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John Marks

Wed 13th Jul 2022 01:18

Wokeish emphasis upon diversity for diversity's sake. That box ticked then. It is the insight and beauty of the poem that matters not the ethnic origin of the poet.

Comment is about Larkin and Owen poems dropped from GCSE syllabus (article)

Original item by Greg Freeman

leila k

Tue 12th Jul 2022 23:34

This is so beautiful

Comment is about Close My Eyes (blog)

Original item by Dawn

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Mike Bartram

Tue 12th Jul 2022 21:23

Thank you...the song in question being 'Always' Bon Jovi!

Comment is about The Past (blog)

Original item by Mike Bartram

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 12th Jul 2022 17:24

An interesting poem, Keith, and with all that has been going on I understand the option you have taken. Let's hope that some inspiring, gifted new leaders will emerge and galvanise us with new optimism. Maybe these things go in cycles.

More power to you and keep writing.

Comment is about Out of the Shadows (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 12th Jul 2022 17:15

Genuinely romantic, Aisha. Lovely.

Comment is about Lover (blog)

Original item by Aisha Suleman

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Stephen Gospage

Tue 12th Jul 2022 17:12

Thanks to Keith, John C and John B for the comments..Yes, Keith, I could have completed another verse - perhaps I'll revise it at some stage. The last faltering couplet is a cry of despair, I suppose. In a way we are all hypocrites, although I recognise that so much progress is being made in renewable energies etc. The scale of the problem and the contradiction between people's aspirations and their behaviour is the challenge.
Thanks for the idea, John B I guess that vanity space flight is also part of the problem! John C - I think you summarise it perfectly in one line.

Thanks to Nigel, Frederick, Stephen, Aisha, Holden and K Lynn for the likes, which I appreciate very much.

Comment is about Conundrum (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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Nigel Astell

Tue 12th Jul 2022 12:18

Each gaze into calmness
is in itself
a peace found
inside moonlight poetry.

Comment is about Page 2. NLD (blog)

Original item by Sunshine

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John Coopey

Tue 12th Jul 2022 09:35

Thankyou, Stephen.
And for the Likes, Julie and Frederick, MC and Greg.

Comment is about THE TORY DANCE (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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John Marks

Tue 12th Jul 2022 08:34

Clare. Your poem flows fluently; beneath the surface there is always a battle between the desire for freedom and the need for security. You chose wisely. J

Comment is about The Ancestral Scream (blog)

Original item by Clare

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John Botterill

Tue 12th Jul 2022 07:51

Beautiful and touching. A triumph!

Comment is about Four Pound, Half An Ounce (blog)

Original item by JD Russell

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John Botterill

Tue 12th Jul 2022 07:48

As usual, you have hit the nail on the head. I like the way you haven't rhymed the last verse, Stephen. As Gilbert O'Sullivan said, nothing rhymes!
You're right, the world is full of contradictions! Let's have another climate conference and invite Jeff Bezos along...

Comment is about Conundrum (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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John Botterill

Tue 12th Jul 2022 07:41

Small but perfectly formed, Julie. Like your poem! ๐Ÿ˜€

Comment is about Seven Cygnets (blog)

Original item by julie callaghan

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Dawn

Tue 12th Jul 2022 03:35

He died 7 years ago

Comment is about Time To Give Up As Lost (blog)

Original item by Dawn

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Greg Freeman

Mon 11th Jul 2022 23:01

Thanks for the very kind comments, Graham. As you may have already guessed, the two sections of this poem were written three years apart.

Comment is about From Gorbachev to Johnson (blog)

Original item by Greg Freeman

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Stephen Atkinson

Mon 11th Jul 2022 22:49

Thank you very much Stephen & J.C. Where & how will it ever end?
And thanks for the likes ๐ŸŒท๐ŸŒท

Comment is about Playground Decorations (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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Stephen Atkinson

Mon 11th Jul 2022 22:32

Brilliant J.C.! ๐Ÿ˜„

Comment is about THE TORY DANCE (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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John Botterill

Mon 11th Jul 2022 22:29

Thanks for the likes Holden, John and Nigel ๐Ÿ˜€

Comment is about Scarborough Festival (blog)

Original item by John Botterill

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Red Brick Keshner

Mon 11th Jul 2022 22:28

Thanks kindly, Keith (Jeffries) itโ€™s heartening to know that the language, its use, and the imparting of anticipatory feelings balanced out the partial comprehension challenge. Cheers, Frederick.

