Tag Archives: reading

This Above All, To Thine Own Self Be True

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I must confess to being a little disappointed on receiving the below reply, in response to my submission of several poems to a magazine.

“I read the poems with interest but nothing takes my fancy”.

It would have given me pleasure to see my work featured on a platform other than my own. There is within the heart of man, deny it though he will, a desire for the approbation of his fellows. I am no exception to this rule. I receive a warm glow every time one of my readers likes or comments on my work. Likewise I derive tremendous pleasure on reading reviews left by my readers.

The approbation of others is not, however what drives me to write. Despite the swearing at my computer and the shaking of my fist in frustration when the words fail to come (at the machine I hasten to add), I can not stop writing for I have an itch which needs to be scratched, scratched and scratched again. Thoughts run through my head and must find expression on the page. I can not help myself. I must put pen to paper and leave it to the gods to determine whether or not my words find a place in people’s hearts.

 

I would like to close by thanking all my readers for following me at newauthoronline.com and reading my work.

 

Kevin

 

 

The Autumn Of My Years

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Now that I have reached the Autumn of my years

and the grey has chased the brown away

shall I forget the undiscovered rose

whose perfume

hangs in the air

on a spring night

replete with pure delight?

Should I wear sensible shoes

And lose

The joy of walking

Barefoot on grass?

Shall I seek the fairies dancing

Or insist

They do not exist?

I must persist

In my search for bliss

For to be alive

Is to strive

for something more

Than to achieve the title “saloon bar bore”.

I am not a bee in a hive

A mere part of the whole

Lacking a soul.

Joy is my goal!

Autumn

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As I walked through the trees

a soft breeze

Stirred the fallen leaves.

A girl was there

with golden hair.

Light as a feather she flew

into mine arms true.

The scent of the forest she wore.

Her clothes blended with the woodland’s russet floor.

“I can not stay

for my father, winter is on his way”,

she did say.

The sky turned grey

and winter did bay

As a ravenous wolf

who would the earth engulf.

I felt her father’s icey hand

laid firm upon the land.

His command

is law.

I must see his daughter no more.

But winter must sleep

And out his children will creep.

The lover I adore

I will see her once more!

Ruth

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The young man preens

And dreams

Of girls in frocks

Who lose their socks

The young girl thinks of fast cars

of fumbling hands

And broken bras.

The middle aged man ponders on his misspent youth

On wonky car seats

and a girl called Ruth.

The middle aged lady takes her husband’s hand

As they stroll contentedly along the sand.

Snow

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A lack of musak.

No ghost, for spirits are immaterial as the wind

and here is a material world.

Aisles empty as the minds of the robots who patrol

for security has no soul.

Automated tills say

“have a nice day”

in a voice as caring

as the check out girl who is inwardly swearing

at her bloke,

“the guys a f..k joke”!

“Big Issue?”

the girl outside the store asks.

it’s a hopeless task

For the issue has been lost

and tossed

with the needles and dodgy cash

into the trash

Long ago.

Clubbers admire the snow, so pure and white.

It will be a delightful night.

Out of mind, out of sight

The Old Familiar Faces By Charles Lamb

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It is sometimes remarked by those who do not care for poetry that it is difficult to understand. However this certainly can not be said of the below poem, “The Old Familiar Faces” by the poet, Charles Lamb.

 

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The Old Familiar Faces By Chaarles Lamb

 

 

I have had playmates, I have had companions,

In my days of childhood, in my joyful school-days,

All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

I have been laughing, I have been carousing,

Drinking late, sitting late, with my bosom cronies,

All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

I loved a love once, fairest among women;

Closed are her doors on me, I must not see her —

All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

I have a friend, a kinder friend has no man;

Like an ingrate, I left my friend abruptly;

Left him, to muse on the old familiar faces.

Ghost-like, I paced round the haunts of my childhood.

Earth seemed a desert I was bound to traverse,

Seeking to find the old familiar faces.

Friend of my bosom, thou more than a brother,

Why wert not thou born in my father’s dwelling?

So might we talk of the old familiar faces —

How some they have died, and some they have left me,

And some are taken from me; all are departed;

All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.

Encyclopedia Britannica

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Several days ago,  I fell into conversation with an acquaintance while enjoying a  convivial pint in my favourite pub. During our chat he mentioned that the charity shop in which he volunteers has received a  24 volume set of the 1969 encyclopedia britannica. The person in charge of the shop was minded to send encyclopedia britannica for pulping, for which the charity would receive a small payment.

I (along with my acquaintance) where horrified at the thought of this work of reference being destroyed in such a manner. The book is in good condition. Granted much of the content is out of date but that to my mind adds to the intrinsic interest of the work. It is fascinating to look back at how our understanding of the world has changed. For example anyone opening the 1969 encyclopedia britannica will find the Soviet Union portrayed in all it’s “glory” together with references to Persia which, of course no longer exists. Again the explanation of computers is very outdated which adds to the historical interest of the 1969 encyclopedia britannica.

Leaving aside the beauty of the book (it’s binding etc), the work is a collectors item. encyclopedia britannica is no longer available in a print edition (at least in it’s traditional form of many volumes occupying much shelf space) and has been replaced by an online portal, Britannica.com. Looking online for encyclopedia britannica, I found the 1969 edition is available on Ebay at an asking price of £323. Consequently quite apart from the barbarity of trashing this piece of history the book is, in fact much more valuable in tact rather than as pulp.

I haven’t bumped into my acquaintance since our conversation regarding encyclopedia britannica. I sincerely hope that when we next meet he will impart the news that the 1969 encyclopedia britannica has found a good home on a bibliophile’s bookshelves!

 

Kevin

The Mermaid

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“Jump in

and swim.

The water is cold

but the bold

will find gold

in the dank cave

which the brave

mermaid

may explore”.

Mermen adore

the rocky sea floor

and will implore

you to play

as the day

darkens.

The wise mermaid harkens

to the gull

who cries above,

“it is not love.

‘Tis better to stay on the sand warm

than have your heart torn

asunder

by mermen who plunder”.

The waves thunder

And the mermaid does wonder

About gold dust

Lust

And sin.

The Fairy Ring

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The ring is no longer magic

but the tragic

fairies continue to dance.

There is no romance

yet as a magnet to the metal

man can not settle

and is drawn

to this sight forlorn.

The flesh tires.

Desires

cool

but the fool

plays with the burning coal.

Man’s goal

is the salvation of his soul.

The fairies cease their play

as day

breaks.

Man as from a dream awakes

and forsakes

for a time

the circle, once thought so divine.