Matt

Thank you Steve, M.C. and Stephanie. Wolfgar, remember what Wilde said about sarcasm. M.C. we should also remember that the Moors celebrated life with poetry and that Moorish rule was not sectarian - Al-Andalus was a place where free thinking Jewish Sephardic philosophers such as Maimonides (born in Cordova) flourished and where Muslim, Jewish and Christian scholars worked side by side in seeking to preserve the Greek heritage. This was at time when most of Christian Europe was still steeped in ignorance and superstition. The Moors also had a lively sense of humour:

The Inconsistent

When I sent you my melons, you cried out with scorn,
They ought to be heavy and wrinkled and yellow;
When I offered myself, whom those graces adorn,
You flouted, and called me an ugly old fellow.

Comment is about Heaven (blog)

Original item by John E Marks

I take your point there, it's more meant to be about perception of him in media as this confrontational personality than his real traits. I actually like Corbin, he's very honest. I just think perception of him in the view of those who dislike him is that he's blunt and doesn't think through his comments. Perhaps there's a better way to get that point across though. Thanks

Comment is about masterdebate (blog)

Original item by Matt

Ha! All too true, Steve.

Comment is about In the spirit of Leona... (blog)

Original item by steve pottinger