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Email:newpoets@poetryshack.co.ukPersonalised/Commissioned Poems Poetry written for any occasion, subject or person - from £15
Email:personalised@poetryshack.co.ukClassified 'contacts' Ads to promote your e-mail, web-domain, poetry publications etc, up to 50 words - upon application
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PUBLICATIONS
'The Poet's Art'To order any of the above publications send Cheques and P.Orders payable to 'Poetryshack' at 6 Raglan Lodge, 23 North Lodge Road, Penn Hill, Poole, Dorset BH14 9BA UK
By Sidney Morleigh
A deep and heady mixture of adventure and mystery. An accomplished poet with poetry published in The Independent Newspaper UK and Magazines as well as the winner of a major Literary Prize...20 poems...£5 + SAE
'The megaliths have stood here for millennia
As lonely figures or in circles or rows,
Though in some localities they have been removed
And broken down for use on building sites.
Yet there are thousands of them that still survive,
Though scattered across the British countryside,
Existing even in the remotest of spots.
The stones have remained set on their ancient sites
Although their constructors have long since disappeared.
They watched the coming of the Celtic tribes.
They saw the Roman legions arrive and depart,
And they stood immobile while the Saxons and Danes,
The latter followed by the Norman troops,
Fought for the possession of the southern lands.
They stood unmoved by the different pagan gods,
And by the holy men of later days
Who condemned them as the devil's handiwork.
Yet more recently researchers have been amazed
When dimensions and alignments were checked,
As some of those ancient sites had been set up
Against specific positions of sun or moon.
But the purpose of those stones remains obscure.
Were they used for worship, for human sacrifice,
Or did they mark the routes of festive parades?
Do they draw power from this earth's interior,
Or do they stand as sentries, mute sentinels,
To guard whatever may lie hid beneath -
Till time decrees that this should be revealed?'To read more or buy Email:ordersm1@poetryshack.co.uk
'Testify' (sins that have found me out)
By Thorbjorn Campbell
A soul searching work of funny, tender and erotic nature. Author of the Epic 'Standing Witnesses' - and previously published in literary magazines and publications... 10 poems...£2.50 + SAE
'As a whore
she is unsuccessful
she will not take off her clothes
or
she does not care to associate
with those who will pay sufficiently
to induce her to take them off;
similarly
she is allergic to rubber:
besides
(and possibly connected with the foregoing)
she is careless
she has four children
I am her only customer
besides the red-headed executioner her 'husband'
whose fury pursues us;
I'd remember her warmth
even
under the shadow of his axe ...'To read more or buy Email:ordertc1@poetryshack.co.uk
'My Thoughts'
By Annette Hollowell
Angels, friends, flying - titles from a work that will uplift, inspire and encourage anyone. Hats' off to such a lack of cynicism in 2003. 10 poems..£2.50 + SAE
'Positive thoughts should always be forever in our minds,
To help us through the bad times, no-matter what their kind.
Our worried minds and heavy hearts, and tasks that lie ahead,
So brighten up your sadness, with happy thoughts instead.
Although we face our problems as we travel on our way,
Many will be troublesome and never fade away,
But strive to conquer and forget, if only for a while,
And face the future readily, with a cheerful smile.
Life is not so bad at all, if positive we stay,
Remembering better days ahead, are never far away.'To read more or buy Email;orderah1@poetryshack.co.uk
'Ten Poems'
By Anna L Trevena
Anna's poetry is about nature focusing on its survival in the divine world. Readers may enter the world of the divine spirit. 10 poems....£2.50 + SAE
'An offering to visualise our pond
You welcome my presence during a fleeting glance
To beautify all you behold
I venture towards your glance again and again
To see myself,
To be our familiar
Oh lover so real so far
Please me again with mercy
With gifts of mineral stars
To become again
Your beautiful figure
To behold the hours grace
Being as moist as the dampened lilies
As eternal as the dashing wind
To love as a mother
An infant whose encore is laughter
To meet us beyond all existence
To behold us
As his offspring
You the boy of the pond
Give me
My first part
To be alone and one'To read more or buy Email;orderat1@poetryshack.co.uk
'Green Jam'
By Isabel Gillard
A collection of 20 richly descriptive poems that are touching, elegant and in parts very funny - 20 poems £5 + SAE
'You wrote in ignorance, I'm sure,
of what is needed to procure
this magazine's substantial push.
