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

Monday, 15 February 2021 12:29

To William and Psychogeography In The Year The World Shrank

Written by Caroline Ritchie

in Poetry

To William by Caroline Ritchie, image above is from Jerusalem by William Blake Inventing things that don’t work is a brilliant thing, you know. – William Lyttle. Forgetting how to triangulate, or calculate, the hours of follylike a good Royal Societician,tirelessly you build (or dig)your way to a clockless kindof…

Sunday, 14 February 2021 14:30

Secular Icon

Written by Tom Hubbard

in Poetry

Secular Icon by Tom Hubbard They heard that he was ‘something in the City’And wore nice suits. The ideal son-in-law.The thought that he could lord it quite so shittyNever occurred. Just worship that firm jaw,The measured tones, the wife both rich and pretty;He makes his colleagues look and sound so…

Thursday, 11 February 2021 13:05

John Keats: Revolutionary Romantic

Written by Jenny Farrell

in Poetry

Jenny Farrell marks the 200th anniversary of Keats's death. The image above is of Keats on his deathbed, by his friend Joseph Severn G. B. Shaw stated that “Keats achieved the very curious feat of writing a poem of which it may be said that if Karl Marx can be…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Sunday, 24 January 2021 12:41

School Trip

in Poetry

Written by Ceinwen Haydon

School Trip by Ceinwen Haydon, with image by Steev Burgess Mam can I go please can I go please all my friends are another note from school her heart sinks makes her thinkwhat's the point – her wee girl's face aglow with hopestill too young to know their life's constrained…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Monday, 18 January 2021 15:59

Two poems

in Poetry

Written by Caroline Maldonado

The Count by Caroline Maldonado First imagine Self in a shut room the curtainpulled tight When he comes for you again your heart like a trapped flycrashes against the panes You don’t cry Drawing the curtains open you see in every other window along the street the blinds are downHe…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Wednesday, 13 January 2021 14:56

Blooding

in Poetry

Written by Rebecca Lowe

Blooding by Rebecca Lowe 'After the first, it becomes easier,'The cold, wild-eyed stare of the deer,A crazy fish-eye lens looking backwardsthrough terror - you shiver,You are only twelve years oldand know what's coming, You've seen it before,A fistful of blood on your face,Still warm, from the dead beast,The violence of…

K2_PUBLISHED_ON Wednesday, 13 January 2021 12:27

Cheap flights, cheap hands, cheap lives

in Poetry

Written by Antoniy T. Georgiev

Cheap flights, cheap hands, cheap lives by Antoniy T. Georgiev They pour into the WestCheap flights, cheap hands, cheap livesThey wear the paint of the oppressorsYet share the faith of the oppressedTheir fathers and mothers were once told They were building socialismNow they are toldTo pick asparagus and berriesSort parcels…

Monday, 11 January 2021 09:08

The Masks of Anarchy

Written by Barry Smith

in Poetry

The Masks of Anarchy by Barry Smith The song of the Thames-side boatmenAs they sail the ship of stateRings out across the choppy watersWhile the winds of pestilence blowRow, boys, row! The helmsman stands at the rudderSurveying his motley crewTousled blond hair all askewGive it all you’ve got, boysRow, boys,…

Saturday, 09 January 2021 09:08

Baked Alaska

Written by Alan Morrison

in Poetry

Baked Alaska by Alan Morrison Emperor Trump's mob took him at his word,Stormed the Capitol, seat of American democracy,Vandals sacking Rome, Spartans spilling into Athens,Barbarians at the gates in red baseball caps brandedWith the legend: MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!Barbarians from within, chanting empty mantrasAnd chauvinistic rhetoric - "Stop the Steal!"Amongst…

Trump Twitter Alt Right

Wednesday, 06 January 2021 16:17

A Finnish Story

Written by Edward Mackinnon

in Poetry

A Finnish Story* by Edward Mackinnon Landless, she worked on the land of a great landlord and his lady where the grass was lush and fat cows blinked at the northern lightBut she had to walk thirty miles with a fish and a pound of butter and having an honest…

Monday, 04 January 2021 09:50

Spirograph: an interview with Pauline Sewards

Written by Fran Lock

in Poetry

Fran Lock interviews Pauline Sewards about Spirograph, her latest collection of poems FL: Hi Pauline, thanks so much for agreeing to talk to me about your latest collection of poems, Spirograph. The title poem uses the conceit of the Spirograph Set to explore those moments of 'not quite repetition' in…