Fri 21st Jun 2024 07:08
Thank you Keith and others for liking my poem.
-Blackrose
Comment is about -QUESTIONS? (blog)
Original item by Black_Rose
Thanks, Martin--I appreciate your comment.
There have been many moments in life where I've suspected that I'm slow on the uptake. But then, why displace the power of observation for the sake of speech?
It's a conundrum )
Comment is about enough rocks for a monument (blog)
Original item by Landi Cruz
John,
First I applaud your choice of reference in the words of Charles Bukowski. A great favourite of mine.
Your poem is a vivid description of many urban areas in our towns and cities. Raw emotion, unconcealed poverty and a dearth of spirituality. Desparation lingers in a sultry atmosphere of lethargy. I have seen it all too often in parish work. The human casualties of orchestrated neglect.
You write from an aching heart as we cannot turn our backs on this. I thank you for such a skilfull piece of witing.
Keith
Comment is about AUSTERITY (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
The most uplifting vision one can witness, the wonder in a child's eyes!
I am also minded to remember hearing the artist Grayson Perry shaking a box of Lego and stating that it was the sound of a child's imagination! Brilliant.
well done Helene
Comment is about Tasks of the Day (blog)
Original item by Hélène
I really like this, Landi, although i had to read yours and David's comments to get its meaning. That's all down to me though - i can be very slow that way. But don't let that detract from me saying what a great piece of writing it is. Nice work.
Comment is about enough rocks for a monument (blog)
Original item by Landi Cruz
Hi David,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts--it's good to expand perspective through a little discourse. I tend to keep my thoughts close to the chest so I enjoy a bit of feedback when I air them.
I was thinking as I wrote this about how people can be disappeared to sadness. I got this image of a bright light being released and considered what it might take to extricate a heart from the depths. I thought too that such a rescue might be fraught with risk on many levels...
..no one makes it out of this life alive 💕
With regard to revisionism, I get it. I very recently had a conversation with a coworker and admitted that I no longer have any heroes. That's not to say that I don't admire anyone or their ability to put their principles before their own self-interest--I certainly do. However I know that those people are human and are often required to show leadership in impossible situations. Basically, they're prone to making decisions which don't hold up well in the light of convenient judgments about what's good and what's bad. Really, I could talk for a loooong time about this. I only wish I wasn't such a slow texter.
I'll leave with this...
Years ago, I was talking with a young man whose company I enjoyed a lot. He was very friendly and welcoming to me when I first moved to this foreign country where I have lived now for several years. Anyhow, he mentioned that he was a communist which I found quite interesting and I said I found it all the more interesting because I grew up during the final decades of the Soviet Union. What I was trying to get to but didn't know how because I'm not well-read on the various communist factions was the reason Stalin had Trotsky murdered with an ice pick.
My friend seemed puzzled. So I went on and told him we westerners had a sort of umbrella term by which we described how the Cheka assured their power and asked him if he had ever heard of The Red Terror. He said no so I went on some more and told him that I had read that they had very creative means of offing their enemies and would even freeze prisoners to break off their limbs in order to instill fear within the population. He said, no, he hadn't heard of any of that and the entire conversation ended when he admitted, "meh--maybe communism isn't for you."
Sorry, that was a longer story than I thought it would be.
It's a funny world, though, and accounts differ wildly...
Well, again, thanks. It feels nice to try to make something coherent out of this jumble of thoughts in my head 🌷
Comment is about enough rocks for a monument (blog)
Original item by Landi Cruz
Absolutely wonderful poem, Patricia. So glad your writing is seeing the light of day! Yes, WOL is a vibrant collection of eager poets & readers.
Comment is about Winded prayer September 13,1998 (blog)
Original item by Patricia Ziel
An entertaining observational example that surely finds its
predecessors in past days, with different apparel and accessories
in their lives but with very much the same outlook on life and their fellow travellers in this existence we share across the
generations.
