You're helping to put the world the right way up, Tim.
Comment is about June 2025 (blog)
Original item by Tim Daly
I love that Mike. So much said in so few words.
Comment is about Conversations Without Sound (blog)
Original item by Mike McPeek
Well put, JD.
More and more, these days I find myself asking:
"...was it for this?"
Comment is about Brothers Grim (blog)
Original item by JD Russell
Nice one, Stephen.
I've just seen the nodding donkeys behind him lapping up his every single word about Iran. Netanyahu must be his and Starmer's script writer.
There he was, giving what he imagined to be a victory speech, but what was, in actual fact, an abysmal failure, in both military and in diplomatic terms.
Comment is about Gazvegas! (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
Repeat the lies ad nauseam until they become the truth.
Meister Bibi said "jump"...so Iraq 2003
Meister Bibi said "jump"...so Iran 2025.
Comment is about Maginot (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner
For some reason the refrain to "Ilkla Moor" comes to mind!😊
Comment is about MY PRONOUN (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
There’s a certain accuracy in this piece JC and it’s brevity that somehow makes it a Coop Classic! Bravo!
Comment is about MY PRONOUN (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Hi Ray,
A clever title with some cutting edge word play at the end.
David
Comment is about Extinction Rebellion (blog)
Original item by Ray
I'd have to disagree with Greg - as a bit of an insomniac myself - if you can get sleep, embrace it, hang onto it as long as you can. An active mind is a curse and often those wonderful lines you thought were great, don't look so good in the morning.
I like the dreamy quality of this and that you've made a poem that works out of the every day.
Comment is about Masterpiece (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thank you for your kind words on my poem Stephen.
Yes I can see why people may find Gaza hard to write about. And I'm guessing many people don't want to read poems on it either. I'm getting to the stage where I can't bear to watch the news on it as it distresses me so much. Not watching it carries its own layers of guilt though.
There really aren't words to describe the times we live in ❤️
Comment is about Stephen Gospage (poet profile)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thanks, Doug.
It’s no coincidence that you should mention “Shock and Awe”, the military policy pursued by the USA and the UK in the illegal war on Iraq, on behalf of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Once more, at the bidding of Netanyahu, an illegal war is being waged against Iran despite the proven (by the US government ) non – existence of nuclear weapons.
Comment is about GENOCIDE (blog)
Original item by Doug Berry
Thank you, Larisa.
Unfortunately, current events demonstrate that “The West” has learned nothing from those terrible days, our leaders are determined to drag us into WW 3.
The UK and US governments are currently cheer – leading, actively enabling and arming a genocide on behalf of a modern – day Hitler which is Benjamin Netanyahu.
Comment is about It Was On Sunday, The 22nd of June, at 4 A.M. (blog)
Original item by Larisa Rzhepishevska
Thank you, Hélène 🌷 yes, some days so much tougher than others. It is a privilege to give such honour. 🙏🏻🕊️
Comment is about bridges (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner
Thanks Stephen Gospage 🌷 most appreciated 🙏🏻🕊️
Comment is about bridges (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner
Dementia is so very tough. Thanks for honoring your friend, RBK.
Comment is about bridges (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner
Thank you Ray, glad you liked it!
Comment is about Amelia (blog)
Original item by Stephen W Atkinson
Better than many lives, Ray. A touching, funny human story.
Comment is about Extinction Rebellion (blog)
Original item by Ray
Hi Isobel
I admire this poem very much. Every line adds something and no words are wasted. The notion of history stripping away the flesh is particularly chilling.
Like Graham, I really don't know where to start with this awful human tragedy, so I don't write much about it. But I'm glad that you composed this tough, necessary piece.
Comment is about Gaza (blog)
Original item by Isobel
Careful how you misquote Uilleam. Saying Palestine might need one and asking for one are two very different views. Let the Palestinian people decide.
Comment is about Life after death ? (blog)
Original item by hugh
Quite frankly, Hugh, what with calls for civil war in Palestine, we're saving the good Lord a job of work.
I await the Rapture with joy; see you at the pearly gates.
Comment is about Life after death ? (blog)
Original item by hugh
Thank you so much, Greg. Quite a humbling thought. Glad you enjoyed it.
And thanks for all the likes.
Comment is about Lines of Love (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thank you very much, Greg. I saw a report on a village on the Ukraine- Belarus border which had been cut in two after the war broke out. Neighbours became enemies. So sad.
Comment is about The Fence (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
I should, Greg, and once I did have a notebook near my bed for that purpose. I managed to remember a fair amount of stuff the next morning, but sometimes ideas have gone. Yes, it's best to have something at hand to write them down!
And thanks to all who liked this.
Comment is about Masterpiece (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Thank you, Graham and Ray, for your supportive comments. Very much appreciated.
Ray - it was originally 'grateful nation' and then changed. Perhaps the original was better?
And thanks to everyone who liked this poem.
Comment is about Revolution! (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
A beautiful poem.
