I hope I can be forgiven for reposting this from years ago. in the hope that it might resonate with some of our new writers.

Comment is about The Last Verse (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Thank you, Tommy & David ; )

Comment is about do you follow? (blog)

Original item by Dana Lee

Olivia, thank you for your kind comment on 'Just For Tonight'. I look forward to reading more from you.

Comment is about Olivia Down (poet profile)

Original item by Olivia Down

And so to battle the words, much easier read than won. Tommy
PS you've given me a verse. tc

Comment is about Genevieve Walsh (poet profile)

Original item by Genevieve Walsh

"I want the ink to spill
from your tongue..."
If l were a thief...
consider these words stolen. Tommy

Comment is about do you follow? (blog)

Original item by Dana Lee

ramble away any time John - these comment boxes are like Dr Who's Tardis.

thanks for the background, not really an area that crosses my brainwaves but a little enlightenment goes a long way - if that makes any sense. I'd worked out a tiny bit of it when sniffing around Wiki earlier for glue. Sorry, meant clues.

still wearing the cloak of karma you sent btw

Comment is about Zach Dafoe (poet profile)

Original item by Zach Dafoe

really enjoyed this John - had to Google Abaddon (2 d's?) and read the Wikipedia explanation but also found the name used for a fantasy game character - Abaddon the Lord of Avernus is a melee strength Hero known as one of the most versatile characters in Dota due to his rather low mana dependence, short spell cooldowns and a large number of viable item choices. His ability to help sustain his allies and himself plus his strong tower diving capacity give him solid lane presence - not a clue. Perhaps Unkillable Hammerhead and Horsekiller Odachi feature in the same game. It's all good stuff one way or another.

Comment is about part 2 (08/31/2015) (blog)

Original item by Zach Dafoe

I have a hard time being responsible for my own happiness. To have another's placed in my hands seems like a test I'm surely going to fail. I love the universalness (probably just made that up) of this. Yet another one I'm glad I found while wandering around.

Comment is about Do Not Lay the Burden (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

- Been there to pick someone up & been there to be picked-up. Nothing better than to have oppos greet you. None of my visits indoors entailed a prolonged stay so how the feelings must be for them that are...lost.
Chiselled piece Stu.

Comment is about brooks hatlen (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Sucked in is the reader, to a harsh reality brilliantly developed. That casual 'turn' to the poem's real crux is outstanding.

Comment is about brooks hatlen (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

JC...understood. I was just being mischievous with a
word that chimed with the others.

Comment is about DIPSO FATSO BINGO ASBO TESCO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

The word "institutionalised" comes to mind immediately, but
these days there is so much attention given to "rehabilitating the offender" that it would be nice to think
that such incidents are rare outside prisons today. I
thought for a moment that there would be mention of
some being met by their ponces and driven away in style!
The mention of Holloway (Pentonville Road?) reminded me
of a copper from the 1950s who patrolled that patch -
known for its hard men and rough and ready street life.
He himself was a weightlifter who could press 200lbs
from the shoulders overhead and had his tales to tell!

Comment is about brooks hatlen (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

very very interesting Stu. A certain thickness of skin coupled with an overpowering sense of self worth in your hall of fame, no doubt. hrumph. Me, I was too shy to be really successful. Bollocks, its too late now.

Comment is about push (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

I think you're right, MC. I think it is. My only gripe to including it would be that I would have to substitute one of the others for the sake of the rhythm.

Comment is about DIPSO FATSO BINGO ASBO TESCO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

I will always remember my father having served during world war two, in North Africa, Italy, and Greece. Remarking on his return. That the behaviour of his compatriots all too often, made him feel ashamed to be British.

Comment is about 10 (blog)

Original item by Noetic-fret!

Isn't "Gatso" a speed camera - and wouldn't their vilified
presence justify updating the LOL title of your post...
Dipso Fatso Gatso Bingo Asbo Tesco"?
Just a thought!

