By Scott Bailey © 2018
A thought
Insists
Am I doing enough
Or is it
The machine
Wearing me down?
In response to the daily prompt Insist
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Insist
Poetry
Puzzle
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Where has my time gone?
Where has my freedom gone?
Time is gone.
Freedom is gone.
Never had time.
Never had freedom
Sigh.
No more.
In response to the daily prompt Puzzled
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Bewildered
By Scott Bailey © 2018
The bewildered
Wildebeest wondered
What it was
The lions were
Running from
In response to the daily prompt Bewildered
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Earth Arising
The earth will arise
Topple all fences and walls
A spark in the night
In response to Colleen’s Weekly 2018 #Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Challenge, No. 70 “DESTINY & CHALLENGE”
#Haiku
Child Arising
By Scott Bailey © 2018
It is inevitable
A child will arise
And topple
The obstacles
You put in their way
Grow strong in spite of them
Grow strong because of them
And set the world aflame
With angry hope
Think on that
And tremble
Note – this was inspired by Colleen’s Weekly Tanka Tuesday challenge – but doesn’t qualify in any way. Not sure how can credit her without creating a pingback. Check out her main site and you will find the challenge section. This is not in any of the forms required but came to me in a flash and I liked it so I am putting it out there anyway.
Deep Cold
By Scott Bailey © 2014
Disappearing into the gloom
Undulating side to side
Alien but of this earth
Slow, cold life
In the deep deep dark
So far from the hearth we know
The strange eel like creature
Eases in the deepest cold
Leaving divers dumb
In response to the daily prompt Creature
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Sympathise
By Scott Bailey © 2018
We sympathise
We the victims
Put up or flags
And tokens
Banners on our home pages
All sincere
But nothing changes
No actions
Behind the thought
A slightly modified version of an older poem I did that benefits from the addition I think.
In response to the daily prompt Sympathize
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
In Need of Prompts
Now JusJoJan has finished I need some more prompts!
I use the WordPress Daily Prompt and Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge on a Monday. I could do with another for each day.
Anyone know of any good ones?
Rhymes
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Words flow profusely
Anger pours freely
Action is stilted and slow
The world needs righting
In our minds, we are fighting
But to battles, we never go
Inaction just reaction
No satisfaction
This is a sign of the times
While all is disaster
We rush at it faster
Chiming protesting rhymes
In response to the daily prompt Profuse
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
The Cash Creating Conveyor
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Try everything
Go on!
You know you want to.
And why not?
Get to the end of your life
And say proudly
I did it all!
I did it my way!
I tried it all!
No matter the cost
Ignore the cost
Such a small cost
Dripping away
Over and over
But ignore that
Don’t be square
Be cool!
Be the future
Not the past
Think of the Pleasure!
Ignore the cost
Think of the Achievement!
The dripping cost
Be cool!
Dripping into our funnel
Be a Winner
Dripping into our Hoard
In response to the daily prompt Conveyor
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Inkling
By Scott Bailey © 2018
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
Inscrutable – the Pension Rip Off
By Scott Bailey © 2018
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
Trill
By Scott Bailey © 2018
The trill of birdsong
Echoes down the green valley
Before the ice falls
In response to the daily prompt Trill
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Tardy
By Scott Bailey © 2018
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
Candid
By Scott Bailey © 2018
Can we be candid?
No
There it is
Politics
In response to the daily prompt Candid
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday
Liberty
By Scott Bailey © 2018
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
The Accidental Occidental
A word that starts with “oc”. For some reason – occidental immediately sprung to mind. Followed by this random nonsense.
By Scott Bailey © 2018
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
Press
By Scott Bailey © 2018
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
Treat
By Scott Bailey © 2018
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
Reservation
By Scott Bailey © 2018
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
Boisterous
Boisterous
By Scott Bailey © 2018
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.
Testament
By Scott Bailey © 2018
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
A Spring of Dreams – Distant Clattering
Distant Clattering
By Scott Bailey © 2014
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
Last Minute Presents
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 🙂
Mankind Limited
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.
Thirteen Tales
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.
A Spring of Dreams
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.
Shroud
By Scott Bailey © 2017
Silk
Like mist
Flows
Over mounds
And into dells
Following the ebbs
And flows
Shrouding warmth
Falling away
To heaven
#amwriting, #postaday
Short
Two this time – makes up for a drought of anything new 🙂
By Scott Bailey © 2017
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
Snow
By Scott Bailey © 2017
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
Bats
By Scott Bailey © 2017
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.
