tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77024422024-03-19T07:31:42.241+00:00Searching For Blue Sea GlassPoems by Roger StevensRoger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.comBlogger500125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-26824904573376072872016-08-25T12:30:00.005+01:002016-08-25T12:30:58.746+01:00Shouting<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">My voice is very loud</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
So loud, that at full strength<br />
It can demolish a building<br /><br />My voice sounds normal to you<br />
Because I am whispering<br />
Very, very quietly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />When I was six<br />
I became so excited <br />
Watching a football match<br />
That I shouted<br />
And deafened several players<br />
The shock wave<br />
Burst the ball.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No one knew it was me.<br />
A freak underground explosion<br />
The local paper said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />As I grew<br />
So did my shout<br /><br /> When I was nine<br />
My mother took me for tests<br />
She explained to the doctor<br />
About my voice<br />
But you could see he didn’t believe her<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I remember wondering<br />
What would happen to him<br />
As the ambulance drove him away</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-91471706487830443092016-01-07T12:58:00.001+00:002016-01-07T22:54:07.427+00:00Las Vegas<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I need a
bigger pen</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
to write about Las Vegas</span></div>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
and a bigger book
to write it in<br />A pen<br />with pictures of Elvis<br />
or the Rat Pack<br />
etched on its barrel<br />
picked out in diamonds<br />
and rubies<br />A book<br />covered in the skin of okapi<br />
its leaves rolled from the finest papyrus<br />
stolen from a Pharoah’s tomb</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />And I must
clear my mind<br />
as I write about Vegas<br />
of Elvis singing Heartbreak Hotel<br />
to the jingle of slots<br />
and Frank singing<br />
My Way<br />
on a loop <br />
from here to eternity</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-51805534520802460042015-12-30T12:36:00.002+00:002015-12-30T12:36:17.171+00:00At the End of the Day<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the end of
the day</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
all you have left is the night<br />
When all is said and done<br />
all you have left is companionable silence<br />
When the fat lady has sung<br />
all you have left are empty seats<br />
and used plastic beakers<br />
At the end of the line<br />
all you have left is an empty carriage<br />
and discarded Metros<br />
At the end of a lollipop?<br />
The stick<br />
At the end of a dream?<br />
Harsh daylight and broken blinds<br />
a cold bed<br />
At the end of a book<br />
the after images of words<br />
a maelstrom of thoughts<br />
the plastic petals of hope and heartbreak<br />
already leaking through <br />
gaps in the memory bank<br />
and sluicing along the gutters<br />
towards the end of the poem.<br />
And then what?<br />
A pause for reflection<br />
or maybe time<br />
for a brew</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-18530620150705981042015-12-17T13:28:00.004+00:002015-12-17T13:28:42.540+00:00Feeling Sorry For A<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some people
feel sorry for A</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Few people travel there,<br />
it’s a starting point<br />
if you’re heading for B.<br />
But not I.<br />
It is a first choice destination, after all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some people
feel sorry for B</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">but I think<br />it’s useful to have it up your sleeve.<br />
It’s a back-up plan<br />
It is a popular destination.<br />
<br />
I feel sorry for C.<br />
No one travels from A to C.<br />
And how often does plan C come into effect?<br />
<br />
I feel sorry for the others, too<br />
with the exception of X of course<br />
who is a bit of a grump,<br />
always marking things wrong<br />
but is very good<br />
at marking the spot</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-45639398716522255172015-12-15T11:53:00.000+00:002015-12-15T12:52:57.709+00:00Spider Woman<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now we know<br />What's behind</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">
The Pink Door<br /><br />She enters, takes a bow<br />
To applause and cutlery<br />
She wears a red satin top<br />
Black tights<br />
She swings easily on the loops<br />
Of blue silk<br />
To La Vie en Rose<br />
By Edith Piaf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />You ease<br />
a fat finger of crab<br />
from its shell<br />
glance up at the Spider Woman</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">as the music grows louder<br />As she spins those fantastic shapes above you<br />
Shapes rarely configured by humans<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But this
doesn’t excite you<br />No<br /><br />Only when she slips<br />
Lets go of the blue silk<br />
And tumbles<br />
With a spider’s luck<br />
Into a bowl<br />
Of oyster chowder<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do you nod<br />
A smile of satisfaction<br />
As if you had expected that<br /><br />You dab your mouth delicately<br />
With a white napkin<br />
Before checking<br />
An incoming text</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-91034299622084780782015-12-10T17:10:00.004+00:002015-12-10T17:10:32.086+00:00Tea Ceremony<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sadly</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
In the Seattle Art Museum<br />
We didn’t have time to watch<br />
The Japanese Tea Ceremony<br />
Video</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-31036974673433501932015-12-07T18:42:00.001+00:002015-12-07T18:44:41.008+00:00The Naming of Stones in California<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Amethyst for
wisdom</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
Obsidian for protection from unknown spirits<br />
Rose quartz for protection from blushing<br />
Wear a tiger stone and<br />you will never be caught unawares by a tiger<br />
Likewise Lapis will protect you from rabbits<br />
Serpentine will protect you from unusual duck behaviour<br />
(not, as many believe, from snakebite)<br />
Nephrite will hold your hand<br />
at confusing road junctions<br />
Adventurine provides an antidote<br />to proselytizing parsons<br />
Greyish rock with white flecks<br />
will help you relax after a heavy meal<br />
Turquoise for successfully looking something up on Google<br />
And discovering you were right all along<br />
Nephrite Jade for stiff necks<br />
