Thirteen Tales – the race of the Americas is on!
Well, no more sales in Canada as yet but some in the USA means that they are catching up – who will win? Where will I hit the top 10 first? The UK (my homeland) is lagging far behind!
I am drawn
By slightly parted lips
Swaying hips
Twinkling eyes
A smile
I am drawn
By an inkling
A slightly modified version of an older poem I did that benefits from the addition I think.
In response to the daily prompt Inkling
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
For #JusJoJan Daily Prompt – January 28th, 2018
So, again I am coming to this late at night – the only time I seem to get to a keyboard these days. We have been out at parks and constructing trampolines in the back garden.
I am annoyed I haven’t had time for this prompt as it’s right up my street. My current work in progress – a collection of epic (by which I mean very long) poems, includes one titled “Will You Follow the Knight”. This is not in a state to be read yet and anyway, will feature in the upcoming collection.
So once again I am reduced to dipping into my “back catalogue” and there is no surprise that I have a few to choose from!
So I won’t choose – here are a few.
Blood soaked steel
The sword of a knight
Held up proud
Aloft and bright
He hums to himself
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government
shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace”
With banshee scream
He storms on down
To hammer home peace.
Coloured bricks
Red, blue, yellow, white
and many more.
Many shapes
Many sizes
No limits
Many surprises.
Build a fire engine,
A house, a school,
A lake, a park, a city, a town.
A space station and spaceships and an alien host.
A castle,a bridge a knight and a ghost!
All this and more build it all
And never ever build up your wall.
Flash in the dark blue sky
Clash of sword and bone
Roar of fire high above
Heaven’s thunderous tone
Samurai meets his nemesis
A dragon of the sky
Golden claw fights silver blade
Above the mountains high
Gods look down with fearful frowns
While people gaze above
Do they fear the fiery jaws
Or the hardened iron glove
The enduring will of the flying knight
Feeds his skilful blade
The ancient wisdom of the drake
Ensures he’ll not be played
Red streaks of fire on velvet sky
Silver streaks cut through
Showers of sparks come raining down
To birth a magic brew
And still the battle blunders on
All over every land
Until the both when both are stilled
By a cold and magic hand
It’s not just me – it run’s in the family. Here’s our oldest (from a few years ago) playing knights with some real ones!
In response to #JusJoJan, JusJoJan
For The Friday Reminder for #SoCS & #JusJoJan Daily Prompt, Jan. 27th, 2018
There is a rising tide
It swells and grows
The recedes
Pauses and grows again
Lapping against the ancient
Castle
The stronghold
Of power
From long ago
Where gold grows
Around the feet
Of the rulers
Seemingly futile
The tide rises
Ebbs and swells
Eating away
Tiny piece by piece
Until one day
The stronghold will fall
In response to #JusJoJan, JusJoJan, #SoCS, SoCS
There’s an advert running at present (in the UK) for pensions. It shows two of the same person working – with the tagline that having a workplace pension is like having another you working for your future.
If only. Recent history would suggest otherwise. With so many company pensions disappearing into black holes while inscrutable business owners get away with all the cash stashed away in their offshore accounts – you have to stop and question it.
Sure you have to prepare for your future – but it seems like a massive risk. When I started working we paid towards a state pension. But then the government privatised it all – handing it over to the free market. Their argument being that they would not be able to afford to pay out a pension in the future if they did not.
Which begs more questions. Why not – are the government that bad at managing finances? If it’s such a loss-making venture then why the hell would any business take it on?
They just keep inventing ways to screw us out of money. So the image of two of you working is accurate in one way. They can screw you doubly while you work.
In response to the daily prompt Inscrutable
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
For #JusJoJan Daily Prompt – January 26th, 2018
Your address
Should be
Where your heart is
Instead
It has become
Your ID
Identifying you for what you are
What you stand for
Your worth
and
And most importantly
The most effective way to
Extract money from you
In response to #JusJoJan, JusJoJan,
The trill of birdsong
Echoes down the green valley
Before the ice falls
In response to the daily prompt Trill
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
For #JusJoJan Daily Prompt – January 25th, 2018
Brain dead tonight – So I predict I won’t make it to the end of this…
In response to #JusJoJan, JusJoJan,
PS. If you want some predictive Science Fiction – you could always check out -> Mankind Limited 😉
One day
Tardy light
Will throw
All we know
Into darkness
And the scientists
Will begin again
With relish
In response to the daily prompt Tardy
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Can we be candid?
