WORDLE #124

For Sunday Whirl: Inky, Wet, Scarlet, Oiled, Feathery, Sway, Sparks, Close, Hole, Shoots, Doubt, Plot.

SHAMELESS

Inky, wet, scarlet fluid gets you well oiled.

You're feeling feathery light as you roll and sway.

This sparks a close encounter with a hole in the road that shoots out in front of you.

Without doubt you've lost the plot...!

Read Crawling Distance here

WORDLE #123

For Sunday Whirl

BLOWN AWAY

Wind from south is fierce enough

Keeps gusting as she cries out...

She'll train her bitter curses

On spring's untested filters

...And have our heads in pieces

WORDLE #122

For Sunday Whirl: If, Dreamed, Vision, Nestled, Heart, Years, Persuaded, Stay, Tribute, Period, Floor, Degrees, Space.

LOST IN SPACE

If she'd dreamed at all

That vision would have nestled

In her heart for years

Persuaded to stay

She paid tribute to her man

For a period

Life on the top floor

Was killing her by degrees

Now she's lost in space

WORDLE #120

For Sunday Whirl: Shadow, Bread, Salt, Sense, Breath, Sends, Head, Gravity, Plans, Thread, Shoes, Landscape.

FORETHOUGHT

You think...

Without a shadow of doubt

Baking bread to earn your salt

Makes perfect sense...

But does it...?

Deep breath...

Have a second thought...

This sends signals to your head...

Then you think...

Blame gravity for the way

In which even best laid plans

Fall down hard and lose their thread...

Now you think...

No shoes required to walk this landscape...!

OPEN LINK NIGHT #107

For d'verse Poets

THE PURSUIT OF TRIVIA

A misdirected comment 

at an inopportune time 

creates a broken window 

of missed opportunity… 

which is kind of logical, 

in a messed-up kind of way…

An open invitation 

in a tight-sealed envelope, 

initiates a response 

that will go without comment

without ever being said.

An understated compliment 

offers an understanding 

of overstated indulgence 

in unreasonable affairs… 

The product of a misspent youth…? 

Or of a well spent future…?

No-one knows, or cares, these days… 

They’re all too preoccupied 

with things of no importance… 

things of no significance… 

with things that don’t make much sense. 

All have other fish to fry, 

other considerations 

they must take into account… 

other accounts they must take 

into consideration

while you ponder aimlessly

sitting there, thinking about 

nothing in particular… 

listening to the latest

hot chart hits and breaking news; 

global information from 

your local radio station, 

now turning its attention 

to random acts of boredom.

Infotainment Show phone-in… 

Monday morning, possibly

maybe even afternoon

but definitely Monday… 

You make a simple request

as cynical as ever; 

a dedication to those 

who dedicate their lives to 

The Pursuit of Trivia… 

those with too much time on their hands, 

too much cash in their pockets, 

too much disposable income. 

No sign of an overdraft

not even the slightest hint; 

those who definitely have 

visible means of support

without any strings attached…

You’re not jealous or anything

although it must be stated

you can’t afford the luxury 

of managing your own time; 

prioritising interests.

You couldn’t even compile 

a short list of things to do; 

setting out intentions in 

chronological order… 

a graphical presentation, 

or put it another way, 

a Bucket List of wishes 

you’d never wish anyway… 

You wouldn’t even wish them 

on your greatest enemy… 

And we all know who that is… 

It happens to be yourself…

WORDLE #119

For Sunday Whirl: Crows, Eroded, Strength, Rooted, Cells, Wove, Vegetation, Scarce, Rain, Revisited, Last, One.

CYCLE

Crows eroded strength

Rooted cells wove vegetation

Scarce rain revisited last one

OPEN LINK NIGHT #106

For d'verse Poets

GOING DOWN

As you already well know

it only takes a second 

of idle conversation…

A lapse of concentration 

transforms a situation 

from random speculation 

to scenes of devastation

as ideas develop.

At last obsession takes hold 

concepts become distorted… 

and it’s all downhill from there…

Disturbed imagination

interrupted train of thought…

Normal service is resumed

but due to circumstances 

beyond anyone’s control… 

out of reach of influence 

of impartial, outside help 

independent observers

or unbiased referees… 

the mechanics of the mind... 

dangerous daydreams… take hold.

Unable to sleep at night

logic and reason are lost...

A world of whims without walls

events without witnesses

instruments of self-neglect 

and erratic behavior 

are all at your disposal 

with unlimited access…

No constraints, restrictions.

Decisions go unchallenged; 

all departures are delayed 

as new arrivals check in.