Sore Heart
By Scott Bailey © 2017
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
Silk and Skin
By Scott Bailey © 2017
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
Snap
By Scott Bailey © 2017
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
Elevation – My Sweet Lord
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
By Scott Bailey © 2017
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
By Scott Bailey © 2013
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
By Scott Bailey © 2017
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
A Spring of Dreams – Splosh
Splosh
By Scott Bailey © 2014
Splosh
And a little erosion
Helped on
By little hands
Joy is free
Available as
or hardback
from Amazon
or CreateSpace
Drawn
By Scott Bailey © 2017
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
Odd Stats
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?
Best Year So Far!
When I hit over 10000 views at the end of last year I thought it would be a hard target to beat – yet here I am just over halfway through the year and I have beaten it already!
I have to thank my followers and all who have read – a little or a lot.
Now if only I had 10000 book sales 🙂
http://www.scottandrewbailey.uk/
Apprentice
By Scott Bailey © 2017
Over in the US
The new boss has his eye on you
You are all apprentices now
All in the firing line
In response to the daily prompt Apprentice
#DailyPrompt, #amwriting
Minimal
By Scott Bailey © 2014
Minimal contact
Minimal support
Minimal communication
Maximum propaganda
In response to the daily prompt Minimal
#DailyPrompt
Sweat
By Scott Bailey © 2017
Hippos do not deign
To sweat in the summer heat
Wallow in cool mud
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #137 Sweat&Heat
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
Reviews
“This book should be a movie. Somewhere in Hollywood right now there are actors waiting for their agents to deliver this story in script format to them. The makings of all action-packed adventure films is here. I can see the film in my mind’s eye.
But this one is different.
It’s not fast-paced for the thrill of it alone. It needs to be to get the message across. Mankind could be on the threshold of just such a future. Time is racing.
This one could be us.
Maybe a few years down the line yet, maybe already almost there in some similar format. Change a few details. Replace one group for another. Look behind the motives in politics and corporations. Stretch the reality just a little. Ask ourselves questions looking through the light of a different lens.
It feels like us, it acts like us, it may very well come…”
“Great concept to write a poem a day for a year and provides an insight into coping with difficult family circumstances – a recommended read for anyone who has struggled in such situations. Some poems were obviously more personal than others (my favourites were those when the writer cherishes the ‘small moments’ in life such as going to a fireworks display with his wife and son) but he also branches out into more political territory. Look out for the funny poems scattered throughout the book too, one in particular made me laugh out loud! A good read and Scott Bailey shows talent as a poet. Recommended.”
Translate
By Scott Bailey 2017
If only we could translate
Emotions as we could words
Maybe wars would be less
Maybe they would be worse
In response to the daily prompt Translate
#DailyPrompt
Juicy
By Scott Bailey 2017
Unlike an orange
The juicy details of life
Are deep down inside
In response to the daily prompt Juicy
#DailyPrompt
Expectation
By Scott Bailey 2017
No expectation
No disappointment
One philosophy
Expecting it all
Throwing tantrums when denied
A more common one
There has to be a better way.
In response to the daily prompt Expectation
#DailyPrompt
Seriousness
By Scott Bailey 2017
Seriousness
Has been whittled away
Belittled and demonised
For the serious
Are not good
Consumers
Why so…
In response to the daily prompt seriousness
#DailyPrompt
Fading
An old one that fits.
By Scott Bailey © 2013
Blue eyes turned purple
Deep purple and very still
Watching all my life
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #136 Eye&Fade
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
Tremble
So, either it has snowed in our bathroom, there has been the mother of all cocaine parties or somebody who will remain nameless (starts with an L end with an M few vowels in between) has found Mummy’s talcum powder.
I don’t know what my kids will be when they grow up – but one way or another they will make the world tremble.
In the meantime – here’s an old poem that fits in with today’s prompt.
Giants
By Scott Bailey 2014
I have seen giants
Striding over the land
Power on their shoulders
Stern and strong their hand
Never do they falter
Never seen one stumble or fall
Always do their duty
Always answer the call
Through storm and wind and rain
The carry their burden true
Though other links may burn out
The giants stride on through
So remember this and tremble
Even the giants will pass
Fall into dust and rusty ruin
Scattered in untamed grass
One day their burden will dissipate
Their purpose will disappear
And the duty they discharged so well
A memory dimmed with time
In response to the daily prompt Tremble
#DailyPrompt
Sinking
By Scott Bailey © 2017
Oh how I would love
For the world to be lighter
Not a sinking mess
In response to RonovanWrites #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge #135 Love&Light
#Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge
Scott Andrew Bailey - Author 