No
There it is
Politics
In response to the daily prompt Candid
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
What is liberty
Without chains
How would we know
Freedom
Without bounds
I have worn chains
For far too long
I am ready
To recognise
Liberty
In response to #JusJoJan, JusJoJan
A word that starts with “oc”. For some reason – occidental immediately sprung to mind. Followed by this random nonsense.
His mother was a missionary
Who succumbed to forbidden love
She was abandoned and so was he
An orphaned sickly dove
He was always seen as different
Never quite the same
Always outside the circle
Never in the game
With no one to rely on
He learned to keep himself
Learned to get what he needed
Leave nothing on the shelf
He could play the needs of others
Like a bard could play a harp
To get where he was going
His will was cold and sharp
He grew to be a king
Of an unseen empire wide
And nothing could fill the void
That swelled and grew inside
So he used he unrivalled power
To bring down all around
To reduce the home he hated
To debris on the ground
The occidental accident
Happens all time time
So watch out for rising emperors
Who play their tunes sublime
In response to #JusJoJan, JusJoJan
The Press will touch all
The raw places to ensure
Peace will not prevail
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #184 Press&Touch
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
What a treat
What’s a treat
Stuck on the street
Tired feet
Treated like meat
Tired feet
Struck on the street
What’s a treat
What a treat
In response to the daily prompt Treat
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
You are the land of the free
With your reservations
That shame us all
And teach us
If only you could learn that lesson
In response to the daily prompt Reservation
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Our boy is a bundle
Of boisterous fun
But he doesn’t know
When to stop the fun
And hurts someone
(Rarely himself)
Because of his mental health.
What to do?
What to do?
I am no expert
And no expert
Seem to know
What to do.
Move him on
Move him on
Is all we get
But we will not give up
Like them
His challenges will be his victory
In response to #JusJoJan, JusJoJan.
Deep in the singed earth
Lies the burners testament
And the seeds of life
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #182 Singe&Deep
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
20,000 views
I have been quiet for the past week or so – enjoying time with the family and Christmas!
Looking back at the end of the year and the title says it all. It is a year we hope not to repeat.
But there have been some good bits. I have a far better job.
And I achieved my small target for stats. Hit the 20,000 views for this year. While this is small fry compared to others – it was good for me.
Anyway – I have already posted about my future plans for the blog.
Farewell Frank Delaney
The end of the year brings about other reflections. I remember that 2016 was pretty brutal for taking our celebrities. (Ours? Are they ours? Wonder what made me type that?).
Looking at the list for this year it seems little better – though many of them did not get as much publicity.
One, in particular, caught my eye. I only found this out yesterday though it happened earlier in the year. This was Frank Delaney.
It was Frank Delaney who really fired up an interest I already had in ancient Celts – with his series “The Celts” and his book “The Legends of the Celts.” It led to a lifelong passion for the subject.
I can highly recommend both of these works – especially if first delving into the subject. They are very accessible, the first of what has become “popular history” books.
The series also introduced me to the work of Enya – who composed and performed the soundtrack to the series.
It’s a shame his passing didn’t get more recognition – it is a great loss.
Happy New Year
So looking forward – here’s to a better new year for everyone. Happy New Year!
A white wedge
Spotted in the corner
Of a run-down shop
Off the track
Joyful memories swell
And from the past
I hear the clattering
Of a metal bowl
Filling with a quarter pound
Of sherbet lemons
Available as
or hardback
from Amazon
or CreateSpace
If you are stuck for ideas – here are a few. They are original and different – plus being ebooks they have the advantage of not being hindered by delivery issues 🙂
Marc trudged on with life, marching in line with his fellow workers. Weighed down by the everyday burdens of life, the pressure to conform, to succeed or face destitution.
Yet he knew, in his heart that it was all wrong, the questions squirmed like fiery dragons in the pit of his heart, beneath his deepest darkest doubts.
Until they grew and burst his sanity, set him on a path of defiance and rebellion. A path that would cross three others – all like him seeking answers.
A path of danger and adventure that would see him marked as a terrorist and fleeing for his life. It would see him find love and heartbreak, hope and despair, Most of all, it would open his eye to the possibility of an ancient and powerful secret that might answer all his doubts and fears.
If he survived.
As the title says – thirteen tales about ghosts. Yet, while ghosts feature in them all – not all are traditional ghost stories.
You will find the vengeful spirit but also the plaintiff one. The haunting message from the past and the playful spirits capturing the joy of their past lives.
Some of these visitors from beyond lead the haunted to peace and joy – others take them on much darker paths to places with no return.
Enjoy them – just don’t get too comfortable.
