for a long time there is peace
and darkness
or what she has thought of as darkness
as in an absence of light
but then
there is distortion and violence and panic…
Come for the flash fiction and short stories. Stay for the sense of wonder at deriving meaning from weird symbols on a screen
Tag: Poetry
Miscarriage
I discovered all the words Donald Trump used in his inauguration speech that had never been used in an inauguration speech before, and mixed them up into this poem.
What I See When I Look For You (Redux)
Too many other people,
not enough you,
in this museum,
lollygagging at my pregnant grief…
What I See When I Look For You
This time next week I will have submitted three poems – alongside a short story and a piece of drama – for the MA. I’ve been advised to be as bold with my poetry as […]
Reunion
We watch other people’s children
Mourn their futile endeavour,
As feeble dams break and the tide
Takes their cherished castles.
Article 50 – A Brexit Oulipo
Part 2 of today’s Oupilo Special and this is from last week and the day Article 50 was triggered by ‘Prime Misadventure’ Theresa May.
Trump’s Tweets – The Russian Strangler
An Oulipo double-header today. Part 1 – Trump’s latest tweets rounded up so you can see what’s been falling out of his brain in the last seven days.
Whiteout Wednesdays – Donald Trump
My second attempt at Whiteout Wednesdays. Thank you to Black Cat Alley for this week’s text. I’m going to call this one ‘Donald Trump’ and is redacted from a poem called February Elegy by Mary Jo Bang. You should have a go. It’s fun taking words away rather than putting them on the page once a week.
The Old Umpire
So after the relative success of my villanelle last week (by relative success, I mean no one told me to burn my computer and kill myself), I’ve had a go at an ‘Italian’ sonnet.
Red Light
He despises himself even as he presses record, red light blinking at stabilisers discarded, front wheel wobbling at new-found freedom.
Whiteout Wednesday
Something different again tonight, called Whiteout Wednesday, which I discovered via like mercury colliding, but it’s run by Black Cat Alley. Each Wednesday, a passage of text is published and the challenge is to ‘white-out’ the text you don’t want to create a new story.
The Reply-All Manifesto
I am a liar who cannot be trusted. After a self-pitying post about how I was going to fail to post anything for the first time in two months, I’ve snuck in before midnight and written something. I have no idea what this is, it fell out of my brain in about 10 minutes, but it is something and it’s late.
A Few Questions About Dystopia
How will we know when we’ve got it all wrong?
Dad, don’t say you love me when we’re near school
OK, today, something very different. For my MA, I have to write a sonnet, a villanelle and a free-form poem. I haven’t written a poem since I was about 1986, until this morning. I’ve started with a Villanelle, which is a 19-line poem that has only two rhymes and some line repetition. It’s structure is a challenge, let’s say.
Spread the Word
Another Saturday, another Spread the Word, featuring some of my favourite writing that I’ve discovered across WordPress this week.
Spread the Word
Thought it might be nice on a Saturday to spread the love a bit and post up links to some of my favourite short fiction of the last week.
Just Punch The Clock 