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.
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 …!
When it rains
I try not to complain
For in the drought
Flowers die out
And we all need
To feed on the rain.
Traffic goes by
It’s sound amplified by rain.
A plane flies
In the summer sky
And birds sing.
While I compose my poetry
Touching on eternity
And the fleeting spring.
K Morris - Poet 