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Thinking About: Never for Ever

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Published: 15th March 2025

Image: "Never for Ever" Album Cover / Kate Bush (1980)

This poem was placed 1st in the "Thinking About: Album (or Single, Cassette, Vinyl) Cover Art" contest sponsored by Di11y Da11y (Judged 3rd April 2025)

With my thanks and apologies to Kate Bush, this is my attempt to describe the meaning of the album cover "Never for Ever" with reference to all of the album's tracks.

like a waltz with her guilt for a soldier and son like a foetus that hears and fears fallout’s begun like the praise for a man who once lit up her floor like the things we can't find but are still searching for like a warm song of summer through night scented mist like the bride who wore black crossing names off her list like an old heart that pines for a young heart instead like the drifting in dunes with the sands that run red like the fun that's had rocking as violins play like the hate we may hide and hope passes one day like the wife who penned letters while left on the shelf - it’s the good and the bad that emerge fom one's self.

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Paul Callus

Date: 4/15/2025 2:31:00 PM

What a well-thought-out and delightful offering this is, Gary! You have nothing to apologize for...on the contrary you should be proud of the end product. ~ Best regards // paul

Gary Radice
Date: 4/15/2025 3:15:00 PM

Hi Paul. Great to hear from you and thanks so much for your encouraging comments. Much appreciated. One month on from when I first wrote this poem and I’ll admit to liking it much more now than I first did. - Probably something to do with the great feedback I’ve had. :) Thanks again. Cheers - Gary

Mary Scott

Date: 4/15/2025 11:01:00 AM

I love the poetic rhythm produced by this piece. Each stanza made me hungry for the one that would follow. It's a ballad of anticipation. Thank you for sharing your gift!

Gary Radice
Date: 4/15/2025 2:26:00 PM

Thank you Mary for reading and commenting on my poem. It’s very much appreciated. I love your description of it being “a ballad of anticipation.” Cheers - Gary

Sam Kauffman

Date: 4/13/2025 11:37:00 AM

Gary, congratulations on your win! You really did a wonderful job with this ekphrasis! Like Michael, I love the the last couplet! So wonderful to have you back in the soup! Cheers and blessings!

Gary Radice
Date: 4/14/2025 5:25:00 AM

Thank you Sam. Since writing this I've dusted down the vinyl and played it a few times. Not sure where the 45 years have gone since she released the album but for me it's stood the test of time. Thanks again Sam for your valued comments. Cheers - Gary

Michael Tor

Date: 4/11/2025 4:47:00 AM

Gary love this. What a great thought in the end. A definite favorite my friend. Wow!

Gary Radice
Date: 4/11/2025 10:17:00 AM

Thank you so much Michael. The responses to this poem, I have to admit, have taken me by surprise..but a nice surprise. Read you soon. Cheers - Gary

Ink Empress

Date: 4/4/2025 6:47:00 AM

Dear Gary, Havent read you in a while and what a soulful take this is on your chosen cover! I didnt know this singer until recently, and i love how youv concluded this and also so many lines in this did hit strong for me especially love the dunes line as i was just thinking of writing on dunes, inspired by that today, as for me it is one unpleasant and nerve wrecking experience. The dunes in the desert and drifting there! So much has been conveyed here in such a seamless manner! Congratulations on your well deserved top win! I can see why this pleased dilly! Sending you light always

Gary Radice
Date: 4/4/2025 7:07:00 AM

Hi Inky. Thank you. The dunes line I refer to in the poem comes from the track "Egypt". Kate is on record as describing the song as ‘an attempted audial animation of the romantic and realistic visions of a country’ That's any country - not just Egypt - that we hold a romantic vision of in our minds. The song juxtaposes these romantic visions with the underbelly that exist in reality that we don't always think of or get to see. Thanks again. Cheers - Gary

Di11y Da11y

Date: 4/3/2025 2:37:00 PM

This was a first place the minute I saw it! There's just something so captivating about the way you have brought everything together. The rhythm pulls on reminiscence as much as the words. Clever and skillful write, thoroughly enjoyed! Congratulations on your placement :)

Gary Radice
Date: 4/4/2025 6:54:00 AM

Thanks D D. for the placement and running the contest. Although I don't think Never for Ever is her most accomplished work, my love for the album stems not just from the great tracks themselves but where I was in my life at the time of its release. The album's artwork I believe, was voted the best of 1980 by The Record Mirror. As brilliant as it is, this jury is out on that one. Cheers - Gary

Sara Kendrick

Date: 3/29/2025 4:09:00 AM

Well, I can't imagine trying to describe exactly what that picture might have meant. LOL..I enjoyed reading your interpretation of it. It reads like a good contender to me. Way to go. Sara K

Gary Radice
Date: 3/29/2025 4:57:00 AM

:) I believe Kate Bush often laughs when she sees the cover and reportedly said that she was careful not to have a song title with the word ‘wind’ in it. :) Thanks Sara. Cheers - Gary

Laura Leiser

Date: 3/26/2025 2:08:00 PM

Excellent verse here, Gary! Love all the possibilities that this poetic interpretation provides…cool Ekphrasis vibes! Enjoyed! :)

Gary Radice
Date: 3/27/2025 1:38:00 AM

Laura, thanks so much for stopping by and for your lovely comments. Cheers - Gary

Hiba Junaid

Date: 3/25/2025 12:13:00 AM

I must admit - I have not listened to the album, but the poem is so beautiful, I could not resist commenting. Every line is its own facet, and has its own meaning, and thus a role to play in the writ. I especially loved, "like the things we can't find but are still searching for." Aren't we all slaves to what the heart wants; we may not tell anybody, but the longing exists nonetheless? It fits the theme, "Thinking about never for ever" perfectly. Loved reading this. Be Blessed.

