Well (and movingly) done.

Comment is about Afterwards (blog)

Original item by Tom Chapman

Well said John,
I wish people would pay more attention to the fact that this historically unusual and temporary situation was brought about by the bankers creating oodles of shaky credit (remember all our credit cards?) The bankers also got rich (As Carlyle said. `Who has the management will have the money`) But so did everyone else. The trouble with the bankers was not just the thievery - but their incompetence...They didn`t fully understand their own business.

All this talk about `protecting the city of London` makes it likely that they will be incompetent again in the future.

Your blog, John, is a timely reminder that `progress` is far from being inevitable.

Comment is about The Fairytale of New Britain (Lucky Man) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Anthony,
I sit in gobsmacked admiration before this cunningly roll-rhymed, trans creeds, beliefs and faiths, musically, politically and
biblically savvy, jocularly witty and apt, huge and genial humorous tour de force.

Thanks for posting it again.

Comment is about PARTY! (a shameless re-post!) (blog)

Original item by Anthony Emmerson

Thanks for the comment(s) about my carol. The
words came "as in a dream" and I surprised myself by getting a tune almost as readily.
I love the old carols and had a wish to contribute my own personal effort to the genre.
It is hugely satisfying to have done that and
I may yet get it on a commercial Christmas CD in the future.
I imagine your updates on a range of pop songs
must go down well in "live performance". You
seem to have NO shortage of material or inspiration. Great stuff.
Merry Christmas!

Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)

Original item by John Coopey

Good one. Love the last three lines! Take care, Tony.

Comment is about Something I Wrote (blog)

Original item by Mal Foster

Love this! In those days we used our imaginations. Anything was possible. What fun we had! Take care, Tony.

Comment is about A Summer of Adolescence (blog)

Original item by Mal Foster

I have every sympathy with the predicament portrayed - and the painful irony that Mike picks up on that it is those closest (eg. family) who often are - and feel - the most powerless...surely a good case for competent independent care that is one step removed, yet so much more acceptable to the sufferer than enduring the awkward embarrassment of being "nursed" by those who bottoms a sick and aged parent used to wipe!
Charlotte - suffice to say: you are not alone in your experience...so well set out above.

Comment is about Help me - help me please (blog)

Original item by Charlotte Peters Rock

Hang on! I thought that the meaning of life was 42? Merry Christmas. Take care, Tony.

Comment is about The Meaning of Life (blog)

Original item by Noetic-fret!

For the present, I say toodle-loo
And wish you Merry Christmas too!
:-)

Comment is about The Meaning of Life (blog)

Original item by Noetic-fret!

Seriously good. Clearly close to the writer's
heart, with craft and commitment employed to equal effect.

Comment is about Afterwards (blog)

Original item by Tom Chapman

Ha-ha! It's quicker by vicar.
Mind you...I have to say that off-duty coppers
have better things to do than chase errant
prelates when there are politicians on slower wheels to pursue. The "motorway" lads are far more likely to do that - and it fits!

Comment is about Don't drink and drive !!! (blog)

Original item by hugh

If JC (the one upstairs, that is) is going to settle in Ireland, will he be able to settle things there? Mind you, they'd never stop boasting about being his new chosen people so that might do the trick - if the rest of the world didn't make a pact with the devil to get them to shut up! :-)

Comment is about PARTY! (a shameless re-post!) (blog)

Original item by Anthony Emmerson

Eee by 'eck, he might even have made his money designing and manufacturing wheelbarrows under the brand name of "Wheels Circular Wheels". Today, a man would probably look to take his company and the government to the cleaners!

Comment is about The Fairytale of New Britain (Lucky Man) (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Hi John,

You may be familiar with this link; if you're not Happy Christmas - enjoy!

http://monologues.co.uk/index2.htm

Regards,
A.E.

Comment is about John Coopey (poet profile)

Original item by John Coopey

Surprised you still have some teeth left, Nigel!

The sweets were indeed sweet (ouch!)

Comment is about Victory at Christmas - (December 2012 Collage Poem) (blog)

Original item by Stockport WoL

The essence of the poem is in its initial ambiguity. I leave the reader to determine if the wheelbarrow is red.
"Ah!" I hear you say "It must be red because it's called 'The Red Wheelbarrow'"
"Ah" I reply "The title refers to another wheelbarrow".
Other important questions can indeed be answere.
We are left to ask "Where is the wheelbarrow going?" "Why are bricks sometimes pulled?" "Is its speed critical?"
Unlike WC Fields I am happy to expand.
The chickens are being taken to their death, smashed on the head by the bricks. They will the be brought back in the wheelbarrow (along with the bricks) and sold to the butcher for Christmas shoppers.
The gardener's name is Colin.
I am happy to elaborate on any other unexplained aspects of this difficult poem.

Comment is about The Red Wheelbarrow (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

Great stuff! Well done mate! Take care, Tony.

