Guest Spot
Black Friday
The storm clouds abate
The water grows calm
Who'd believe that such beauty
Could cause so much harm
This town lost it's heart
Never more will it flower
Destroyed by the waves
In the space of an hour
No grieving nor solace
Can soften the blow
Friends of a lifetime
No more shall we know
Where's the sense or the reason
Such things have to be
The best of our manhood
Consumed by the sea
Midnight In Canterbury Cathedral
This place marks time
In every stone a face revealed
Look, listen!
In the cloisters, they appear
Look, listen!
In the transepts, illuminated
With eyes heavenward
The shadow of the cross
Never far from their countenance
The blood of Christ still wet upon their lips
And I sit here watching
Watching, out of time
In this medieval place
Wearing the darkness
Like a cloak around me
Holding the silence
As an empty space
Tony Parker, Cramlington, Northumberland
Performance
You always thought the stars shone only for yourself
Twinkling entities lost within their living past
Dragging the moon while your hopes ebb and flo
Always making promises the daylight couldn't keep
A tragedy acted nightly
Moon masked, you stare
Vengeful of wrong doing
A woman scorned, the part was made for you
Cutting through the wraiths of the past
Searching for a future within center stage
You'll play to the Gods
Tony Parker
Txt Msgs (inspired by Aly)
Sweet kisses. Secret, stolen
To be treasured evermore
Reminders that it takes two hearts
One lost love to restore
Miss this moment and it's gone
Don't be cautious, don't be shy
Let's live it, no regrets, no fear
If it fails, we'll always wonder why
Your number's in my mobile
Your eyes are rather nice
Let's stay young together
That's my best advice!
Intolerance
When once I cried
The world stood still
And mans inhumanity to man
Was revealed
Minefields not gamefields
Are where children play
With limbs and innocence
Blown away
Their dead eyes meet the breaking day
To pour scorn upon we men of clay
Never again must we turn our heads
While lying peacefully in our beds
So let us walk among the pilgrims
Let us walk among the pagans
Let us walk among agnostics
Let us walk among aethiests
Let us walk among the healthy
Let us walk among the lame
When once I cried
The world turned again
T.P.
A bit of madness.........I found an English - Russian translation thing on the net so translated 'Beneficial Qualities of Beer' into Russian, then back again a couple of times. Here's the result!
(thanks to 'Florence' for the idea)
Useful Qualities of the Beer
Beer likeable
Beer it large
I love to have
Pint or eight
JD and the coke
It will also be glorious
It will be much special
The freezing is much
I do not love the Whisky
Models of patient to me
Asks bloody awful
Has the nasty kick
Guinness alright
Of model you drowsy
And in morning
Lousy you
Refusal is good
To drink the beer
When drunk you are
No fear you have
Life without the beer
There was bore
Barman awaits
You go will obtain some more!
True Cost (inspired by Pete the poacher!)
We harvest the oceans
Pollute in return
It's not so important
Not our concern
Mackerel frozen on slabs
Prawns shelled, neatly bagged
Where do they come from?
From where are they dragged?
Out in all weathers
Freezing and raw
Do we think of the wrecks?
On that deep, distant floor
Each hopeful venture
A throw of the dice
Every now and again
The sea exacts it's price
We take them for granted
Those who toil on the waves
We think of them only
In their watery graves
No resting place to share
No peace beneath sod
Only fishermens widows
Know the true price of Cod
Confession.....'Black Friday' is one of mine. I put it on cos I was sick of waiting for poems from some lazy people who spend too much time in the pub! 
Here's two written by my buddy Yvonne Sparkes from Chelmsford. An Essex lass with a love of all things Gaelic!
Thoughts From The Heart
My heart is in the pen I hold
When feelings flow and thoughts unfold
It's then the ink flows swift and true
To find these words and write anew
Each piece is born from migrant thoughts
For deep within ideas are caught
And netted for a moments time
To bring the piece and form the rhyme
Skye
Oh to see the misty isle
From on the ferry crossing the Kyle
And oh to stand beside the loch
Amidst the baaing, bleating flock
I'll walk Dunvegan's lovely shore
To Coral Beach forever more
Oh to see those Cuillin Hills
Black and rugged, clouded still
And see the hills of granite red
Towering above my head
The purple heather laying there
Surrounds Sligachan everywhere
Oh to hear the Eagles cry
The Oyster catcher flying by
To watch the Seals on island homes
With young that are not fully grown
And see the Otters at their play
Around the lochs and in the bay
Oh to see the dawning light
On Bracadale the sunset bright
To see those shafts descend upon
The tables of MacLeod beyond
And find a certain comfort there
Surpassing mundane life and care
The Last Northumbrian Coal Mine
Six hundred years of sweat and toil
In that deep and dark abyss
The entepreneur has spoken
Blown a tasteless goodbye kiss
Two hundred men and boys
Crushed and gassed and drowned
New Hartley, 1862
Beneath that cold, cold ground
At Burradon, 1860
Seventy six were burnt and maimed
They were only slaves and chattels
No need to be ashamed
No sick pay, no such benefit
No mercy from the rich
Like the Paddies in the famine
Left to die within that ditch
Families torn asunder
Communities destroyed
Where the hell was the compassion?