Iron Pyrite to guard you against shoddy souvenirs<br />and people talking bollocks</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-3377869872236303452015-12-06T19:18:00.002+00:002015-12-06T22:29:19.630+00:00In the Beginning<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hello, God.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Hello, Dave.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>What can you see?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nothing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>That's right.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Lots and lots of nothing.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Now watch this...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">WOW!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">THAT'S AWESOME</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What is it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I call it Dark.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Now watch this.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">WOW!!! WHOOEEYYYY!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That's even more awesome.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What's that?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I call it Light.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>And I've something else to show you, Dave.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What's that, God?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Come back tomorrow</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>and you'll find out.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br /></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-65003796760108512542015-12-04T18:52:00.000+00:002015-12-04T19:28:45.298+00:00Bamboo<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And so, I was wondering</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
how these notes and scribbles<br />
could be fashioned into poems<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />The chewdog technology<br />
at the Pampered Petshop, for example<br />
the Tequila Mockingbird,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hearsy’s Cartage, “Careful since
1890”,<br />
The mythical feats of the shaman, the warriors<br />
and spiritual beings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />And then, in Victoria<br />
I found a book of poems by Billy Collins<br />
in a sale at Munro’s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />It led me, in a series of verbal
winks, <br />
poetic gestures and the subtle movement<br />
of vowels, along the sidewalk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: large;">And around
the Writers’ Block<br />
to this small coffee shop<br />
<br />I can't wait to drink<br />
these freshly-brewed metaphors<br />
that smell so warm and sweet<br />as the small, Italian waitress<br />
with the delicate hands<br />pours them into<br />the Chinese porcelain <br />with its brush-stroked <br />mountains and bamboo</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-84728656083469599392014-09-10T13:35:00.000+01:002014-09-10T13:35:00.435+01:00Stuffed Animals<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dead and cold</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the back bedroom<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That was always damp<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dad probably swapped them<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a tuppenny blue<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Or found them<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a house he was demolishing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maybe in its loft<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The glass case jammed beneath a beam<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gathering dust<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A squirrel, a crow?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can’t remember now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was probably seven or eight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think there was a badger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wonder where they are now.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-74415280703105438562014-09-04T13:30:00.000+01:002014-09-04T13:30:02.611+01:00Twenty Five Years<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">Twenty five years</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That pass in a nod<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In a wink<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whizz by in the blink of an eye<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Quicker than drinking<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before you can think<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twenty five years<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jammed to the rafters<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With boxes of laughter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And crates of adventures<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And loving hugs crammed into corners<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and crevices<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shoved down the backs of sofas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And hoarded in cupboards<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In nooks and in crannies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Momentos and memories<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And even the kitchen sink<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is filled with flowers long gone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Black-eyed Suzies and yellow roses<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But their perfume and colours<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">still lingering on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twenty five years<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who would have expected<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The fun and the joy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To have lasted so long?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The stories we made, the music<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We played, the melody still going strong<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twenty five years<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And the past grows and grows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And each month overflows, and each day spills<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Into the next like a song you can’t lose<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Showtime of new shoes,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tears in the shade<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But fun in the sun when you ain’t got the blues<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Such a shame that the memories fade<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But the game carries on<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">New memories made<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our marriage just doesn’t feel old<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twenty five years, we’ve the silver<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now the thrill of
