tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73009922617527293002024-03-08T19:07:00.326+00:00Occasional DoggerelPoems, prose poems, and the occasional nonsense poemUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-91115286782117989732009-11-11T10:36:00.002+00:002009-11-11T20:09:07.043+00:00RatIt fell on me<br />
<div>As I lay in bed<br />
<div>From the rafters.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Only a small rat.<br />
<br />
</div><div>But still<br />
</div><div>Like a woman<br />
I screamed.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>Rat<br />
</div><div>Scurried away.<br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>I<br />
</div><div>Lay taut, alert, twitching,<br />
</div><div>All night unsleeping.<br />
</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-2146971649840614402009-11-09T12:34:00.000+00:002009-11-09T12:34:37.400+00:00Killing mosquitoesI lay down in the long grass<br />
And let them come<br />
With their whining wings<br />
And I killed them one by one<br />
With a slap on the wrist.<br />
<br />
I laid out their little bodies<br />
All rigid delicate legs and probosces<br />
On an orange groundsheet.<br />
<br />
And I counted eighty-one, before I though I oughter<br />
Call a halt to the slaughter.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-4596253154358977172009-10-28T15:23:00.002+00:002015-12-13T16:36:41.341+00:00Death of a dogFrom his sunny spot in a dusty yard<br />
He came out onto the road to do his doggy duty:<br />
To bark at me as I came past.<br />
<br />
But this dog came without the urgency<br />
That some dogs display:<br />
The ones who bark and really mean it;<br />
The ones whose bites may be worse<br />
Than their barks.<br />
<br />
This dog, it seemed to me, was only<br />
Going through the motions.<br />
His barking was neither angry, nor particularly loud,<br />
In the manner of one who understands,<br />
Deep down, that this barking is merely a convention;<br />
That the passer-by will likely continue his passing-by<br />
Quite harmlessly,<br />
Bark, or no bark.<br />
<br />
It was a four-wheel-drive, big, red, fast, that got him.<br />
A moment after I had passed<br />
I heard the sound,<br />
Heavy, soft and wet,<br />
And understood immediately what had happened.<br />
<br />
The driver, of course, did not stop.<br />
The dog, and his bark, simply disappeared.<br />
<br />
I felt a warm fleck on my cheek.<br />
<br />
And, looking down,<br />
Saw my clothes spattered<br />
With something unspeakable.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-27839617901812300042009-10-28T15:05:00.000+00:002009-10-28T15:05:45.681+00:00TibetIn the river valley down to my left,<br />
Down below the dirt road,<br />
Three vultures, pecking at a dead sheep,<br />
Left off their pecking momentarily<br />
To watch me pass, and then<br />
Resumed their pecking,<br />
Hopping awkwardly through wet snow.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-68237106984343498152009-10-27T10:18:00.008+00:002009-10-27T10:44:40.469+00:00HutA small white hut<br />
Sat with its doorless door-frame painted blue<br />
On a small island in a shallow lake<br />
Under a yellowing weeping willow<br />
Surrounded by tramped mud<br />
And the gentle smell of decayUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-59863881640550357002009-10-11T19:38:00.002+01:002009-10-12T10:52:40.341+01:00Buying biscuits in Hampshire (en route to China, by bicycle)I stopped<br />
In a shop<br />
Off the A23<br />
<br />
And purchased<br />
Some biscuits<br />
For 95p.<br />
<br />
"Are you going far?"<br />
Asked the man at the till.<br />
To China, I answered,<br />
And felt foolish, but still.<br />
<br />
"Well have a good trip then,"<br />
The shopkeeper nodded.<br />
But later, recounting our meeting, he added:<br />
<br />
"Third bloody one<br />
This week."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-89956031708629230762009-10-09T11:42:00.000+01:002009-10-09T11:46:44.927+01:00Poem without words<span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<br />
, , , -<br />
,<br />
, , ,<br />
, ,<br />
.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
! , , .<br />
, ; . -<br />
? , <br />
, ?<br />
, .<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
, .<br />
, .<br />
, ,<br />
- - <br />
, <br />
. .<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
? :<br />
. ? ,<br />
? " ": .<br />
, , .Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-23766168889592299842009-10-08T10:35:00.006+01:002016-02-15T20:05:20.820+00:00Symphony Hall<span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span><br />
<b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>Slow movement</i></span></b><br />
In sad reply to soaring strings came horns to wail and grieve;<br />
And clarinet, with mournful sigh, lent<br />
Plangent tone to quaver, crotchet, minim, semi-breve.<br />
(The rests were silent.)<br />
<br />
<b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>Interval</i></span></b><br />
The first half's done. As from a dream<br />
We wake, and leave the concert-den.<br />
And after scoffing ice-cream<br />
We troop back in again.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>Fast movement</i></span></b><br />
<i>Vivace </i>themes in silver'd streams came trembling, tumbling out<br />
From piccolo, viola and cor anglais. Then, we spied<br />
(His baton flailing wildly as he lurched in his redoubt)<br />
The conductor tumbling off the stage - "Too many notes!" he cried.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Birmingham, West Midlands, UK52.47853297717338 -1.910150104976651252.478381977173377 -1.9104651049766512 52.478683977173382 -1.9098351049766511tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-91243846386720608592009-01-06T10:38:00.000+00:002009-10-08T14:21:45.706+01:00Lines Composed on Using for the First Time a Sheepskin Cycle Seat Cover Received as a Christmas Present from my Sister Emily<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As the first grey light of morning revealed an icy dawn,</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I climbed upon my bicycle: its tyres and brakes well-worn,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But a brand-new woollen cosy I placed upon my seat</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To keep at bay the wintry air, and help keep in the heat.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Oh wondrous manufacture! Ingenious idea!</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A stylish saddle-cover to insulate my rear!</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">No more the frosty blasts feared I; no more the arctic weather</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Would be a cause, however foul, to hinder my endeavour.