Comment is about DIPSO FATSO BINGO ASBO TESCO (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Surely, only the soldier (eulogised with admiration
in the past by Kipling as "Tommy this - and Tommy that and Tommy - go away! But it's 'Thank you, Mr Atkins'
when the band begins to play") can know the essential
reality and the price paid in so many ways for going to
war and into combat. Only a soldier (or his service
equivalent elsewhere) can know and this knowledge can
only be shared and properly understood by those who
have the same experience in their lives.
The soldiers returning from World War One found that the
world fit for heroes didn't exist for them and they were
let down by government - as their modern successors
have also experienced, albeit (and there can be NO excuse) not to such a savage heartless degree when
social support and the NHS were non-existent in other
days and the wounded were often destined to become
beggars pleading for alms on the streets of those they fought for. Such was the plight of the soldier who
survived as a maimed veteran in the Napoleonic wars
that Parliament passed the Vagrancy Act of 1824 which
specifically made it unlawful to beg by exposing wounds or deformities...clearly aimed at controlling the actions
of the many returning from fighting the foe in Europe.
Even now, we see reports of government failing in its
duty to those who serve their country in war and any
such failure should be drummed into the public arena
of contempt with a clarion call for urgent remedy and
understanding of unique and exceptional circumstances.

Comment is about 10 (blog)

Original item by Noetic-fret!

Like a tale told around the flickering flames of a long-ago campfire, this holds and feeds the imagination to the end.
It is easy to imagine such a time when men lived in fear
and foreboding, of upsetting "the gods" and falling off the
edge of their world. It serves to remind us of the courage
of those who, in reality, set off to find what was beyond
their own limited horizons in centuries past and set Mankind
on its way to the Moon and, eventually, the stars beyond.

Comment is about The Voyage of Edwr (blog)

Original item by STEVE RUDD

A poignant visit to a world when things, through human
necessity, have to change and new habits and values
embraced...grudgingly and resentfully - with special
attention to how others are affected and their likely
responses in human terms. Easy to identify with in a
variety of guises when lives can be turned upside down
and there's no going back.

Comment is about Jazz Record cut off half note (blog)

Original item by Andy N

TH - it's always a pleasure to have an even-handed
rational discussion about such things. Thanks for your
input - appreciated.
Cheers.

Comment is about HEADLINES (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Thanks Tom for getting what I was inarticulately trying to convey in my poem :)

Comment is about Tom Harding (poet profile)

Original item by Tom Harding

“I'm tired of this back-slappin' "isn't humanity neat" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes.”

Comment is about THE INSECTS (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Thanks James :) Nothing like a bore who's a tightwad :P Thank you for reading!

Comment is about James Roper (poet profile)

Original item by James Roper

Thanks Tom for reading and your comments :) Much appreciated!

Comment is about Tom Harding (poet profile)

Original item by Tom Harding

Thanks Corr! For reading and all your wonderful comments :) Yes, work is middling to fair. How goes you?

Comment is about Corr Lens (poet profile)

Original item by Corr Lens

Hello M.C, That gave me a good laugh :0 I love your sense of humour! I absolutely agree with you :)

Thank you ever so much for reading!
Preeti

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

Original item by M.C. Newberry

This describes most of my mornings. Ecspecially the part about " not ready for the world". I really enjoyed this one.

Comment is about yawn yawn (blog)

Thanks Stu for your comment on 'Waiting On Wind' It's another older one I stumbled on and figured why not post it.

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

great lines throughout but the last two are the kickers. also 'baked and drowned yet intact' is lovely. enjoyed this, natural history and poetry united as one!

Comment is about THE INSECTS (blog)

Original item by ray pool

Sure, no offence meant M.C we're all speaking from our positions!

Comment is about HEADLINES (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

thanks david! its nice to hit a good vein of form. glimpses into madness and addiction certainly do lubricate the creative proccess! i was listening to fun house this morning and as i shut my eyes this came to me. great sax solo!

Comment is about fun house (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

this is thoroughly excellent. as harry said, the alliteration used in the preparation of the boat is clever, and the whole thing smells of hay and smoke and the past. it grasped me from the moment i started reading. there is some lovely synaesthesia here as well, both in the feast and the sea. a great way to start a saturday. thanks.

Comment is about The Voyage of Edwr (blog)

Original item by STEVE RUDD

Hi Harry, thanks for reading and commenting on What if, I really appreciate it x

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

Original item by Harry O`N eill

Hi Stu, thanks for reading and commenting on What if, really appreciate you taking the time,
Cheers, Leander:)

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Steve,
I am fairly Norse-ignorant, but from little snippets I`ve caught in the past this rings poetically true in my head.