You thought perhaps that feelings still
predominated and were dil-
igent in this, revealing much
that would be better hidden. such
could be the wall between us two.
Perhaps a woman's point of view
set you wrong-footed. Why pretend
the chips are equal that we spend
in publication's lottery?
This job is tough, if you can't say
I came to fame the usual way -
Eton or Harrow, followed up
with good old Oxbridge. There's the rub;
No academic friends, you see,
ensuring continuity.
No anything, it seems to me.
And yet it makes my conscience prick
a little to convey you're thick.
Maybe it's time to drop the bluff -
My friend, I have not read your stuff.'To read more or buy Email:orderig1@poetryshack.co.uk
'Neo-Xpressionns'
By Durlabh Singh
An uplifting work, East meets West in a unique display of depth and intrique. A widely published poet and established artist - illustrations of the artist/poet's work contained in the publication. See 'CONTACTS' for more of Durlabh's work - 20 poems and illustrations - £5 + SAE
'Pass your hand over
The face where I suspect
Some salamander song
Of passions and dreary touchEternity to the eyelids
And dark blossoms to lips
The perspiration on the brow
When changed to the petalsPassing your hand over
The face do not bare
Cold paled bleached air
The long turrets
Flayed apart
By finger butts
Sweet as a larkBorn of waters I was
The child sprung of earth
Taught by the winds
A fearless song
Sought by the multitudes
The thistle and a rose
Not did a beggar then sworn
The fervours of venus or saturn
The proud spirit only did spare
Face to face in darkened pattern'To read more or buy Email:orderds1@poetryshack.co.uk
'Thinking Allowed'
by John E Marks
A wide ranging work of eloquence and consequence that is a very rewarding read; fresh, modern and vibrant.An accomplished poet with two collections behind him: 'Sound Bites'(Pub. by Envoi,1993) and 'Lifting the Veil'(Pub. by NHI,1997). 10 poems £2.50 + SAE
'Quietly, she spoke of tea, toast, the after smell of cigars,
Let us say we met in a room: curtained,
peeling, private.
Briefly she consulted the winter afternoon,
Reviewed the deadening, leadening sky.
It was discreetly done.
No presences danced beyond no lifted curtains.
Darkness had silted us away.
Words, like spoons, stirred the air,
Slipped into a net of inquisitions.
And all we left behind -
Seems framed, now, by silence.'To read more or buy Email:orderjm1@poetryshack.co.uk
'Alphabets'
by Dawn Carol Rankin
an A-Z of nursery rhyme for all ages, full of fun and food for thought, with inscription and autograph - £2.50 + SAE
'Elephants are
Huge and nice
And don't have eyes
For edible little mice
or
'Tiger, tiger with your eyes so bright
Filling up my tank as I jet through the night
Nearly gone the animal, here to stay the car
I can hear you roar across the miles from Africa...'To read more or buy Email:orderdr1@poetryshack.co.uk
'Morning Song'
by Dawn Carol Rankin
Collection of 20 poems highly readable and eclectic with personal inscription and autograph - £5 + SAE
'You could imagine
Statue Liberty
Give her a nose job
Feel her sink or swim
Kick ass, tuck it all in.
You could imagine
You've woken in Eden
You can feel the sun
Dance on your nudity
Run for cover
By an ancient tree
Feel bloody shattered
In your lack of liberty.
You could imagine
Everything is free
Shopping an illusion
In the 21st Century
You can have what you need
And not need what you have
All this paper money
Just for a laugh.
You could imagine
A personal potion
Run through the door
You might not see
What you saw
You're the same
As you were before.
You could imagine
Anything you mean
It's a matter of perception
As free as a dream
It's but a poor reflection
Of a quite peculiar age
Casting light
And shade across this
Antiquated page.'To read more or buy Email:orderdr2@poetryshack.co.uk
'Funny Valentine'
by Dawn Carol Rankin
Collection of 20 love poems of lighthearted,quirky and tender ilk with personal inscription and autograph - £5 + SAE
'If this is love
Then I don't care
To hold my head up
In the air
'cos all I get
Are nagging doubts
And a feeling of what will be
Whether or not.