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So off I set, astride my steed, and straight away I knew</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">However low the temperature, my lips however blue,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">That my buttocks were protected, besat upon this fleece</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And never more would frost-nipped cheeks my ped'ling cause to cease.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Away! And down the hill I flew, the fields all white around;</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And white steam rose from a herd of deer, and </span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">crows</span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> pecked frozen ground.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I set my course toward the West, across the 505,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And though all about was frozen still, I felt the warmest man alive.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The frost it gripped the earth all day, the sun it never shone,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But never once I grumbled while my backside perched upon</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This miraculous invention, this draw-string'd, snug device:</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Let the weather do its worst to me, the wind let it blow twice</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As strong and fierce and bitter, still its penetrating chill,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As I pedalled 'cross the country, to my rump could do no ill:</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Through Herts and Cambs and Beds and Warks, </span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">West Midlands</span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and Northants -</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The warmest parts within me were the parts within my pants.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The honest folk at Ashwell, each still warmly wrapped in bed,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Had they woken would have marvelled as through their little town I sped</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Past their gables hung with icicles, their step-stoned pond iced o'er,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To see me still unfrozen, as the mercury sank lower.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So onward I to Hinxworth, up and over the A1</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And down again the other side to Langford - Oh, the fun</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Of racing on my bicycle between the hoary trees</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Off the ridge to Cardington, my legs a blur of knees</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Pumping, piston-like, my pedals, leaving </span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Bedford</span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> in my wake</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Heading northward now, through Bromham, and on my right, a lake</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Upon whose frozen surface the geese ungainly slid</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But my woollen mat beneath me kept me warm as 'twere a lid.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Easton Maudit, Castle Ashby, the villages slipped by</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Then Cogenhoe and Houghton and </span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Northampton</span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> seemed to fly</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Past my wheels, shrouded still in wisps of white</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Fog and ice that now, at noon, had long outlived the night.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I stopped to eat my picnic lunch - my strength from hunger waning -</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Now as I munched my frozen sandwiches my buttocks were complaining,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For my trusty bottom-warmer coddled still my cycle's seat</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And the iron bench I lunched upon drew out too fast the heat.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So I wolfed my vittles quickly as cold numbness seeped to bone,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And soon through Daventry's broad avenues I rushed on fleecy throne,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And I pedalled through the still chill air, my feeling now restored</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Past Industry's great bastions: Rail Freight Terminal, and Ford.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Then to Staverton and Shuckburgh, and Napton-on-the-Hill,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Long Itchington and Offchurch, up to </span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Leamington</span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, until</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My journey's end at last drew near, as the brief day's light was fading,</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And the darkness of another night my icy road was shading.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Yet past </span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Kenilworth</span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to Beausale the last long miles stretched out,</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And as the cold wind blew through Dorridge, I knew beyond a doubt</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">That without this</span></span></span></span><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> soft and warming rug to place beneath my bum</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On such a day I never would have made it home to Brum.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So glory be to Stella, who invented this delight!</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And glory be to Emily G, who correctly guessed it might</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Make the perfect Christmas present to invert the chilly cyclist's frown.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span><span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">What's more: my bike in sheepswool clad 's now the smartest one in town.