Comment is about PARTY! (a shameless re-post!) (blog)

Original item by Anthony Emmerson

Road rage at Christmas! How "in the seat" that is still warm where the hiney has sat! A poem to which many can relate.

Comment is about The Driving Seat (blog)

Original item by Isobel

Seasons Greetings, Win.
Thanks for your thoughts on my "Red Wheelbarrow".

Comment is about Winston Plowes (poet profile)

Original item by Winston Plowes

Hello MC,
Glad you liked my "Red Wheelbarrow". Excellent song you reposted recently, by the way - I think I commented on it separately.

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

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Glad you liked my "Red Wheelbarrow" Isobel. But is it poetry? Compare and contrast.

Comment is about Isobel (poet profile)

Original item by Isobel

Seasons Greetings, AE,
Thanks for your thoughts on my "Red Wheelbarrow".
Liked the joke too. I used to think that monologue about an Irish brickie getting hoist up on a rope which had the wheelbarrow attached to the other end was hilarious when I was a kid. He fell, landed, the barrow fell, he went up, the barrow landed, spilled the bricks, barrow went up, he came down etc. (I suppose you had to be there!)

Comment is about Anthony Emmerson (poet profile)

Original item by Anthony Emmerson

Thanks for your lovely comment on my poem Mike.

I'm not sure that I'm a fantastic poet, but I do like to write about themes that people can connect with and I'm glad the poem worked for you. I've left a more detailed response on the poem but in case you don't get chance to read it, just wanted to wish you a very happy and peaceful Christmas too.

Isobel xx

Comment is about Noetic-fret! (poet profile)

Original item by Noetic-fret!

The length was daunting (Our Gert has told me this many times) but the investment in time well worth it.
Very enjoyable, AE; but a woman as the new Messiah? I suspect the 10 commandments would be amended so they covered less important issues like killing the neighbour's ass and touched on the more serious matters of colour co-ordination, carpets and curtains, and nail painting.
So a woman as new Messiah? (I'll have to ask Our Gert)

Comment is about PARTY! (a shameless re-post!) (blog)

Original item by Anthony Emmerson

LOL Anthony - trust you to choose the one line that was written by somebody else - though the poetic 'genius' of lifting it and putting it in this poem, is mine ;)

Yes - I think we've all been in this situation to some degree, either as the driver, the passenger or the observer.

Thanks for your comment Mike. I don't think this man was at all psychotic. As I understand it, psychosis is caused by chemical imbalance in the brain, leading to altered perception of reality.

This man seemed to suffer from stress. Stress often makes people to want to have tight control over the domestic side of their life, where it is easier to achieve. Perhaps people who feel this extreme stress are ill in some way - and I do agree with you that early trauma can affect behaviour later on to some degree. It's impossible to generalise though - sometimes we are just the way we are and it's not anyone's or anything's fault.

I'd agree that it's always a good idea for young girls to have a parent to bring them home after a night out - or to come home with people you trust. I'd say the type of abuse in the poem is probably more common amongst long term married couples though - that's where most of anger seems to be taken out.

I do hope to find some peace and quiet at Christmas - no more unsolicited stress for me - ever :))

Have a wonderful Christmas too Mike, Anthony - everybody!

Isobel xx

Comment is about The Driving Seat (blog)

Original item by Isobel

Difficult to be such a dispassionate and silent observer in such a situation, but I think you do it well here. But, like it or not, we can't deny that such behaviour affects even the observer - hence the "need" to write about it.
This line was the killer for me:

"and so this is Christmas."

It encapsulates surrender, resignation and a loss of any expectation. A sad, yet all too familiar scenario.

Happy Christmas Isobel.x

Regards,
A.E.

Comment is about The Driving Seat (blog)

Original item by Isobel

According to recent discussion threads

http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/newsgroupview.php?NewsThreadsID=1408&NewsGroupsID=3

everyone CAN write poetry, and everything IS poetry - or so I'm told. This seems to be at odds with the esteemed Ms Sampson's thinking. Photography seems to be much simpler to define; surely that's any image created using a photographic device? I would suggest most people could, given basic instructions, use a camera? As to the "quality" of the resulting image . . .

Comment is about Fiona Sampson to launch new poetry magazine (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thanks for the advice John. Does that mean that it's best to leave one poem up for a week or so?

The sonnet form is a favourite of mine—I use it a lot.

Regards,
Tom.

Comment is about Afterwards (blog)

Original item by Tom Chapman

Very emotive, it's exactly as it is.

Comment is about Afterwards (blog)

Original item by Tom Chapman

Powerful stuff, Tom and in a classic sonnet form too.
Excellent. Keep posting.
(Just one word of advice if you're new to the site; when you post anything it automatically removes your previous post. I know you posted a political one recently which won't be visible in the main blog although it will be on your own page).
I think that's how it works!

Comment is about Afterwards (blog)

Original item by Tom Chapman

"Everyone thinks they can write poetry. It is like photography." I love that comment, right on the nail.

