Your perfume lingered in my living room
After you where gone.
The memory of skin against skin
Lives on.
Some would call it sin.
Perhaps, when all is said and done
One man’s fun
Is another’s sin.
The sky did not fall in
On me or you.
I am generally comfortable alone.
But I have the phone
Should I need you.
Your perfume will linger again
And I will recall
What some call the fall.
Perhaps pleasure and pain
Are somewhat the same.
But, if I am only dust
Why does Paradise Lost matter
Caught up in our nightmares
Of what may, or may not occur,
We forget the beautiful sunset
And that the earth in the wood
Smells good when wet.
Living in fear
We fail to hear
When birds sing.
Our spring
Is so brief.
Nightmare’s teeth
Pierce our hearts.
Yet we have art
And nature’s beauty
Ere we depart
Into that sleep
Where we are unaware
Of beauty or nightmare.
When a young lady wearing pink socks
Walked into a shop full of clocks,
The shop owner named Lyme
Said, “it is high time
That you wore something with those socks!”.
When an elderly gentleman named Mr Foster
Choked on some cheese whilst in Gloucester.
A doctor called Louise
Said, “he liked cheese!
And he died whilst eating Double Gloucester!”
Walking home in the pouring rain
I pondered on AI
And those who continue to maintain
The inevitability of progress.
The rain continued to fall.
Although I heard
No human word
Nature seemed to laugh
As I passed
Along the familiar churchyard path.
I am pleased to let you know that my new show on the World Poetry Café is now live and can be found here https://www.mixcloud.com/VictorSchwartzman/world-poetry-cafe-july-24-2025-kevin-morris/
As many of you will be aware, I am a regular guest on the World Poetry Café. However, I now have a dedicated monthly show, during which I read and discuss not only my own work but that of others. In this podcast, I read A. E. Housman’s wonderful poem, “On Wenlock Edge” and talked about the life of the poet. In addition, I also answered questions from the hosts regarding my view as to how people can best start their unique journey into poetry.
My segment appears approximately 15 minutes into the podcast, which also includes me reading several of my own poems.
When young ladies waving very wet mops
Jumped and danced on the table tops,
All the old gentlemen cheered.
While I shaved my beard.
And the waiters they called the cops!
When a young lady who is 9
Said, “all boys are far from divine!”,
And with her water pistol
Blasted them all to Bristol!
They forgave her as she’s only 9!
Is English literature dying? The conclusion of a discussion on the New Statesman’s Youtube channel is that English literature is indeed dying and will be largely replaced by short form videos on Tik Tok, Youtube and other similar channels. You can watch the video here https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=decline+of+english+literature+new+statesman+youtube&mid=5B236ED81B4763A297425B236ED81B4763A29742&FORM=VIRE
The author Mark Twain is said to have remarked that, “reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated”. I certainly hope that this proves to be so with the predicted demise of English literature.
Whilst it is almost impossible to draw sweeping conclusions from one’s own experience, my use of Tik Tok has resulted in a very high volume of likes and comments on my poetry videos, and a number of commenters have been kind enough to say that they will buy copies of my books. Therefore short form videos do, in my admittedly limited experience have the potential to actually increase interest in literature and assist in the sale of books.
You can find me on Tik Tok here https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinmorrispoet
As always, I would be interested in your views.
I know an extremely pretty young barmaid
And many a game we have played.
When I say to her, “Bess,
Shall we play draughts or chess?”,
She winks at me does that barmaid …!
K Morris - Poet 