There are so many parts I enjoyed reading. "Love the mess and love the magic,
Even when the days feel tragic,"
"Don't wait for perfect..."
Look forward to reading the rest of your poems.
Best wishes
Rez
Comment is about Love The Light, Embrace The Rain (blog)
Original item by Aisha Suleman
Thank you. Greg. Based on preschool memories, reinforced by a few old snaps I found recently.
Comment is about The Bright Blue Sky (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
...to a writing friend, a.j.r., who is gradually slipping away on the river of dementia 😢
Comment is about bridges (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner
Ray
I stand doubly corrected and have changed my poem to reflect it. Thank you for pointing that out! The play I read was so clever if you ever get chance to read it. It really brought to life that concept. Having any kind of original thought is so hard. As I posted the poem I wondered how many other poets might have used the same imagery, because there are only so many ways you try to describe something.
Graham
Thank you for your welcome! I don't write much poetry any more and tend to only write if I'm deeply upset about something. Gaza is like nothing else I've experienced in my considerable lifetime. Normally you can assuage your conscience by giving money to a disaster fund, but that isn't the answer here.
I find myself deeply affected by a sense of powerlessness and poetry is the only thing I can do to register that. I think during the Holocaust the man in the street didn't really know what was going on so was spared the trauma - but we get to not just know but witness the most appalling footage on TV. I don't think I'll ever forget this or lose the feeling of inadequacy.
Comment is about Gaza (blog)
Original item by Isobel
Most so-called civilized countries have experienced a civil war. I’m minded to think that Palestine may need one between the People and Hammas! in order to move forward.
It’s only a view, no need to respond
Comment is about Saoirse don Phalaistín! (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Thanks for the likes:
Red Brick Keshner
Aisha Suleman
K. Lynn
Auracle
Rolph David
Appropriately, there was indeed a blood-red sunset which I hurriedly attempted to capture, but my phone’s settings couldn’t cope.
Comment is about Haiku for 2025 [No.21. Madleen] (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Yeah, I'm referring to the "History is written by the victors" phrase, too. Sartre may have used the phrase but it dates back to at least the 19th century, though most sources cite Churchill as the originator of the phrase.
Comment is about Gaza (blog)
Original item by Isobel
This isn’t just a poem; it’s a cry. A demand to be seen. It doesn’t ask for interpretation, really. It asks for accountability. 🙏🏻🕊️
Comment is about Saoirse don Phalaistín! (blog)
Original item by Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh
Izzy!!! Great to see you back but sad the subject matter is such a dire one. I’m afraid I cannot bring myself to write about this horrendous mess. Once again the bad guys screw it up for the little people etc etc!!
Lovely to have you back. Don’t be a stranger G
Comment is about Gaza (blog)
Original item by Isobel
Thanks for your comment Ray. I was referring to the fact that victors write the history books in the poem with the Sartre reference, not the Never Again phrase. I'm glad you've highlighted it as confusing though - I might tinker with the order of those words.
As a student many moons ago I read a play by Sartre 'Les Mains Sales', or dirty hands in other words. The play suggested that how we view an event historically depends on who won the war - that everything turns on that. So a Gestapo officer might have been viewed as a hero had things turned out differently and Germany was never defeated. It's a depressing thought.
Comment is about Gaza (blog)
Original item by Isobel
Thanks for your thoughts, Graham and Ray. No, you’re on safe ground, Ray. Shake a six = Kick the bucket. And thanks for the Like, Redbrick.
Comment is about LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
I shall probably regret asking, but what does it mean "to shake a six"?
Comment is about LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
I like the first stanza best too, nice rhymes throughout. I'm slightly bemused by the new-found nation.
Comment is about Revolution! (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
Hello Isobel. Good poem, bad times. Interesting you attribute that phrase to Sartre. The phrase, in various forms, can be traced to the 19th century, but these days it's generally attributed to Winston Churchill. Which kind of validates the proposition.
Comment is about Gaza (blog)
Original item by Isobel
As Elvis C once framed it "Is it worth It?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul6tLVNlku4
Of course, all gratitude to those who indulge my thoughts xxx.
Comment is about Triangular bandage (blog)
Original item by David RL Moore
Brilliant, Steve. I could hear Auden in those lines.
Comment is about Lines of Love (blog)
Original item by Stephen Gospage
David RL Moore
Mon 23rd Jun 2025 09:08
Good morning RBK,
That is my favourite poem of yours I have read.
It is a very imaginative parallel to use The Maginot, (I always keep in mind what Einstien said about imagination) so am keen to remark upon it when I see it.
There are a couple of stand out lines for me,
"As if war wears the same boots twice"
I love that, primarily because it does and it doesn't, this creates room for thought and questioning.
"Like memory forgetting it's own edge"
The Maginot was complete folly from the French High Command, to believe it was an obstacle to fascistic expansion. They must have had to suspend rationale to make such a blinding error.
And yet we repeat, repeat, repeat...
Nice work RBK.
David RL Moore
Comment is about Maginot (blog)
Original item by Red Brick Keshner