It's funny this love of mine
But certainly no joke
To find no words
And nearly choke
And soggy hands
And silly sighs
And all I can think
Is why, why, why.
And then I see you standing there
Before my eyes
I nearly die
And all this pain
Would melt away
If you would only say.
Holding my hand
Is not enough
Done in jest
To curb my lust?
Is it such a crime
To want
Something I feel
Will never rust.
Along the beach
At night I cry
You always seemed
To be saying goodbye
(When all I really want is you)
Then it's no grand passion
When you don't know
The extent to which
I love you so.'To read more or buy Email:orderdr3@poetryshack.co.uk
'Poems for Peace'
by Dawn Carol Rankin
Collection of 20 poems, deeply personal expressions of faith, with personal inscription and autograph - £5 + SAE
'Who's always there
When things don't seem right
And who's always there
To hold me so tight
And when I am wrong
Who pulls at my hand
To show me the way
So I understand.
Who tenderly kissed me
When I was newborn
And shelters my days
'Till the dusk meets the dawn
And shares the joys
Of each passing day
Giving sweet love
In a beautiful way
And carries my cares
With the grace of a swan,
My father my friend
There could be but one.'To read more or buy Email:orderdr4@poetryshack.co.uk
'Liverpool where I was born'
by Edith A. Kerr
Beautiful collection of 10 poems of wit and eloquence with personal inscription and autograph - £2.50 + SAE
'It's all the things
That I see
That fills my heart
With misery
And my eyes
They take all in
Until my head
Begins to spin
And my bones
Just rattle on
Under flesh
That's torn and gone
But bold determined
To the end
In you my love
I found a friend.'To read more or buy Email:orderek1@poetryshack.co.uk
'Nursery Nonsense'
by Dawn Carol Rankin
A delightful Collection of 10 poems suitable for all ages with personal inscription and autograph - £2.50 + SAE
'Water lily
So delicate
So white
Struggling hard
To stay upright
Water lily
So delicate
So white
What a blessing to my soul
What a beautiful sight...'To read more or buy Email:orderdr5@poetryshack.co.uk
All publications are handcrafted so that each individual poem could be unclipped and displayed in a frame.
Include sterling money orders and enough IPC's for postage for those from abroad. Please also state title and Author and number of copies required.
'CONTACTS'
ANIMAL SANCTUARY; Hillside Animal Sanctuary. Helping and campaigning for animals in need... Hill Top Farm, Hall Lane, Frettenham, Norwich,NR12 7LT, UK Tel 01603 891227
INSTANT LYRICS, American Lady poet/Lyric writer featured in the Daily Mail - Paula Bruce, will compose lyrics or poems instantly. Was formerly a San Franciscan nun, very interssting life story. Available for performances and recitals as well as to work with a group.Rock, blues, jazz, pop and opera, also religious. Email PaulaBruce@poetryshack.co.uk or telephone 01202 382350
SUICIDAL, lonely, depressed? - Don't be, Email:Phoebe@poetryshack.co.uk for confidential and sympathetic help. Replies usually within 24hrs.(Optional donations welcome to keep this service going). Samaritans phone number is 08457 909090 or Email Jo@samaritans.org.uk
VISIT MY SITE further poems by Mark Prior can be seen at www.markusprior.co.uk/poetry.htm
POET'S PROFILE and statement of DURLABH SINGH:
Published book of verse
THE BATS with Poetry Society. Member & trained facilitator with
Survivors Poetry London. Widely published poet appearing in numerous
anthologies, magazines & newspapers including Midnight Ink (Sundial
Arts), Crystal Moons, Defining Grace (Triumph House), British South Asian
Poetry (Redbeck),Asian Times, Zine-Zone.
Runs Creative Writings Course
& Poetry Workshops and gives regular poetry readings at various
venues.
"To me poetry is the phenomenology of soul & without it the
hidden depths of our being will forever remain unknown. Without poetry there
is no awe, no wonder and we remain asleep. Only a ray of poetry makes us
alive."
