Today's poet

[freckle]

A Poem Of Thanks For You All.

The Light of friendship warms me,
Helps me feel strong,
So i can face the day renewed,
I feel one day my dreams may come true,
Cared for by others,
Making sure my first steps are safe,
I know you'll be there in spirit,
Even when i'm alone,
On the fell taking it one step at time,
All together never apart,
I know now because of you,
My strength will grow,
Just as my love for you will too,
Just know that i am,
And always will be your friend.

Love Herakles.

This is great Herakles, keeping taking those small steps, I'll be taking them with you in spirit!

[Derby Tup]

Good stuff Matt! Try and get to run at the Anni Waltz. I just know you'll enjoy it

A Poem Of Thanks For You All.

The Light of friendship warms me,
Helps me feel strong,
So i can face the day renewed,
I feel one day my dreams may come true,
Cared for by others,
Making sure my first steps are safe,
I know you'll be there in spirit,
Even when i'm alone,
On the fell taking it one step at time,
All together never apart,
I know now because of you,
My strength will grow,
Just as my love for you will too,
Just know that i am,
And always will be your friend.

Love Herakles.

[Old Whippet]

Temporality

I wasn’t ready to come into this world,
but I arrived,
the same weight as a bag of sugar,
so THEY said.
Tiny and beloved by a newly wed ma,
but really I wasn’t ready,
to be separate.

And now,
looking down at my toes,
curling over these 91 year old feet,
my spine in a stupor,
breasts once firm and life giving,
empty sacks dangling from withered flesh,
(I can barely see for goodness sake)
I am still not ready,
to be separate.

I still long for the water,
for the quiet hub hub of my mothers womb,
oh the irony,
after my birth we did not connect,
but now I long for the timelessness
of the tender pool
and the safety of the first unknown.

Instead I flounder,
what do you do when you are terrified,
when you reach the nameless part of fear?
Try and hold on? Grasp at others?
or like Alice
jump in?

there's something achingly (and frighteningly) sad about these reflections of a 91 year old. And gently and warmly conveyed by you here Freckle

[Harry H Howgill]

A Poem Of Thanks For You All.

The Light of friendship warms me,
Helps me feel strong,
So i can face the day renewed,
I feel one day my dreams may come true,
Cared for by others,
Making sure my first steps are safe,
I know you'll be there in spirit,
Even when i'm alone,
On the fell taking it one step at time,
All together never apart,
I know now because of you,
My strength will grow,
Just as my love for you will too,
Just know that i am,
And always will be your friend.

Love Herakles.

That's great buddy. We are with you.

[Harry H Howgill]

Temporality

I wasn’t ready to come into this world,
but I arrived,
the same weight as a bag of sugar,
so THEY said.
Tiny and beloved by a newly wed ma,
but really I wasn’t ready,
to be separate.

And now,
looking down at my toes,
curling over these 91 year old feet,
my spine in a stupor,
breasts once firm and life giving,
empty sacks dangling from withered flesh,
(I can barely see for goodness sake)
I am still not ready,
to be separate.

I still long for the water,
for the quiet hub hub of my mothers womb,
oh the irony,
after my birth we did not connect,
but now I long for the timelessness
of the tender pool
and the safety of the first unknown.

Instead I flounder,
what do you do when you are terrified,
when you reach the nameless part of fear?
Try and hold on? Grasp at others?
or like Alice
jump in?

That's beautiful Freckle and very apt for me this week. I posted a Wendy Cope on Sunday night that reflects some of the same ideas.
Nice one
x

[Old Whippet]

A Poem Of Thanks For You All.

The Light of friendship warms me,
Helps me feel strong,
So i can face the day renewed,
I feel one day my dreams may come true,
Cared for by others,
Making sure my first steps are safe,
I know you'll be there in spirit,
Even when i'm alone,
On the fell taking it one step at time,
All together never apart,
I know now because of you,
My strength will grow,
Just as my love for you will too,
Just know that i am,
And always will be your friend.

Love Herakles.

Encouraging to read an uplifting tone Herakles. Looking forward to seeing you on the fells.

[freckle]

That's beautiful Freckle and very apt for me this week. I posted a Wendy Cope on Sunday night that reflects some of the same ideas.
Nice one
x

brian patten does it well too...i love this one...

by Brian Patten

How long is a man's life, finally?
Is it a thousand days, or only one?
One week, or few centuries?
How long does a man's death last?
And what do we mean when we say, 'gone forever'?

Adrift in such preoccupations, we seek clarification.
We can go to the philosophers,
But they will grow tired of our questions.
We can go to the priests and the rabbis
But they might be too busy with administrations.

So, how long does a man live, finally?
And how much does he live while he lives?
We fret, and ask so many questions
Then when it comes to us
The answer is so simple

A man lives for as long as we carry him inside us,
For as long as we carry the harvest of his dreams,
For as long as we ourselves live,
Holding memories in common, a man lives.

His lover will carry his man's scent, his touch:
His children will carry the weight of his love.
One friend will carry his argument,
Another will hum his favourite tunes,
Another will still share his terrors.

And the days will pass with baffled faces,
Then the weeks, then the months,
Then there will be a day when no question is asked
And the knots of grief will loosen in the stomach,
And the puffed faces will calm.
And on that day he will not have ceased,
But will have ceased to be separated by death.
How long does a man live, finally?

A man lives so many different lengths of time.

[Harry H Howgill]

That is good. I like that.

brian patten does it well too...i love this one...

by Brian Patten

How long is a man's life, finally?
Is it a thousand days, or only one?
One week, or few centuries?
How long does a man's death last?
And what do we mean when we say, 'gone forever'?

Adrift in such preoccupations, we seek clarification.
We can go to the philosophers,
But they will grow tired of our questions.
We can go to the priests and the rabbis
But they might be too busy with administrations.

So, how long does a man live, finally?
And how much does he live while he lives?
We fret, and ask so many questions
Then when it comes to us
The answer is so simple

A man lives for as long as we carry him inside us,
For as long as we carry the harvest of his dreams,
For as long as we ourselves live,
Holding memories in common, a man lives.

His lover will carry his man's scent, his touch:
His children will carry the weight of his love.
One friend will carry his argument,
Another will hum his favourite tunes,
Another will still share his terrors.

And the days will pass with baffled faces,
Then the weeks, then the months,
Then there will be a day when no question is asked
And the knots of grief will loosen in the stomach,
And the puffed faces will calm.
And on that day he will not have ceased,
But will have ceased to be separated by death.
How long does a man live, finally?

A man lives so many different lengths of time.

[Nathaniel Lee]

I might have said this before but Brian Patten is also the name of the Chuckle Brothers older brother.

[Harry H Howgill]

I might have said this before but Brian Patten is also the name of the Chuckle Brothers older brother.

But have you ever seen them together?