The Kintyre Forum Poem ( First line)

[hugh]

Yeah, I knew Anne of the six fingers was in there. Good stuff.

[Govangirl]

Horse, is that one of yours then? I didn't know

[A Horse called Juan Face]

Yeah, I wrote it. It's more about how the victors can change history to suit themselves. A lot of the rumours about Anne Boleyn came from people that had never met her (Sandor) or were nowhere near her at times they claimed to be (Chapuys).

[A Horse called Juan Face]

Whoah, that's far too knowledgable by half. Going to have to write some nonsense elsewhere just to even it up a little.

[ionnsaigh]

Crumpled leather laces tied
a few knots here an there
broken plastic at the toe
cold hard steel underneath
sitting there side by side
insteps hugging one another
the wrong way round
a wee boy smells his da
washin in the kitchen sink
hame fae work tired an beat
a million men oan the auld auld street
a see you now - face caught in the red glow
shovelling the black brown anthracite
dug dark deep fae Ayrshire bowels
a man wearing the same bits as you Da
crumpled leather laces tied
run doon tae the derry
2oz gammon an a wee broon loaf
on the tick - the ticky ,tick tick
how many folk did ye keep warm Da
a pail a coal here - a bucket or two
the Toonheid folk will remember you
a wee shuffle it the bookies
that Seturday line - a shillin
accumulation hoping fur big time
crumpled leather laces tied
bits worn in dead of night
a twilight alarm call
time fur work
a put yur boots the right way roon
ma mammies made yur piece da
so go an shovel a pail or two
sum auld buddy is waiting - waiting there fur you Da.

[ionnsaigh]

No last night
but the night before
three wee n-----
came tae ma door
wan wae a hatchet
wan wae a gun
an wan wae a pancake
stuck tae his bum

[ionnsaigh]

Off then taken the huff
huff huff huffy huff huff
you that's made o sterner stuff
off then huffy huff huff
when you wrote
I liked your stuff
stuff stuff stuffy stuff stuff
stabbed by blunt bully duff
duff duff duffy duff duff

English land cement and brick
friends in abundance
click click click
so off you go
an no goodbye
cry cry bye bye bye
sigh sigh click click click
missin hame an feelin sick
sick sick sicky sick sick

A boy leaving - the family home
mourn mourn - lick a tear
missing him - lots of fear
let him go - come back a man
a handsome girl on his arm
see him smile feel his charm
that's him your baby in arms
Gorbals seed in English lands
there he goes he your man

[ionnsaigh]

You never took the bait
a dish to make your mouth water
tired throwing temptation
my web spun
flashing diamonds glitter - sparkle in morning light
revealing such beauty in death device
and you never took the bait

[Govangirl]

Indeed, I never took the bait
But oh, how heavy was the weight
That bait was tempting, well you know
‘Leafy suburbs’!! A hammer throw!

But your brave attempts and your great poem deserve better efforts so in reply:

The web was slung
from the lowest branch of a Glasgow tree
tempting, glittering in the irn-bru light of the sky
stretched across the wastelands of Glasgow East
to the shimmering silver peaks of Govan cranes
pitched at a distant star

How I wanted to dive from my high horse
into those glimmering strands
that great briny, restless churn of a bait,
with its singing lies
its pleading tries
its clear disguise

But bravery dies through stubbornness
ach, that dangerous, washed-out shroud of female pride-
and as the web expanded and stretched
it disappeared
leaving only a wee lassie
her pride whistling her in from an upstairs tenement windae
in the chill of an empty sky.

[ionnsaigh]

Brilliant

[EMDEE]

Siclike in Robinhood debates,
When twa chiels hae a pingle;
Eenow some cowlie gets his aits,
And dirt wi’ words they mingle,
Till up loups he wi’ diction fu’,
There’s lang an’ dreich contesting;
For now they’re near the point in view,
Now ten miles frae the question,
In hand that night.

Robert Fergusson (1750-1774)

(from "Leith Races")

The Robinhood Club was an 18th Century Edinburgh debating society. It would appear that there is nothing new about going off topic!

[ionnsaigh]

A profound change in personality
behind this plastic Chinese screen
all pretence let slip fall - carelessly dropped on the ash covered floor
those old devils rising again - taking over - all consuming
behind the highest wall - safe in the arms - this sanctuary of cyberspace
here I vent ma anger - an here a spew ma spleen.

[A Horse called Juan Face]

Haven't actually written anything down in ages. Have stuff in my head though. Hark Ye, no one cares.

[A Horse called Juan Face]

Ok, one minute later and totally off the top of my head, thus explaining why it is mince.

Uneven precipice, winds around the skull
Asymmetrical ovals, peering beyond
One breath is longer than the last
Straight to one side, Lies collide
Trust the mirror or the photograph
Hands clamped on false hopes
Only one thing is mine
And it's slowly changing sides
Alopeciac sculpture
A crown amongst the thorns
Mutiny burdened vessel
Still we trust the knife
The buses all go backwards
As we sit and wait alone
What whistles through the winter
Warms me to the bone
Unique indifference piled high
Slopes of skin to play upon
Crawl all over these surroundings
Despise all that I own.

[hugh]

Albert Wise collects butterflies
too many to count, too many to mount
But why should he care?
Philately got him nowhere.

Horse. It's not that no one cares, it's just that commenting on people's stuff can sound judgemental. I love this thread but it's not going to be in anybody's classic anthology. I liked that, though.

P.S. Legal Disclaimer: Judgemental is in no way related to, or in affiliation with Ionnsaigh.