Long Quayside Poems

Stars fall under failing skies...stars fall...stars fall...
And sadly...i start to drive.
Through the unremarkable village with its tall 
Georgian Bay window panes, lightless,
devoid of visages; outwardly staring back at my 
Abject countenance with detached contempt and...

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Rest now
O restless heart
released in ebb   to flow

ride the other side of the king tide rising
buoyant your movement in rise with the waves
Rise! to beyond where breakers break long-suffering shores
pitiless the grind of...

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Late night summons madmen, 
madams, bold streetwalkers, 
picking pennies from the gutters 
as the merchants close their shutters 
and the homeless crouch in doorways 
in their rags, against the cold. 
Black or white, no compromise,...

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Odyssey from Africa 15c (Southland, continued...)

Being rich in skill and talent
He soon gained the feel and measure 
Of the boomerang’s employment 
Sent it arching near the treetops 
 
Then returning where it started
As the king...

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Chapter 11 The Island Kingdom (f, continued...)

Near the north-most cape they passed, there
Lay the kingdom’s foremost city
By the name of Cannabarro
Here was found the royal palace

Of Ptolemy the Second.
In our time this city has the...

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Late night summons madmen, 
madams, bold streetwalkers, 
picking pennies from the gutters 
as the merchants close their shutters 
and the homeless crouch in doorways 
in their rags, against the cold. 
Black or white, no compromise,...

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I balance my illicitly obtained bottle of absinthe from a man who knows a man, for an exorbitant amount of Euros, on the worn wooden windowsill of my topmost room at the rundown pension overlooking...

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Foreword: Contains excepts from, and additions to, my own three part poem ‘Bone Idol’, which is way too long to submit here.

Skeleton Quay

He lingers on the quayside and heeds the phantom howls
Out on mist shrouded...

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Late night summons madmen, 
madams, bold streetwalkers,
picking pennies from the gutters
as the merchants close their shutters
and the homeless crouch in doorways
in their rags, against the cold.
Black or white, no compromise,
no colours clothe the empty streets,
as...

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Late night summons madmen, 
madams, bold streetwalkers, 
picking pennies from the gutters 
as the merchants close their shutters 
and the homeless crouch in doorways 
in their rags, against the cold. 
Black or white, no compromise,...

Read More

Late night summons madmen, 
madams, bold streetwalkers, 
picking pennies from the gutters 
as the merchants close their shutters 
and the homeless crouch in doorways 
in their rags, against the cold. 
Black or white, no compromise,...

Read More

Written: October 20, 2023, 

If an opera cannot be played by an organ grinder, it's not going to achieve immortality. By Thomas Beecham
            ...

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NEWCASTLE  UPON  TYNE,    ENGLAND

Half-Scot,  half-English  and  ill at ease with the past,
Newcastle is sooty black from its coaly drama, 
And  the breathless town was always ...

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...inspired by 'Rhapsody On A Windy Night'
                            ...

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...inspired by 'Rhapsody On A Windy Night'
                            ...

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Nightscapes

...inspired by 'Rhapsody On A Windy Night' 
       by T.S. Eliot


Late night summons
madmen, madams, bold streetwalkers,
picking pennies from the gutters
as the merchants close their shutters
and the homeless crouch in...

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Dark room
No light shines through;
Coldness precipitates

~~~~~~~~~


Post-It note
Message in brief;
Lunch meeting detour

~~~~~~~~~


Birthday party
Another milestone;
Planet earth agrees

~~~~~~~~~


Celebration party
Family banquet;
Feast for fond hearts

~~~~~~~~~


Shopping spree
Goodies galore;
Window shopping

~~~~~~~~~


Busy occupations
Soldier and teacher;
Love affair complete


~~~~~~~~~

Ancient tree
Witness to happenings;
Keeps fond secrets

~~~~~~~~~


Deserted alley
Midnight raindrops;
Black...

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The harbour rests from the rolling waves			
Of a windswept and tempestuous sea			
Beyond the breakwater lay sailors graves		
Where shipwrecks in eternal sleep rest free		
Once lured upon the rocks they didn’t see		
Now ghosts of sailors take their...

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the light breeze
   cooled the morning sun
daytrip Venice
            had begun
vantage views
       from a vaporetto
inch-by-inch
 the skyline...

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the light breeze
   cooled the morning sun
daytrip Venice
            had begun
vantage views
       from a vaporetto
inch-by-inch
 the skyline...

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Relaxing at Ye Olde White Horse Inn in quaint St. George's Towne,
I enjoy another rum swizzle as I watch the crimson sun go down!
Its rays cast a blush of red on fleets of sails cruising...

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Quayside bazaar
Odd artifacts;
Trinkets to go

~~~~~~~~~


Poignant tune
Old memories flood;
Trip to yesterday

~~~~~~~~~


Airport arrival
Homecoming route;
Mid-afternoon buzz

~~~~~~~~~


Laundry lady
Dry cleaning job;
Helpful hints

~~~~~~~~~


Sleepy hangover
My mother's voice;
Dreamy interlude

~~~~~~~~~


Old giant rubber tree
Huge monolith;
Treasured monument

~~~~~~~~~


Abrupt torrential rain
Misty blur ooze;
Traffic congestion

~~~~~~~~~


Newspaper headline
Yangtze River mishap;
Death by...

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Oh how I wish to be one with the wind in my hair, 
my floral dress flowing in the air. 
The soft ocean breeze hitting my face, 
and the delightful cadence of waves nothing would replace. 

The waters crash onto...

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Aye, Aye Captain
That's what sailors say
When all is ready
To travel on their way

To far off places
And get the ship afloat
When all is in order
On this orderly boat

A boat has to be tidy
It's a huge ship
With...

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