REVIEW 2014

At year's end it's something of a tradition in magazines and periodicals to feature a review of the previous twelve months' events.
As this blog is only four months old, a more limited review seems appropriate.
I've already reprised the three most viewed poems from my inaugural month, September, so here are the most popular ones from October, November and December respectively.

TWENTY-ONE

We started out with cocoa tins

attached by string: 

a telephone

of sorts; progressed to proper phones,

old army surplus; wired them up

and strung a line from my bedroom, 

to yours next door. 

We formed a link

that bound us fast through teenage years:

fifth form, sixth form, till, 

on you went to uni, I to unsought work.

Where you were cerebral and gauche,

I was the opposite, and yet

we hit it off: no other friend,

before or since, meant half so much.

In those strange, final months, we seemed

to drift apart: you went away

and I, in turn, 

went elsewhere too.

Estranged at twenty-one, we were.

You didn’t live to twenty-two.

Your picture, pale, in newsprint grim,

beside the stark facts of your death,

remains my image of you now

a half a century away.

My vanished childhood friend, 

you look so innocent, 

so fresh of face:

forever in a state of grace.

Posted 21/10/2014

TOYS

Others have a toy from childhood: ragged bear
or plastic gun, the barrel jammed
with plasticine; or floppy doll with thinning hair
and one eye lost, but loved the more for that;
or broken car or grounded aeroplane;
or arrow without bow or single table tennis bat.

In age, I am diminished to have none of these,
no childhood keepsake still,
to resurrect for comfort, when sad or ill at ease;
or handle with a wistfulness, or proudly reminisce
to you, child of my own child,
how once a threadbare tiger was the object of my bliss.

Posted 11/11/2014

CHRISTMAS DAY 1914

Out of the trenches stepped one man,
a truce flag held above his head,
then from the other side was waved
a cloth and word was quickly spread.

From blackened ground, like seeds, they grew
to cover those disputed lands:
a khaki crop mingled with grey,
cautious at first, then shaking hands.

Gifts were exchanged, tobacco, smiles.
Creased photographs were shyly shown.
Then, from a trench that frosty day,
a leather soccer ball was thrown.

The goalposts were four bayonets.
A match was played in friendly style
by muddy boys, for boys they were.
War was forgotten for a while.

Posted 25/12/2014 

MATCH OF THE DAY

CHRISTMAS DAY 1914

Out of the trenches stepped one man,
a truce flag held above his head,
then from the other side was waved
a cloth and word was quickly spread.

From blackened ground, like seeds, they grew
to cover those disputed lands:
a khaki crop mingled with grey,
cautious at first, then shaking hands.

Gifts were exchanged, tobacco, smiles.
Creased photographs were shyly shown.
Then, from a trench that frosty day,
a leather soccer ball was thrown.

The goalposts were four bayonets.
A match was played in friendly style
by muddy boys, for boys they were.
War was forgotten for a while.  


Now click here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGA6djLsDgs&noredirect=1

MERRY CHRISTMAS

For those of you who leave your purchase of Christmas presents till just before the final whistle, I'd like to recommend four poetry CDs that any lover of Twentieth-Century verse would be happy to receive. I have all four already, so just send me money instead.
These CD's showcase the best collaboration of music and poetry that I've encountered and feature the late Sir John Betjeman along with gifted musician Jim Parker. 
The titles to look for are Banana Blush, Varsity Rag, Betjeman's Britain and Late Flowering Love and all are available at amazon.com 

You can get a taste of what's on offer by clicking on this link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP2LrQrWWrI

Sir John's poem Christmas, which he reads on the Varsity Rag CD, is reproduced below. 




















CHRISTMAS  
by John Betjeman

The bells of waiting Advent ring,
The Tortoise stove is lit again
And lamp-oil light across the night
Has caught the streaks of winter rain
In many a stained-glass window sheen
From Crimson Lake to Hookers Green.

The holly in the windy hedge
And round the Manor House the yew
Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,
The altar, font and arch and pew,
So that the villagers can say
'The church looks nice' on Christmas Day.

Provincial Public Houses blaze,
Corporation tramcars clang,
On lighted tenements I gaze,
Where paper decorations hang,
And bunting in the red Town Hall
Says 'Merry Christmas to you all'.

