O.T.T…

FOR POW PROMPT 5

' The Dresden clock continued ticking on the mantelpiece
And the footman sat upon the dining-table
Holding the second housemaid on his knees--
Who had always been so careful while her mistress lived '

From ' Aunt Helen' by T.S. Eliot
Looking forward to some splattered diverse brilliance next Wednesday!


OVERSTATING THE TERROIR

Uncork me a fine wine of elegant nose
Releasing English liquorice and roast herbes de Provence
Thick, harsh, and powerful, Chậteauneuf du Pape
Vibrantly coloured, rich mahogany red
Virile and masculine, with muscular tannins
Ground pepper, lavender, loamy soil undertones
Exotic essence, suggesting cloves awash with fruits
Cassis… sweet framboise… smoky fried cherry notes
To complement a bouquet of spice and old leather
Themes that transport me to grandfather’s drawing room
Cuban cigar smoke clouding the atmosphere
The Dresden clock… ticking on the mantelpiece
Inside that big old ancestral mansion house
…And the footman, sat upon the dining table
Glaring acetone; volatile acidity
Deep and dense, with a complexity of balance
Holding the second housemaid on his knees
An impressive structure, not lacking in finesse
A beautiful, perfectly rounded body
Exhibiting her own fruitiness and fatness
Mischievous, tantalising characteristics
That dance on the palate. A command performance
Leading to a long silky finish from the girl
Who had always been so careful while her mistress lived

PLAYTIME

For Carry On Tuesday
It’s never too late to have a happy childhood

Monday Poetry Train Revisited
The NaiSaiKu Challenge?
The American Sandwich


NaiSaiKu

It’s never too late
To have a happy childhood
SEE YOU AT PLAYTIME
To have a happy childhood
It’s never too late!


AMERICAN SANDWICH

My last birthday was a day of fun and games for all the family.
We had ice-cream and jelly, a cake with candles, and I received gifts.
That’s how I know it is never too late to have a happy childhood.


NANO AMERICO^ FOR PICK 'N' PLAY

That was a close shave...
Dawn thought that Dave didn't love her anymore, so she pulled the trigger.
Not just Dave firing blanks!

BLIND SIDE

For Writers Island Prompt #5 2010


WITHOUT REASON

Voices in my head
Speak foreign languages
Meanings lost in translation
For reasons I don’t understand

Impulsive urges
Trigger wild reactions
Play havoc with my senses
For reasons beyond my control

Extreme perversions
Erotic; immoral
Pleasurable sensations
For reasons I won’t go into

Arrogant gestures
Cynical responses
Inconsiderate actions
For no particular reason

Erratic mood-swings
Illogical questions
Unpredictable replies
For reasons that never make sense

Distorted focus
Blurred edged images
Lapses of concentration
For reasons that remain unclear

Incomplete concepts
Confusing ideas
Lacking continuity
For reasons I cannot explain

No recollection
Misshapen reminders
Irretrievable knowledge
For reasons I can’t remember

False accusations
Fictional evidence
Spurious allegations
For reasons no one will admit

Records deleted
Identities altered
Anonymity preserved
For reasons that do not exist

Guesswork conclusions
Disorganised chaos
Inaccurate estimates
For reasons that have no basis

Download aborted
Insufficient data
Unavailable signal
For reasons that will not compute

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

For Friday Flash 55


40 YEARS AGO

When I was a kid,
home was a decrepit
two up – two down
until the council
shifted us
in the slum clearance.
Mum, Dad, Gran
Two brothers
A sister.
Four damp, smelly rooms.
Coal fires.
Outside toilet.
Black and white telly.
Two beds
and a settee
between us…

We were poor…

but we were happy.

