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Best Poems Written by Gary Radice

Below are the all-time best Gary Radice poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Gary Radice Poem

Miss Amelia Havisham's Garden Shed

between the plant pots and the trays
the cobwebs had seen better days
and for all the wood and damp and soil
the smell was one of paint and oil 
as flies and wasps lying in state
were curled up past their fly-by-date
and nails and screws and metal hooks
shared space on shelves with brewery books
beneath a clock with broken hands
where time stood still amongst the cans
and jam jars full of pip-like seeds
stood next to things that no one needs
and while her tears had stained the glass
that looked out on the unkempt grass
upon the floor amid the mess
..a letter 
and her wedding dress.

Details | Gary Radice Poem

Vincent Van Gogh: Cafe Terrace At Night

from beyond his
vibrant palette
that bore all his 
lifelong scars

is what I see
beneath his sky
and myriad
of stars

a scene of shades
and silhouettes
formed by the
yellow light

that hints at
The Last Supper
at that café 
in the night?

Details | Gary Radice Poem

The Kissing Gate

‘far from the madding crowds’ and cars
this green and pleasant land of ours

conceals behind its dry stone walls
secrets, streams and waterfalls

where stepping stones that gather moss
shine forth and tempt us both across

to distant fields of eighties’ skies
now clouded through autumnal eyes

where sheep still bleat as we both pass
along old paths of weathered grass

rekindling thoughts as each track weaves
of first love, hope and burning leaves

that once infused a simpler air
but linger still inside somewhere

to guide us on those wistful miles
through woods, past farms and over stiles

in search of where we sat and spent
time dreaming dreams of dreams we dreamt

over the hills and far away
inside a world called yesterday

and where we’d stay ‘til light turned late
in fields beyond the kissing gate

where now through smiles and gentle tears
reflecting on those forty years

it feels like time has flown so fast
since young love asked if love could last.

Details | Gary Radice Poem

The Stanzas By the Sea

I

when the world had no headsets
the sunbathing crowd
fell asleep to the sounds of
transistors played loud
while the deckchairs and windbreaks
kites, beach balls and more
formed the stripes, lines and circles
that painted the shore
and the longer I walked
on the sand to that sea
the more the sea seemed
to get further from me
and the crunch in my mouth
was that one grain of sand
in the sandwich I ate 
with my sand covered hand
while the lemons and melons
and plums I'd watch spin
would stop short of a cherry
one click from a win
and the postcards we sent
from the end of the pier
had us writing such half truths
as "wish you were here."


II

from the end of the pier
through the stiff breeze
and spindrift
I can still hear the tunes
of the promenade bands

and I can still see the stripes
of the deckchairs and windbreaks
and the box kites
and beach balls
that painted the shore

and I can still taste
the butter
 - warm like the canned ham
and the crunch of that sand
in the sandwich I had

and I can still hear the djs
laughing and talking
spinning hits of the sixties
from transistors
played loud

and I can still smell the onions
frying wild in the fairground
to the sound of the claxons
and the lemon. click. orange. click. melon.
click. click.

and I can still breathe the deep smoke
swirling in sand dunes
from the benson and hedges
and 
player's no.6

and I can still see those grown ups
staring at mirrors
 - their bodies distorted
like the dreams
they once had

today on the pier
the rain that's now falling
falls from a same sky
on a same sand
and same sea
 
and on a same me

yet this air

this air
is not the same air
as that air I
once 
breathed.

Details | Gary Radice Poem

Catch the World

to walk in early morning's still

to see the silence through the chill

to smell the rise of dawn from night

to hear the sky's unravelling light

to taste the distant fields of grass

to breathe the dry stone walls that pass

to touch the earth's pure pristine air

to catch the world - and hold it there.

Details | Gary Radice Poem

The Dog On the Beach

I watched a dog fight back the sea
to chase a ball thrown on the surf
it sensed no danger unlike me
when I chased young dreams on this earth.

at some point in reality
against those waves I lost my nerve
I blame my personality
respecting nature's tides since birth.

and now that dog's just running free
 - its ball retrieved with canine verve
despite a law that it should be
restrained by harness round its girth.

Details | Gary Radice Poem

Jukebox

The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bread
Billy Joel and The Grateful Dead

Suzi Quatro, Wham! Kate Bush
Elton John, Yes, Kiss and Rush

Aerosmith, The Brothers Four
Dolly Parton, Sandie Shaw

The Jackson Five and Bruce Springsteen
Elvis Presley, Slade and Queen

David Bowie, The Beach Boys, Sweet
Rose Royce, Madness and The Beat

Dusty Springfield, Fox, Nick Drake
Soft Cell, Klaatu, Sting, Greg Lake

Three Dog Night and The Ramones
Pink Floyd and The Undertones

Duran Duran, Nirvana and
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Mott The Hoople, E.L.O
Dr. Hook and Status Quo

Skeeter Davis, Iggy Pop
Alice Cooper, ZZ Top

The Rev. Al Green and Steeley Dan
The Who, The Jam and Steeleye Span

The Monkees, Abba, Cream and Free
Lynyrd Skynrd, 10CC

The Faces, Love and Wishbone Ash
The Four Tops, Blondie and The Clash

The Moody Blues, Deep Purple, Mud
Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Bob Dylan and The Shangri Las
The Kinks. The Birds. The Doors. The Cars

The Seekers and Roberta Flack
The Drifters, T. Rex, Fleetwood Mac

Tina Turner, Prince, James Brown
..And all the music from Motown.

