grahamswords1962

Punchbag

In the distance, the permanent close distance,The uniform tempo looms.It booms.The steady, slow, dull, dread, drone of a timpani of tyranny.The throbbing thud of armour-plated hooves on the ground,Heavy and steady,Marching in perfect time.Cloaked in shadows with no weight,They weigh in with punches made of leaden leather memories.Jabs of childhood,Crosses of marriage,Parental uppercuts,Pounding, pounding, pounding.OneContinue reading “Punchbag”

Moon sight

When the dawn light meets the moon sight, In the blink of a Magpie’s eye, The slate grey clouds are warmed, And with no time to stay They quickly wash on by.

The butterfly and the tree

We knew each other like a butterfly knows an ancient tree;You were there all of my life. But now those delicate wings of yellow sleep,In the silence of an ocean deep,And the leaves fall like tears down oak bark cheeks. To be the mother of a song is to gift joy.So, when notesContinue reading “The butterfly and the tree”

A Sussex sundown

Sat on a barrow above the bones of some other’s ancient ancestors, Ourselves, resting, on a cushion of dried ochre pine needles dropped over many years.The late summer sun dissolves over the Sussex downs as it has done since long before we gave them that name.The brilliant light picks out the passing flecks of silhouettedContinue reading “A Sussex sundown”

The Mason’s neglect

I wrote this for Mental Health Awareness Day after spending time reflecting on my darker days. ………………….. The suffocating silence of the crowd breathes heavily through the stone walls built of granite bricks chiselled into shape and place by the masons of neglect. And the Facebook post read; “here if you need me”. Skin, heavyContinue reading “The Mason’s neglect”

Canvas Church

There is a green field far away,Without a barbed wire wall,And in that field sits a canvas church,That claims to welcome all. The priest sits in the pulpit high,And calls the flock to prayAnd like all good obedient lambs,They beg to be let to play. No sacrament is shared herein,In fact, nothing is free,But you’reContinue reading “Canvas Church”

Three little words sit by my doorstep

And here we are, on the final day of NaPoWriMo 2024 when we are asked to write a poem that describes different times in which we’ve heard the same band or piece of music across our lifetime. I started my day planning something of my own and was going to go off-prompt, but that wouldContinue reading “Three little words sit by my doorstep”

Caliban to your Prospero

Today, with a day to go, we are asked to write a poem that takes its inspiration from the life of a musician, poet, or other artist (I suspect it would help if we liked them too). Having said goodbye to an old friend today, the temptation for elegy was declined, so I went forContinue reading “Caliban to your Prospero”

A moment in time

Today’s ask is to come up with a poem that involves music at a ceremony or event of some kind. This month, I have tried respond to the prompts by looking at the resource, finding some inspiration and connecting it to the first thing that opened the wardrobe of my imagination as I climbed fromContinue reading “A moment in time”

What is it good for?

Today’s challenge? To write our own poem that describes a detail in a painting, and that begins, like Auden’s poem, with a grand, declarative statement. I chose to look at Picasso’s Guernica, to reflect on current issues and paint it with appropriate colours. Art only works if you invert its meaning.See the sacred cow’s head,Continue reading “What is it good for?”