Poetry

It goes on one at a time,
it starts when you care to act,
it starts when you do it again after they said no,
it starts when you say we and know who you mean,
and each day you mean one more.

Marge Piercy

Sunday, 06 September 2020 12:47

The People Died

Written by Karl Parkinson

in Poetry

Karl Parkinson presents The People Died, published in his recent collection Sacred Symphony (Culture Matters) The poem has been made into a video by poet and videographer Dave Lordan, and performed by myself. It's a danse macabre, an avant-garde videopoem for the 21st century that looks back on the poetic…

Arts Council Covid19 Puerto Rican Obituary

Friday, 28 August 2020 11:15

the pilgrims' way

Written by Fran Lock

in Poetry

the pilgrims' way by Fran Lock, with image by Steev Burgess here in the heat, in my membrane of grief and spleen,i have watched you, in the seizure of your ceremonies,angerlund. maudit and sly, and when will you be fullenough of siege and ante? shuffle to tuppenny aggroin carpet slippers…

Wednesday, 26 August 2020 14:45

Rue Britannia, Land of Hopeless Tories

Written by Martin Rowson

in Poetry

Rue Britannia, Land of Hopeless Tories by Martin Rowson, with image above by Tom Janssen I Rue, Britannia!Britannia, rue that knavesHave for cent-u-ariesKept us slaves! Rue, Britannia,You’ll always kid yourselfThat Pat-riot-ismWill trump wealth! II Land of hopeless Tories, Mother of the sleaze,Whose history is gory and riddled with disease,Wilder yet…

Boris Johnson

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Wednesday, 26 August 2020 14:17

Cruel Britannia

in Poetry

Written by Rip Bulkeley

Cruel Britannia(adapted from the song by James Thomson and Thomas Arne) Image above: Famine in Mysore, India, while the British Raj exported food by Rip Bulkeley Now Britain fina-ally has learned ho-ow bestTo li-i-i-i-ive with o-o-others on this earth,To live, to live with others on this earth,This epitaph, for wrongs…

Rule Britannia

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Tuesday, 25 August 2020 15:20

Rest In Peace, Rosemary McLeish

in Poetry

Written by Fran Lock and Jane Burn

Jane Burn and Fran Lock write about Rosemary McLeish, who sadly passed away on Sunday 23rd August Jane Burn writes: I got to know Rosemary on Facebook at first, in that way that we poets seem to do. Like minds do gravitate towards each other. I didn’t meet her in…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Friday, 21 August 2020 09:01

Pounding on the door of Kafka's Castle

in Poetry

Written by Fred Voss

Pounding on the door of Kafka's Castle by Fred Voss Once we were men with opposable thumbs we grabbedsticks and stuck them down anthillswe grabbed berries women hourglasses formulasand mushroom cloudswe grabbed onto ideaslike balloons carrying us high abovethe dirty earthwe got excitedand built churches and gallows and insane asylums…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Friday, 21 August 2020 08:49

Janis Joplin never belted Southern Comfort and screamed the blues

in Poetry

Written by Fred Voss

Janis Joplin never belted Southern Comfort and screamed the blues by Fred Voss “We’ve got to wear these fricking masks!”says our new supervisorto us machinists and de-burrers and shipping clerks and punch press operators gatheredaround him on the shop floor for the special coronaviruspandemic meeting he has calledto tell us…

Coronavirus Jim Morrison Lead Belly Jack Dempsey fricking serious

Tuesday, 18 August 2020 10:48

Ox and The Great Big Identity Trick

Written by Martin Hayes

in Poetry

Ox and The Great Big Identity Trick by Martin Hayes Ox wants more food in his bowlhe wants the hours he spends strapped into Farmer’s ploughreduced Hen wants to lay her eggsau naturel not forced out of herby a billion-pound industry who keeps mucking around with the light Raven wants…

Monday, 17 August 2020 09:49

After recent unfortunate results

Written by Kevin Higgins

in Poetry

After Recent Unfortunate Results by Kevin Higgins Next election onwards, there’ll be a second vote for those who turn up with, under their arm,a print copy of one of the larger newspapers and answer a few unobtrusive questions to prove they’ve consumed it correctly. A third for those who also…

Sunday, 16 August 2020 10:06

Let's all go Dunkirking

Written by Martin Rowson

in Poetry

Words by Martin Rowson, music by Jon Tregenna, sung by Jane Wiliams

Sunday, 02 August 2020 09:24

What if there was no divide?

Written by Jane Burn

in Poetry

What if there was no divide? by Jane Burn What if life, for so many of us wasn’t a chasm? You only have a basic understanding. It’s complex – not quite as simple as that. What would the famished do with money, after all? They’d only spend it. Yes. On…