The obligation's null and void
We'll not forget you Thatcher
And your heartless decimation
Your ultimate achievement
A bitter, divided nation
Northern Coal helped build this country
While the Irish laid the rails
Betrayal comes easier than honour
All that's left are old man's tales
Dark Tale For a Dark Girl
I fell through my image and
Someone blew the smoke from me
I wound up on the shore
Saw a girl walking on the beach
A long white calico dress
Surf swallowing her feet
Drenched with yellow sunlight
A dark beauty with that dark
Rhythm in her soul
With mystery and mystique
A magical princess
I moved toward her
She turned and looked
I held out my hand to reach her
But never ever did
Behold the victim
Jim Evans, Northumberland
Dandelions
Cracked stained windows
Flakes of rust on the old gate
Cold grey eyes stare from broken statues
Sadness carved deep in their faces
Secrets hidden in their empty gaze
A gentle breeze drifts through the graves
Smoke from the chapel meanders skyward
To join the passing clouds
Smell of death lingers for a while
Then burned ashes scattered back to earth
A yellow dandelion lies broken and snapped
Resting gently over a gravestone
Crying, dying and oozing with
Its milk white pain
Jim Evans
This one won poem of the week with a writers group in Hawaii. Inspired by doom and gloom!
Vision
The wind blows so gently
The dark season's passed
Who knows the secrets?
Will this be our last?
A world that's in turmoil
Divided and torn
There's heartache and sorrow
For those not yet born
Confusion surrounds us
Tensions rise with each day
Can we not live together?
There must be a way
To press home your protest
You kill and you maim
Ignoring discussion
It's no patriot game
The times are a changing
You'll not negotiate
You fuel your dreams
With terror and hate
And the wind blows so gently
While innocents die
Your ideals and your principles
A sick, vicious lie
A Shoulder To Cry On
Why do I hide behind the smile on my face
The mask of pretence wherever the place
Laughing and listening to all who are there
Giving a false impression of not having a care
If only they knew how I feel deep inside
A gaping wound in my heart that's ever so wide
The pain that has ripped my whole life apart
Will always be there, deep down in my heart
To others I've always been a tower of strength
For true friends I've always gone to any length
That air of confidence I used to carry around
Seems lost forever, no more to be found
The quality of life I've had this past year
No one would wish for, it's been so unfair
No person should have to suffer so much
Adapting to change while way out of touch
Building a new life is like learning to walk
Facing the problems, you just need to talk
Living alone, there's nobody there
To offer a shoulder to cry on, to show that they care
Good friends are few and far between
The insincere are not to be seen
People say things without giving a thought
In times of distress, they leave you so fraught
That one was by a good mate of mine who's obviously on the same wavelength as me. "Good friends are hard to find, harder to lose"
Compassion
Hatred, envy and greed, all these we possess
But in a world full of sorrow, to love is the best
To show that we care, to all those around
To embrace in your arms, all those you hold dear
Comfort them always, dispel all their fear
Brighten their lives, for the short time we're here
At the birth of our life, these things we must learn
For life is too precious and so very brief
I fear for a world where compassion's not given
To those who are sad and can see no remission
No price does it cost to show that you care
Not to walk round with your head in the air
Great sorrow and loss, it comes to us all
At the end of our days, with words left unspoken
With deeds never done and hearts we have broken
To turn back the clock, to be able to say
I love and I miss you till the last of my days
Jim Keightley
From The Ashes 
The darkest hours, the deepest fears
Come just before the dawn
Morning brings such unspoilt hope
As each new day is born
Doubts and struggles fade away
Cold yesterday is dead
Optimism lives again
Within your messed up head
Why's life so complicated?
Why do people screw you up?
Each sad abuse of loyalty
Slowly drains the cup
To trust, a daily challenge
A risk you have to take
To follow reckless instinct
A choice you have to make
Be true to those who prove their worth
As they will be to you
The bond of honest friendship
Will surely get you through
Something About Friday 
What's the problem with Fridays?
Why's it such a strange night?
Why do tables fall over?
Why's there always a fight?
If it ain't a dispute
About pool table rules
It's harsh words at the bar
With drunkards and fools
And then there's the taxi
That's usually late
Or they sod off without us
Why don't they just wait?
Could it just be the case
That we've had too much beer
It's the Friday night syndrome
No-ones got any fear
Saturday is much better
It's chilled and it's calm
No tension, no hassle
You don't come to no harm
There's something 'bout Friday
That brings out the worst
If it comes to a punch up
Get your left hook in first!
Suvla
'tis not my home that I defend
On this hostile, distant shore
Whose coves and beaches run with blood
Now I ask myself, what for?
Where friend and foe in kinship died
Where they fell like autumn leaves
Celebrate their precious memory
Else no-one still believes
This farcical irrelevance
In a country far away
Shall stand through time in infamy
Recalled with pride on Anzac Day
'tis not my home that I defend
But a dream of liberty
The bloke across the wire
Shares the same belief as me
So shed a tear each springtime
For those you never knew
Who gave their lives at Suvla Bay
Who gave their lives for you
"Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives are now lying in the soul of a friendly country, therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side in this country of ours.
You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well"
Kemal Ataturk, First President of Turkey and Commander of the Turkish 19th Division, Gallipoli, 1915.
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