going for gold</span></span>Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-26839391749164776182014-09-01T07:00:00.000+01:002014-09-01T07:00:02.360+01:00This Week I Like Cats<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This week I like cats</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I gather them and mould all around me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To the shape of cat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cat plant holders<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cat towel rails<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s an all-embracing cat experience<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I line the walls with cat paintings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And the mantelpiece with cat figurines<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And re-post hilarious cat videos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And cute kitten videos on Face Book<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I worship the constellation Orion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And conjure ancient Egyptian Gods<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wear a cat-emblazoned tee shirt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And Siamese cats peek from my socks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A Persian cat sparkles in my naval<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This week I like cats<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Next week I will be liking frogs</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-24458016445714244272014-08-29T13:21:00.005+01:002014-08-29T13:21:40.694+01:00Listening Through My Separator<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Travelling along Forest Ridge</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also known as the Winged Eel’s Tail<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes called The Devil’s Bridge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Or the Dandelion Moonlight Trail<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Often called the Pancake Trap<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also the Valley of Old Tin Cans<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where the chrome-winged bone crows flap<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And Ant Man Bee makes jagged plans<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am listening to Trout Mask Replica<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the border of the Land of Frown<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Listening through my separator<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think I need a lie down</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-26648295411051670832014-08-18T10:31:00.002+01:002014-08-18T10:31:41.897+01:00Silver<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Silver, a metal of mystery</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Spun by the light of the moon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not brash like gold<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That’s spun in the sun<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All heat and fire<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An unsubtle metal<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soft and so easily unshaped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And undone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, silver<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beguiling<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suggestive of rivers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Flowing into a midnight lake<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of clandestine meetings in forests<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of lovers impatient<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For that first kiss<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of the magical light<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That just before dawn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Grants you a wish<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh, and smiling<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lots of smiling<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And all of the love you can take</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-33968481799043527062014-08-12T10:32:00.001+01:002014-08-12T10:34:43.905+01:00Who Do You Think I Am?<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(For Liz Brownlee)</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who do you think I am?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Fount of all Knowledge?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Fountain of Wisdom?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Tap of General Information?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Well of Understanding?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Stop-Cock of Interminable Trivia?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Spigot of Specific Information?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who do you think I am, anyway?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Spume of Curious Coincidences?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Spring of Eternal Hope?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Geyser of Self-Consciousness?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Waterfall of Disappointment?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Gutter of Good Intentions?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Hydrant of Poetic Gentrification?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who the hell do you think I am?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Faucet of Unreliable Narrative?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Hose of Sesquipedalian Verbosities?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Storm Drain of Gushing Sentiment?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Standpipe of Cloying Sediment?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Spout of Poetic Declamations?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Drainpipe of Dithering Ineptitude?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-6521072709198545202014-06-06T14:22:00.000+01:002014-06-06T14:22:00.165+01:00The All-Smiling Man<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am the all-smiling man</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
I am smiling for you, the trees<br />
You are losing your leaves<br />
and withered winter branches<br />
I am smiling for the last leaf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />I am smiling for you, the clouds<br />
covering the blue sky like similes<br />
or with slate grey metaphors<br />
I am smiling for the last cloud<br />
as it wisps beneath the departing moon<br />
<br />
I am smiling for you, the stars<br />
the final stars of a false dawn<br />
And for the morning star<br /><br /> And I am smiling for you, the new sun<br />
I am the all-smiling man</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-35501665946697966922014-06-03T14:20:00.000+01:002014-06-03T14:20:00.114+01:00Arrival<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #4c1130;">I can’t remember arriving</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At <st1:place w:st="on">Coventry</st1:place>