</span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; direction: inherit; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NjYM9ImY5cw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NjYM9ImY5cw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span></p></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-47662610900704526312009-01-03T10:51:00.002+00:002009-10-09T16:07:44.871+01:00Lines Composed on Using for the First Time an Electric Spaghetti Winding-Fork Received as a Christmas Present from my Dear Mama<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><object height="285" width="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b7rTH3W1cPs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b7rTH3W1cPs&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="340" height="285"></embed></object></span> </span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">O </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">deprived, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">benighted British diners! Still fed up</span><br />
</div><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With daily munching stodgy, samey stews?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">W</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ith this </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">life-changing</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> gadget now on </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">foreign </span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">pasta</span></i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> you will sup,</span><br />
</div><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And banish those spaghetti-winding blues!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes! Come see! Our new, unique and patented device!</span><br />
</div><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">No more those filamentous strands, mechanically extruded</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Will bedevil your </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">attempts to eat alternatives to rice:</span><br />
</div><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Indeed! Your search is ended! (</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">NB </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Batteries not included.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Buy now! And </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">soon you’ll </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">wonder how you ever </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">lived</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> without it!</span><br />
</div><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our customers as one agr</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ee that there is nothing finer:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s practical, hygienic, and, what's more – we’re proud to shout - it</span><br />
</div><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Uses genuine materials: moulded plastic</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">s</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, made in </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">China</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The instructions are quite simple: insert in bowl your fork</span><br />
</div><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And switch the flick (marked X) so prongs (marked Y) will roundly go!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now (ignore the flicking flecks of gravy) </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">carefully adjust the torque,</span><br />
</div><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And shove the contents in </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">your mouth, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">chew for an hour or so.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There’s never been a better time to join th</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">is </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">latest craze!</span><br />
</div><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From the Highlands and the </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Islands</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> down to Walton</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">on</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Naze</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With their Electric Spaghetti Winding-forks, in a hundred different ways,</span><br />
</div><div style="direction: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0pt; margin-right: 0pt; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The sophisticated people eat S</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">paghetti Bolognese</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.</span><br />
</div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-58897384488626044012006-03-20T11:03:00.000+00:002009-10-08T11:07:03.892+01:00Guidelines for poetry-writing<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">One.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Make</span></span></div><div><span><span class="il"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="il"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ending</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="il"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Count</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span></span> </span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">Two.</span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Use</span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Short lines</span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Short words</span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And</span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Above all</span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Keep</span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="il"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> whole thing</span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Short.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span></span> </span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Less chance</span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">That way</span></span></span></div><div><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Of saying something stupid.