I used to be an OK photographer and able to scrape a meagre living but by that barometer I must be a terrible poet :)

Comment is about Fiona Sampson to launch new poetry magazine (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Thank you for your kind words Mike

Comment is about What Angels? (blog)

Original item by Paul Sands

Thanks Hugh! Where is Boozebury? Please keep me laughing! Take care, Tony.

Comment is about Don't drink and drive !!! (blog)

Original item by hugh

Thanks for your comments on Christine. I am working on the song version. Take care, Tony.

Comment is about Noetic-fret! (poet profile)

Original item by Noetic-fret!

LOL @ Jeremy Kyle show!

Have a great christmas.

Mike

Comment is about Note to Self (blog)

Brilliant! In all essence what comes to mind is a plea for more understanding of our frail and dieing.

I also think that more could be done to comfort our elderly in their twilight years but as ever, those that know them well are often the most powerless, their own children.

Try to find some peace this christmas and know that they will watch over you with caring smiles.

Mike

x

Comment is about Help me - help me please (blog)

Original item by Charlotte Peters Rock

I find this a very striking piece. Of the recent poems I have read this one stands out the most yet I am surprised that there are not more comments. Surely our fellow poets must know talent when they see it?

Well done Paul. This short poem is terrific.

Nice work

Mike

x

Comment is about What Angels? (blog)

Original item by Paul Sands

In just three stanza's you tell a tale that spans a lifetime. I agree with others that say it should be a song, but I also feel it could be a short story of sorts if you wanted it to be.

Nice wordage Tony.

Mike

x

Comment is about Christine. (blog)

I have been that man with rage but, I have been more the butt of abuse. He sounds really stressed and psychotic, I know both of them too. Sounds like he needs not the phone ramming up his jacksie but, perhaps a long vacation away to search what and who truly matters to him.

(My own stresses that have seen me react this way in the past were caused by too much time overseas on operations, that coupled with ill health)

although, I don't doubt that there are protagonists of anger out there that just cannot justify their rage (I have come across those too). I feel for the woman in the car, perhaps every good girl should be taught by concerned mothers and fathers to keep twenty quid aside for a taxi so avoiding putting themselves at risk.

Great poem and I feel your getting rid of some of your own anger in the way it is written. Very expressive, but what else would i come to expect from a poet as fantastic as yourself.

Have a great Christmas where I hope you can find some peace in this ever maddening world.

Mike x

Comment is about The Driving Seat (blog)

Original item by Isobel

I can see why Paper Tangle appealed to you Katy, best wishes, Steve

Comment is about Katy Megan (poet profile)

Original item by Katy Megan

Enjoyed reading your poem.

Comment is about Christmas Card 2012 (blog)

Original item by Roy Chetham

As warm and cheering as a glass of mulled wine!

Comment is about Christmas Card 2012 (blog)

Original item by Roy Chetham

It’s up to you
the word to be clear.
If only one knew
and be a seer.
Peace on earth is worth.
Good will to men is a mirth.
Hear it and buy presents
from the local store or…
but not computer games of death and war,
but something that your dears will adore.

Comment is about Christmas Time (blog)

Original item by Tom Chapman

Enjoyed very much, Tom.
I don't normally like political poetry of any hue but I admire the skill you have in structuring a faithful rhythm as well as constructing the internal rhymes.

Comment is about Corporate Greed (blog)

Original item by Tom Chapman

All the better for a repeat performance, MC.
I don't underestimate the skill in linking internal rhymes of only 4 syllables and still keeping the sense "on track".
Neat and uplifting.
Seasons greetings, pop-picker.

Comment is about WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES AROUND (blog)

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Hello Tony,
Thanks for your thoughts on "Veggie Stew". I do indeed intend to sing this live (I shan't be singing it dead!)

Comment is about Veggie Stew (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

What ho, MC.
many thanks for your thoughts on my latest cookery recipe, "Veggie Stew.

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

Original item by M.C. Newberry

Just popped by for a quick stroke.
I think I have been at various times the driver, the passenger and the lift.
On balance I think the lift's position is the least invidious - they get the chance to walk away from the storm.
Very vivid language. You paint a scene crackling with with heaviness.

Comment is about The Driving Seat (blog)

Original item by Isobel

Thanks for your comments folks.

I'm not sure if this is a departure so much as a change of style to suit the subject matter. It was an ugly scene and I wouldn't have wanted to write about it in rhyme or an overly poetic way.

The repetition is necessary for me - it gives me the distance I need to establish between me and the front passenger.

Sometimes, distance is all you can hope for :)

Thanks for reading. It's a busy time of year and I appreciate you making the time. xx

Comment is about The Driving Seat (blog)

Original item by Isobel

I liked this piece very much. It speaks to every human with a conscience. I've shared it through my Facebook account. Nice work.

Comment is about Corporate Greed (blog)

Original item by Tom Chapman