Whilst attending my old boarding school
I knew a most ghastly ghoul.
As the clock struck midnight
He’d play with the light,
Which was strictly against the rule!
Whilst Attending My Old Boarding School
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Tag Archives: kevin morris poet
Rationality
I am a rational man.
Ghosts and ghouls are for fools.
But, at boarding school
Was it pipes at night
Which slowly cooled
And housemasters whose shoes squeaked
And made floors creak?
Or ghastly ghouls?
Sometimes at night I delight
In tales of vampires.
But, when I retire
I feel the creeping chill
Of imagined hands.
And no man can command
What may come in dreams.
Poets Reading Their Own Poetry
The below podcast contains recordings of a number of poets reading their work. Among those included are Robert Frost reading his beautiful and much anthologised poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, and Dorothy Parker reciting a number of her poems. Also included are 2 of my own poems from my collection “The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems”: “Birds on a March Evening” and “Sitting on this Fallen log”. Both poems are read by the show’s host Victor Schwartzman.
To listen to the podcast please visit World Poetry Cafe July 4 Victor and Old Poets by VictorSchwartzman | Mixcloud
A Poem from My Archives
A poem from my archives entitled “On a Quiet Sunday”:
On a quiet Sunday
In Spring
I heard the clock’s
Tick tock.
It said, “this day
Of spring
Is full of sunshine.
Girls without socks
Play. But sunshine
Does not stay.
And all rhyme
Has it’s time”.
AI and Society
An interesting and thought provoking post on the impact of artificial intelligence (both positive and negative) on society, including on the creative industries https://rlpastore.com/2024/07/01/ai-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/.
As a blind student in my twenties, I used a machine called a Kurzweil. It was roughly the size of a photocopier and the user would open the lid, place printed material on the scanner, press a button and have the material (book, letter or whatever) read aloud to them.
The above mentioned technology cost thousands of pounds, while today software can be downloaded onto any modern computer/laptop and (with the help of a Twain compatible scanner) printed material can be read aloud at a fraction of the cost of that in my youth.
On my iPhone I have an app called Be My Eyes. As a visually impaired person I can point my phone’s camera at a food packet, tin Etc and have the label read to me which means no longer having to ask sighted people for assistance (well in most instances). In those instances where the app fails, there is the option for the user to connect with a human volunteer who, with the aid of the phone’s camera can assist the visually impaired enquirer.
Turning to the potential negative impacts of AI, from the evidence I’ve seen thus far I am not convinced that the massive job losses predicted by some are coming any time soon (if at all). Ai can, for example, enable lawyers to retrieve information much faster. However, it can not (and I can never see it) replacing a highly trained lawyer in a court of law. Likewise, AI can hoover up vast amounts of data enabling it to create writing, including stories and poetry. However, it does not, in my experience possess the creativity of humans.
In 2023, I published a collection entitled “More Poetic Meanderings”. The greater part of the book is comprised of poems composed by me. However, a shorter section contains poetry written with the assistance of AI, including a couple of my original poems (published at an earlier date) updated with the aid of artificial intelligence.
You can find “More Poetic Meanderings” on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats More Poetic Meanderings eBook : Morris, K : Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store.
As ever I’d be interested in the views of my readers.
Carpet Burns
My thoughts turn
To carpet burns.
A girl and I
By my gas fire.
I remember the flame
Of my desire.
But her name …?
Poet Kevin Morris’s Interview about his Recently Released Poetry Collection, “The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems”
On 24 June, I was interviewed by Ariadne Sawyer of the World Poetry Reading Series about my recently released poetry collection, “The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems”. The show was broadcast on Thursday 27 June and is now available as a podcast here World Poetry Cafe for June 27 with Kevin Morris by VictorSchwartzman | Mixcloud
My interview begins approximately 13 minutes into the podcast. During the interview, I read from “The Churchyard Yew” and discuss my poetry and writing process.
“The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems” is available as a Kindle download from Amazon and can be found here The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems eBook : Morris, K: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
A 5 Star Review of my Poetry Collection, “The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems”
I was pleased to receive this 5 star review of my recently published collection, “The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems”:
“… The poems in this short but sweet collection cover myriad topics in a variety of styles. Some are about churchyards while others are about humans and animals. My favorite is “Going to Hell in a Hand Cart,” a perfect way to end the book. If you like straightforward, entertaining poetry, this book is for you.”
(To read the review in full please visit Amazon.co.uk:Customer reviews: The Churchyard Yew and Other Poems).
I Find Dust
I find dust
In old books.
While in the summer churchyard
The birds twitter.
They have no bitter
Thoughts of dust.
The graves impassively stand.
I can not command
Death to stay his hand.
Yet some say we may
Achieve immortality.
Where we to achieve immortality
Should I put away Gray’s
“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”?
The graveyard plot answers not
For the dead Are at peace.
The Dancing Girls Depart
The dancing girls depart
And leave behind:
A man’s lustful heart,
An unquiet mind
And the poet’s art.
K Morris - Poet 