Three hundred and sixty-five poems in all shapes and sizes, sprung from dreams and emotion. Published day after day for a year. There are haiku, sonnets, katauta, lanturnes and many other forms – including free form. The moods are as varied as the forms and often reflect my mood on the day. There is sadness and grief, joy and love.
If nothing else – these can provide a small moment in everyone’s stressful lives to stop and contemplate the world in a different way.
Silk
Like mist
Flows
Over mounds
And into dells
Following the ebbs
And flows
Shrouding warmth
Falling away
To heaven
#amwriting, #postaday
William had a theory. It was to do with the way people learned. That was why he never told anyone The Secret. That was why he had to lead them to their own discovery.
But was that right?
Find out more. Follow four people who society could not break as they explore the very idea of rebellion – with action!
In response to the daily prompt Theory
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday
Well, this has not been the best of years. If stress were a commodity I would be rich. Think it finally caught up with me this week. Felled by a virus I succumbed to fever and panic and have been in bed for a lot of it.
Thus – I haven’t written any new blogs this week. While I will attempt to catch up it has somewhat scuppered my attempts to reach a target I was aiming for.
This year has been my best for views by far – I have already doubled the last best year. So looking for a new target I was aimimg for 20,000 by the end of the year. I am 800 short. Not likely to make that in the last 15 days of the year. Especially with the holidays coming up.
That said, I am still going to try! So prepare for an onslaught 🙂
First-degree murder
How we like to measure things
That hurt
In response to the daily prompt Degree
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday
Deep
With memories
Camping with friends
Caving
Rich smell of loam
Aroma of cheese
The chill of the cave
Holidays with family
Children eyes
Reliving the wonder
Of my youth
Deep runs the gorge
In response to the daily prompt Gorge
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday
Through saintly blue hues
The predator emerges
Teeth all pearly white
In response to the daily prompt Saintly
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday
It’s all going south
So let’s all relocate there
It’s hotter at least
In response to the daily prompt Relocate
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday
Noble, graceful, caged
So like us yet so far apart
Our bars are our own.
In response to the daily prompt Zoo
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday
It’s the bite
Of anger
That reminds
How little we have travelled
Anger?
ASD?
Helplessness?
Toddler
Child
Politician
Out of their depth
Gambler
On the wrong side
The toddler
Never
Really leaves
In response to the daily prompt Bite
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting
Holding back gremlins
Behind breaking fences
Seems to be the purpose
The never-ending task
The why
Long forgotten
In response to the daily prompt Gremlins
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting
Two this time – makes up for a drought of anything new 🙂
His first attempt at
Sexy was short lived, painful
Full of lasting woe
Short , sweet and sexy
She came swishing to my world
And I longed for her
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #175 Short&Sexy
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
Dancing with my wife,
last week the telegraph came:
Coughs ring round the trench.
Originally published in A Spring of Dreams
In response to the daily prompt Dancing
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting
The hand of winter
Smooths the land with a cold, white
Blanket of deep snow
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #174 Smooth&Hand
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
In the spooky night
Bats flitter with deadly skill
And the moths shiver
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #173 Spooky&Night
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
And to get into the spooky mood some more – try my collection of short stories.
Settle down in the dark with Thirteen Tales of Ghosts, and immerse yourself in fear if you dare.
Enjoy
My wife’s precious heart
Is in need of attention
The surgeon awaits
Well, these two prompt words could not be more apt! My wife is facing major heart surgery this weekend! Consequently, I may be a little quiet here for a while.
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #170 Heart&Need
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
I was surprised to get a message from a friend and colleague – a rap poem – inspired by my novel Mankind Limited.
I thought I would share it here;
Also, check out their music on their own site https://urbanhippies.bandcamp.com/.
Here is the poem.
Mankind Ltd
By J McKay
Where the kindness of man is limited
Capitalist cooperation that will see your dreams diminishedI see humans but no humanity
Just vanity
Losing my sanity
People escaping to virtual reality
Because reality
Is is now a dark place
Lives taken because of their race
Deals done with a cash filled suitcase
Suit and tie
Led by
The pied piper
on a never ending Rat raceMankind LTD
Where the kindness of man is limited
Capitalist cooperation that will see your dreams diminishedWhats wrong with the world Mumma?