All appointments are cancelled 

all ambitions unfulfilled 

and of course, all bets are off...

Left to your own devices

seeds of apathy are sown

and uncertainty takes root…

And now you find you’re living 

on a piss-poor diet of 

pessimistic projections

and worst-case scenarios

with cynical points of view

until prophecies bear fruit

and new attitudes are born…

which aren't necessarily 

what anyone would describe 

as healthy, wholesome values.

No good deed goes unpunished

which is just as well because 

at this very moment, you’re 

only scratching the surface…

Locked in your troubled conscience

hidden in your sub-conscious

issues rise to the surface

which of course are followed by 

appeals for absolution.

However, predictably

your petitions go unheard…

No-one knows, and no-one cares…

Someone must pay the penance; 

you know that person is you.

But your painful, plaintive pleas 

are not acts of contrition…

No need to apologise 

for the deeds of yesterday

for which you have no regrets…

Actions you can’t justify

but actions nevertheless… 

if anyone ever asked.

Behind your sinister smile

you've never tried to disguise 

your answer to the question

ever since all the fat cats 

went away… permanently, 

leaving now fat mice to play… 

inventing Dangerous Games 

to play… when the time is right.

And so the games continue…

This piece is an extract from my ebook In Decline

WORDLE #118

For Sunday Whirl: Think, Tear, No, Room, Time, Repair, Slate, Driven, Longing, Become, Night, Key, Mesh.

WEB

Think before you shed a tear

There is no room for regret

Time to repair the damage

Your chance to wipe the slate clean

Be driven by your longing

To correct what you've become

Take the fragments of that night

Key those pieces into place

Let your thoughts mesh together...

WORDLE 117

For Sunday Whirl

SCAN

Friends leave lab together
Rest a while, translate sick note
Detect a slight mistake
Conscience calls for second opinion

WORDLE #116

For Sunday Whirl

LISTEN

Listen...
Voices scare where smoke happens.
Pressure might climb...
Risk impossible orders...?

THE HANGOVER

For Sunday Whirl: Morning, Bend, Bear, Unstable, Wild, Retreat, Fallen, Meadow, Rock, Bridge, Island, Lane.

PART I

Bird song beckons the morning

It's driving me round the bend!

I'm a bear with a sore head

Still a little unstable

After another wild night

 

PART II

When they sounded the retreat

I must have fallen asleep

Just the meadow for a bed

And a rock for a pillow

 

PART III 

Now I have to cross a bridge

Get off this traffic island

And back into the fast lane...

 

 

 

 

 

 



HOTEL 27 REVIEW

Review by: ian biro on May 21, 2013 :



https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/278675

This is a story about an Englishman called Michael Falcon who went to Thailand, and found an unspoilt paradise in the northern province of Isan. It’s also very much about his legendary son, the incredible baby elephant, Changnoi.

From suburban south Manchester to the seedy streets of Bangkok and the relatively unspoilt islands of Ko Sichang and Ko Samet then back across the seas to Edinburgh and Manchester before returning to the land of the smile, and discovering a remote Isan village.

The tale is narrated at a fast and furious pace in a poetic way, and I for one, couldn’t close this book until I’d read it from cover to cover. Of course this adventure wouldn’t have been possible without Mok, the mother of the famous Changnoi and the faithful woman behind the intrepid Michael.

WORDLE #114

For Sunday Whirl: Class, Complex, Tracks, Gas, Edge, Forest, Answers, Files, Still, Lie, Pale, Mess.

X FILES

Prepare for a Master Class
in solving complex problems...

Start by following the tracks
that lead from the gas station
to the edge of the forest.

The answers are all out there...

The files still lie unopened
in their pale, faded folders.

So try not to leave a mess!

WORDLE #113

For Sunday Whirl: Chattering, Splits, Scoop, Moonshine, Anything, Giggle, Crazy, Load, Sense, Cut, Cave, Wake, Shatters.

CHEERS...!

A guy walks into a bar
teeth chattering from the cold

Splits a fifty note to buy
a scoop or two of moonshine

Anything for a giggle

Says - I know this sounds crazy
and won't make a load of sense
so I'll just cut to the chase...

Cave paintings depict our dreams!

So I try not to wake up...
It shatters the illusion...

WORDLE #112

For Sunday Whirl: Status, Page, Rest, Park, Curb, Shimmering, Steps, Spill, Yard, Spewing, Thunder, Jets.

WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?

Just updating my status
on my mobile Facebook page.
Taking a rest from traffic
as I park close to the curb.

'Shimmering steps spill their guts
out onto the rain-soaked yard.
Sky above spewing thunder
and random jets of lightning...'