</span></span></span></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-57936380067625410952005-12-09T12:37:00.001+00:002016-02-15T18:28:36.510+00:00DescentImagine<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that you are going downhill very fast on a bicycle,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> through rain and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> mist and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> with the wind behind you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Imagine </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that it is steep and the mountain you are coming off</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> is very high, with the road cut into it, with sheer cliffs either side, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> one rising (on your right side) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the other (on your left)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> (as you fly down the slope) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> dropping deep and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> straight into the clouds.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Imagine </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that you are going at about forty miles an hour, which</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> on a laden bike feels very fast indeed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Imagine </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> you feel the wind whipping your face,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the mist licking your hair </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and the rough road pounding your backside through the saddle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And now </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> imagine you cannot stop.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Imagine you cannot stop, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> because your brakes are gone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Imagine you squeeze those levers and, expecting </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the soft squeal of rubberised friction, get only the scrape</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of metal on metal. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Imagine you are now a slave to gravity. Imagine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> you see a bend ahead, and imagine </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> you know that if around that bend there is </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> a truck or</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> a cow <br />
or a man with a wheelbarrow, or </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> a tree, or </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> a pile of rocks </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> you will, if you succeed in</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> not going over the cliff, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> hit the truck </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or the cow </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or the man with the wheelbarrow </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or the tree </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or the pile of rocks, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and likely be killed, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in the case of the man with the wheelbarrow, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> quite possibly kill him too.</span><br />
(About the cow you are not quite certain.)<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And now </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> imagine that you do, though not without a struggle, and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> not without cutting it very much finer than you care to remember afterwards,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> get round that corner, and imagine</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that Fate </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> has decreed that there shall not be a truck, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or a cow, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or a man, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or a wheelbarrow, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> or a pile of rocks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> around this particular corner on this particular occasion </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> (unlike, you recall, the previous corner, and, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> you subsequently discover, the next-but-one),</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And so </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> imagine, to cut a long story short, that you reach the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> bottom of this mountain, and succeed somehow in bringing your bicycle </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> to a halt.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And imagine </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that you discover yourself, after an interval of</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> uncertain duration,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sitting on the road, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> shaking and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> crying.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And imagine, finally </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that a man with a wheelbarrow, who </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> (the man, not the wheelbarrow) does not speak your language,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> nor you his, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> leaving his wheelbarrow behind,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> comes and sits down beside you, and puts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> his hand </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> on your shoulder.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-1610428226852748632004-07-01T14:08:00.008+01:002009-10-27T10:27:19.057+00:00Late stormThere was one day when the storm held off until late;<br />
The clouds gathered and grew,<br />
Swelling, like a dull ache<br />
That could not quite break through,<br />
Until, when the evening came, we could see it was very nearly upon us.<br />
<br />
Blackness drew in blackness, swallowing<br />
Everything. Something<br />
Almighty on the brink.<br />
<br />
We ran ahead to find a place for the tents.<br />
<br />
Now.<br />