Comment is about The Rhymester (blog)

Original item by Red Brick Keshner

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John Coopey

Mon 11th Jul 2022 21:59

Exceptional, Stephen.

Comment is about Playground Decorations (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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John Coopey

Mon 11th Jul 2022 21:56

Youโ€™re so right, Stephen. Knowing we need to do something isnโ€™t Enough.

Comment is about Conundrum (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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John Marks

Mon 11th Jul 2022 20:54

I liked the unfolding - just the occasional forced rhyme thorn/scorn, tread/dread, coil/toil are a bit clunky. I love rhetorical questions in poems and the never ending nature/nurture debate.

Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change.

Thomas Hardy

Comment is about Why? (blog)

Original item by Clare

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keith jeffries

Mon 11th Jul 2022 20:52

Stephen,
as I came to the last line I somehow expected the poem to continue. Perhaps a few more stokes of the pen as the poem is very good indeed. What you say is clearly the case that we lament the damage done to the environment but contribute to its perennial destruction.
Thank you for this
Keith

Comment is about Conundrum (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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John Marks

Mon 11th Jul 2022 20:40

I really liked this poem. Clare> Mackerel skies on dappled days.

. โ€œI saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No, it was the poetry.โ€ Sylvia Plath

Comment is about Under the Mackerel Sky (blog)

Original item by Clare

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John Coopey

Mon 11th Jul 2022 19:24

Thankyou, Stephen. I was particularly happy with finding the word โ€œsycophantsโ€ which was a perfect match of sense, rhythm and rhyme. Nevertheless I expect Terry Wogan is spinning in his grave.
And thanks for the Likes, Hugh, Holden and Stephen A.

Comment is about THE TORY DANCE (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 11th Jul 2022 17:58

Spectacular, John. Great words.

Comment is about THE TORY DANCE (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 11th Jul 2022 17:52

Sorry if this seems pessimistic. I don't claim to be more virtuous than anyone else.

Comment is about Conundrum (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

Holden Moncrieff

Mon 11th Jul 2022 16:41

Thank you so much, Stephen, I really appreciate your kind comment! ๐Ÿ˜Š

Comment is about Nocturnal (blog)

Original item by Holden Moncrieff

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Graham Sherwood

Mon 11th Jul 2022 15:51

You always get so much clever narrative in your work Greg. I'm a big fan. Wish I was there, so much inspiration. Rich words.

Comment is about From Gorbachev to Johnson (blog)

Original item by Greg Freeman

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Greg Freeman

Mon 11th Jul 2022 14:47

Many thanks for the comments, John and Steve. And for the Likes, Frederick, Stephen, Holden, K, JC, and Dawn.

Comment is about From Gorbachev to Johnson (blog)

Original item by Greg Freeman

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John Botterill

Mon 11th Jul 2022 09:28

Thanks Stephen. I really enjoy your responses! I feel that we have had parallel lives! ๐Ÿ˜
I was trying to capture my world before I was Hemmed in by a mortgage haha. Sheer bliss!
P. S. I didn't realise that Garfield had a brother! Now, there WAS a great player and another left hander!

Comment is about Scarborough Festival (blog)

Original item by John Botterill

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 11th Jul 2022 08:35

A marvellous, evocative piece, Mike. Thanks.

Comment is about The Fence in Our Back yard (blog)

Original item by Mike McPeek

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 11th Jul 2022 08:32

A fine poem on an unspeakable situation. Well done, Stephen.

Comment is about Playground Decorations (blog)

Original item by Stephen W Atkinson

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 11th Jul 2022 08:26

A lot packed into these six lines, Holden. 'A little midnight stroll' is quite sinister in this context. Good job.

Comment is about Nocturnal (blog)

Original item by Holden Moncrieff

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 11th Jul 2022 08:20

A wonderful, tight descriptive poem, Candice.

Comment is about Teddy Roosevelt Park (blog)

Original item by Candice Reineke

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 11th Jul 2022 08:08

Loved this one, Mike.

Comment is about The Past (blog)

Original item by Mike Bartram

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 11th Jul 2022 08:03

I never made it to Scarborough, John, but thus really takes me back cricket festivals. In the 1960s I saw Gary Sobers (and his brother Gerry) play against Essex at Westcliff on a Sunday afternoon. Life really doesn't get much better, and your poem describes all the atmosphere with great panache.

