Lovely poem. I especially liked the above lines, very meaningful.

Thanks Troy Madrigal was one of my first poems.

A fascinating write as ever Archiver

This is one of your most haunting pieces IMO Frank.

And exceptional it is Musty.

In my opinion, you are without any shadow of a doubt the finest poet on this site.

Long may your postings continue.

They shall my friend Over time the thread has developed into a unique place, a sort of calm oasis on DS. Thank you everyone for making it what it is

Thanks popalong and Musty for commenting on the "sampling" one. I have to acknowledge the lines freely borrowed and rearranged slightly from favourite poets: Dylans/ Thomas & Bob, Robert Frost, Shakespeare, Wordsworth and well I forget just now - on lap-top in the pub.

Great place to write a poem Frank

the show must go on

Some episodes are unfair,
They baffle and they irk,
The circus and the funfair
Were where we had to work.

The punters numbered many,
The tent was often packed,
It only cost a penny
To witness every act.

With oddities they'd be mean,
Abuse the lesser flock,
How odd it is to be seen
By those who crave a shock.

You get used to the gasping,
The laughter and the screams
When your one chance is clasping
To nights in cheap regimes.

I think back to the barker
Who loudly roared our names
And how the air grew darker
As we revealed our frames.

Because our twisted figures
Could fill a crowd with awe
We helped the rich gold-diggers;
Their carnivals would soar.

Today we'd be 'disabled',
How strange politeness speaks,
In those days we were labelled
The ugliest of freaks.

We spent life entertaining
For fools who sneer and cuss,
If pity isn't waning
Spare some of it for us.


©

Excellent write Musty, highly effective metaphor and a pointed commentary to boot.

Marvellous stuff.

Ah 'tis a cruel world Musty, to be sure, to be sure, but at least here sheep may safely graze, eh Troy?

Thanks Troy - it's good to be back in the saddle

I've always thought sheep are wise creatures Biz They've never started any wars for a start

'Evenin all.1/12/2011

Seven billion people on a spinning rock.
Time is like treacle during aftershock.
Seventy sextillion stars in this place.
Reptilian brothers out in outer space?

Countdown caldera huge tsunami.
I think the better the sooner; we make
ways for descendants to 'soon' ascend
to stars! Or, maybe Mars Bars end.

Best to survive. Could be so rare there's
no one alive any other where's.
In all of creation, could be just us.
Seven billion passengers on a broken bus.

The drivers are dead and the governor's broke.
Superman's in bed with another bloke
and the Chinese are coming to get what you owe.
All for a mind numbing TV show.

Oh yes, one of your best Archiver! I was only thinking today how mind-blowing the sheer amount of human beings on this planet is. I like the way you brought outer-space elements too

BTW what was the new word you learned?

DEATH

Life, no more;
I am a putrid festering corpse.
Rising at midnight,
I claw through the mud,
Trapped in that box,
I only crave blood.

The sweet smell of air
Hits my nose,
The sounds of life,
The stars on show.
Shuffling along to find my prey,
I must return,
Before return of day.

I leave a trail of flesh and cloth,
With chunks of my skin,
Scattered anon.
With every step I lose some more,
Very soon I must chew and gnaw.

I spy a tramp under a bush,
Soaked in urine and vomit,
So sweet and juicy
And tender.
He does not wake as I take a bite,
For he has had too much
To drink tonight.

An hour later,
Belly full of tramp,
I wipe his infected remains
Away from my mouth.

Then I lose my lips,
The punishment for greed.
Chasing those last crumbs
Was foolish, I concede.
But eat I must,
The unread corpse,
Snuggled safely back in my coffin,
Rotting away some more.

©

Brilliant Biffo - you can't beat a good zombie poem and the gore here reminded me of Stephen King at his darkest. What an ode to read at just after 3:30 in the morning

Thanks again Musty


"I saw a rictus grin." Stored for future use


I agree. Glad I didn't read it 'till the warm light of day. Thanks Biffo.

Nice one

Some blinding poems recently, the thread is rocking with creativity thanks to our talented resident poets.


Loving reading this stuff.

"This is an important message
Do not put down your phone..."
All I need to hear before doing
Precisely as directed not to
By the voice at the other end.
End of nuisance call for now,
I'll get another later anyhow
A modern plague that so appalls,
A sh**d load of unwanted calls.

(third today - just [*%**'ing!] well go away says I.
(Frank)

Manifesto of the New Luddites

We can't stand how technology's increased,
The time has come to rise and slay the beast
From north to south and also west and east.

The young are trapped by various machines,
They download, text or stare at glowing screens
And nobody knows what it really means.

Attention spans have got extremely small,
Their Twittering's formed something to appall:
A mass of floating cyber-babble bull.

The first new rehabs have been put in place,
Cold turkey for the sad addicted case,
A pox on every perfect pixel's pace.

We don't deny antiquities must go;
The outdoor loo and chamber-pot or po,
The quill was rough, the penny-farthing slow.

But now we see an overnight decline,
They've never managed one handwritten line
And seem to think no exercise is fine.

The day has come to stand up for what's right,
To fight the most important modern fight:
Imagination v the Gigabyte.

Of course there'll be no violence, let me say
We'll protest in the peaceful Gandhi way;
Our method to keep techno-death at bay.

Come join us if you've grown heartily sick
Of those who get their jollies from a click
On phoney forum friends they cherry-pick.

The social network's due to end its reign,
When bleary eyes look up we shall explain
New Luddites made life human once again.


©

I know the feeling Frank

Outstanding poem Musty, absolutely love the concept and particularly liked this line:

'A mass of floating cyber-babble bull'.


A magnificent and memorable phrase.

Thanks Troy The poem was inspired by a news report I saw recently about a new rehab centre for young computer addicts.

Old God's a quirky plumber

Old God's a quirky plumber,
This year look what he's done:
Strong downpours in the summer
And April warmed by sun.
Next August or September
Will snow fall from the sky?
Or will festive December
Be hotter than July?
Whatever else is coming
The forecast's surely odd,
Erratic is the plumbing
That's engineered by God.


©

Oh, doesn't it drive you mad? I was brought up to be polite, but I'm afraid I'm getting exasperated - no my computer isn't running slow, I have no PPI, etc. etc. ad nauseum.



I ask you, where will it all end - mind you I like mine, don't you? Technology that is.


I've been thinking something similar. Mind you I can put up with whatever comes so long as it isn't what the east coast of America is expecting.

You know these fellas pop in and everything's going really well and then they all disappear again - you just can't rely on them.

Only up to a point Biz. Mobile phones aren't for me, nor is sat nav, downloading and all the rest of it. Technology advancing is inevitable but there are enormous losses that go with it too.

Poor America, they've been really battered by the weather this year