OBSERVATION OUTSIDE CHARTRES CATHEDRAL (JULY 2012)

Woman on a bench
lights a cigarette,
then, with her cigarette-holding hand,
tries to put on sunglasses
and, with her camera-holding hand,
tries to position herself
to take a photograph.
She fumbles,
she mumbles,
she almost drops the glasses,
puts the cigarette in her mouth,
puts the camera on the bench,
tidies the glasses on her face
in a moment of sense to avoid a mishap.
Then, finally, she takes the photo
as a half-inch of ash drops onto her lap.

C'EST LA GRRRRR!

Le Cafe Du General (July 2012) - Place Marceau, Chartres - brasserie, glacier, bar a biere, cocktails, red and white wicker chairs.......

......they sit, 
they smoke,
they chat,
they smoke,
they order,
they smoke,
they drink,
they smoke,
they eat,
they smoke,
they canoodle,
they smoke......they smoke......they smoke......

For non-smokers,
c'est la grrrrr!

ANDY MURRAY (UPDATED)

This poem was posted a few weeks ago....... Now it requires another verse!

Based on the format of the song The Scottish Soldier...........

There was a player,

a Scottish player

who came across as dour

on the tough tennis tour,

he’d grump and smoulder

with good broad shoulder

he fought in many a set

and sometimes won.

His chance at glory

was the Wimbledon story,

a battle glorious, a tad laborious,

he lost the prize, tears in his eyes

but won the hearts of all who cheered him on.

You see his driving force is to find the guts,

no ifs, ands and buts, just a sportsman’s guts,

and when he wipes away that final tear, have no fear,

he’ll have next  year,

to fight in many a game and fight to win.

New opening verses:

There was a player,

a Scottish player

to the Olympics came

to play a tennis game,

he proved much bederer

than Roger Federer,

he toiled and lo behold,

he won the gold.

His chance at glory,

great GB story,

sublime, victorious, perfect and glorious,

he claimed the prize, joy in his eyes,

another legend, London 2012.

MOST VIEWED POSTS 7 DAYS TO 4 AUG

Here are the most viewed poems and reviews on this blog in the past 7 days - just click and read:

SHIFT by RHIAN GALLAGHER (Poetry

ANDY MURRAY

ZEAL by ANDREW BAILEY (Poetry Bo

LEARNING ENGLISH

REVISITING THE CANTERBURY TALE

LEAVING WORK (BELFAST, 1911)

DAYLIGHT ROBBERY

THE POET TAKES FLIGHT........

Dropped The Moon is closed for a week or so.


While I'm away, browse the archive, leave some comments, be nice to your fellow human beings and hug a poet at every opportunity.

SHIFT by RHIAN GALLAGHER (Poetry Book Review))

Shift

By Rhian Gallagher

Enitharmon £9.99

http://www.enitharmon.co.uk/index.asp

I have read "Shift" four times and every time I think I get it, I am thrown by some cryptic reference, by an odd phrase, a whim or a curved ball that is uncatchable.  I have written and read poetry for over forty years and I have been entertained and frustrated in equal measure.  I am a simple soul, but one that craves intellectual challenge, even if I don't understand everything I read. I love a writer's urge to be an individual, to flirt, to manipulate, to tease, to say something that means everything to the poet but leaves the reader reeling in a state of agony, trying to comprehend what the hell is going on.  I love to eavesdrop on angst, to peer through a keyhole, to ogle intimacy and to swim in an ocean of emotion, if a writer is willing to allow access.

For all these reasons and much, much more, I loved "Shift" by the remarkable Rhian Gallagher.

There is nothing easy here, nothing to take for granted.  This is a poet baring her soul as she takes us on her journey from homeland New Zealand to Europe, specifically London, and on to Brooklyn. Rhian Gallagher looks within herself from the outset in the evocative poem “Blood Work”, remembering her father: “….and I couldn’t see/how I’d make the journey/going away and away from him.”  I was struck by these words especially because of my own father’s abruptness when leaving home when I was six.  I see affection here from Gallagher, in contrast to my own anger.  If a writer can encapsulate something about the reader, then that is a very clever writer indeed, or a very sensitive reader, perhaps.

I have sincere admiration for my sisters for reasons that I will not go into here, but Rhian Gallagher brought out so many feelings in “My Sister’s Country”, “My Sister’s Dead Perfection” and “My Sister Remade” that I had to stop reading and take a breath. “You were tough and sweet/and wonderfully mean./I tugged on your hem/with my questions, I rode/in your slipstream.”

This is a poetry book that seeps into your personal life because it is so personal to begin with.  It is true to it’s title.  It shifts locations, issues, poetic styles, and touches you when and where you least expect it to. It is an exemplary work and will require re-reading to ensure maximum understanding and satisfaction.

My favourite line, from “Crossroad”, “Giving up on words is the final failure.”  Amen to that!

Rhian Gallagher has created a collection to confirm that she is a poet to cherish, one not to ignore, one that is adept at getting to your heart, your soul, your inner core. “Shift” is essential reading.  Rhian Gallagher is a special talent.

AURORA

23 July 2012: James Holmes, 24, sat in court in a red jail suit with dyed orange hair, and appeared dazed during the proceedings.  The US man accused of killing 12 people in a shooting at a Batman film screening in Aurora, Colorado has appeared in court for the first time.  Seven of 58 people wounded by the gunman remain in critical condition.

Orange hair,

hangdog face,

we don't have to see your craziness

to know you're crazy.

We don't have to understand you,

analyse you, listen to the story you'll tell.

We have to look for the only justice,

to see you rot and burn in hell........


.......and hope the grief of survivors, 

families, friends will ease

as we pray for these people

to rest in peace:

Gordon, 51

Rebecca Ann, 32

Jesse, 29,

John, 27

Alex, 27

Matthew, 27

Jonathan, 26

Jessica, 24

Alexander, 24

Micayla, 23

Alexander, 18,

Veronica, 6

We pray that they rest in peace.