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Quite, by Alex Andy Phuong

27/11/2020

 
Quite right
In the heat of the night
Even when darkness descends
One can still make amends
Not quite sure
What lies ahead
Even when lying in bed
But upon awakening
Getting up
Is truly a decision
To stand up
Quite frankly

'Drug Smuggling' – An Operetta, by Adrian McRobb

27/11/2020

 
The heroin alarm went off
when they landed from Lithuania
they searched all the passengers
who tried to enter Australia

They read them their rights
warned them of addiction mania
"it is against the law
to smuggle drugs into Australia"

Imagine their surprise
while searching baggage's interior
false linings and fake bottoms
and the scent of drugs inferior

There were...trainers full of cocaine
and bags full of paraphernalia
needles, powder, bong pipes
to addict most of Australia

Border guards are ruthless
if you hide drugs in your regalia
"you will end up in prison
staying much longer in Australia!"

November Mist, by Guy Fletcher

27/11/2020

 
November mist rolls in the valley
obscuring the distant Quantock hills.
A robin perches on the branch
of a silver birch where only
a few leaves desperately cling,
survivors of autumnal storms.
But now it is beautiful:
my breath like the mist itself
floating into the deep blue ether,
the wind has grown silent.
It is a time to relish existence
as morning dew shines like stars.
These rare dry days in the midst of the Fall
are truly the loveliest of all.

The Lighthouses, by Guy Fletcher

20/11/2020

 
It is the 1830s
and two lighthouses at Nash Point
warn ships of the Channel's peril.
The sea cares nothing for virtue
devouring both evil and good
and those who lie inbetween.
Yes, lighthouses were built but came too late
to stop the steamer Frolic's awful fate.

78 perished including Captain Jenkins,
victims of infifferent stormy seas
the Bristol Channel becoming a tomb
and when the wind whistles on Nash Point
you can hear the ghosts of the doomed,
a reminder of the power of nature
and that we are helpless and oh so small,
really of no significance at all.

Crime, by Alex Andy Phuong

20/11/2020

 
There is no right time
To commit atrocious crimes
Please use time wisely

I Saw a Star, by Adrian McRobb

20/11/2020

 
Unmoving
in that evening sky
twinkling
like landing lights
an aircraft?
A satellite?
White noise?
Over that house
with the strange stairs

Turquoise evening
with that unerring
something
twinkling
like thoughts
of you

Cool skin
and twined sheets
rumpling in pleasure
sweat and heat
joined like twins

Tracing that bead
of moisture
down your neck
to that wetness
licking
salt and caramel

I see that sky
and feel light
with yearning
my souls on fire
Babylon is burning...

Four Short Years, by Mary Wallace

13/11/2020

 
Your leader steered from great to hate
Allowed unrest to permeate
Encouraged men to segregate
And brought the world to tears
In only four short years

He misdirected, cheated, lied
Awash with arrogance and pride
Until the Country's soul had died
And he'd estranged his peers
In only four short years

Our world will not forget his rule
How apathy allowed a fool
To tarnish what was once a jewel
With mockery and jeers
In only four short years

How will you now regain respect
And counteract so much neglect
Let human kindness take effect
And quieten all our fears
We give you four short years.

On Parade, by Adrian McRobb

11/11/2020

 
They stand
eternally
at attention

Some mourned
most forlorn
unknowns
known by old pals

The Menin gate
casts
it's long shadow
slowly
pointing out
this forgotten army

Mist and phantoms
merge
as the roll
is called

While

A silent bugle
calls
them back
shackled
to earths mortality

And

Still
they stand
on parade...
Picture

The Memorial at Vimy Ridge, by Guy Fletcher

11/11/2020

 
I could see the white towers miles away:
a tribute to brave Canadians
who fought in the battle of Vimy Ridge
but perished in their thousands.
Colossal statues including Canada Bereft
who gazes upon fields of death and screams,
frightened lads with broken bodies and dreams

yet the ground is green now
when once it was filthy and brown,
stained with the blood of so many
dying in a foreign land
decades before their time
and in these sad times of isolation
let's pray for humankind's salvation.

