Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
Forum index | Previous Thread | Next thread
National Poetry Day 11:18 - Oct 3 with 5886 viewshubble

Well, we like a bit of culture on here, don't we?

I just saw this previously unpublished Laurie Lee poem in an email from Penguin books, thought I'd share it, because I think it's beautiful:

Ah Well

Ah well, I think, even the chestnuts are breaking,
there is a soft down upon the cry of birds,
and they slip covertly, with intent gentleness,
among the bushes;
life is full in the green ear
and brilliant with chance,
what of the mere grain blown out
and forgotten,
rotting or ripening in a shroud of grass?


Poll: Who is your player of the season?

4
National Poetry Day on 09:26 - Oct 4 with 1426 viewsdezzar

I bought a lot of brandy
When i was courting Sandy
Took eight to make her randy
And all i had was shandy

I Dury
1
National Poetry Day on 09:30 - Oct 4 with 1417 viewsEsox_Lucius

Khalil Gibran on what it means to be a lifelong QPR supporter...

Your pain is the breaking of the shell
that encloses your understanding.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its
heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And could you keep your heart in wonder
at the daily miracles of your life, your pain
would not seem less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your
heart, even as you have always accepted
the seasons that pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity
through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the
physician within you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink
his remedy in silence and tranquillity:

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided
by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips,
has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter
has moistened with His own sacred tears.

The grass is always greener.

3
National Poetry Day on 09:43 - Oct 4 with 1398 viewsBrianMcCarthy

Think I might have posted this before, but sure have another blast at it.
It's 'Chaura Panchashika', Kashmiri in origin, thousands of years old. I first came across it in Steinbeck's 'Cannery Row'. Fifty verses, so just a taster.


“Even now
She is art-magically present to my soul,
And that one word of strange heart’s ease, goodbye.
That in the night, in loth moving to go,
And bending over to a golden mouth,
I said softly to the turned away
Tenderly tired hair of this king’s daughter.

Even now,
I mind our going, full of bewilderment
As who should walk from sleep into great light,
Along the running of the winter river,
A dying sun on the cool hurrying tide.
No more by green rushes delayed in dalliance,
With a clear purpose in his flower flecked length
Informed, to reach Nirvana and the sea.

Even now
I love long black eyes that caress like silk,
Ever and ever sad and laughing eyes,
Whose lids make such sweet shadow when they close
It seems another beautiful look of hers.
I love a fresh mouth, ah, a scented mouth,
And curving hair, subtle as a smoke,
And light fingers, and laughter of green gems.

Even now
I remember that you made answer very softly,
We being one soul, your hand on my hair,
The burning memory rounding your near lips:
I have seen the priestesses of Rati make love at moon fall
And then in a carpeted hall with a bright gold lamp
Lie down carelessly anywhere to sleep.”

"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
Poll: Player of the Year (so far)

4
National Poetry Day on 10:44 - Oct 4 with 1334 viewsBrianMcCarthy

National Poetry Day on 09:30 - Oct 4 by Esox_Lucius

Khalil Gibran on what it means to be a lifelong QPR supporter...

Your pain is the breaking of the shell
that encloses your understanding.

Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its
heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.

And could you keep your heart in wonder
at the daily miracles of your life, your pain
would not seem less wondrous than your joy;

And you would accept the seasons of your
heart, even as you have always accepted
the seasons that pass over your fields.

And you would watch with serenity
through the winters of your grief.

Much of your pain is self-chosen.

It is the bitter potion by which the
physician within you heals your sick self.

Therefore trust the physician, and drink
his remedy in silence and tranquillity:

For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided
by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips,
has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter
has moistened with His own sacred tears.


That's unreal, Esox.

Thanks.

"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
Poll: Player of the Year (so far)

1
National Poetry Day on 11:48 - Oct 4 with 1289 viewsEsox_Lucius

National Poetry Day on 10:44 - Oct 4 by BrianMcCarthy

That's unreal, Esox.

Thanks.


It's uncanny isn't it?

The grass is always greener.

1
National Poetry Day on 12:17 - Oct 4 with 1250 viewsjohncharles

Now seems it rich to die
To cease upon the midnight with no pain
Whilst thou are pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy

Ode to a Nightingale
John Keats. He died not long afterwards
[Post edited 4 Oct 12:21]

Strong and stable my arse.

3
(No subject) (n/t) on 12:37 - Oct 4 with 1213 viewsjoe90

0
(No subject) (n/t) on 13:06 - Oct 4 with 1162 viewsEsox_Lucius

(No subject) (n/t) on 12:37 - Oct 4 by joe90



Blank verse?

The grass is always greener.

4
Login to get fewer ads

National Poetry Day on 13:07 - Oct 4 with 1162 viewsR_from_afar

There was a young footballer called Chair*,
Who had such very dark hair.
His dribbling was jinky,
His stature? Well, dinky,
But man, did he play with some flair.

