Read Poem: NORMAL IS SEPTEMBER TEN, by Brent Green

Normal is September Ten,
A clear and present day,
Safe and sound America,
Business without delay.

A day when cathedral towers
Diminish everything in sight,
And three-thousand citizens
Still plan on lasting light.

Normal is homeland security,
This continent at busy peace,
A rich and winding tapestry,
Freedom soaring puffs of fleece.

Chaos is September Eleven,
Twin towers tumbling down,
The American family mourning,
Mostly rubble to be found.

A day damned by silver jets
Falling from clutching skies,
Becoming rockets of disaster,
Exploding evil webs and lies.

Chaos is unsung heroes
Springing from simple lives,
Facing nameless enemies
Despite those piercing knives.

Normal is war by armies,
Carried to distant soil,
Commanded by politicians,
Leaving enemies to boil.

We shall wish for September Ten
The remainder of our years,
And it is the resolve of Eleven
That forever sanctifies our tears.

Renewing our ancestral heart
That we are Americans proud,
Where freedom is an eagle…
Gliding resolutely, screeching loud.

© Brent Green, 2001

Genre: Patriotism

Read Poem: UN-VALENTINE’S DAY PARTY, by Dennis Sparks

(as observed by The Mad-Hatter, DJ Sparks)

“Welcome, All,
To the Land of Pretend.
Why, you may ask
(I said with a sigh),
To nix such a day
Meant for Love & no byes?
Because it’s a shame,
(I said with a smirk),
To have only ONE day
When not acting a jerk.
Why not a whole year
(minus one day, of course)
In which Joy would reign supreme,
(As in an eternal dream).
And so, I declare
(I said with a flair),
This being Un-Valentine’s Day–
So, un-love to us all, for this day alone,
And we loudly proclaim,
Love shall Reign,
For almost a year,
Showing no shame!

Read Poem: MY GOD, by Logan Clarke

My God
Has not guaranteed me a reservation in Heaven
Nor has he threatened me with purgatory.
For he knows no purgatory-
Except mental
In the minds of the living.

I walk with God down the beach,
Lie back with him at night
And often am awakened by him
Just to talk
Or listen.

My God
Does not wish to be only an image
Playing hide and seek.
He did not set down conditions
In order to get close to him.
Man himself did that.

I did not find God in some hotel room
between the pages of Gideon.
Nor did he come to me-
Through the lips of men in churches
Who pretend to be holier than me…..

My God
Does not want me to live in fear
Of never being accepted by him
Simply because
I disagree with the organizations
Who are manufacturing and marketing God.

He placed me on Earth to live
And experience life in my own way.

He is there to guide, if I need guidance
To assist if I need help.
When he talks, I listen
When I talk, he listens……

During my time spent on Earth
I will serve my fellow man
If I am able
But never with the intention of “making points”
With God
For I can never bargain my way into Heaven.

My God
Accepts me as I am
And I accept Him as……..
My God

By

Read Poem: the purity, by Alex Dumitru

Me: They don’t teach you

That you might become two

When love happens

That you might love

But you will also want

Your lover out

Out of your life!

They did not tell you

How cruel it is to lose the lover

And to want love back

But away with the lover.

They did not teach us

How to fight with

Wanting the lover back

But also away, far away!

They did not and they will not.

I did hear songs about it,

Seen movies about it

Never understood it

Like I was watching

A modern painting that

The more I look at, the

More I understand less

Or just accept it as it is

But never paid attention to

And here I am fighting for

Whats left of my dignity

Life and soul! An emptiness.

The lover: always kisses

With his eyes wide open,

Silent in his moves

Strong on reactions

Wanting it all! Taking it all

Looking at his pray

Like its a last meal

Enjoying it all leaving

Nothing for a future love!

Always offering love

Like using his ultimate.

But loving at all.

Always sure that love

Is seen as pure.

Always being sure

The love is taken

Hugged with power…

Always messing arround with

And act or a decision

Never looking after own

Always planing in full

Step by step the moment

When you will think

Its your fault and you

Will forever think so!

Always keeping sticked to

The relationship until it knows

The job is done – suffering you will.

Knowing that no matter what

There is always a chance

For you to accept the misery

And the toxicity and the pain.

They: they don’t prevent us

Never keep us safe from

Always letting us fall

In the same trap – love!

Us: fighting for getting back

Knowing that is wrong

Never giving up

Always caring to each other

Forever wanting the feelings

The special, that dance

In the midle of the Universe.

That we will always know

That is wrong bur never

Fighting for what is right

To keep the love alive

In a healthy way! A powerful

Love! Strong! Never torn

A love entirely made of truth

And life! Kindness and affection

The one we only know

To give to each other.

That special hug! And kiss!