station<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Or how I found my way to the pub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I found a place to stay<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From a card in the newsagent’s window<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Left my suitcase and guitar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the large, shabby room<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Full of cold space<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I can’t remember what was in the suitcase<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Or what I wore<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><st1:personname w:st="on">Head</st1:personname>ed for the
college<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do remember thinking<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That the art students<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Would have claimed a pub for their own<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And would now be in out<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Renewing acquaintances<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Swapping stories of summer conquests<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And finding the pub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do remember<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Talking to the new second years<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Exotic, long-haired<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bright colourfully-clothed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">About the college<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What I could expect<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Drugs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The noise. The music was loud<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All Along the Watchtower by Jimmy Hendrix<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Was that then or later<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It featured heavily that year I’m sure<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But some things seem so vague now<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don’t remember how the evening ended<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don’t remember returning to my room<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Or how I slept<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Or if I dreamt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I know I only slept there once<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the morning I lifted the mattress<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And watched the bedbugs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Scurrying from the light</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-75932726093425343652014-05-26T14:17:00.000+01:002014-05-26T14:17:00.021+01:00Sky of Bone, Land of Stone<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can’t write another poem.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That’s what I think sometimes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ve nothing more to write<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just another poem for another place<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another fizzing morning <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a noisy night<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Alone in <st1:place w:st="on">Edinburgh</st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In a hotel with Perspex walls<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A drizzle of rain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After the hot southern cocktail<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sky of bone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Land of stone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wander the streets<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By chance I glimpse a lap dancer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Through through the open doorway<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To an empty bar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She sticks out her tongue<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In, what I imagined afterwards<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As I walked the half-familiar streets, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A come-hither gesture<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Using reverse psychology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sky of bone,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Land of stone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you know what I fancy right now?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A cigarette. A roll up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If I were on my own<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And didn’t have a loving wife<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Three hundred miles away<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I could do that so easily<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Embrace the deathly cocktail <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">of chemicals and carcinogens<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">drawn them into my lungs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My friend and I<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We’d would walk out into the night, together<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Beneath the bone sky<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Into the land of stone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Into the dancer’s arms<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My friend would glow <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With the warmth of human contact<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And the glow would finally die<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And the wind would obliterate all traces<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of his soul, his dying breath<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And I would toss his empty carcass<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Into the road<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And only his shadow would remain with me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the land of stone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And then I’d want another friend</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-14718447987326077912014-05-21T14:11:00.000+01:002014-05-21T14:11:01.707+01:00Making Love to the Dead<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Making love to the dead</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
It’s all you can do <br />
Thoughts whiz round your head<br />
Shed a tear<br />
For the things that they said<br />
They’ll no longer see clouds<br />
The sun on the golf course<br />
From high on The Downs, the views, the windmill caught in the wind<br />
They won’t see the daisies, buttercups, hawthorn, the blossom<br />
And they won’t feel the wind on their faces<br />
Or the wind behind them <br />
As they rush down the slope<br />
<br />
Making love to the dead<br />
It’s all you can do<br />
Thoughts that dart in your head<br />
The people you knew who are gone<br />
