Tag Archives: writing

Old School Caps

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“We spread rumours about the man above then, when he is replaced …”.
Being blind, I can not see his face.
His voice says private school.
The man’s a fool.
A girl’s upper middle class laugh brays
In response to what he says.

I think of dorms
And cricket on the lawns.
I dwell on old school caps
And half educated prats.
A harsh judgement perhaps
For we all lapse
From time to time
When wine
Gets our tongue
And inane songs are sung.

I went to a boarding school.
No doubt played the fool
And disregarded the rule.
So why so critical of my fellow man?
Who can
In honesty say
They have their days in virtue spent
And do not repent
Of a foolish word said
When alcohol has clouded the head?

Preparing For Poetry Reading

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I will be spending much of this weekend preparing for my first poetry reading, which will take place on Wednesday 10 February, (http://newauthoronline.com/2016/01/29/poets-corner/). My colleague and fellow poet, Toby Wheeler has sent me a list of poems he will be reading and it now falls to yours truly to knuckle down and make my own selection! There being so many poems to choose from makes my task difficult. Where I to read all the poems I’m minded to recite the hour allotted to the reading would pass by without Toby having an opportunity to showcase his excellent poetry. Consequently I need to be ruthless as regards my selection criteria.
I intend to read poems ranging from the humorous through to the dark and brooding. I have already determined that the first poem in my latest collection, “Lost In the Labyrinth Of My Mind” which is entitled, appropriately enough “Lost will be read. I am also inclined to recite “Autumn Rain” which can be found in “Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose”. Turning to the humorous verse, I am minded to read my poems “She Stood Upon Her Head” and “Shall I Compare Thee”, both of which appear in “Lost In The Labyrinth”.
If all goes well, the event will be videoed and if things go swimmingly the video camera will actually work and an edited version of the reading will appear here!

(For “Lost In The Labyrinth Of My Mind” please go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01AF5EPVY?keywords=Lost%20in%20the%20labyrinth%20of%20my%20mind&qid=1452670393&ref_=sr_1_1&s=digital-text&sr=1-1. For “Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose” please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dalliance-collection-poetry-prose-Morris-ebook/dp/B00QQVJC7E. For a selection of Toby’s poetry please go to http://www.writeoutloud.net/profiles/tobyw.

pride

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The better man hides inside.
Pride
As a snake
Does wake
And we forsake
Kindness, that like a river should flow
And lose ourselves in hate and woe.

We know what is right
And oft in the depths of night
Look into our soul.
We ssee the whole
Thing crystal clear.
All our fears
And empty tears.

Let the serpent go
For we reap what we sew.
An open heart
Can not by the devil’s art
Be made black
Only a lack
Of will
Can our soul kill

 

The Hungry Hound

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The below poem is dedicated to my guide dog Trigger, and my generous colleagues who, from time to time sacrifice their lunch to a hungry canine.

—

I am Trigger.
My stomach is bigger
Than you think.
Your lunch will be gone in the blink
Of an Eye.
Then away I fly.
Should you ask “who stole my lunch?” I reply
“Nnot I
But, dear reader, I lie …!..
I have been known to eat plastic.
My reach is elastic.
You think your food Safe?
My friend brace
Yourself for a shock
For I will gobble the lot!
Be it ever so hot!

A Flag Flapping

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A February wind gusts down Whitehall.
The thin flag flaps but does not fall.
I hear water lapping
And see a flag flapping
Over receeding shores
And rugged moors.

Pale
Ships sail.
Gulls wail.
Masts crack.
There is no turning back.

An old man looks out
Upon the rout.
The shouting dies.
His eyes
Fixed upon the flag, which still flies
Red, white, and blue, against the darkening skies.

Who Would A Poet Be?

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The poet lays bare his soul
For the whole
World to see.
So who would a poet be?

Or perchance he hides in clever rhyme
How he does spend his time.
For ‘Tis no crime
To obfuscate a line.

Readers shake their heads.
The poet dreads
Lest they discover
What lies behind the cover …

Poet’s Corner

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Below is an article which first appeared on my employer’s website. My thanks to my fellow poet and colleague, Toby Wheeler for permission to reproduce the article together with his poem “Happiness”.

On Wednesday 10 February, Toby Wheeler and Kevin Morris will be reading a selection of their poetry. The event will also provide the opportunity for colleagues to read one of their favourite poems.
Here is a little background about Kevin and Toby.
Kevin has been writing poetry since 2012. His latest collection, “Lost In The Labyrinth Of My Mind” is available as a Kindle ebook. Kevin’s work covers a broad spectrum, ranging from poems about nature through to humorous verse.
Toby was first published at the tender age of 7 in a children’s collection of poems called ‘From a Secret Place’.
However he only started writing poetry seriously after graduating from university and completing a placement at Keats House in Hampstead.
His first collection of poems, “27 years, 27 poems” will be published for Kindle in April 2016.
Toby has also written a poem about OCD for the charity ‘OCD Action’ which is due to be released later this year by the charity as part of a collection of poems about mental health. He is now preparing to send poems for possible inclusion into other poetry collections to publishers.

Here is your chance to sample some of Kevin and Toby’s work.
“Raining” by Kevin Morris

“I awoke to the rain
drumming on my window pane.
Opening my lattice I let it in
the purifying water that washes away sin.
The hypnotic sound
of rain falling all around.
All my life I have listened to the rain.
The same drumming
of water coming
from the sky
falling on you and I.
The rain has no end
But you and I my friend
May listen for a while
Smile
then pass on by”.
‘Happiness’ by Toby Wheeler .

I think I’m happy, I don’t know,
What is it anyway?
Is it something beautiful, a calmness perhaps?
Or an acceptance, a thing we just know?

I think I might be happy,
I couldn’t say, I think I may be sad;
I think I may just be happy to be content,
Yes, content is perhaps enough for me;

Even if I found happiness,
How do I keep it?
And if I did, is it a thing you cannot hide?
For everyone I know who’s happy says so.

I think I may be happy,
I smile and laugh from time to time;
I hope that will suffice,
In trying to find that thing called happiness.

Backup And Backup Again!

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Over Christmas I took my trusty Sony Vio laptop to Liverpool with me. Much of my time in Liverpool was, not surprisingly spent celebrating the festivities with family. I did, however find time to write and, as always saved my creations to my laptop’s hard drive.
On returning to London I powered up my trusty old work horse only for the machine to display an error message saying that Windows had been incorrectly shut down. I tried the usual solutions (start Windows normally and when that failed a system restore) but all to no avail. Eventually I took the laptop to a computer repairer I have used previously only to discover that the hard drive had gone to the great computer heaven in the sky where it is, no doubt now whirring away contentedly with other computer bits and bobs!
Fortunately the above story has a happy ending. Although the hard disk had died Graham (the computer repairer) was able to fit a new one and transfer my files from the defunct drive to it. Had he not been able to do this I would, potentially have lost much of my work. Hours of hard slog down the drain!
I had no warning that my hard drive was about to fail. Apparently they can fail soon after a machine has been purchased for no apparent reason, while others can work for years without a hitch. I have owned the laptop since 2011 so had, I guess enjoyed a fairly good run for my money as regards the hard disk.
The moral of the above is to always back up one’s work to somewhere other than one’s computer’s hard drive! Happy backing up!

Kevin