Comment is about A street full (blog)
Original item by Martin Elder
Thanks for the comments. I wonder if the North Korean dictator
thinks about the meeting he had with a certain Donald Trump as
he dances the diplomatic two-step with Putin. It makes for
fascinating conjecture about what goes on and the potential
outcome in the long term, with the coming US election in mind.
Comment is about TEA FOR TWO (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Hello,
Thanks for leaving your feedback. I'm glad to know that you liked my poems. I will definitely keep writing. Thank you so much for your warm words of appreciation.
Comment is about Cassandra Louise (poet profile)
Original item by Cassandra Louise
To me this exemplifies Thatchers "No such thing as society" quote.
Identity Politics has played into this notion, so many people have devolved away from society and become factionalised. People looking at each other with distrust, immediately applying labels to people they observe before any interaction ever occurs. Is it a defence mechanism or is it just a wilful alienation from each other?
I suspect this interpretation was not your intention and maybe it is my own mood which has influenced it, but that is what I take from it. I think in answer to the question Ray poses in his comment, there seems little hope. Unless we move away from divisive groupings and identify upon our greater commonality, that of humanity.
But hey...what do I know, what do any of us know? maybe instinct sometimes trumps knowledge.
David
Comment is about A street full (blog)
Original item by Martin Elder
Quite, Stephen. In fairness, I have to say that these car flags are fewer and farther between this time. Perhaps 40 years (now 60) of disillusionment has taken its toll.
Comment is about RESEARCH (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
An insightful piece Landi.
We make monuments of our failures and our victories alike...occasionally because of the passage of time we forget the meaning of the monuments we build. Whether they are real or metaphoric we need to remind ourselves of their meaning...such a remembering can be painful yet productive.
I like the "and watch the light pour from you" line, especially prefixed by the reference to an "incision" as if a surgeon cutting out a cancer, a bad memory...let it bleed out and be exorcised.
Great idea and writing.
David
As an after thought although I do not think it your intention this could be applied in some manner to the popular trend of the revisionism of history, our willingness to bury it or expose the truth of it...which would/could shed new light or distort and pervert it according to opinion.
Comment is about enough rocks for a monument (blog)
Original item by Landi Cruz
Thanks for passing by and giving comment John, always appreciated.
That "as tears that fell, though never cried" is open to interpretation.
I was attempting to reference the fact that so many of those who died were unknown, although they fell they were never mourned in the traditional manner in which family and loved ones mourn their loss...tears never fell on their physical graves.
On many occasions the dead were not even identified, merely buried as "A Sailor"
Extremely sad, yet these places are strangely peaceful and moving in their way.
Thanks again John, and to the likers.
David.
Comment is about Hebridean Graves (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
Thank you Keith. I have been sitting on all my writings without an outlet. Now I am so thankful for this community where I can share and also partake in the beautiful observations and expressions of other writers. I am a firm believer that we are all co-creating our reality. Writers are the original influencers 😉. For the written word has often manifested (Verne, Asimov, Huxley, Orwell). Humans need a new story; I believe it needs to be one to Awaken!
Comment is about Winded prayer September 13,1998 (blog)
Original item by Patricia Ziel
As a person of Faith I immediately caught onto this prayer of supplication. Written with intensity and devotion. May I also echo these words.
Thank you for this,
Keith
Comment is about Winded prayer September 13,1998 (blog)
Original item by Patricia Ziel
Plus ca change, MC. To those who are anti-American, I say “Try Russia, North Korea and China as your landlord”.
Comment is about TEA FOR TWO (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Well done, John. The bigger the flag.......
Comment is about RESEARCH (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
I think 'Eighty - Not Out' is the way to look at it, Ray. Use all that's available to reach that elusive ton.
Comment is about EIGHTY - NOT OUT (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Touching and informative, David, as well as excellent poetry. I love “as tears that fell but never cried” (though I don’t know why!)
Comment is about Hebridean Graves (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
Perfectly put, MC. If this pair weren't so frightening they would be truly comic.
Comment is about TEA FOR TWO (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Thankyou for your thoughts, MC, and for the Likes, Stephen, Aisha and Larisa.
Comment is about RESEARCH (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Thank you Martin,
And to those who sent likes.