Graeme Pollock - one of the all time greats. If only he had been born somewhere else.

Comment is about Scarborough Festival (blog)

Original item by John Botterill

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 11th Jul 2022 07:54

It's strange how one links places to major events, Greg. I remember that we were on holiday in Brittany when Gorbachev left. Loved the detail and descriptive quality of this one.

Comment is about From Gorbachev to Johnson (blog)

Original item by Greg Freeman

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Stephen Gospage

Mon 11th Jul 2022 07:46

Thanks so much for your kind comments, Holden, John and Candice. This time I tried to write something with rhythm and rhyme to illustrate the horrible situation. I am pleased you enjoyed it, in spite of the awful context.

And my thanks to Nigel, Frederick, Steve, KJ, Julie, Stephen and K Lynn for liking this.

Comment is about Dying in Ukraine (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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Nigel Astell

Mon 11th Jul 2022 01:02

Find your wishing well
throw penny thoughts
cast out spells
your true self returns.

Comment is about Mis spell (blog)

Original item by Sunshine

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Nigel Astell

Mon 11th Jul 2022 00:52

Angel staircase
stars shine
moonlight steps
making sure
you are
never alone.

Comment is about Page 1. New life diary (blog)

Original item by Sunshine

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keith jeffries

Sun 10th Jul 2022 18:12

An interesting but difficult to comprehend except in part.. I was left with a feeling of anticipation throughout.
Good use of language and words.
Thank you for this
Keith

Comment is about The Rhymester (blog)

Original item by Red Brick Keshner

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John Botterill

Sun 10th Jul 2022 16:04

resounding condemnation written with exceptional skill and verve, Stephen. ๐ŸŒท

Comment is about Dying in Ukraine (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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John Botterill

Sun 10th Jul 2022 14:30

I liked the mingling of the personal and local with the historical and international. Fine poem, Greg. ๐Ÿ˜Š

Comment is about From Gorbachev to Johnson (blog)

Original item by Greg Freeman

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John Botterill

Sun 10th Jul 2022 14:21

Thanks for your appreciation, Greg. Cricket touches my nostalgia bone, I think!
Yes cricket is looking up, certainly. ๐Ÿ˜€
Thanks for the like, too, Frederick and Stephen A.

Comment is about Scarborough Festival (blog)

Original item by John Botterill

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Greg Freeman

Sun 10th Jul 2022 14:05

Lovely poem, John, especially for those of us who love cricket. Exciting days, too at the moment.

Comment is about Scarborough Festival (blog)

Original item by John Botterill

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Candice Reineke

Sun 10th Jul 2022 13:24

๐Ÿ’”

Comment is about Dying in Ukraine (blog)

Original item by Stephen Gospage

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keith jeffries

Sun 10th Jul 2022 11:45

Thank you to Kevin and MC., for your comments and also to Frederick, Stephen G and Holden for their likes. Smoking remains a controversial subject which I think is yet another fear tactic employed by government. I know an elderly gentleman whose weekly delight was to visit his local pub for a pint of bitter and enjoy his pipe. Since the new law came into force he was asked to go outside with his pipe. It was raining and he decided to go home instead. He no longer goes to his local and buys a few cans of beer and stays at home alone. There is something wrong here. Smokers make provisions for non smokers yet there is no reciprocity.
Thank you again
Keith

Comment is about Smoking Kills (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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keith jeffries

Sun 10th Jul 2022 11:38

JD.,
Thank you for your comment. I am pleased that the poem evoked thoughts about friendship with you. There are times in a friendship when one needs the other more and it is at these times when true friendship comes into play. It is all a question of being there for the other.
Thank you again for reading and commenting on this poem.
Keith

Comment is about True Friendship (blog)

Original item by keith jeffries

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John Coopey

Sun 10th Jul 2022 09:31

Something along the lines of
โ€œA bucket of vindaloo
With Angela Rayner tooโ€
eh, Graham.
Iโ€™m not suggesting Churchill was perfect, Greg, (no politician who gets their hands on reality is) but that there was far more to him than his student.

Comment is about KICKING AND SCREAMING (blog)

Original item by John Coopey

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julie callaghan

Sun 10th Jul 2022 06:28

Thanks for the likes and comment Stephen G.

Comment is about Trying (blog)

Original item by julie callaghan

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