To contact Dulabh Singh to find out more about his Art and his
poetry visit his wesite : www.durlabh.freeserve.co.uk or for any further
information or to ask Durlabh a question Email Durlabh@poetryshack.co.uk
THE POET, THORBJORN CAMPBELL, Author of 'Testify'(sins that have found me out),(See publications) can be contacted by Email Thorbjorn@poetryshack.co.uk with any questions, comments or enquiries.
'POEM OF THE WEEK'
Something Missing
There's an absence that appals:
closed doors, night sweats, white walls.
Is it the thing we first forget
which will eventually beget
this cringing in the night
this too-familiar fright?
Or is just the neurons as they play
at hide and seek
which make us stare forever
at that place that's out of reach?
Or is the child within us still crying
in the dark
and reaching out and missing
his mother's lonely heart?
John Marks
MEMBERS
too many lows & not enough highs
too many no's & not enough 'i's
too many cant's & not enough cans
too many jobs & not enough handsto many boys & not enough girls
when you're combing your hair, too many curls
too many cars & not enough fields
too many patients, too many to healtoo much hell & not enough heaven
too much Essex & not enough Devon
too much talk & not enough done
too much rain & not enough sun
j.warner
The hand reaches
Into the cage,
The fingers clasp
Over an innocent
White Mouse.
It struggles,
Tries to escape,
But the grip,
Is too tight.Then...
The needle goes in.
The plunger pushed,
Liquid injected,
The white mouse
Infected.
Doomed to die.
But the people
In white coats
Just don't care.Then the hand reaches out,
For another victim.
Mark Prior
What a figure I make
What a sight
I must be!Using a beat-up
Parker
For my bench
In the ferry deckOutside in the weather
Listening to doppler-effect
Engines thrum
Looking out to seaMy whiskey
Beside me
Neat - from the bottle
Where I lunched
On bread, cheese &
Can of Heinz beans.My lap my
Dining table
With just a spoonAt least I am
Out of the wind
At the back of
The boatAnd away
From synthetic musak
Resident
In the bar.
D.I.Smith (Sept 01)
Submissions for 'MEMBERS' send to Email:members@poetryshack.co.uk
Commissioned poetry example
Teenager
Happy Birthday
To the gentleman
Who singlehandedly
I might mention
Saved the Video
And Pizza Empire
From collapse
During '94 to '5.
His hard work
And devotion
Are beyond
All our notion
He came
He watched
He ate
So that we
Might celebrate
A Happy Birthday
To the gentleman
Who singlehandedly
I might mention
Saved the Video
And Pizza Empire
From collapse
During '94 to '5.An example of a commissioned poem To read more Email:orderdr2@poetryshack.co.uk
I Have You
When my friends
Desert me on a whim
And there's nobody to help me
Not to give in
I have youWhen my heart feels so down
I think in a pool of tears
I may drown
I have youWhen my life
Like a desert
Is laid open and bare
And there's nobody to care
I have you...From 'Funny Valentine' To read more Email:orderdr3@poetryshack.co.uk
New Poet (see publications)
A familiarity of mine is the sun
An old familiar to gaze upon
The reasoning of the psalms
Lies behind the eye of the sunI observed this truth
Over a year ago
Wondering of its whereabouts
During a long cold month
Whilst so much darkness lie around usDay light broke the mockery
Returning our senses from such treacherous coverts
Making the morning papers
Open, as the sky brightened aboveI took a drive
To follow the sun
Along the horizon
A hole appeared as it left the sky
The eye of the sun
I pleaded for the suns return
Only to be given the sunset from the eye.
A.L.Travena
Submit your poems/verse/songs...Anything goes Email:guestbook@poetryshack.co.uk
POETRY SHACK Email for general poetry service enquiries (or address above)
6 Raglan Lodge, 23 North Lodge Road, Penn Hill, Poole, Dorset BH14 9BA UK
Tel: 01202 382350
www.poetryshack.co.uk
Email: enquiries@poetryshack.co.uk(Always include SAE for prompt reply - or enough IPC's from those abroad)
For overseas enquiries/orders include sterling money orders.