For America, by Gordon Lawrie

6/11/2020

 
Say a little prayer for those now lost,
Their ship in seas of torment tossed,
Torn asunder, ripped apart
By the lust for glory, fame and greed
Of one whose darkened heart
Set out to feed
Humanity's basest traits
A toxic stew of lies and hate.
Is that light in the darkness dawn or fire?
Who knows?
The world can only watch and wait
But more in sorrow and despair
Than in any hope this soon will end.
All the world feels tension in the air –
We have so little faith in those
On whom the future will depend.
Not my country, not my home,
I weep for thee as though my own.

Modern Life, by Adrian McRobb

6/11/2020

 
Letters intrude, outside world plopping on your mat
bills, from strangers uncaring demand things
telephones ring endlessly, cold callers full of enthusiasm
takeaway leaflets promising forbidden delights
which when explored, deliver cold lifeless porridge
e-bay saviour of the psyche, Christmas every three days
news reader delivers bad tidings with a desultory smile
weather girl grinning expounds tidal news of epic proportions
she wonders what she'll cook for tea, and if 'he'll' be there?
Drinking wine and thinking your life is much better
from the bottle bottom, you start envying the cat
and so to bed, dreaming dreams of unfulfilled nothing...

Truth be Told, by Guy Fletcher

6/11/2020

 
The painting by des Landes
entices me into its very soul
with a young woman who seems
to have lost all innocence
displaying a dead bird with her worker's hands,
messenger of the gods, a crow,
they used to kill the messenger, you know.
​
The birch trees behind are painted
not from reality but as if a dream
their leaves mirroring the villager's hair,
the bodies of crows strewn
like corpses on a battlefield.
There is disdain and sadness on her face,
no hint of joy...in this awful place.

For Peace’s Sake, by Al Watt

6/11/2020

 
War that serves only politicians,
Their shelter from suffering,
paid for by too many lives.
Some souls are easily sold.
Sacrificed by strangers.
Innocents die for some cause.
And next of kin hope
that no news is good news.

Our protests are ignored,
differences met by violence,
instead of finding understanding.
How much suffering must there be,
until we realise this is not the way,
we ward off this abominable evil?
As they try to take our spirit,
we must pray for peace.

It Was Only a Dream, by Robert Plumlee

6/11/2020

 
It was a vision that forced me into another world, the dream world.
It became my world.
A world of illusions.
A world I could not escape.
A world that made little sense to me.
Then she appeared.
Her voice whispering like running water.
Her eyes, sinister, inviting.
Her spirit, captivating.
I wanted to run.
I wanted to stay.
She reached for me.
I reached for her.
She laughed, pulling me into her dimension.
Into her exciting world.
There was no escape.
Like a wayward spirit.
I disappeared into that world.
A world of unmentionable, pleasure, passion, and love.

Growing Old Together, by James A. Tweedie

6/11/2020

 
“Where are my socks?”
“On your feet.”
“No, the ones I just bought.”
“I don’t know.”
“Where are my glasses?”
“On your head.”
“No, my reading glasses.”
“I don’t know.”
“Where are my pants?”
“You’re wearing them.”
“No, the ones I wear to church.”
“In the closet.”
“Where’s my heart?”
“Is this a trick question? It’s in your chest. At least I hope it’s in your chest.”
“Nope, it’s not there.”
“Then where is it?”
“I gave it to you when I asked you to marry me.”
“And I gave you mine.”
“Best trade we ever made.”

    Poetry

    This is the section where fiction prose becomes something else. We still expect the poems to be short, though – sonnets, perhaps, or around that length at the very most.

    Poems submitted should be
    no longer than 160 words
    and contain
    no more than 16 lines.

    100 words remains the approximate target.

    Please submit using the Poetry Submissions Page.


    Picture

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