Some good news reported by Jon in Glasgow; he's been able to read my blog again at Govan library by directly accessing my October archives...this somehow overrides the internet content filters.

HE HAS NAMED ME

In tongues of prophecy
On the back seat of a caravan;
-Now that I believe
I have too little.

My thoughts, in confession
I should not laugh so
Well-meaning.

HAIKU

two sated lovers;
somewhere in the world
someone is dying

TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS

still carefully ironing his shirts,
today is his last
day at the office

HAIKU

speaking in broken English:
most of the houses are boarded up
the others unsellable

During the last fortnight or so I've had three light bulbs fuse - I hope it's only a co-incidence and not a problem with the wiring.

The replacements I bought are much smaller (same size fitting obviously) - 'handy, new easy-fit size' it says on the box.

FROM AN OLD FRIEND

A swag of peonies
The sea still running
Away from the house.

FIRST KISS

Valentine's Day;
Spring breeze
On a cloudless night.

Whenever I find a coin I always pick it up and put it in my back pocket, intending not to spend it until I've found the next one; otherwise it's considered bad luck.

No-one else seems to perform this ritual, so I'm wondering where did I get the idea from; and would I be spared bad luck if I weren't to pick up any dropped change in the first place?

FROM ACORNS...

Pulling up
Oak saplings
In my garden.
-Just another weed.

HAIKU

struggling
to write a haiku
about bonsai

REHEARSAL

Solo this resonance
With pitch, pause and weighting.

Around the emptiness
The numbers dance and play.

Yesterday I typed the words 'lonely, bored, unemployed' into Google. The following words and phrases frequently appeared in the search results:-

mental health problems
criminal behaviour
long-term, chronic illness
alcoholism
gambling addiction
drug addiction
ethnic minority
a low level of educational achievement
disability issues

Since none of these terms apply to me I felt like crying, but couldn't find the tears.

SERVICE COMPRIS

In the attic
Candlelight and prayers;
After the naming -
Back to back
Across the horizon.

MAKING IT

New Year's Day:
A first move,
the clock ticking
After the rain.

HAIKU

alone with dad;
a fallen rainbow
and the speed of clouds

The Drudge Report
US-based news portal; dozens of links to newspapers, magazines, TV and radio, newsagencies and individual columnists.

http://www.drudgereport.com

Fortean Times
Unconventional news and science reports and links.

http://www.forteantimes.com/breaking_news/breaking_news

Public Radio Fan
English language public service and international radio services from around the world.

http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/whatson.pl?when=nowsoon&=non-music

According to a recent government report more of us are living alone, either by choice or circumstances. In my case I absolutely hate all the time I'm forced to spend on my own (this is made even worse by my being unemployed).

When it comes to relationships I think that I might be far too keen on commitment; which is unusual for a man...I've never had a relationship though and so don't really know.

CLEAN SHEET

after the wake
she speaks to me,
sleepless night
beneath the clock

SERVICE CHARGE

the smell of perfume
the same words every night

in a stranger's room, listening
and waiting for the moment

THERMOSTAT

I tip my hat
to the other side

listening to the rain
on my doorstep

texting home

This morning a friend was telling me how he gave a young yob a clout for throwing stones on the bus (not at the bus, or from the bus, but actually inside the saloon of the bus.)

I think a lesson might have been learnt that day.

Of course, I've done a similar thing myself; several years ago a gang of youths was throwing screwed up pieces of paper at people (myself included) in the library. As I walked past them one of their number then spat on me. A few minutes later as I was leaving the building the same characters were making a nuisance of themselves just a few yards away.

Without saying a word, I walked over to the ringleader.......

After the event his friends just starting laughing.

I experienced my first problem with my broadband service on Wednesday. When I phoned up BT they couldn't find any trace of my records on their computers.

Anyhow, the woman at the end of the line suggested that I switch off everything and temporarily unplug the filters and then re-boot.

It worked.

HEPTONSTALL

Pennine Graveyard:
A hard frost,
More an ache than sorrow.

MAP READING

Indian summer:
Warm weather
Coming from Africa.

HAIKU

so gently behind;
even in Rome
exhausted, on the tree stump

HAIKU

boy in a pushchair,
hazy afternoon
just out of focus

In Yorkshire, of course; the answer is: but the borough is served by the following bus companies.