APHRODISIAC

For Big Tent Poetry
And One Single Impression - Love


APHRODISIAC EYES

Beautiful vision
Golden sunbeams backlight hair
Soft halo framing face
Enchanting me

She’s looking my way
Through aphrodisiac eyes
Subliminal signals
Arousing me

Closer to me now
Stimulating sweet desires
Exploiting weaknesses
Seducing me

Hers, a love supreme
Heaven sent; a Greek Goddess
On a divine mission
To fulfil me

Passion fruit princess
Leads me to the Promised Land
Lifelong summer of love
To complete me

ABANDON, GRADUAL, PRECISE

For Three Word Wednesday


PARENTAL GUIDANCE

Abandon nightmares
Gradual Retreat Technique
Precise sleep training

FEET BENEATH THE TABLE

FOR POW PROMPT 4

Write a poem as a response to the painting above ‘Feet Beneath The Table’ by Charles Blackman (Australian Painter.)You could assume a character if you wish. I know I am identifying with at least two . Gosh,Wednesdays come around quickly. So best leave you to get on with it . I can feel a form coming on.
Looking forward to reading you then. A toute a l'heure or toodle-oo amigos!


TOUGH LIFE

Upwardly mobile
Terms and conditions; hard earned…
Until depression
Embraced and ensnared

A curse of many layers
Financial crisis
Hopeless awareness
Hollow sensation; a dip

Austere impression
Meagre allowance
Embarrassed, impoverished
Famished soul forgot

Manhood stripped away
Staring at an empty plate
Reduced to a child
Alone in a crowd

No bread to break together
Undernourished pets
Ghosts of absent guests

Amputated metaphors
One time known as friends

SUMMER

For The American Sandwich
The NaiSaiKu Challenge?
ABC Wednesday – S


SIGHT-SEEING SUMMARY

Strong Sulphur Smell Stifles Senses at Sankhampaeng Hot Springs Spectacle.

Steps,Stalagmites, Stalactites, Shield a Shrine to the reclining Buddha.

Sitting at the Summit, Supersized Buddha Surveys the Scenery

Scarlet Skyscape Scheme
Saturday’s Sultry Salute
SUNLIGHT’S SURRENDER
Saturday’s Sultry Salute
Scarlet Skyscape Scheme

IMAGINARY FRIEND

For Writers Island Prompt #4 2010
Imaginary Friend


A MAN NEEDS A DOG

At feeding time he paces
From kitchen to living room
From living room to kitchen
From kitchen to living room

He thinks I can’t tell the time
He thinks I don’t care for him
So he paces edgily
Wants all he can eat and more

In return for sustenance
No sticks are fetched, no balls chased
Newspapers and post ignored
For nights out – baby sitters…!

House training lessons – unlearned
Shout ‘Here Boy!’ – Does he mean me?
He could sleep for his country
Whichever one that might be

When I can do without it
That’s the time he’s most alert
The smell of dinner cooking
He can’t get enough of me

Following me around the place
Getting right under my feet
In kitchen heat, I can’t stand
Not enough chefs; still broth spoilt

Sure, he’s a son of a bitch
In more ways than just the one
But I would never swap him
Because he is my best friend

Reprimand hesitated
That thing – with his eyes again
Back end raised, fore legs stretched
Tongue protruding Pavlovesque

Innocence in those eyes
Those eyes soften hardened hearts
Those eyes that stare into mine
As if he’s adoring me

FIRST DAY OF TERM

For Friday Flash 55


AN INTRODUCTION

It was their first day at a new school.
Two eleven-year-olds exchanged an introduction.
“Hi, I’m Eric Thorpe… I live in Hale,” said the first.
“Wow… E.T… The Halien…!”
The second retorted.
“Yeah… right! What about you?”
I’m Andy… but you can call me Handy.”
“Why?”
“I only live round the corner.”

WORDLE

For Big Tent Poetry

IN DECLINE

Refusing to capitulate
(to futile, though well-meaning words
of the seemingly sapient,
caparisoned on some high horse),
fumbling fingers and thumbs fondle
urban treasure; tobacco strands
salvaged from the discarded dimps
of those who leave a longer stub.

‘Crumple’ covers all the angles;

Oxfam attire, through wrinkled skin,
to that misshapen reefer.

No purse required to join this club.

Tincture (prescribed to soothe the wounds
sustained surviving outdoor life),
dispensed from council tip hip flask;
one hundred proof panacea,
completes the pattern of decline
initiated by the glitch
that failed to recognise the signs
and doff its cap to ‘life’s a bitch’.