And London shops on Christmas Eve
Are strung with silver bells and flowers
As hurrying clerks the City leave
To pigeon-haunted classic towers,
And marbled clouds go scudding by
The many-steepled London sky.

And girls in slacks remember Dad,
And oafish louts remember Mum,
And sleepless children's hearts are glad.
And Christmas-morning bells say 'Come!'
Even to shining ones who dwell
Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.

And is it true,
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window's hue,
A Baby in an ox's stall ?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me ?

And is it true? For if it is,
No loving fingers tying strings
Around those tissued fripperies,
The sweet and silly Christmas things,
Bath salts and inexpensive scent
And hideous tie so kindly meant,

No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare -
That God was man in Palestine
And lives today in Bread and Wine.

SUCCESSFUL ENCOUNTER

I wrote Briefcase Encounter in 2011 in an early attempt at Flash Fiction. Earlier this year I entered it in the annual Pennine Ink Short Story Competition, which invited stories themed on “A Journey”.
Much to my surprise and pleasure, it made third place and was published in Issue 36. 
Pennine Ink is a small magazine of poetry and prose that, in a cultural climate where such publications tend to be short-lived, has achieved astonishing longevity and, indeed, appears to go from strength to strength with each issue, drawing contributors not only from the UK, but also the USA, India, Canada, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
The standard of content is remarkably high, but far from being obscure or inaccessible, it’s a hugely enjoyable read.
Pennine Ink limits itself to one issue each year and Number 36, the current one is available from http://pennineink.weebly.com at a surprisingly modest price.
I chose the story title as a play on the name Brief Encounter, David Lean’s iconic film based on a short play by Noel Coward, much of which was set in a railway station. My character, Harvey, who delivers the fateful briefcase to the terrorist, Pandora, borrows his name from Alec Harvey, one of the two main protagonists in the film.
My story is obviously fictional. However the recent nightmarish escalation in global terrorism suggests that fiction may yet become fact.

BRIEFCASE ENCOUNTER


Eurostar disgorged its passengers like a pod expelling seeds. Harvey, clutching his briefcase, allowed himself to be carried forward slowly, legs still stiff from the journey. Security checks were in progress but he moved forward confidently, certain his bland exterior would ensure cursory attention.        
      Waved through, Harvey waited by the railing close to Betjeman’s statue, briefcase resting at his feet. He saw the woman approach; her stride confident. She gave him a quick, cold smile and set down her briefcase, departing with his.
      Harvey picked up her case, identical to his own, and hurried to board the returning Eurostar to Paris. He wanted to be far away from London when Pandora released the deadly spores in Oxford Street.
      Safely aboard the speeding train, Harvey cradled the briefcase, itching to handle the stacks of hundred-euro notes he knew lay inside. He thought of Pandora preparing to text him with the combination to open the case: his portal to a new life. Of the devastation awaiting London’s population, he thought very little. Who said life was fair?
      Mid-way through the Tunnel, Harvey was on his third cognac when the text came through. He fumbled with the briefcase lock; suddenly remembering Pandora’s icy smile, and felt terror engulf him as he opened the lid.

PLIGHT OF THE HUMBLE B

Books and films have given me enormous pleasure throughout my life and I have a nostalgic fondness for noir: those old B-movies, packed with gangsters and blondes, that were part of every cinema outing when I was young. 
Growing up, I thrilled to the exploits of hard-boiled characters like Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe and the high jinks of the Prohibition era in the USA.
The humble B-movie never won Oscars or plaudits but, in my opinion, it has an important part to play in the history of cinema.
I’ve written a collection of poems celebrating the noir genre but these remain, as yet, unpublished.
Here’s one that I’m particularly fond of. 
The rhyme pattern is basic abba and the lines, octosyllabic.
When posting a poem, I usually seek out an image that seems to compliment it. In this instance, I stumbled on the wonderful image first and it triggered the poem.

THREE WISE GUYS

 
Three wise guys.
See what they run.