*Indulge me, I know he doesn't pronounce it like that 😉

Moving swiftly on, here's some *real* poetry:

The Destruction of Sennacherib

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay wither'd and strown.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he pass'd;
And the eyes of the sleepers wax'd deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there roll'd not the breath of his pride:
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

—Lord Byron

"Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1."

2
National Poetry Day on 14:39 - Oct 4 with 1075 viewsjohnhoop

The last few lines of Tennyson’s “Ulysses.” Spoken to his crew urging them to join him in one last glorious voyage of discovery.
A rallying cry for those of us of “advanced years”.

“Though much is taken, much abides;and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
4
National Poetry Day on 16:37 - Oct 4 with 987 viewsjohncharles

National Poetry Day on 12:17 - Oct 4 by johncharles

Now seems it rich to die
To cease upon the midnight with no pain
Whilst thou are pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy

Ode to a Nightingale
John Keats. He died not long afterwards
[Post edited 4 Oct 12:21]


Now [ more than ever ] seems it……….

Sorry, got the flu and I’m fkn everything up today

Strong and stable my arse.

0
National Poetry Day on 17:27 - Oct 4 with 960 viewsjohnhoop

Just realised there’s a part of that poem I quoted before that I like even more than the bit I put down;
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough
Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades
For ever and ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause,to make an end,
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!
As though to breathe were life. Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And to this grey spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star
Beyond the utmost bounds of human thought.
[Post edited 4 Oct 17:55]
1
National Poetry Day on 18:13 - Oct 4 with 928 viewsGaryT

As we are talking about kids poems...you know that scene in The Shawshank Redemption where Morgan Freeman's character says to the parole board “So you go on and stamp your form sonny and stop wasting my time because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit”? Well, one year every student in my sons school had to write a poem and to put it politely, he wasn't best pleased. As he stared out the window desperately trying to think of what to write, he eventually thought, fcuk it, I'll just write what I am thinking.

At this point I should add that he went to a French school near Barcelona (stay with me) and he didn't particularly like French let alone poetry. If you can understand French, it scans better as it loses a bit in translation but this is what he wrote...

Obligé d'écrire ce poème
Obligé d'être moi-même
Obligé d'essayer
Obligé de continuer

Je ne suis pas un poète
C'est ennuyeux
Donc je vais être honnête
Je suis paresseux

On attend beaucoup de moi
Mais ce n'est pas un tournoi
Alors pourquoi s'acharner
Mon esprit est dispersé

Acune chance
Acune idée
Pas de confiance
C'est obligé

Should I be worried? Too late now, this was six years ago.

And like the parole board, the poetry boffins loved it!. He had an all expenses paid trip to Paris to pick up an award for coming third in the 'rest of the world' (schools outside of France) category and it's now in a book on his shelf....never wrote another poem, obviously.
3
National Poetry Day on 18:47 - Oct 4 with 904 viewsMick_S

I put a stone in my shoe, so when I walk, I think about you.

Did I ever mention that I was in Minder?

1
National Poetry Day on 19:14 - Oct 4 with 883 viewshubble

I've really appreciated everyone's contribution to this thread (well, nearly everyone's), because I think poetry is essential, and it used to be so highly valued, but now it has become almost a niche literary form....

And of course we could carry on posting favourite poems, like Frankie Friday, and maybe those of you who love poetry would keep on adding more... So in that spirit, here's one many of you will recognise, with its lovely Irish lilt...

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

By William Butler Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade..

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings..

I will arise and go now, for always, night and day,
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

Poll: Who is your player of the season?

5
National Poetry Day on 20:47 - Oct 4 with 799 viewsSonofpugwash


Poll: Dykes - love him or hate him?

0
National Poetry Day on 20:51 - Oct 4 with 787 viewsEsox_Lucius

As a pacifist these lyrics have always spoken loudly to me.

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be
Done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the
Cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli
How well I remember that terrible day
When the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called suvla bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He showered us with bullets, he rained us with
Shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
And we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again
Now those who were living did their best to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive
While the corpses around me piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, Christ I wished I was
Dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
And no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
To the green bushes so far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
So they collected the cripples, the wounded and
Maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind and insane
Those proud wounded heroes of suvla
And as our ship pulled into circular quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
And they turned all their faces away
And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving the or their dreams of past glory
i see the old men, all twisted and torn
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask me, "what are they
Marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a-Waltzing Matilda with me?

The grass is always greener.

3
National Poetry Day on 20:58 - Oct 4 with 779 viewscolinallcars

Reading that puts me in mind of the film Oh What A Lovely War.
A film i watch several times a year.
1
National Poetry Day on 21:30 - Oct 4 with 759 viewsdmm

Esox's post reminded me of this extraordinary war poem The Parable of the Old Man and the Young by Wilfred Owen

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
and builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretchèd forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.

But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.
3
National Poetry Day on 22:41 - Oct 4 with 715 viewsjohann28

Mist to the Grill

All the teachers were marking bad,
all the judges too, lore or mess.

One mob-story Sinister of the Crown
was found, got with his own shun.
Howling, the media punted in hacks.

Wired and teary doctors and nurses
treated soldiers, deft for lead.