Good times that are done, bad times got through<br />
Can you dance with the dead?<br />
Can you speak with the dead?<br />
Sure, It’s a monologue<br />
But you hear them speak back in the wind, in the traffic<br />
Time races<br />
You imagine the things that they’d say,<br />
Each moment, each day, every week, every year<br />
How long have you got?<br />
Will you be next?<br />
Your turn to be dead<br />
And your spirit becomes the shadow of cloud that’s sweeps<br />
Down the hill, filling the head of the walker<br />
Still walking in hope<br />
Making love to the dead</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-2005295424916294452014-05-16T14:09:00.000+01:002014-05-16T14:09:01.381+01:00Cloud<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When recently attending a wound</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
I was struck by how much<br />
the cotton wool resembled clouds</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-16261251299034830522014-05-13T14:08:00.002+01:002014-05-13T14:08:30.681+01:00Spaces<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Where friends once lived</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
Friend-shaped spaces<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Walking along Brighton sea front<br />
A bag of fish and chips<br />
A sharp sea breeze chopping up the past<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />An old train ticket to Rochester</span><br /><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
found in a favourite jacket<br />Standing next to Lennon in the cathedral loos</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />A jacket, clothes, blankets…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
Imagine a tent, caught in a ferocious gale<br />
pegs ripped from the ground<br />
flapping through the air <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />From school laughter<br />and the smell of paint and charcoal<br />
to a hospital bed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And now, another space<br />
that can never be filled in<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />How big is that space?<br />
The size of a room? Of a stadium?<br />
A planet’s atmosphere?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And these spaces clump together<br />
like magnetic poles<br />
into a huge emptiness<br />
an enormous why<br />
<br />
Can we ever know many holes it takes<br />
to fill the Albert Hall?<br />
You saw Clapton there…<br />
Stray images fly<br />
Caught in the sunlight, like dust<br />
Dust to dust<br />
Dust is never in short supply</span><span style="font-size: 20.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-52539155217567607102013-12-18T11:51:00.000+00:002013-12-18T11:51:00.243+00:00Cross Country<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have
left the Brighton to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commuter
line<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And are
travelling cross country<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No
longer heading for the city<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
carriage is quiet, nearly empty<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And outside
an early frost<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And
watercolour sky<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I spoke
too soon<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Into the
carriage pour<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A
hundred school or more<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">School children<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why do
they shout?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why such
loud conversation?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why are
their voices so shrill?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The cacophony
and impatience<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">of the
i-phone generation<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh,
where is the quiet girl, reading a book?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where
are the two boys engrossed in chess,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where is
the boy with the nervous glances <br />
And unrequited fantasies?</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-61514851054697315412013-12-15T11:29:00.000+00:002013-12-15T11:29:00.075+00:00Forecast<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
guillemot</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gazes at
the sky<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And
hopes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That
today’s weather report<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will be more
accurate<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Than
yesterday’s</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-309289311188587342013-12-12T11:28:00.000+00:002013-12-12T11:28:00.274+00:00Artisan<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her
hands,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">large,
but delicate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her
fingernails, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bitten,
cracked, unadorned.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She is
painting an old,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">French,
sanded-down headboard,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Antique
gold.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why is
she painting so meticulously,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Her
face, masked in concentration?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I knew
you would come, she said,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As she
removed her apron<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And,
naked, moved through the cold room<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Towards
me</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7702442.post-87973998199341984312013-12-09T11:26:00.001+00:002013-12-09T11:26:39.260+00:00The Night of the Knives<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the
Pizza Express</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
young man on the next table<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Asks the
waitress<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do you
have the new knives?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She
says, We are supposed to have them by now<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But they
haven’t arrived yet<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
The young man continues,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because
I was in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Stratford</st1:city></st1:place>
the other day…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He lets
the sentence hang<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And does
a cutting pizza mime<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then, as
she walks away he says,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They’re
one hundred times better.</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Roger Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08393920954647379508noreply@blogger.com0