Hiba Junaid
Date: 3/26/2025 9:18:00 AM

<333

Gary Radice
Date: 3/25/2025 1:31:00 AM

Hiba, I really loved your interpretation: "..Aren't we all slaves to what the heart wants; we may not tell anybody, but the longing exists nonetheless?.." Absolutely! Read you soon. Cheers - Gary

Hiba Junaid
Date: 3/25/2025 1:25:00 AM

Ahhh, I now understand the album cover title a lot more, and it adds even more meaning to this poem. Thanks for educating me, Gary! Love the message.

Gary Radice
Date: 3/25/2025 1:19:00 AM

Thanks so much Hiba. With regards to the album's cover, Kate is quoted as saying: "..it reflects the title, depicting good and bad things that emerge from one's self." She went on to say that it represents "..an intricate journey of our emotions: inside gets outside, as we flood people and things with our desires and problems." The title for the album itself, Never for Ever, refers to those conflicting emotions, good and bad, which pass: "..we must tell our hearts that it is 'never for ever', and be happy that it's like that." (Kate Bush) Thanks again for your lovely comments. Cheers - Gary

Charlotte Puddifoot

Date: 3/23/2025 2:57:00 PM

kate bush is a fave of mine, and taking her off used to be my party trick! lol i'm well acquainted with this album, and it's a great cover to choose and build a poem around - your approach to the contest is an interesting one, it's like a list poem...thanks for commenting on my latest, always happy to see you at my page :)

Gary Radice
Date: 3/24/2025 1:56:00 AM

Thanks Charlotte. To me, she's the ultimate poet. She was just 19 in '78 when she topped the UK charts with Wuthering Heights - the first female to do so with a self penned song. I love the subjects she explores through her music. As always, mucho thanks for your comments. Cheers - Gary

Daniel Henry Rodgers

Date: 3/19/2025 8:47:00 AM

Hey Gary, Your poem is absolutely breathtaking! I am sure Kate would love it. I think there’s such a haunting beauty to it packed with depth and emotion. You have this incredible ability to capture both the beauty and pain of life, blending them seamlessly. It leaves me reflecting long after reading. Spring Blessings, My Friend, Daniel

Gary Radice
Date: 3/20/2025 12:05:00 AM

Thank you Daniel. I guess I should have more faith in my writing as I so nearly deleted this. I've tweaked it a little since I first published it here and it's growing on me - helped by the great feedback I've had. Thanks again, your comments are very much appreciated. Cheers - Gary

Gary Radice

Date: 3/17/2025 5:06:00 AM

Just in case anyone out there is interested in the album tracks referred to in the poem they are as follows: Army Dreamers, Breathing, Blow Away, All We Ever Look For, Delius, Night Scented Stock, The Wedding List, The Infant Kiss, Egypt, Violin and Babooshka. Entered into D D's contest "Thinking About An Album Cover" Cheers - Gary

Sam Kauffman

Date: 3/16/2025 9:47:00 AM

Hi Gary! So wonderful to see you posting again! There is so much to ponder, as always, in your pensive tribute to Kate Bush and her amazing album cover! It's "like figuring out a puzzle" as it flows from a woman's soul. Best wishes for the contest! Blessings of spring renewal.

Gary Radice
Date: 3/17/2025 4:45:00 AM

Sam, thanks so much for your lovely comments. I’m smiling Sam because of all the poems I have written I like this poem least of all. It goes against the grain of the simple writes I tend to write and requires the reader to have some knowledge of Kate Bush to make sense of it all. I’ll think on. I was up for deleting it altogether but Soupers’ comments such as your own have had me weighing things up. Cheers - Gary

Terry Flood

Date: 3/16/2025 9:13:00 AM

Strangely, I only a week or so ago had a little peek to see what you had written lately, to find nowt for a while. Nice to see you back on the boards. Not really a lover or hater of Kate Bush and I certainly don’t know that album, but I’ve enjoyed what you’ve written and the way it flows, and of course that final message speaks much truth. Terry

Gary Radice
Date: 3/17/2025 4:54:00 AM

Terry, great to hear from you and great to be back - back of sorts. I’ve slowed my output down when it comes to writing poems (ideas are a tad scant at present) but I still enjoy reading others. Talking of writing - as I said to Sam in reply to her comments, this poem is not a particular favourite of mine. Each line refers to a track from her album and if you don’t know the album I would imagine that it could sound all over the place as a poem. That said, some of Kate’s songs can sound like that too so maybe I will stick with it after all. :) Thanks again. Cheers - Gary

Hilda Greenhough

Date: 3/16/2025 8:35:00 AM

I can read the excellent sense of the painting in your poem. I feel a universe in disarray. Thank you for your deep philosophy of "Never Forever".

Gary Radice
Date: 3/17/2025 1:19:00 AM

Thanks Hilda Cheers - Gary

Tom Woody

Date: 3/15/2025 4:41:00 PM

Very nice Gary. I'm not a fan (her screechy voice is the female equivalent of Brian Johnson, who I also can't stand) but the album cover is cool. Your rhymes are always superb. Tempted to do one on Funkadelic's Maggot Brain but probably won't

Gary Radice
Date: 3/16/2025 12:29:00 AM

I saw her very first concert in Liverpool 1979 and to this day it remains one of the best concerts I've seen. Funkadelic? Was never ever (see what I did there?) a fan but dream today of One Nation Under A Groove...as long as that groove is a peaceful one. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers - Gary

Tom Woody
Date: 3/15/2025 4:43:00 PM

PS. Back when a was a party loving heathen my pal and I would get drunk on a Friday or Saturday night (can't remember which) and a certain radio station out of Cleveland would always play Maggot Brain after midnight. Details are a little fuzzy but I recall it as a surreal experience