Outside, at dark, the bogs darked;
the light brittle children were lost,
searching in every crook and nanny,
crying for their dummies and maddies.

A TV chef added mist to the grill.
1
National Poetry Day on 23:27 - Oct 4 with 678 viewsPaddyhoops

National Poetry Day on 19:24 - Oct 3 by johncharles

Not Rab Burns

My darlin Flo I love ye so
I love you in yer nightie
As the moonlight flits across yer tits
Christ all fukcin mighty.


The great Derek and Clive .
0
National Poetry Day on 00:02 - Oct 5 with 652 viewsnumptydumpty

National Poetry Day on 23:27 - Oct 4 by Paddyhoops

The great Derek and Clive .


Wilkins Poem

There once was a player named Ray,
Whose skills on the field would display.
With a pass so precise,
He was always so nice,
Super Ray led the game his own way!


Macca Poem

There once was a defender named Macca,
Whose tackles were sharp as an attacker.
With a grin on his face,
He’d control every space,
And leave forwards flat on their back-a!

In defense, he was tough as a rock,
Giving strikers a real nasty shock.
With a header so strong,
He’d send the ball long,
And the fans would all cheer round the clock.

His teammates would laugh and they’d cheer,
For Macca, their leader so dear.
With his wit and his charm,
He’d keep them from harm,
And his legend would grow year by year!



Holloway the Mad Man

There once was a manager named Holloway,
Whose antics were wild every match day.
With a quip and a jest,
He’d outshine all the rest,
In the West, he was known for his wordplay.

His tactics were often quite bold,
With stories and jokes he’d unfold.
He’d dance on the touchline,
And shout, “This team’s mine!”
Leaving fans in fits, truth be told.

With passion and fire in his eyes,
He’d lead with a spirit that flies.
Though his methods were mad,
The results weren’t half bad,
And his legend continued to rise!



Jimmy Dunne scores again

There once was a hero named Dunne,
Whose volleys were second to none.
Against Birmingham’s crew,
He’d score not one, but two,
With last-minute strikes just for fun!

Each week, he’d line up the shot,
And with power, he’d give it a lot.
The crowd would all cheer,
As the ball disappeared,
Into the net, like a rocket it got!

Birmingham’s defense would despair,
As Jimmy’s volleys flew through the air.
With a grin and a wink,
He’d make their hearts sink,
Leaving them pulling out their hair!
[Post edited 5 Oct 0:20]

Walking in a "Mackie Wonderland"
Poll: Where will we finish next season ???

2
National Poetry Day on 00:19 - Oct 5 with 632 viewshubble

National Poetry Day on 21:30 - Oct 4 by dmm

Esox's post reminded me of this extraordinary war poem The Parable of the Old Man and the Young by Wilfred Owen

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
and builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretchèd forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram, caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.

But the old man would not so, but slew his son,
And half the seed of Europe, one by one.


That is such a deep poem. Incredible.

Poll: Who is your player of the season?

0
National Poetry Day on 00:35 - Oct 5 with 618 viewsBoston

National Poetry Day on 20:47 - Oct 3 by colinallcars

Matthew Arnold's Oxford Elegy is wonderful and too long for me to put on here.
It was set to music by Vaughn Williams. It's been recorded four times and I have all four.
One is American with the narrator putting on an English accent which is weird but possibly my favourite.


Might not be putting on. The 'upper class' American accent was heavily influenced by their British contemporaries right up until the 1960's. You'll still meet the older New Englander who sounds mid Atlantic.

Poll: Thank God The Seaons Over.

0
National Poetry Day on 00:53 - Oct 5 with 606 viewsCLAREMAN1995

National Poetry Day on 20:51 - Oct 4 by Esox_Lucius

As a pacifist these lyrics have always spoken loudly to me.

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be
Done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the
Cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli
How well I remember that terrible day
When the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called suvla bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He showered us with bullets, he rained us with
Shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
And we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again
Now those who were living did their best to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive
While the corpses around me piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, Christ I wished I was
Dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
And no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
To the green bushes so far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
So they collected the cripples, the wounded and
Maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind and insane
Those proud wounded heroes of suvla
And as our ship pulled into circular quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
And they turned all their faces away
And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving the or their dreams of past glory
i see the old men, all twisted and torn
The forgotten heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask me, "what are they
Marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a-Waltzing Matilda with me?


When I was a little boy my Mother used to cry when this song was played on the record player sung by the Dubliners and Ronnie Drew its so incredibly powerful and sad at the same time
Fast forward in the blink of an eye 50 years or so and I was painting my basement being helped by my 14 year old daughter (helped is a term used loosely of course .
I had the Pogues playing on my Spotify playlist and Waltzing Mathilda came on and by the end of it she was crying her eyes out thinking about the soldiers dying and being badly injured .It was so unexpected I started tearing up myself thinking of lifes journey and how she will get on after I am gone probably like my Mother was thinking all those years ago.
2
About Us Contact Us Terms & Conditions Privacy Cookies Advertising
© FansNetwork 2024