DREAD, GRASP, PACIFY

For Three Word Wednesday


TAKING STOCK

Grasp the magnitude
Get a grip before you slip
What do you dread most?
Those who try to pacify?
Or the dissent they provoke?

REIGN, RAIN, RICE

For ABC Wednesday – R


RAIN QUEEN’S REIGN
Photograph copyright © Kanpirom Srisongnang

Kanpirom took this photo of her cousin, Mai, crowned
Queen of The Rain at the Recent Beun Bang Fai
firework festival for Rain.
The festival marks the end of the dry season
and is seen as a good omen for Rain in a Rural community,
ensuring a plentiful supply of Rice later in the year.

NAÏVE

FOR POW PROMPT 3

Something a little less mind bending this time.

It was the first fresh peach I had ever tasted.
I could hardly believe how delicious.
At twenty five I was dumbfounded afresh
By my ignorance of the simplest things.

From 'Fulbright Scholars' Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes.
Write a poem inspired by this quote. See you next Wednesday Banditos and remember Bob might not be your Uncle.


BOB

Mum’s sister’s live-in lover
Went by the name of Robert.
I used to call him ‘Uncle’
Until I was twenty five.


0h… THAT quote…


JACK

Reluctance to entertain
Ideas above his station
A tendency to abstain
From physical temptation
Discipline made him refrain
From seeking the sensation
Promise of punishment, pain
Subdued the fascination
Concepts designed to sustain
A teenager’s frustration

A brief encounter with Jane
Transformed the situation
She was the first to explain
To him; a revelation
An attitude of disdain
Replaced intimidation
He could no longer contain
The urge for celebration
Uncorking vintage Champagne
Completed Jack’s elation

WIND-UP

For The American Sandwich
And NaiSaiKu Challenge?


NaiSaiKu

Y’do me shed in
Yer twistin’ me melon man
All ‘eadgear, innit?
YER WINDIN’ ME UP
All ‘eadgear, innit?
Yer twistin’ me melon man
Y’do me shed in


AMERICAN SANDWICH

Whether I say my glass is half full or half empty, is not the point.
The point is, knowing when to go to the bar and get the next round in.
It’s pointless drinking with you if my glass doesn’t get any fuller.

ELECTION

For Carry On Tuesday
Let us celebrate the occasion
with wine and sweet words

And Monday Poetry Train Revisited


HUNG, DRAWN AND QUARTERED

Coalition rule
Conservative/Liberal
Vote of confidence?

A shotgun wedding?
A marriage made in heaven?
Heaven only knows

Let us celebrate
The dubious occasion
With wine and sweet words

THE CREATOR HAS A MASTER PLAN

For Writers Island 2010 #3 The Key

It’s my birthday today, and I’ll be going on my travels shortly,

so I’m posting one I prepared earlier – a kind of ‘Desert Island Discs’ thingy…


ENLIGHTENMENT… DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS

Buffalo Soldier, Dreadlock Rasta
Take heed of the words of Jehovah
On bended knee and pray to the Lord
'I wanna, I wanna be adored'

To a buck-toothed girl in Luxembourg
He’s got an uncontrollable urge
She was a case of insanity
Was it as good as it was for me?

I don’t trust you, why should you trust me?
Look through my window, what do I see?
A hustle here and a hustle there
Like the mating of the earth and air

There is no pain, you are receding
You’re no excuse for human being
Hush now baby, baby don’t you cry
Where were you when we were getting high?

Shake it on baby now, twist and shout
‘There is a light that never goes out’
No no woman, no woman no cry
Good times… they just seem to pass me by

Leave me hanging on the telephone
Send me home like an Elephant Stone
Beat the clock, you gotta beat the clock
We be to rap what key be to lock


There is a key after all - Credits:

The Creator Has A Master Plan – Pharaoh Sanders
Enlightenment, don’t know what it is – Van Morrison
Buffalo Soldier – Bob Marley And The Wailers
Words Of Wisdom – Dennis Brown
Religion – Public Image Limited
I Wanna Be Adored – The Stone Roses
Ask – The Smiths
Uncontrollable Urge – Devo
Bodies – The Sex Pistols
How Was It For You? - James
Complete Control – The Clash
The Passenger – Iggy Pop
Walk On The Wild Side – The Velvet Underground
Evening Over Rooftops – Edgar Broughton Band
Comfortably Numb – Pink Floyd
Mirage – Siouxsie And The Banshees
Mother – Pink Floyd
Champagne Supernova – Oasis
Twist And Shout – The Beatles
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out – The Smiths
No Woman No Cry – Bob Marley And The Wailers
Lisa Says – The Velvet Underground
Hanging On The Telephone – Blondie
Elephant Stone – The Stone Roses
Beat The Clock – Sparks
The Rebirth Of Slick – Digable Planets

RHETORICAL METAPHORICAL

FOR BIG TENT POETRY


This week’s prompt
This week we are going to spend a little time listening to language. The idea is to get away from your usual range of aural experience and open yourself to surprises.
One way to do that is to spend a few minutes (maybe 10 or 15) and listen to a podcast, a radio show, an interview or lecture, on a topic you know little about. Write down any interesting words you hear. Pick them for sound, for interest, out of curiosity or for any reason that tickles or piques you.
Write down a dozen words and then use three to six (or so) of them in a new poem. Don’t feel compelled to use the words as they are meant to be used. Be playful! Let the sound of the words carry the weight. Let the sound of the word do the “work” of the poem. You can even make new meaning for the words you choose.


COALITION

Waiting for the tide to turn…
As one more new wave
Rolls… hangs… crashes…
Followed by another

Position…

Politician…

PRO-GRE-SSIVE.


Can you hear as the tide turns…?
Waves more frequent now
Ministerial, domination
Administration, coalition
CO-ALI-TION.

HOME COOKING

For Friday Flash 55


HOME COOKING

I taught my wife how to make Cauliflower Cheese just like my dear old mum – God bless her – used to make.
Whenever she serves it up, I turn the air conditioning on full blast, close my eyes and count to ten, before taking a mouthful.
I’ll tell you… it’s just like being back in Blighty…

FEAR, IGNORE, WEIGHTLESS

For Three Word Wednesday


MAKING LIGHT

Gravity ignored
Apparently I’m weightless
Flab fear factor beat

QUID PRO QUO

For ABC Wednesday – Q


QUID PRO QUO

Queen
Quizzes
Quintuplets
Questionable
Qualification.
Quarantines Quietly
Quotient Quality Queries
Quite Quickly Quantifiable
Quandaries Quashed, Quarrels Quelled; Quibbles Quit
Quintessentially Quaint Quotation Quilled

A FEARFUL TRILL

FOR POW PROMPT 2


THE PROMPT
If you scroll down to the Poetry News you will find an excerpt from Elizabeth Smart's prose poetry novel "As I Sat Down By Grand Central Station And Wept ''. It is a police interrogation juxtaposed against a biblical psalm. Write a poem using this excerpt loosely as a model. Your poem should illustrate juxtaposing and contrasting elements. You could use a poem, a song, a letter, a hymn, something operatic or biblical and please, no interrogations. I'm looking forward to a variety of responses . So let your imaginations run riot. This should be fun to write. See you Wednesday. Until then, keep yourself nice!


BRIEF
Fin de Partie (Endgame) by Samuel Beckett, meets well known proverbs,
World Cup commentary, songs, poetry, movie and album titles.
The pressures of making a home, maintaining a relationship
and staying sane in the process are not for the feint-hearted.
A dubiously hopeful (happy?) ending – even if it means starting all over again…



I HAVE TRIED IN MY WAY TO BE FREE

An Englishman’s home is his castle
Intérieur sans meubles.
The lights are on, but no one’s home

Final demands notwithstanding
Lumière grisâtre
Put another shilling in the meter

I used to love her…
Fini,
They think it’s all over

Give ‘em enough rope…
c'est fini,
It is now

Eschatological End of Days?
ça va finir,
Careful what you wish for

Like a bird on the wire… I have tried…
ça va peut-être finir.
I know why the caged bird sings


CREDITS:
Title from ‘Like a bird on the wire’ by Leonard Cohen
French, (in italics) from Fin de Partie by Samuel Beckett
I used to love her – The Rolling Stones
They think it’s all over/It is now – Kenneth Wolstenhome (1966 World Cup)
Give ‘em enough rope – The Clash
Careful what you wish for - Eminem
Like a bird on the wire – Leonard Cohen
I know why the caged bird sings – Maya Angelou

