This poem is not currently included in any of my books
Out of Time
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Monthly Archives: May 2020
Anyone Fancy Spam for Dinner?
“Do you have a spam issue on this blog; I also am a blogger, and I was curious about your situation; many of us have developed some nice practices and we are looking to swap methods with other folks, why not shoot me an email if interested”.
“Hello, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam feedback? If so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any assistance is very much appreciated”.
I do indeed get a lot of spam and, funnily enough I found both of the above comments in my WordPress Spam folder. I really can’t imagine why!
Age and Youth
You say
That the aged
Should give way
To youth.
For the aged
Are from a bygone age
And have nothing to say
To youth.
You,in your early twenties,
So empty
Yet, so sure
That youth
Is the one and only truth.
Why should I engage
With a pencil jot upon a page
That a rubber, so soon obscures?
All Flesh is Dust
When a young lady named Rose
Said, “all flesh will, one day decompose”.
I said, “that prospect is fearful.
And you make me quite tearful,
As your standing right on my toes!”.
10 of the Most Accessible Poets in English Literature
On 30 May, the blog Interesting Literature published a post entitled “10 of the most accessible poets in English Literature”, https://wp.me/p2WHCx-5Bm.
Amongst the poets mentioned are some of my own favourites, including Philip Larkin, the American poet Emily Dickinson, and Thomas Hardy.
Below are links to a selection of my favourite poems by Larkin, Dickinson and Hardy.
“Aubade” by Philip Larkin. Read by the poet himself, Aubade is a powerful examination of the poet’s fear of death, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDr_SRhJs80
“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson. Unlike Larkin in “Aubade” Dickinson does not see death as a threat which does, I think stem from her deep religious faith, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am5O8_iCpmg
“The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy. Hardy’s bleak mood is contrasted with that of the joyful singing of an “aged thrush”, which causes the poet to ponder on how the bird can see “some blessed hope whereof he knew and I was unaware”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGY3DZH85O8
Should poetry be accessible? Certainly any poet who deliberately writes to be inaccessible would be a very strange creature indeed. However what is accessible to one is not accessible to another as, to some extent accessibility is in the eye of the beholder.
Poets also need to be cognisant of the danger of patronising (talking down to) their readers. Whilst working on my forthcoming poetry collection, I considered the need for footnotes. This question arose as in 4 instances I reference the work of long dead poets. My initial view was that anyone with access to Google (please note that other search engines are available)! could easily ascertain details of the poem/poet mentioned, meaning that footnotes where unnecessary. However, I came to the conclusion that adding a few footnotes was preferable to having my readers cursing me for assuming that they had knowledge not possessed by them. Consequently several footnotes appear at the end of my poems.
As to whether my work is accessible? only my readers can answer that question. And different readers will, I believe answer it differently.
(You can find my “Selected Poems” here, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WW8WXPP/. My forthcoming collection will, I hope be available in late June/early July).
Former Chief Justice Jonathan Sumption on the UK’S Corona Lockdown
Earlier this evening, I listened to a fascinating interview with the former Chief Justice Jonathan Sumption.
Much of Sumption’s interview is taken up with an exposition of his view that the UK’s Corona virus lockdown is “despotic”. Whether one agrees with his analysis or not, Sumption’s interview is well worth listening to for anyone concerned with civil liberties.
Many libertarians have (albeit reluctantly) accepted the lockdown, but Sumption remains of the view that it should be of a voluntary nature. Whether one accepts Sumption’s perspective or one rejects it, he raises profound questions about the liberty of the individual and the proper limits of state power.
For the interview please visit, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08fjy9j.
(Note: in contrast to Jonathan Sumption, the UK Libertarian Party has expressed qualified support for the UK’s lockdown. See, for example this link, https://libertarianparty.co.uk/2020/03/23/statement-on-coronavirus-lockdown/. Sumption is not, to the best of my knowledge a member of any political party, and he mentions during the interview that he has voted for different parties at election time).
When Darkness Falls
At close of day
They say
That ghosts pass through walls.
And, when darkness falls
Cheap perfume
Fills the lonely man’s bedroom.
But ghosts,
Leave no notches on bedposts.
When a Young Lady Named Miss Heart
When a young lady named miss Heart
Said, “we must stay 2 meters apart”.
And I said, “is that due to Corona?”,
She said, “no, I’ve always been a loner,
And I really don’t like your art!”.
The Future of my Blog
The purpose of this post is to let you know that on or around 1 June, there is a possibility that posts on this blog may cease for a time. If this happens, I wont have been assassinated by readers angered at what they (rightly or wrongly) perceive as the poor quality of my verse, (or kidnapped by a crazy fan who wishes me to write poetry solely for them). No, it will be down to the replacement of the WordPress Classic editor by the new Block editor.
Since the inception of this blog, I have been blogging using the WordPress Classic Editor. Classic works well with my accessibility/screen reading software, Job Access with Speech or JAWS, which converts text into speech and braille enabling me to use a Windows computer/laptop.
From 1 June 2020, the Classic Editor will be replaced by the WordPress Block Editor (although the Block Editor will, I understand still containe, somewhere within it the facility to use Classic). You can read more about this change here, https://wordpress.com/blog/2020/05/18/say-hello-to-the-wordpress-block-editor/
I have tried the Block Editor using JAWS and it doesn’t work for me. I’ve raised this issue with WordPress and a helpful employee assures me that, given my circumstances the Classic Editor will remain the default on my blog. Whilst I am grateful for this assurance, I remain apprehensive about the change from Classic to Block editor.
If, on or around 1 June I cease posting for a time this will be down to the change from Classic to Block editor. I hope that Classic will remain the default. However, in life things do not always work smoothly.
However, whatever happens on 1 June, kmorrispoet.com will remain active and any teething issues will, I am sure be resolved.
Kevin
Single at the Time of Corona
Single men and women
May look.
Yet, ’tis sin
To touch
But, for some,
‘Tis all too much …
K Morris - Poet 