That special thought and care that says

“I am here and forever will”

That please accept it all

And put it in your heart

That forgiveness and blessing

Of preying at night for you

While you sleep. A sweet sleep

Or a hug in the summer

When it rains and full of noises

In the sky. That hug. That

Sincerity and clarity that makes

One accept it all, wanting all

That “I will keep you,

And will never get tired

To fight for you, to care for you”

That when you get upset

All comes back to light.

The light: we are both depressed

In need of help and crying

For that real help that power

To tell us “you are not alone”

And you will be alright.

That feeling of be safe

And truly protected

Of unwanted forces or

Unwanted suffering. Unwanted.

Anything to put us apart then…

We become our enemies without

Knowing that somewhere deep inside

A decision was made for us

And that we will keep in our hearts

What is wrong or bad about

The other. The lover, the hater

The lier and the one to wanting

All that is bad for us. Never to

Look at anything but what

Makes us suffer. What makes us

Cry or in pain or screaming

“what do you want from me?”

Untill the darkness comes along

Darkness: we are both alone

And we want to become friends

But also keep each other away

As far as possible and then the thought

“can it be possible? That love”

We did not know love. I did not.

Did you? Did you know

What you were playing with?

Did you know what you were doing?

Did you know I will always want you back?

Did you lie and used me? Did you?

Did you force yourself into me?

How could I accept something

I knew I will never accept.

How could you let me open?

How could you let me do it?

Why don’t you fight back for me now?

Why don’t you do what is right.

Its all out. Will always be.

I will pretend strong looking

Like I don t want you back.

All because of you. But I will

Accept it all. As I did. I will

Fight for you deep inside me

Pray for you. Care for you.

I will always always always

Always always love you!

I will. And I will take away

Anything else! And I will become

A man standing straight

Looking in people’s eyes

Keeping you in my heart

Somehow not taking you

Out of it! Never letting you out

To making sure no matter

What happens to you, no matter

What, you will constantly receive

Love. A source that will never end.

A source that will make me happy

As will make you happy

Without knowing where is it from

Where is the source…

The source: I now know

I will forever feel alone

As a love like that will never

Ever ever live inside me again

And that alone will keep me

A person that can walk

Can travel this Universe

As a free soul, changed

Into something that will no

See end. No see limit.

A way of understanding

And looking and trying

Learning. Accepting!

That can be sure! The purity

Will never die! It will stay there.

It will survive to tell the story

In the darkness, the light and purity

The purity…

Read Poem: CAT WALKING, by Chuck Waagen & Steve Lamely

Two fields away I saw a cat walking.
Devil may care, wind blowing through his hair
Prowling among the cold crisp air.

Two fields away I heard a bird squawking
It’s flightless wings were mangled
In a thorn bush it was tangled
Struggling madly
Awaiting the final coup de grace
of feline teeth and feline claw

2/5/24

Chuck Waagen and Steve Lamely.

Read Poem: Far And Wide, by Colin Guest

A bird flies high in the sky so blue
Then disappears and is lost from view
Where does it go too and for why
Who cares says the wind-passing bye
Just travel to places out far and wide
Float on a raft and drift with the tide
Or jump on a plane and end up in Spain
The summers best when there is no rain
Travel by camel to places in the east
Where people live in tents and eat a feast
Journey to Australia and surf in the sea
Maybe else where you would like to be
How about Norway and ski in the snow
Or sail in the fiords way down below
Fly to France and try some French wine
Some say that the taste is quiet divine
Go to Russia where the temperature’s low
Enjoy a ride on a sledge across the snow
So just pack a case and travel away
And then return on some distant day
For travel can help one to understand
The point of view, from another man.

Read Poem: Gift by Brian Luff

I bought you a white body suit,

Decorated in black dots.

You asked me to alter the design,

But a leotard cannot change its spots.

———-

Brian Luff is a poet and multi-award-winning short film maker. He is author of The Serious Business of Writing, Performing & Selling Comedy.

Brian has co-written a comedy series for Channel 4 and been a senior digital content editor for the BBC.
He has worked as Head of Digital Content for two global television networks and has performed countless times on the Edinburgh Fringe.
He’s an occasional visiting lecturer on the BA scriptwriting course at Bournemouth University.

bleachproductions.com

Read Poem: THE ANATOMY OF LOVE, by Joseph Oneil

The eyes of love are windows of the horizon with a view
On life which is as beautiful as the beginning of a new day.
Its face is like the light side of the moon,
Always present in life’s darkest moments.
Love has no back to turn on us, for its feet are transgressors of fear,
Always moving towards the woes in life that others refused to bear.
Its bosoms are riverbed that welcomes the flow from an ocean of tears,
Embracing the world forgotten and nourishing them with care.
The heart of love is chambers of forgiveness which host no judge,
For with wisdom, it knows that missteps are a natural part of life’s gait.
Its shoulders were perfectly designed to pillow others’ pain,
cushions of compassion that hold the heads of the weary straight.
Many measured love through romance in vain,
For only the scale of sacrifice knows loves true weight.Rea