Rehiring the war drummer
Reigniting feuds with a different Color
Future hasn’t looked glummer
Worlds heating up like an Indian summer
Enough money to fight, nothing done about world hunger
So I wonder
Is the war drummer
Just An opportunity to showcase the chopper gunner
To damage infrastructure,
To take lives from a culture
Take fathers from youngsters
Circling above like vultures
Targets are hidden deep under
bombs are nothing but a stain on a water colorMankind LTD
Where the kindness of man is limited
Capitalist cooperation that will see your dreams diminishedSensationalised snippets
Bunch of hypocrites
With a hidden agenda to make your opinions fit
Emotional counterfeit
Drink down the whole truth, don’t just sip it
Don’t read a headline and then just skip it
Hounding hashtags like a whippet
Tweet tweet
But you ain’t no pipit
Reference to a bird incase you didn’t get it
Daily disposable media, how you gonna fill it?
Click bait
To get those click through rates
Hooked on a headline
Served up on a plateMankind LTD
Where the kindness of man is limited
Capitalist cooperation that will see your dreams diminishedAt war with Nature
Where is this the legislator
It’s not out governments, there just a manipulator
Facilitators
For the rape of our lands by dictators
Hard to be inhalators
Of these demonstrators
Because trees are our main respirators
Think there an accelerator
For improving nature
But there blinded by a broken alternatorMankind LTD
Where the kindness of man is limited
Capitalist cooperation that will see your dreams diminished
We are borrowing time
The interest is piling up
The bills are on their way
Have we enough flesh to pay
In response to the daily prompt Interest
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting
Silk slowly sliding
Over soft smooth skin, caressed
Brushing fingertips
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #169 Silk&Skin
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
Tempting sweet nectar
Scent drifts on the summer breeze
Snap! Fly trapped for lunch
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #168 Sweet&Scent
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
When I say today’s daily prompt ~ Elevate all I could think of was Daleks!
“Elevate! Elevate!”
I couldn’t get that episode out of my head – so I didn’t think I would end up writing anything. In a way that’s still true – I am just waffling here.
But the tenuous link is the kind of elevation that can be experienced when listening to a particularly good piece of music. Tonight a good piece has been returned to my consciousness courtesy – of all things – to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2!
Now it has many good tunes some of which are on my regular playlists already. But watching it tonight one jumped out at me – that I haven’t heard for a long, long time. It grabbed me and lifted me and I didn’t even wait for the film to finish before I was on the phone downloading it! (Og the wonder of the internet!)
Yep – My Sweet Lord by George Harrison. What a simple but beautiful song. Perfection. Elevating!
In response to the daily prompt Elevate
#DailyPrompt #iamwriting
Lobster shuffles out
Coming out of his safe shell
Fabulously pink
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #158 Pink&Shell
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
Goodnight. Sleep tight. Love you with all my heart.
One snuggled cosy in bed.
One in the earth.
Mother and Father
Forever hurt.
In response to the daily prompt Bury
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting
Kookaburra laughs
Amused at the irate ants
Eyeing them for lunch
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #157 Amused&Irate
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
I have had a truly special and humbling week! It was the premiere week for Bambino as part of the Manchester International Festival. We have performed in 12 shows with over 170 babies, their parents and family, and some very special guests. It has been an exciting experience and I can’t stop smiling.
The Cast and Crew
I arrived in Manchester on Monday evening in Scottish Opera’s people carrier along with the team and the wonderful Stuart Semple who had driven us down from Glasgow. We settled into our apartments after being welcomed by the magnificent Manchester International Festival team (MIF). I have been working closely with Angela, Sophie and Tracy and many many wonderful volunteers over this week, all of whom have made the show a huge success.
For the first couple of days, we performed in the centre of Manchester in the Pavilion performance space, in Albert Square…
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Splosh
And a little erosion
Helped on
By little hands
Joy is free
Available as
or hardback
from Amazon
or CreateSpace
I am drawn
By slightly parted lips
Swaying hips
Twinkling eyes
A smile
I am drawn
In response to the daily prompt Magnet
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting
This weekend we decided to relax a bit and get out and about in the country. This was partly down to my musings about bird watching. My wife wanted to do some walking, as did I, rather than cycling this time around. The two things – bird watching and walking – immediately made me think of the marshes near us. Haven’t been there for years and what a surprise! It’s always been a lovely place to walk, now it has been taken over by a wildlife trust and they have made some great improvements – including installing some bird watchers hides.
After that, we went to a local woodland park that used to be a gunpowder mill. I have never been there – tough Rachel and the kids have. Again I was pleasantly surprised.
Anyway here are a few pictures of the day – and I am hoping there some ornithologists or keen birders out there who might help identify some of these.
According to Amazon’s own Author Central – the ranking for all three of my books has shot up considerably – despite the fact that I haven’t sold any extra copies lately.
Wonder what’s going on?
Scott Andrew Bailey - Author 