First South Yorkshire (Rotherham)
Yorkshire Traction (Barnsley)
Stagecoach East Midlands
Lincolnshire Road Car
Arrive West Yorkshire
Isle Coaches (Lincs)
Wilfreda Beehive (silly name, locally based)

The good news is that within the last few weeks a day ticket that can be used on any local operator has finally been introduced.

I've managed to download a broadband usage meter. The tariff I'm on limits me to 20GB a month, which is quite generous I should think because at the moment I only seem to be using about 7GB of my allowance.

LOVE LETTER

I broke off from what
I was doing
And went to the
first aid box
in the kitchen.

(Where I still keep
All the chocolates
With the soft centres.)

MATHEMATICAL GENIUS

Staggering home,
He turned a corner
Into the square.

FIRE EXIT

In case of emergency
She worked in the dark;
At the end of the day
The walk home always
Seemed endless.

Bird flu
Global warming
Going bald (it won't happen)

These two poems are examples of 'found poems'...finding lines of text in the environment and incorporating them into a poem.

POEM FOUND ON A MANTELPIECE

Cancer Research UK
Thank you for your application
Of deodorant bodyspray.

For fresher breath
Call the Transport Executive's Traveline
Water resistant to fifty metres.

RANDOM LINES, RANDOM PAGES

Get out of here and deliver the message
Hanging up against the sun
"Peter was murdered today."

"As you wish."
If he were a client
He'd stand for a drink.

Just a bit of fun; typing my name into various search engines and seeing what the first search result is. Thanks to our fellow blogger, Jessica Smith, for the idea.

Google...It's me; my poem in The Black Mountain Review, a literary magazine based in Northern Ireland.

Dogpile...I'm someone called Vic Firth, a corpsmaster.

Lycos...The family tree of Terry Lee Firth.

MyExcite...It's me again; my poem in The Black Mountain Review.

Webcrawler...As above.

Yahoo...Vic Firth again.

Ixquick...Me again; this time a poem in 'Underground Window', an American internet magazine.

Mamma Metasearch...as above.

Tetsuo II - The Iron Man...extreme Japanese cinema.

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover (again!)

Kika (Pedro Almodovar)

Independence Day (always great fun)

The Tit And The Moon (Bigas Luna)

ENGLISH SUMMER

On the beach,
Farting behind
The windbreak.

ESSENCE

Fires burn on the hills,
Down in the valley
The oak king
Spreads his arms.

TELLER

Bank the tide
And pay the interest
Into the new moon's account.

1...I'd travel; pursuing volcanic eruptions around the world.

2...I'd buy a nice house in the country and employ a chauffeur (I can't drive).

3...I'd eat in a different restaurant every day.

Of course it won't happen...because I don't gamble.

PROOF READING

The man gets a letter
The man is blind.

The blind man opens his letter
He cannot close his ears.

PRE-PROGRAMMED

The weather forecast was right,
Bright sunshine and a hard frost.

Before leaving for work this morning
I remembered to switch off the fridge.

TEXT BOX

To move without medication,
A slip of memory
Strange triggers
And tribunal setbacks.

Spoonfed syntax, unwashed
-A mad scientist's guinea pig
After the experiment.

The postman's late again;
Another day's predicament, perhaps
-Make a move without medication.

This morning I was in town and found myself walking a few yards behind a woman who kept looking over her right shoulder and making it obvious that she was feeling uncomfortable and would prefer that I wasn't so close. Well, what would she expect me to do though?

I was lawfully going about my business and just happened to be walking in the same direction and at the same pace: the actions of someone else, anyone else, no matter what these might be, are not going to make me feel in the least bit guilty about the situation.

It's now been raining quite heavily for a day and a half and the damp patch in the back bedroom is starting to grow again...and there's still the problem with the leaky pipes in the bathroom.

Of course I keep reporting the problems to my landlord, but I can only get through to his answering service.

CHARTER FLIGHT

Crossed vapour trails
Above the airport,
In the departure lounge
Unclaimed matching tartan luggage.

LIST OF INGREDIENTS

The mind is indeed restless:
Listen to the rhythm of the city,
It cannot be force fed or factory farmed.

STREET LIFE

Petals for stars;
We twist beneath the shower,
Torching the sky with tumbling embers
Bathing nude in pitch-black splendour.

The battery in my £1.99 watch has finally packed in, but I'm not buying another [watch] until next week, after the clocks are put back. It's enough hassle having to set the correct time once, without having to do it twice.

UNDER THE FLIGHTPATH

I cannot tell you
Who has embroidered
The sky today.