I like the way those first three stanzas are alliteration free, and then - as the preparation starts - the alliteration kicks in with the rough sea. this certainly has
- for me - a genuine Norse feel about it.

I also Like the mystery that the wild crazedness of Edwr gives to it afterwards.

Nice and meaty.

Comment is about The Voyage of Edwr (blog)

Original item by STEVE RUDD

TH - thanks for the comment - and a word I hadn't met
before.
My position, I propose, is perfectly legitimate when
assessing the way these events are put before the public by a powerful, often unaccountable media.
Poetry has always had its place in questioning and
challenging a perceived distorted attitude relating to
matters of public importance. To that end, you're quite right that it means something to me that double
standards appear to be in operation.
Regards.

Comment is about HEADLINES (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Ray, feel free to waffle any time, always good to read your comments. I should return the compliment more often but let it be known your work is always read and enjoyed.

I don't feel qualified to offer solutions - only sadness at yet more pointless deaths - perhaps another reason for not allowing this piece to end after the first short sharp shock.

None of us have the answers - ultimately it is down to the will of a nation. God bless America (fingers crossed).

Comment is about moving towards an unknown universe (blog)

ray - i needed a blurb to put on the front page of my book. I'm definitely using 'keeps squeezing out like toothpaste on to the page and cleans the soul as it goes'. its such a brilliant compliment i went to tell my wife. really glad you liked it. your poems are now routinely fantastic so all heartfelt praise is welcomed like a stray cat.

(we love cats by the way)

Comment is about the poet dies (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

fantastic - keeps squeezing out like toothpaste on to the page and cleans the soul as it goes. So very personal and powerful I love it!. Great stuff.

Comment is about the poet dies (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck

Hi Colin. You've had plenty of comments, so I won't waffle on - but I feel as though the UK is being drawn in by osmosis to the US and this somehow reflects the dislocation of the experience. Amazing how enshrined is the gun law. I did like the closing of the eyes line , a strong link in the story.

Comment is about moving towards an unknown universe (blog)

Your mentioning my musical phase (pro freelance keyboard) is interesting and thanks for noting it so warmly. You know the ropes of song writing and poetry; I have a bit of a blind spot for putting words to music - I seem to hit rock bottom - why I don't know. My efforts so far have been convoluted wittiness a la Noel Coward! It is a tricky game trying to blend forms. Anyway best of luck with your efforts and thanks again for the interest Mark.
Ray

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

Original item by M.C. Newberry

thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts MC.

Harry, I agree, but please have a look at my explanation below if you haven't done so already. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts.

Comment is about moving towards an unknown universe (blog)

Thanks M. C. It is part of a project I am currently working on. A children's illustrated poetry book to run alongside my already published children's illustrated ABC book, Alphabet Zoo. I'm very excited with.

Comment is about THE BALLAD OF THE BALD HEDGEHOG (blog)

Original item by THE PEN AND THE PAGE

Thanks Natasha. My normal poetry is tight and flowing but with these children's ones I allow myself to relax a little and just have fun with it.

Comment is about THE BALLAD OF THE BALD HEDGEHOG (blog)

Original item by THE PEN AND THE PAGE

Thank you one more time. Boost of confidence for sure from it. When there are so few words I wonder if the poem is really finished. It really is a struggle. Probably why my attempts are so few lol.

Comment is about Stuart Buck (poet profile)

Original item by Stuart Buck

I think the message is a little supererogatory and i'm pretty sure i'm not onboard with it. However it obviously means something to you- a reminder that poetry is another form of reportage complete with it's own agenda.

Comment is about HEADLINES (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Ha very nice.

Comment is about Bore (blog)

This is very nice, a beautiful evocation

Comment is about Mountain (blog)

Having been there it evokes it all, wonderfully evocative.

Comment is about Paxos (end) (blog)

Original item by Harry O`N eill

Very nice, the turn around too in the last part a rich reward of sadness.

Comment is about wings (blog)

Original item by Stuart Buck