Poetry Forum

This poem has an outstanding feature - it is immediate. Jesus, I'm so fed up with tripping over impenetrable and tortured gibberish! It's a breath of fresh air.

Three cheers for immediacy. Billy Collins would be proud.

The reading of this poem by Ian McKellen will be aired on Radio 4 on December 25th at 14:15 hours.

Ready to record.

I agree Barrie. R.O.T.A.M. is for me the best narrative poem ever written.

Can you drop me a pm as to where I can find The Quaker outlet? I fancy a bit of Kendal Black Drop. Purely for research purposes. I've got the ague and my knees are killing me!

Now released is a reading of this truly magnificent poem by Sir Ian McKellen.

More info and goodies here: You can also get the book.

http://www.wordsworthshop.co.uk/Product ... ductID=126&

Hey Benny. I like it. Add a few more lines and a chorus and it would make a great song. Listen to Shane McGowan or Jarvis Cocker.

Nice One.

This stanza is brilliant Barrie. A lone drunk shuffles down the towpath cinders, dimly lit by factory windows. On the smoke-scent wind, the howl of the midnight Manchester train drifts in from over the mosses…. Real grit. It could inspire a Lowry painting. Not sure about this stanza. But they were b...

Dedalus. It is a compliment to your writing skills that I read the entire poem twice. Normally I shy away from long verse. I thought it was an excllent narrative and an intriguing way of showing a different perspective. If I have but one minor comment it is that I was thrown with the exclamation &qu...

Cheers Dave - now it clicks. I was thinking about your poem tonight and was reminded of Tom Waits and Dr. John. Obviously shows the influence of the atmosphere you've created. Send it to Waits and ask him for some dosh.

Barrie. You'll enjoy Durcan. No nonsense story telling peoms at their best. Extract from Cain and Abel "My name is Cain MacCarthy. I am a Senior Counsel, forty-nine years old. A Bencher of the King's Inns. No humbler fellow could you meet outside a courtroom. Inside a courtroom I am pedigree ap...

Initial thoughts Dave. I like the tone. Reminds me of H Thompson & Kerouac - don't know why. I'm a bit perplexed with:

"gum-chewing waitress asking for covers. "

What are the 'covers' please?

Rob

Three times read, three times liked. The first stanza is imagery at its best. It got me hooked instantly. The dominoes and rosaries made me laugh because it is so true. The devil to pay - a clever resolution. Maybe a few more lines at the end - but I don't know, I enjoy it as it is. Kind of Paul Dur...

Sincere thanks to you all.

Davd, thank you for 'abandoned'. Much, much better.

Take Care

p.s. Mick, I hope you are well. I'll send you a pm




One Small Step


Moon
Like an abandoned lover

Alone
And walked upon

One Small Step


Moon
Like a betrayed lover

Alone
And walked upon

I enjoyed reading it very much - good imagery. For me the only let down was "Our Caravaggio faces". Somehow it doesn't seem to ring true with the other words: 'mam clatters', 'buttering bread, jam' etc. Maybe something a bit more earthy.

Vesuvius. Join the club. But worry not, we are not alone. Tony Harrison can't stand English winters and blames it for his bouts of depression. He hops to and fro from Greece to avoid it.

Some of you may already know but most local libraries will give you a card and number that will give you access to the best on-line dictionary in the world for use at home. Besides the etymological dictionary there are all the other O.U.P. publications such as the biographical dictionaries. Definite...

Brilliant Barrie. I am a big admirer of your sharp and no nonsense writing. Thank You. I'm delighted you ditched Hades - it seemed so out of place.

More please.

Take Care

You may like this link for the long winter nights. It is from Irish Radio RTE One It is a series of poetry/arts programmes. You will need Real Player to listen or if you have the appropriate software you can download them to listen later. Includes poems and analysis on Coleridge, Yeats, Plath, Eliot...

Dave. I am quite taken by the poem without the whistles and bells. Okay, I can see and admire how you deploy the words in this particular form but I personally feel they would be better integrated into the poem proper. If I read the poem without the 'extras' I am given a clear image. The extras give...

Cheers for the suggestions Mick.

Today, while doing some painting in A-u-L I was up a ladder thinking of Venus and a packet of Love Hearts.

Oh dear!

Good idea Barrie. I can see it now, 'The Planet Sweet' with sherbet dip stuck to the front cover.

Embedded poem? Now that's a good idea. One about the embedded journalists in eye-rack - as the merry cans call it.

I like it Dave but I have astigmatism so the letters in red are doing a barn dance! I changed it to black bold. Also less obtrusive.

Excellent Sire! What I always enjoy about your poems is the careful application of economical yet sharp language to leave the reader with a strong image - like Robert Frost.

Having just read some of Sandburg's work I appreciate it even more.

Keep scribbling.

Best read in the dark with glo-worms to add to the fear!

Indeed it is Mac. Without wrappers of course.