CATHEDRAL VISIT

They will float together,
Two naked bodies.

I will say nothing
And you will not even know
-But the angels will know.

VILLAGE GREEN

Christmas fairy lights
Huddled together in pine needles
Whispering the game plan
For the twenty fifth of December.

...loved,desired,cherished,popular,busy,challenged,motivated,included,respected...

...but I'm not.

WAY OUT

No-one to care to push:
An owl of my own voice
A forever loan
And I acquired
A secondhand
'How To...' guide
And a battered thriller.

Later, on station platforms
Fingering thin lips
I'll be tempted to take
A sneak preview
At the novel ending.

CLOCKING OFF

In the west,
The sun,
A circular saw
Cutting into the horizon.

I've had two poems published in two different magazines this week and I've been inspired to write some more poetry.

Anyhow; these are the results of this morning's efforts.

THE OLD LIES

The smoke in the trees
Through the eyes of a night,
A mist in the morning
And the rain on the leaves;
Each cloud in its calling
As my soul retreats.

A HEAVY DEW

a dog barks
in the deep forest
wild bamboos
where nobody knows

OVERGROWN WITH NETTLES

Still a feeling here;
The chapeh higher up
On open ground,
The altar, starred
With fallen cloud.

...listening to the advice of my parents and teachers and staying on at school until I was eighteen. I should have got a job at the earliest opportunity, no matter how lowly or demeaning it might have been. At sixteen there's no shame in being on the bottom rung of the ladder; at least you've already got something to hold on to.

Of course, my mum was the one pushing for me to stay on in education. She should have gone to grammar school herself, but had to get a job to help financially support the family. So...she attempted to re-live her life through her children by sharing in our experiences of further education.

Having been brought up in an isolated, insular mining village I so desperately needed to break free and experience life in the outside world, working and interacting with people from more varied backgrounds whilst picking up those valuable life skills which I still lack. But, once you've made the decision to sit your A-levels it's assumed you're then going to go to university and pursue everything that follows. It's very difficult applying for jobs when you're eighteen and all the competition is sixteen, and due to the graduated pay scales any potential employer is required to pay you significantly higher wages for someone who is academically over-qualified for the job, and thus is perceived as being a likely source of instability in the workplace.

So that's how I began my adult life.

SEASONING

Autumn cries a lot
Her rusty madness wails.

Uninvited winter hails
A ruddy rupture lies fallow.

MICROSCOPIC DETAIL

All snowflakes
Are six-sided stars.

Standing outside
The old rabbi
Gathers his flock.

CHANGE OF SCENERY

Love lies dormant
Cuckoo calls
Still and silent
Shadows stir.

washing machine
dishwasher
vacuum cleaner
iron

CHRONICLE

Heavily the sky embugled
The isobars sunk everyway.

On slipped horizons
The laughed Earth
On weathercast days
Without fined particles.

DEBENTURE

I have quit the solace of herds;
Together in the twilight
I am impervious to poison.

Ah, to the glory of illusion
But I am still tired to fear.

A dog barks at the distance
"Yes father, I know."

IN TWO MINDS

Standing astride
The Geenwich Meridian
At Cleethorpes.

DOPPELGANGER

On the ward
An old man dies
At the very moment
He was due to fall asleep.

...I visited the cinema; three years ago.
...I visited the theatre; five years ago.
...I ate at a restaurant; can't remember.
...I went on holiday; five years ago.
...I was intimate with a woman; five and a half years ago.

VISITING HOURS

The crack
In the plaster
A few inches longer
Than this time
Last week.

IN THE COMFORTABLE CHAIR

A quanity of molecules,
How so heavy a table?

Time replaced the cards
There was a new calm;
'I love you' slowly
Sitting in the dark.

POLICY DECISION

Time's running blood
A country continues
A cruel dust gathers.

HOURS ARE THE SAME

Even from here
We have travelled
With a phoenix of years.

Already we have witnessed
With credible hospitality
The whisper of strangers
Opened like an insect's case.

Every Word Has Its Own Story To Tell

Collaborative Poetry Workshops As Therapy

Ancient History Is Not As It Is Taught At School

A Travelogue Of European Chocolatiers

Outreach Theatre As A Community Development Tool

Dramanetics: The Fun And Creative Way To Keep Fit

The Lost Generation: Unemployment In The 1980s And Its Legacy

...Of course, I'll never write any of them; it's an interesting exercise though.