GOING FOR A SONG

For The NaiSaiKu Challenge?
And The American Sandwich



NaiSaiKu – TALKING HEADS, U2

Life during wartime
The unforgettable fire
BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
The unforgettable fire
Life during wartime


AMERICAN SANDWICH – NEIL YOUNG, THE DOORS, THE BEATLES

After the gold rush, only love can break your heart like a hurricane.
Petition the lord with prayer; tell all the people not to touch the earth.
When I’m sixty four, I’ll follow the sun, happy just to dance with you.


NANO AMERICO^ PICK ‘N’ PLAY

Breakdown in communication.
Dawn won’t talk to Dave until he buys her a pet robot from the store.
Silence is golden.

COURAGE

For Sunday Scribblings
And Monday Poetry Train Revisited


UNCOMMON VALOUR

To unsung heroes everywhere
Who did something they’d like to think
Somebody else would do for them

Not the way the cookie crumbles…

A selfless act of bravery
Provokes the hero’s modest words
‘It was only a reaction’
‘Anyone would have done the same’

On reflection, hindsight suggests
Those apathetic bystanders
Reacted like anyone would
And Courage… someone else’s job

WISTERIA

For Haiku Bones - Wisteria


WISTERIA

Springtime Wisteria
Deciduous climbing vine
Dripping with fragrance

REIGN

For One Single Impression - Reign


REIGN

Pomp and circumstance
Dysfunctional monarchy
We are not amused

FRIEND OR FOE?

For Carry On Tuesday
The road to a friend's house is never long


FRIEND OR FOE?

The road to a friend’s house is never long
It pays us to keep them close by
Enemies live in the houses between
Closer still to the watchful eye

STOWAWAY

For Writers Island 2010 #2


THE PNG JIB

Initially, I thought PNG
Rubber-stamped across my book
Meant goodbye to worldwide travel
On planes, trains and automobiles

But the ‘PNG Jib’ guarantees
A safe-passage exit route
A one-way voyage cargo pass
To Papua New Guinea

No ticket, no passport, no visa
But rest assured, travelling light
Under the cover of darkness
Is not as heavy as it seems

‘Baggage’ handled economy class
No upgrade available
Low profile, mile-high club members
Cater for your every need

If you’re Persona Non Grata
‘Stowaway’ doesn’t have to mean
Three months in the cargo hold
Of a cross-pacific ship

It’s not a course I’d recommend
And like other travellers tales
The PNG Jib ‘guarantee’
Is an old backpackers myth

BEUN BANG FAI

For Friday Flash 55


SKY ROCKETS

Now that Songkhran is over
and the water’s all dried up,
we’ll make today, tomorrow,
two days of beun bang fai –














(home-made fireworks; sky rockets,
another superstition
and a good omen for rain).













Two metres of blue plastic
Waste-pipe, filled with gunpowder,
strapped to lengths of bamboo cane.
















Three…




















Two…




















One… …



















Blast off...!

ESCAPE, HUM, VIBRANT

For Three Word Wednesday


ESCAPE, HUM, VIBRANT

Cherish Liberty
Don’t mistake it for Freedom
There is no Escape

Hum, drone, purr, whine, buzz
The music the machines make
Slave to the rhythm

You; Vibrant colours
Vivacious, animated
I remain listless

COLLAGE

For Poetry On Wednesday


WALKING WOUNDED

Flip-flop
Clippety clop
Marchers silent as children snore
Armed guards
Whiplashed bards
Disciplined Prisoners Of War
Stop press
Fancy dress
Little Red Riding Hood reports
Big wig
Gypsy gig
Double-act agents for escorts?

