are we there yet?

sycamore leaves & seeds
Never mind the blackberries and michaelmas daisies, the conkers and chrysanthemums, the reddening maples, yellow leaves crunching like cornflakes underfoot and whirling like russet butterflies overhead, Autumn must be the most confusing of the seasons when it comes to saying when it actually begins.
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poems, pictures, books, beasts & castles

It’s April 23rd and there are a number of things to celebrate, so, I’ve gathered together some bits and pieces from the blog archive. First of all, it’s World Book and Copyright Day.

poetry books
So, a book-themed poem:

Underground literature

A spotless Stephen King
sits opposite Dostoyevsky
on the metro. The Russian
looks a little down-at-heel:
his jacket, once expensive leather,
is now worn and shabby. Sadly,
he is only a translation. Beside him,
a paternal-looking businessman
holds tight to Harry Potter, while,
further down the car, a little girl
in a blue frock, frets and scuffs
her round-toed sandals. Defiantly,
her bare arms clutch Lewis Carroll
to her undeveloped chest.

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a floral motif

Today, according to English tradition, is Primrose Day, which marks the anniversary of the death of the Conservative politician, Benjamin Disraeli.

primrose
Perhaps, after my recent foray into more political topics, I should note that my motives for posting are purely floral.

non-poetical

The DCTN strap-line is “(mostly) first-person poetry, prose and opinion” and I try and keep the blog more poetical than political. Of course, with the UK election looming, this is going to be more and more difficult; I suspect there’s more politics in poetry than there is poetry in politics.

So, recognising that politics are bound to enter into things sometime soon, I’ll get started with a few fairly random recent thoughts. First, a somewhat startling headline snipped from the BBC website:


Headline: Labour plans abuse
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past, present, future

war memorial

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