THIS WEEK'S MOST VIEWED POEMS

Here is the list of the most viewed poems on this blog in the past seven days- just click and read:


WTF - WEATHER 2012
THE WORKS OF 'BANJO' PATERSON
PASSING THROUGH THE WOODS - BOOK REVIEW

CHEVAL - ANTHOLOGY BOOK REVIEW

MICK JAGGER'S CHATEAU

TWO SKIES, EVIL EYES

GIVING UP ON PRAYER
COUNCIL MOWER
PRICKS

NOT HEARING

TWO SKIES, EVIL EYES

After the rain,
the window frame captures
a misty scene,
two pigeons on the roof opposite,
a man walking his dog,
a panting jogger
and two chatty cyclists.

To the left clouds,
to the right blue,
two skies,
and on the garden wall
a black cat with evil eyes.

WTF - WEATHER 2012

The weather is quirky,
it's misty and murky
in June and July gloomy faces,
the seasons are jiggered,
who would have figured
that summer and winter'd change places.


We should be by the ocean,
lathering the lotion,
or in shorts grilling burgers outdoors,
but a cloudless blue sky
will soon fade and die
'cos summer's the season it pours.


The weather is nasty
like tax on a pasty,
cross fingers, we all need some luck,
and just when we reckon
some sunny days beckon,
it pisses it down, what the........

THE WORKS OF 'BANJO' PATERSON

THE WORKS OF ‘BANJO’ PATERSON

Wordsworth Poetry Library Wordsworth Editions

£3.99

www.wordsworth-editions.com

The poet, the poetry reader, the teacher, the student of language and literature, and lovers of wonderful words generally and classical works specifically, have an opportunity with Wordsworth Editions to invest as little as £3.99 in books that have stood and will continue to stand the test of time.  Visit the Wordsworth Editions website www.wordsworth-editions.com to see the full range of books available. 

Andrew Barton ‘Banjo’ Paterson was a famous Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, particularly about the outback and the characters he met along the way. He is most notable for writing the poem "Waltzing Matilda” which has become, albeit with altered wording, Australia’s most famous song. This excellent Wordsworth edition brings together three ‘Banjo’ collections – “The Man From Snowy River and Other Verses”; “Rio Grande and Other Verses”; "Saltbush Bill, J.P., and Other Verses" (including "Waltzing Matilda"). He died, aged 76, in 1941.

His epic ballads are here with their heroes and rogues, the brave, the pitiful, the chancers, the winners and losers, and the blood, sweat and tears of working men.  The wild Australian terrain features strongly thoughout the book and from descriptions you can feel the heat and almost choke on the dust.  There is so much to enjoy and I will highlight just a few examples to illustrate his different moods.

“Only A Jockey” tells the story of a fourteen year old, thrown from his horse and killed while training.  It is noted that a newspaper said: “The horse is luckily uninjured”. Paterson unleashes a poem filled with anger and disgust that the boy was less important than the animal.  It is very powerful: “Draw the dark curtain of shame o’er the thought of it/draw the shroud over the jockey-boy’s face.”  Desperately sad.

“Mulga Bill’s Bicycle” is a very funny tale of a man who decides to abandon his horse in favour of a bicycle.  He soon comes a cropper on “that two-wheeled outlaw” and decides, after an accident, that “a horse’s back is good enough.” Hilarious.

“Sunrise On The Coast” carries a lovely description of early morning: “And lo, there is light! Evanescent and tender/it glows ruby-red where ‘twas now ashen-grey/and purple and scarlet and gold in its splendour/behold, ‘tis that marvel, the birth of a day!” Beautiful.

This is poetry as pure entertainment to be read out loud, to stir emotions and imaginations.  If you know ‘Banjo’ Paterson’s work, this is a great opportunity to rekindle your interest.  If you don’t know him, you are in for a treat……but only if you buy the book.

GIVING UP ON PRAYER

A man gives up on prayer,
looks to the sky, 
sobbing, on the day he expects to die.


"Our Father who's not on heaven,
sullied is your name,
when called you didn't come,
why did you run
away from my begging pleas,
daily on my aching knees..........?"


"Fail Mary, waste of space,
the Lord chose to flee,
blasted are the flying angels,
you've all abandoned me........."

NOT HEARING

The sound of nature -
a rustling tree,
birdsong,
a whistling wind,
an ocean's whoosh,
echoes in canyons, in canyons, in canyons......
the trickle-tinkle of a stream
the crash of a waterfall,
the taking for granted
or worse,
not hearing it at all.

PASSING THROUGH THE WOODS - BOOK REVIEW

PASSING THROUGH THE WOODS

Poems by David Gwilym Anthony

Matador/Troubador Publishing £8.99
http://www.troubador.co.uk/shop.asp

Poetry can be cryptic, it can be simple and it can lie somewhere in between the two extremes.  I like the challenge of obscure poems, most of which leave questions unanswered but I prefer poems that are easy on the eye and accessible to the so-called ordinary man and woman.  I enjoy poetry that I can understand after one or two readings.  It is no criticism or insult to this fine collection that I whizzed through it at the first reading, before settling down and taking the second and third readings at a more leisurely and contemplative pace.

There is so much to enjoy in David Gwilym Anthony’s latest book.  He has a wonderful knack of taking a thought, an observation, an emotion and even a joke, and turning them into interesting and entertaining poems.

He has divided the book into six sections – journeys; partings; seasons; in search of inspiration; perspectives; people and places. 

Let me give you an example of a sad poem, “Unsaid”: “Cheerily…charily/friend of my childhood, I/thought of you often yet/left things unsaid. / Lately I looked for you/seeking atonement, and/needing to talk, but I/learned you were dead.”

And a heartbreaking poem, “Mother’s Day”: “I hold the phone remembering - /no need to call today./Routine’s my life raft; as I cling/I hold the phone, remembering/a loss. It is a cruel thing,/this trick the mind can play.”/I hold the phone, remembering./No need to call today.”

And a light poem, “Walking The Dog”; “My aged Lab had ambled on ahead/to greet a passer-by, who paused to pet her./’A little old, a little lame,’ she said./’You’re right,’ said I, ‘nor is my dog much better.’”

One of the many pleasures here is the surprise awaiting you on the next page.  It could be light, dark, funny, serious or deeply personal but the one thing you will get to know is that David Gwilym Anthony is a poet to trust.  He experiments with form, has a deft hand at rhymes and rhythms, is not afraid to tug at your heart on love and loss, nor is he far away from forcing a smile with an unexpected punchline.

I recommend his book highly.