Collage by Rallentanda

THREE RING CIRCUS

For Big Tent Poetry


THREE RING CIRCUS

Lib, Lab, or Con vote
Trained animals select clown
Scant entertainment
Power hangs in the balance
Song and dance circus called life

PUMPKINS

For ABC Wednesday – P


PUMPKIN PILLOWS













Kanpirom Srisongnang, busy making
PUMPKIN PILLOWS


Patience, Precision
Pure Painful Perseverance
Producing Profit


PRODUCT PLACEMENT

MIXED BAG

For The NaiSaiKu Challenge?
And The American Sandwich
And Carry On Tuesday
Only the young have such moments


NaiSaiKu

He’s one of those kids
Who can never keep it shut
HE’S EATING OUT LOUD
He can never keep it shut
He’s one of those kids


WALLS+WIRES FOR CARRY ON TUESDAY

Once upon a time, I thought we’d all live happily ever after.
Only the young have such moments.
Then I grew older, but did I really become any the wiser?


NANO AMERICO^ TON UP

Cause to celebrate.
Alcohol abuse and recreational drug dosage take effect.
Terrible consequences


AMERICAN SENTENCE

Congratulations to everyone who completed NaPoWriMo


‘FOUND’ AMERICAN SENTENCE (Paraphrased)

‘Football is (not) a matter of life and death…; it’s much more serious...

-Bill Shankly-

AMERICAN SANDWICH

Less than a week to go to the end of the Premier League season.
Even if United win their final game, it may not be enough.
Two wins guarantee City European Champions League football.

SINGSONG

For Monday Poetry Train Revisited


HAPPINESS

How far are we from love?
How close to happiness?
If distance is the object
Will our hearts pass the test?

When two hearts beat as one
Our love transforms the days
And makes them last forever
Dark nights; light years away

Come to my arms and show me
How far we are from love
How close to happiness

Another world away
Across the seven seas
Seven deserts, seven peaks
Some days that’s how it seems

And in each others arms
As side by side we lie
A whispered promise to return
Each time we say goodbye

A whispered promise to return
Each time we say goodbye

Come to my arms and show me
How far we are from love
How close to happiness

But as we live, we learn
To give as well as take
To share each precious moment
That only true love makes

How far are we from love?
It’s clear from our embraces
How close to happiness?
It’s written on our faces

Come to my arms and show me
How far we are from love
How close to happiness

How far we are from love
How close to happiness

How close to happiness…?

...Happiness…

HUMMINGBIRDS

For Haiku Bones - Hummingbirds


B-Z

Bee Hummingbird (Patagona Gigas)
Zunzuncito (Mellisuga Helenae)

Avian wonders
Starting with the smallest; ‘Bee’
To Peru’s giant

ENIGMA

For One Single Impression – Enigma


ENIGMA

Mona Lisa smile
Ainigma, ainissesthai
Speaking in riddles

EVENT

For Sunday Scribblings - Event


and they all lived…

after ‘i love you’
things started to happen

things that made us happy
all our dreams came true
*
church wedding; her in white
me, in a three piece suit

continental holidays
a house we could call home

children to worship
till death do us part

all the modern gadgets
plasma screen TV

mobile telephones
his and hers comforts

rings on every finger
diamonds in her ears

all that she could wish for
no expense was spared
*
whatever lola wanted
lola got… and then some
*
‘doesn’t get much better’
couldn’t get much worse
*
too much was not enough
honeymoon was over
*
and by coincidence
redundancy happened
*
left with next to nothing
everything to pay for

*
*
*
apparently i couldn’t
give her what she wanted

MESSAGES

For Writers Island 2010 #1


MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

Too long in exile; dreaming…?
An optical illusion?
The heat of the mid-day sun
Playing more tricks on my eyes?

It couldn’t be a bottle
Not after so many years
Castaway on this island
It just couldn’t be… could it…?

Be absolutely certain
That it is what it appears
Before I build my hopes up
In my feeble state of mind

Handle with extreme caution
Thorough examination
Be sure not to cut corners
It may be my only hope

Vitreous, non-crystalline
Brittle, transparent, solid
Cylindrical container
Formed by rapid melt quenching

Lightweight, Quercus Suber cap
Feint French vineyard aroma
Apellation d’origine…?
At a guess… Provence…? Bordeaux…?

And lo and behold, inside…
Just a small scrap of paper
Derived from cellulose pulp
Or possibly even, rags

On that paper… a message!
A short communication
Transmitted by written words
Containing information…!

Any moment now, I know
This dream will come to an end...