Details | Gary Radice Poem

The Wetlands

as swallows land and swifts take flight
inside late noon’s last shards of light
the chill winds that descend on day
cause dense green swathes of reeds to sway
across the flooded vista’s ground
in harmony with nature’s sound
of shrills that echo through the air
from birds and insects everywhere
while stars with room to breathe and shine
light up a land divorced from time
to show the beauty and true worth
of life in balance here on earth.

Details | Gary Radice Poem

Serendipity: A Bank Teller’s Tale

had I woken with that headache 
then I would have stayed in bed
but because I felt much better
I got up for work instead.

had I got there any later
then it would have been my loss
as I would have missed arriving 
at the same time as my boss.

had my boss not turned to ask me
if I'd help him out that day
I'd have missed out serving people
at a bank two miles away.

had I sat behind that counter
any later than I showed
I'd have never counted takings
from the sports hall down the road.

had that customer not mentioned 
playing football on that night
my leg would not have broken
taking one year to put right.

because I went to hospital
(on that day that changed my life)
I met a nurse while on the ward
- and she became my wife!

Details | Gary Radice Poem

The Very Weird And Wonderful World Of Place Names: UK And US Edition

THE UK

Poling, Patching, Nether Wallop, 
Matching Tye and Droop

Plumpton, Lickfold, Puddletown, 
Westward Ho! and Throop.

Hole of Horcum, New Invention,
Boghead, Frome, Cat's Ash

North Piddle, Staines and Pen*stone,
Wash Dyke, East Breast and Flash.

Six Mile Bottom, Mudford Sock,
Wetwood, Wetwang, Hose

Catbrain, Assloss, No Man's Land, 
Didling, Lower Rose.

Blubberhouses, Giggleswick, 
Sheepy Magna, Splott

Climping, Crudwell, Lickey End, 
Queen Camel, Picklescott.

Bareleg Hill and Sh*tterton,
Spital-In-The-Street

Coldwind, Weeford, Feltwell, Pant,
Wideopen, Nob End, Fleet.

Barking, Homer, Fingringhoe, 
Ugley, Crackpot, Beer

Mudchute, Catholes, Shaggs, Prickwillow, 
Bunny, Jump and Fear.

World's End, No Place, Bishop Spit,
Land Of Nod and Hyde

Tedstone Wafer, Flesh Shank, Helstone,
Weedon and Tosside.

Brokenwind and Cockermouth, 
Crapstone, Pity Me

Wig Wig, Bi*chfield, Ramsbottom, 
Marsh Gibbon, Chemistry.

Little Snoring, Titty-Ho,
Upperthong and Send

Booby Dingle, Bushygap,
Great Bottom, Dull, Witts End.

Ynysybwl and Cwmystwyth,
(pronounced: Un-niss-uh-bull, and Cum-uss-bwith)

Rhyl and Abersoch
(pronounced: Rill and Ab-u-sok)

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. 
(pronounced: clan-vye-pulth-gwin-gith-go-gerra-quin-drobber-clan-tiss-ill-ee-o-go-go-gok)

Hell Peak, Nasty, Fattiehead,
Beggars Bush, Brown Willy

Backside, Bell End, Butt Of Lewis,
Coldwind, Cocks, Caerphilly.

Boggy Bottom, Fanny Barks,
Pill and Scratch A*se Ware

Jeffries Passage, Donkey Town
and Weston-super-Mare.

Bicester, Hunstanton,Teignmouth, Wisbech,
(pronounced: Bis-ter, Hun-stun, Tin-muth, Wiz-beach)

Southwell and Shrewsbury
(pronounced: Suth-ul and Shrows-bree)

Wymondham, Holborn, Happisburgh,
(pronounced: Win-dom, Ho-bun, Haze-buh-ruh)

Ae, Gateacre, Cholmondeley.
(pronounced: Ay, Gatt-a-ker, Chum-lee)

Upper Dicker, Lower Dicker,
Snodland, Chard and Goole

Lower Swell, Over Peover,
Leek, Eye, Diss and Poole.

Curry Mallet, Castle Rising, 
Bonkle, Milton Keynes

Low Cocklaw, T*att, Isle Of Muck
and Barton in The Beans.


THE US

Mystic, Bangs, Peculiar,
Kill Devil Hills, Three Way

Scratch Ankle, Concrete, Evening Shade,
Fries, Ketchup Town, Okay.

Slaughter Beach, White Pigeon, Pinch,
Fluffy Landing, Bleak

Santa Claus, What Cheer, Ding Dong,
Uncertain, Toad Suck, Eek.

Bald Knob, Flasher, Possum Grape,
Shangaloo and Uno

Kickapoo, Dry Prong, Smackover,
Funk, Buttsville and Disco.

Bad Axe, Bald Head, Intercourse,
Last Chance, Valentine

Cotton Plant, Sweet Lips, Mianus,
Tightsqueeze, Porcupine.

Greasy Corner, Monkey’s Eyebrow,
Popejoy, Coward, Pink

Looneyville, Blue Eye, Blue Ball,
Belcher, Hooker, Ink.

Forks Of Salmon, Nothing, Nowhere,
Somewhere, Hog Eye, Morse

Satan’s Kingdom, Hell For Certain,
Accident, Dead Horse.

Rough And Ready, Cut Off, Nameless,
Cut and Shoot and Coochie

Jot Em Down, Earth, Hoop And Holler,
Money, Chattahoochee.

Sandwich, Oblong, Ninety Six,
Hot Coffee, Luck, Delight

Truth Or Consequences, Nice,
Climax and Goodnight.