David
Comment is about Hebridean Graves (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
Wonderfully told. I agree with Manish, I also visualised the whole scene; like I was there.
Comment is about Grief Stricken (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
separated by death
we share the moon
on cloudless nights
above our northern city.
I love that, John. Wonderful writing, as aways
Comment is about Mam (blog)
Original item by John E Marks
Humorously true M.C! It's a scary world out there 😢
Comment is about TEA FOR TWO (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
A powerful piece of prose, Keith 👏
Comment is about Grief Stricken (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
Thanks J.C. for suggesting my portfolio of poetry is worth a peek! 😊
And for the additional Likes 🌷🌷
Comment is about My Poetic Soul (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
Is there hope on the streets though Martin? Your presentation is so accurate and reminscent of a sort of lost tribe who prevail in a parallel world - the real one. I'm sure it has its own rules and constructs, and too much would have me reaching for the disembowelling knife.....(read self harm).
Well done for such impact in a poem.
Ray
Comment is about A street full (blog)
Original item by Martin Elder
Thank you to all who commented and 'liked' this poem. Reggie, I was a mourner. Latin people along with other cultures are more expressive in their emotions. They are no less respectful. I think it healthy to express one's feelings. We tend to be more repressed as opposed to reserved. Why hold back the tears when they want to be released?
Thank you all again,
Keith
Comment is about Grief Stricken (blog)
Original item by keith jeffries
This is a great piece! Simple, relatable, and beautiful! 😌
Comment is about Emotions (blog)
Original item by Jamie Barton
Hi Ghazala! Just a quick message letting you know how beautiful your writing pieces are and how well they resonate with me. Don't ever stop writing! 💖
Comment is about Ghazala lari (poet profile)
Original item by Ghazala lari
Hi Martin! Thank you so much for taking the time to read "Did I hit my head or have a fall?" and for the lovely and kind comment you left. Much appreciated 😊
Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)
Original item by Martin Elder
Humorous verse at its best. It could also easily apply to Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Thank you for this,
Keith
Comment is about TEA FOR TWO (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttY7Vw-0wRI
Comment is about Omens and Homage (Ignorance, Manipulation, Control, Domination) (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
The truth will always shine a light to cast aside the horrors surrounding her and send evil acts to the depths of the great unknown.😎
Comment is about Awakened beauty (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
Reunited in fate and destiny which as lifelong friends they are meant to be.😎
Comment is about Elizabeth's family and life - Chapter 2 (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
Two friends bringing much more than a friendship together. As a powerful force they are both helping other people in a world that needs them just as they need each other.😎
Comment is about Besties reunion - chapter 1 (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
Your very own space that is yours and yours alone.😎
Comment is about My paradise, my room (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
A forest full of peace Dorothy can truly call a dream of dreams.😎
Comment is about The enchanted forest (blog)
Original item by Sunshine
Martin,
this is a classic observational poem in which your descriptive prowess comes to the fore. I particularly liked the way that you painted a picture in words which gives the reader a clear perspective of what is taking place.
Thank you for this,
Keith
Comment is about A street full (blog)
Original item by Martin Elder
This is a definite reality for so many people. Thanks for posting this it needs to be said
Cheers
Comment is about Day 11 (blog)
Original item by SunFlower
Another winner Bob. The repetition of we are dying really gives the piece the impetus that it needs
Great stuff
Comment is about The Usual (blog)
Original item by Robert C Gaulke
I love the metaphor of a war zone
in particular the line I like the most is
I’m constantly bullied by shame and harassed by guilt
wonderful stuff
Comment is about Did I hit my head or have a fall? (blog)
Original item by Cassandra Louise
I was drawn in by the title of the is piece which has a message all of its own to which you then elucidate so well the rest of what you want to say.
Nice one
Comment is about The Sky is Crying With Heavy Rain (blog)
Original item by Larisa Rzhepishevska
Jon
Fri 21st Jun 2024 08:18
Thanks, Stephen
Comment is about Claustrophobia (blog)
Original item by Jon63