New year, new challenge.

So last year I had a plan. To not post anything new on my website. I figured that by posting all my new work I was then eliminating that work from competitions etc.

So the plan was, keep the site going by reposting old stuff, while waiting new stuff in the background.

Well, that didn’t really work. I did the posting, but very little writing in the background. I did a few poems and a few short stories but nowhere near as much as I wanted.

So what to do?

I need a kick up the proverbial butt. So I  have decided to try another daily post challenge. I did one years ago, a poem a day challenge. This time I will try and do a post a day for a year based on this document. I may diverge from the suggestions but they will be the spring board.

To address my concern about eliminating myself from markets I will actually do two. One I will publish the other I will keep private.

I will also make each prompt a post that people can link back to if they want to join in.

I will also still post old posts. Let’s see how it goes.

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

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

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

Image from Pixabay

In response to the daily prompt Profuse

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www.scottandrewbailey.uk

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

Image from Pixabay

 

In response to the daily prompt Conveyor

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www.scottandrewbailey.uk

Holes

By Scott Bailey © 2014

There are holes
In everyone’s hearts
Some are big
Made by lives fulfilled
And long
Some are small
Short and brief
Somehow
The smaller
Hurt more

Image from Pixabay

 

In response to the daily prompt Cavity

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www.scottandrewbailey.uk

Inkling

By Scott Bailey © 2018

I am drawn
By slightly parted lips
Swaying hips
Twinkling eyes
A smile
I am drawn
By an inkling

 

Image from Pixabay

A slightly modified version of an older poem I did that benefits from the addition I think.

In response to the daily prompt Inkling

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www.scottandrewbailey.uk

Inscrutable – the Pension Rip Off

By Scott Bailey © 2018

Image from Pixabay

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

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www.scottandrewbailey.uk

Trill

By Scott Bailey © 2018

The trill of birdsong
Echoes down the green valley
Before the ice falls

Image from Pixabay

In response to the daily prompt Trill

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www.scottandrewbailey.uk

Dominant

By Scott Bailey © 2018

 

The dominant theme
Of the modern movement
Is just that
To dominate
To be the best
No second place
No room for losers
Crush them
Squeeze then dry
That is is the song
Of our age
We seem to sing it
With joy

 

Image from pixabay.com

 

In response to the daily prompt Dominant

#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

Tardy

By Scott Bailey © 2018

One day
Tardy light
Will throw
All we know
Into darkness
And the scientists
Will begin again
With relish

Image from Pixabay

In response to the daily prompt Tardy

#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

Candid

By Scott Bailey © 2018

Can we be candid?
No
There it is
Politics

Image from Pixabay

In response to the daily prompt Candid

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www.scottandrewbailey.uk

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

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www.scottandrewbailey.uk

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

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

Conversation

By Scott Bailey © 2018

Conversation

The end of the conversation
Is the end of the line
The rising of the fires
Of hostility and ire
So keep talking
Keep talking

In response to the daily prompt Conversation

#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

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

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

The Calling

By Scott Bailey © 2017

Galaxy

Hear the music
Of the spheres
Calling
Feel
The irresistible
Attraction
Of the singularities
Pulling
See the twinkle
The burst of life
Shrouded in the
Nebulous mists
Here the roar
Of the silent yaw
Of space
Here the call
The dare

Will we share
In the song
Or crack
Our own end

In response to the daily prompt Calling

#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

The Scarlet Mountain

By Scott Bailey © 2016

The scarlet mountain
Hangs in the sky
The scarlet mountain
Lies
Through the blood
Of the mountain
All of us
Relate
This is the place
Dreams instantiate
Where the scarlet mountain
Dwells in the clouds
That is where
Hope flies

In response to the daily prompt Relate

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www.scottandrewbailey.uk

Compass

By Scott Bailey © 2017

Compass

The compass has no compassion
The waves care not
The road goes on forever
Whatever your feet yearn
Rest is not an option
For the currents will always win
Only those that fly
Will win

In response to the daily prompt Compass

#DailyPrompt, #amwriting, #postaday

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

The Theory Of Learning

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!

