NEW POEM BY TONY LEWIS-JONES

The Quick And The Dead

At Easter, we went for lunch

And then, in a while,

We bought ten red roses

And took them to

Your parents’ resting-place.

The day was beautiful, and sunlight

Feasted on the earth. Our daughter

Placed the roses carefully –

We prayed, lingered

Too long I suppose –

The grave whispered

Like a lover

Unforgotten.

I dreamt in the night

Of stones falling

From a wall. I tried

To stop them, but they fell anyway.

I woke up sweating

To the sound of your breathing

And rain repeating

Like a vow

On the window.

Tony Lewis-Jones

Comments

IQ AND THE POETS - ARE YOU SMART?

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In terms of great films about, and of, love, we have Vertigo, In The Mood for Love , and Casablanca , Doctor Zhivago , An Officer and a Gentleman , at the apex; as well as odder, more troubling versions, such as Sophie's Choice and Silence of the Lambs . I think my favourite remains Bram Stoker's Dracula , with the great immortal line "I have crossed oceans of time to find you...".

THE SWIFT REPORT 2023

I am writing this post without much enthusiasm, but with a sense of duty. This blog will be 20 years old soon, and though I rarely post here anymore, I owe it some attention. Of course in 2023, "Swift" now means one thing only, Taylor Swift, the billionaire musician. Gone are the days when I was asked if I was related to Jonathan Swift. The pre-eminent cultural Swift is now alive and TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR. There is no point in belabouring the obvious with delay: 2023 was a low-point in the low annals of human history - war, invasion, murder, in too many nations. Hate, division, the collapse of what truth is, exacerbated by advances in AI that may or may not prove apocalyptic, while global warming still seems to threaten the near-future safety of humanity. It's been deeply depressing. The world lost some wonderful poets, actors, musicians, and writers this year, as it often does. Two people I knew and admired greatly, Ian Ferrier and Kevin Higgins, poets and organise...

E Y E W E A R, THE BLOG - FREEDOM MEANS BEING UNAFRAID TO WRITE WHAT YOU THINK

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