They run illegal drinking dens
in smoky rooms, behind locked doors,
where gents compete for busy whores,
illicit hooch from moonshine-men
or big cigars, thick as their wrist.
While jazz-men do their groovy thing,
a crooner murmurs, dancers swing.
Order is kept by gun and fist:
everything’s cool. Corruption buys
the mayor, the police chief. Cops don’t care.
Ten dollars here, a showgirl there,
it’s pocket-change to three wise guys.

They look respectable in suits:
just businessmen who do the maths,
not calculating psychopaths
who’d make you swim in concrete boots.

KINDLING INTEREST

Laura Sheridan is something of an inspiration to me.

When she’s not working on her current novel, she’s polishing off a short story, poem or haiku, sketching or taking part in discussions at one of the writers’ groups she regularly attends. Then, of course, there’s her role in heading-up a reading group at her local library and editing the amazing Pennine Ink magazine.

Laura, who publishes her novels under the name G L Sheridan, also includes some radio comedy sketches and numerous magazine articles in her impressive C.V.  Just reading it leaves me exhausted and envious.

You’ll find her work on Kindle and, below, I’ll mention just a few titles to get you started: the rest, and there’re currently five novels, several prize-winning short stories and a collection of poems out there, you'll have to find for yourself.

Laura’s attractive website http://g-laurasheridan.weebly.com will point you in the right direction. There you'll find a samples of her writing and, as a bonus for cat lovers, photos of feline beauties, Trina, Phil and Elsie.

Here's one of Laura's poems. 


ENGLISH TEACHER 

The arched window looks out
onto a pillared courtyard, yearning
for the drift of monks
and she is here
among dark heads bowed over notebooks
where silent dust motes
dance in Roman sunlight
as she walks between rows
and dreams
of England’s lukewarm rain. 

(Copyright G L Sheridan 2011) 

Novels on Kindle by G L Sheridan

UGLY TUCKLING
SHORT OF A MIRACLE
BUTTANA
GERMINATION (Young Adult Fiction)
MARTIAN ODDITIES (Young Adult Fiction)


Pennine Ink Writers’ Workshop http://pennineink.weebly.com


Burnley & District Writers’ Circle http://burnleyanddistrictwriterscircle.webs.com

ECHOES

Once each month I intend to reprise the three most popular poems or stories from a previous month. 
Today I’m featuring September 2014, my first month of writing this blog. You can find commentary on each of these poems at their original locations, whose dates are shown below.

ROPE TRICK

Upward, upward, upward he goes

on the taut rope in dusty heat 

defying gravity, belief.

One rope end lies, sweat-oiled, coiled, neat,

on a soiled, cheesecloth handkerchief.

From his father’s pipe, music flows.

The other end climbs vertically,

upward and attached to nothing

and up that swaying ladder, there,

a small brown boy, with gold ear-ring,

shins, this red morning, while we stare

with breathless incredulity.

We western tourists: Brits, fat Yanks,

believe mostly in disbelief.

Dull cynicism is our way:

debunking magic is our brief.

It’s just a bloody trick!  we say, 

who trust in pension plans and banks. 

(First appeared 8 September 2014)





ORIGINAL SIN

Catechism came with porridge

on Sunday mornings, then. 

Question

and Answer. 

What is man’s chief end?

A lifetime later, adult, grown,

I have the forthright answer still:

To glorify our God, amen.

How those morning pictures linger.

With hair slicked down and parting straight,

scrubbed knees, nails free of grime, clean hands,

in Sunday Best, clean underpants
and vest, black brogues with Bible shine,

I went with hymn-book to the church,

then into Sunday School we trooped like little soldiers off to war,

while parents stayed for Hell-Fire words and promises of Satan’s wrath

that they, in turn, would promise us.

Grey were the Sundays of my youth: shut shops, shut faces, shuttered hearts.

A football kicked would damn to Hell. 

A comic read, a careless laugh, would be recorded in God’s book.

Guilt was instilled and mortal fear.

I haven’t yet got off the hook.

(First appeared 18 September 2014)

 
SHIP IN A BOTTLE

He dreamed of oceans as a child;

would run away to sea when grown;

might sail the chill Atlantic, wild,

or broad Pacific, tempest blown,

but grown to adulthood, he failed  

in everything. There was no prow

or spreading wake: he never sailed.

He seeks his ships in bottles now.

(First appeared 17 September 2014)