 

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Theory

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Elegance

By Scott Bailey © 2017

From the unimaginable
Power
Of supermassive black holes
To the delicate
Dance of quarks
It all contains
Elegance
Beautiful and precise
In the conclusion of horror
And the breaking of joy
The shining of rain
And the sweep of the dune
From the swell of the tide
And the retreat
Elegance
Rules

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Elegance

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Degrees

By Scott Bailey © 2017

By Degree-Radian_Conversion.svg: Inductiveload derivative work: F l a n k e r (Degree-Radian_Conversion.svg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Third-degree burns
First-degree murder
How we like to measure things
That hurt

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Degree

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The Gorge

By Scott Bailey © 2017

Cheddar Gorge
By Diliff (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
Cheddar Gorge
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

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Gorge

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Saintly

By Scott Bailey © 2017

Through saintly blue hues
The predator emerges
Teeth all pearly white

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Saintly

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Going South

By Scott Bailey © 2017

It’s all going south
So let’s all relocate there
It’s hotter at least

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Relocate

#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday

One of THOSE days

So TV glamour aside – the reality of living with Autism in the family.

I ended the weekend totally exhausted. Went to work determined to leave it all behind me and concentrate on a major project which culminates tomorrow – when we retire two old websites and divert all the users to the newer current one. Tomorrow is going to be a late one.

First thing I get is a hitch in that process. Second – and before I get to look at that – another site we have has a major problem! It’s main functionality stopped completely.

Deep breath! Put aside the planned work for today – deal with this.

A phone call from the wife – Our youngest -the one with Autism – who has to face a long journey on a bus to get to school every day and has been struggling with it – has finally snapped. Just like we had been warning them – and asking them to change his transport arrangements – to no avail. He has flipped out and hurt other children. Now the bus company are refusing to take him anymore. Not even to bring him home.

So now we have an issue. I now have to get these jobs done quicker as I have to leave early to pick him up from school.

So bang – get one done. Bang get the other one done – need to get them tested and live.

Another phone call from the school.

Now – he has had a fall at school and had been rushed to A&E.

Got to get this fix live! Now! And leave!

Raced over to get him as my wife is in the hospital for heart cardiac rehab.

By the time I get him home and safe my heart is racing and chest is hurting so bad I think I might be joining her pretty soon!

I would say I can’t take many more days like this but this is becoming normal for us.

Oh for the easier days!

I am just thankful I have an understanding employer.

Jenga Man

By Scott Bailey © 2017

A piece of me is demanded
Every waking moment of my life
One day the critical piece
Will be withdrawn
And the inevitable
Tumble will come
The final fall
The end of the game

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Tenterhooks

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Age

By Scott Bailey © 2017

Age is the revealer
It strips away the lies
And wears us down
With harsh reality
Pares us to the bone

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Age

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Tenterhooks

By Scott Bailey © 2017

Waiting on tenterhooks
For the next Big Idea
The next Winner
The next Wedding
The next Divorce
The next Leader
The next Messiah
For some
Just
The Next Sale
In the meantime
We are bled
And the fruits of our labours
Snuck out of the back door

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Tenterhooks

#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday

The Age of Reason

By Scott Bailey © 2017

This is the age of reason
Apparently
What reason then
Behind the starving child
Tortured by hunger pains
What reason
Behind the women
Sold as toys
What reason
The stockpiling and use
Of weapons of blood
One reason
One alone
That pounds every moment
Of our lives

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Age

#DailyPrompt #iamwriting, #postaday

Dancer

By Scott Bailey © 2014

Defying downing gravity
To delight in dazzling dance
Shimmering, shining sparkles
Showering tiny tears

Photo by Scott Bailey

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Sparkle

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Caged

By Scott Bailey © 2013

Gorilla
Photo Credit Scott Bailey © 2013

Noble, graceful, caged
So like us yet so far apart
Our bars are our own.

www.scottandrewbailey.uk

In response to the daily prompt Zoo

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