Today's poet

[Harry H Howgill]

Gosh, that is really moving.

I think it is about time we seriously considered a joint book of the best non-fell poems written on the thread. The last few months have seen, in my opinion, quite astounding work covering so many themes, love, loss, aging, parenthood, passion. One day I will have time to co-ordinate something!

There is certainly enough excellent poems for that.

At one point I was still collating them as they arose, but once I missed a week then I got left behind and now we are several thousand posts on.

[freckle]

Your not there,
your not there!
just an empty chair,
pushed against the wall,
between the fireplace
and kitchen door.
This absence; not unexpected,
till now my mind contested reality,
what did I expect to see, the
permed white hair, feet resting
on the Queen Anne stool.
When others grieved I had no
empathy to share, which was cruel,
but only because I believed
that you would be there
sitting in your chair.

this is beautiful...simple and well written, for me it highlights how much we can forget the finiteness of life especiallly with people who always seem to have been there and have been a benign presence. their death acts as as reminder, cutting through our own denial regarding our mortality...i remember having similar feelings when an elderly relative of mine passed away when I was a teenager....it made me take stock a bit......thank you for posting

I have said for a while that there are many excellent non fell running poems on this thread which merit collating and putting together in some way in a pamphlet. it is quite a big job trawling through them all, an easier way of approaching this would be for people to send me two choices of their favourite poems that have been posted (could be one of their own and one from someone else). Myself and Hes could then try and put it together in some way? I had thought that we could try and put something together for the Dufton gig and try and sell it there with proceeds going to mountan rescue. What do people think? If people are interested then send me their choices and I will paste them into a document.

[freckle]

Cheviot glows white
like a badly risen cake
iced with heavy hands

I missed this yesterday its really nice OW

[freckle]

The National Poetry Competition is taking entries...anyone up for it?

http://poetrysociety.org.uk/shop/product/18/

[freckle]

Coooooooeeeeeeeee
Is anybody out there?
Like.........

[Nathaniel Lee]

Trapped.

Walking the streets at night,
Mac wrapped around me,
As a shell to keep out the filth,
Shifty eyes follow me i hear them say my name,
Filthy beasts ready carve me up,
The sound of death follows me,
On the cobbled street,
They turn me around look me in the eye,
Slash my face warm lifeblood flows,
A kick to the gut,
Punch to head,
Lying there heaving,laughing,
I'm free no more the rent boy,
No filthy,sweaty old business men,
Violating me,
I stagger home and sleep in peace,
For the first time in years.


By Herakles.

[freckle]

Trapped.

Walking the streets at night,
Mac wrapped around me,
As a shell to keep out the filth,
Shifty eyes follow me i hear them say my name,
Filthy beasts ready carve me up,
The sound of death follows me,
On the cobbled street,
They turn me around look me in the eye,
Slash my face warm lifeblood flows,
A kick to the gut,
Punch to head,
Lying there heaving,laughing,
I'm free no more the rent boy,
No filthy,sweaty old business men,
Violating me,
I stagger home and sleep in peace,
For the first time in years.


By Herakles.

Gosh this is stunning herakles, thank you for posting....i love your new signature too

[Alf]

Just noticed freckle had posted Captain Beefheart on the music thread and I am a HUGE Beefheart fan so a few words from the great man.

There ain’t no Santa Claus on the evenin’ stage
There ain’t no way t’ pull the curtain
‘N hide from hunger’s rage
There ain’t no town t’ stop in
There ain’t no time t’ stop in
There ain’t no straw for my horse
There ain’t no straw for my bed
There ain’t no comfort in cold boards
There ain’t no rumours or food for my stomach
‘N someday I’m gonna be saved
‘Cause I gotta eat ‘n drink ‘n breathe ‘n sleep
‘N I’m ah slave
Down in hominy’s grotto there’s ah soul die’n ‘n leavin’
Every second on the evenin’ stage
There’s ah soul die’n ‘n rottin’ ‘n pickin’
Some new kinda cotton
With his fingers broken ‘n his heart ‘n back forgotten
There ain’t no Santa Claus on the evenin’ stage


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkc6ZK_NYUg

[Nathaniel Lee]

Questions.

Every second i approach death,
Decay the natural state of things,
I have questions sit back,
Drink the cyanide laced G & T,
Fall into a poisoned darkness,
Waiting to ask what i need to know,
The Killing Joke no one here but me,
Oh well i wish someone would've told me first.

By Herakles.

[Nathaniel Lee]

Walikng.

I was wondering on the fells,
When i saw an aged oak,
Approaching quietly i noticed,
Hanging from the branches,
A myriad of books,
They would all seem to be,
The sonnets of shakespeare,
I'd stumbled across a poet-tree.

By Herakles.