At five thousand feet vast distended globes of water<br />
Began their precipitate descent. Fifteen seconds,<br />
We reckoned<br />
We had. Kit off, slung-flung<br />
And as it came, the rain, we three danced<br />
In a green-grass bowl between two small hills<br />
A sodden ballet of poles, pegs and lines; leaping, splashing, sploshing<br />
A flipping, flapping, flopping<br />
Festival of tits and cocks and balls, illuminated intermittently<br />
By the freeze-frame flashes of the lightning<br />
As the late storm erupted, emptying itself upon us.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-57507038130074001272004-04-19T10:45:00.004+01:002009-11-11T10:53:10.965+00:00UkraineThis much I remember:<br />
A wooden boat, upturned on the beach,<br />
Its blue hull resting quietly<br />
On the soft, pale sand,<br />
Wavelets lapping the shore<br />
As the sun slipped down<br />
Across the mouth of the estuary<br />
As, on the far shore,<br />
The lighthouse winked slowly.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-75757611823915206102004-04-08T13:51:00.008+01:002009-10-27T10:40:12.200+00:00Eggs for Sale, SerbiaThe sign read "Eggs for Sale, "<br />
(I offer it here in translation; the original<br />
Serbian momentarily escapes me)<br />
"This way <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">--></span>".<br />
<br />
So I followed, this way <span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">--><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">, and </span></span><br />
On arrival, at the end of a track, at<br />
A cluster of white-painted farm buildings,<br />
Enquiring as to the possibility<br />
Of an egg or two, I was greeted<br />
By some men (who, as I recall, were mending a pump)<br />
With a curious mixture of amusement and bemusement,<br />
And was directed to Goran, who said,<br />
No, we do not have any eggs, but<br />
You are welcome to stay the night,<br />
If you would like.<br />
<br />
We sat outside together and drank beer<br />
As evening slipped over the hill behind the Danube<br />
And talked a little of the war.<br />
His cousin had been in Novi Sad<br />
When we bombed the bridges there.<br />
And he had watched the bombarding of Belgrade<br />
From his farmhouse, white on the hilltop,<br />
With no eggs for sale, but a place for the night, if you'd like to stay.<br />
And I said I was sorry, for what it was worth,<br />
I had been against it from the start,<br />
Another country up which we had messed<br />
It's the politicians who are mad,<br />
And Goran said Forget it, it's the best<br />
Firework display we ever had.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-6361499113172847142004-04-07T14:56:00.034+01:002009-10-27T10:54:49.446+00:00Vukovar, Croatia, 2004Across the border, the road divides<br />
Still-wintry forest from un-sprung marsh.<br />
Cold; April the seventh -<br />
My mother's birthday tomorrow.<br />
The forest, and the marshes, both are mined.<br />
<br />
On the road Bosnian truckers drive hard,<br />
Barrelling diretissimo from die-hard habit, I imagine,<br />
Of running Sarajevo snipers. Cyclist: make way.<br />
<br />
From the border-guards, a stamp and a smile:<br />
Welcome to Croatia. Good luck on your journey.<br />
And then across the border<br />
On the road that divides forest from marsh.<br />
Marshes and forest, both are mined.<br />
<br />
Good Christ, mined! Not in some far distant land, but<br />
Here on our back door-step, mined.<br />
<br />
And the fields of Beli Manastir - mined.<br />
Mined, and marked by neat small signs: red triangles,<br />
And a skull: danger, death, mines.<br />
Land mines,<br />
Anti-personnel devices.<br />
Area-denial.<br />
<br />
Area denial?<br />
Anti-personnel?<br />
<br />
Good Christ, ten years on, these people<br />
Cannot work their god-damned<br />
Man-damned fields.<br />
<br />
Cannot graze their god-damned<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Man-damned cattle.<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Cannot walk the path to visit their god-damned<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Man-damned neighbour.<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On the road from Osijek to Vukovar<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Dark rain lashes.<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Road? A causeway,<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This-only-we-have-made-safe ugly ribbon<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In a sea of god-damned land-mines.<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Dark futile fury lashes within me on the road to Vukovar,<br />
Raging in the rain against the god-damned men who...<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And when the road reaches Vukovar,<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I am gut-shot-wrenching full<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I keep my head down, trying, as much as possible,<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Not to see the burnt-out, shelled-out, bulleted,<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Smashed place, and the people who I think<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Try, as much as possible, not to see me,<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As dark rain lashes.<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> You need not travel very far<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> To sample the delight of war:<br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> It fills the air in Vukovar.<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-63101727036212432342004-03-05T16:04:00.001+00:002009-10-28T16:15:34.417+00:00NightThe sun was setting behind me already<br />
As I crossed the river<br />
And climbed the road<br />
Up onto the Common.<br />
<br />
It was March and the days<br />
Were still short.<br />
<br />
I stopped.<br />
Behind me, back down across the river,<br />
The air was quiet and still.<br />
<br />
When I had the tent up, it was dark.<br />
<br />
A full moon came out, and I could see,<br />
Out beyond the heather, the sea, far off.<br />
<br />
In the cold tent, I ate bread,<br />
Eight miles from home.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7300992261752729300.post-38254190747835136722004-01-03T10:55:00.008+00:002009-10-27T11:03:43.961+00:00GirlMy mother said -<br />
"Are you sure?"<br />
<br />
And my father said -<br />
"Have you made a will?"<br />
And -<br />
"Will you take a gun?"<br />
<br />
And the girl said -<br />
In fact I don't remember her saying anything at all.<br />
She kept, as I recall, very quiet, as if<br />
She did not quite believe, or understand,<br />
What I was telling her.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0