RIDING A NIGHTMARE

Your lips open to my hands
You trouble me each morning
You have a voice when I'm asleep.

MEMORY

The mouth of a day;
Don't stay for the speeches though
As time falls across the doorway.

The day spins,
Sprint for the door
Making sure your dreams
Never leave the safety
Of your buttoned breast pocket.

SKY FILLED

Light white
Whipped reeds
Torn blossoms
A frailty so common.

Walked by Hoober Hill
Faces in the spaces
Between all and each
Perception missing.

Last night one of my favourite science fiction films was on T.V. - Starship Troopers. I had to miss the final twenty minutes though because 'Lost' was on another channel.

This film is great fun, very exciting and gory, and many left-wing commentators view it as a parody of U.S. militarism. Of course, I see things differently and consider Starship Troopers to be merely a wholesome, straight-forward portrayal and celebration of patriotism, honour, and duty.

CUSTOMER PREFERENCE

All day breakfast
At McDonald's.

Later, at home
-Take your dinner
And have it for tea.

JIGSAW

Daffodils
Outside a country phonebox.

No reply;
I pick a bloom
And hold it to my ear.

STARGAZING

If I'm launched into space
When it's dark
How do I know when
I've left the atmosphere?

ENTITLEMENT

She goes to physio
Three times a week.

On the next street
Her friend is too ill
To claim anything.

Since I moved to Doncaster eight years ago I've attempted to form a relationship with three women. I didn't have any success with any of them; in differing ways I think they all were wanting to use me to their advantage as some form of therapy. I found this situation difficult myself.

Number one was seriously mentally ill and at the time just wanted someone to talk to and provide a stabilising influence in her life.

Number two was some sort of drug addict (although she was good at hiding her problem) and was just using the fact of having me around to try and get custody of her children back from Social Services.

Number three was playing me off as a bargaining chip with her on/off boyfriend.

I was considering compiling a short list of my favourite things; colour, type of food, clothes etc. - but it's just not relevant. I merely 'choose' whatever is cheap and available.

DAY OF OUR FIRST ROW

No flowers. No chocolates.
Only a clean white handkerchief
Waiting to be blown.

FIRST DATE

For a few minutes
We danced on ice;
Then the ice broke.

UNVOICED

I never use cliches
Because I don't know how
To find the French accent
On my keyboard.

A couple of months ago I signed up for the Telephone Preference Service. It's stopped most of the UK originating marketing calls but of course I'm still receiving regular sales pitches from people working in Indian call centres, pretending that they've got English names.

Now though there's been a sinister development. I'm getting personal visits instead of the usual phonecalls; two visits by telephony providers only yesterday. What's going on?

I wish they'd all just leave me alone!

I visited the local museum yesterday, the first time for nearly two years...I just needed to get out of the house for an hour. Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery is actually quite a decent attraction with displays and galleries on local history, natural history and the collection of the local army regiment. Naturally, this being Doncaster, there are a lot of paintings and exhibits to do with the railways, coalmining and horse racing.

THE WAITING GAME

So much sagging
In the sealed off faces of friends.

CAT scan of a sunlit smalltown street
-No news yet.

In coffee shops and library aisles,
Behind the safety of lowered lips
A steady loss of words.

ENGINEERING WORK

You were never late
As you walked along the platform.
Given the timetable changes to your love
It was good just to know you.

DIARY ENTRY

The shop that sells calendars
Only opens six days a week.

The owner of the shop that sells clocks
Has no plans to open twenty four hours a day.

1...Piles (or haemorrhoids) - it's worse when they're itching rather than burning...major bleeds three or four times a year.

2...The early stages of arthritis in both knees; at the moment the right knee is the worse.

3...A squint in my left eye which can give me headache when I'm tired.

4...Hayfever (seasonal).

Overall, not in too bad a condition I suppose.

MERCENARY

Barefoot on the burning doorstep
A small accumulation of dust.

This morning I bought some new trainers
And dumped the old ones
In the green recycling bin.

GREEN POEM

This morning,
I bought a dozen light bulbs
To plant in the garden.

AN EASY DIVORCE

Station announcement;
All trains are cancelled
Due to an incident,
The 08:42 to Leeds
Has hit someone on the track.

A few weeks later
At the coroner's inquest;
An open verdict
And no mention of compensation.

1...My current tenancy agreement stipulates that I can't keep pets, take up smoking (or have anyone who smokes living with me at this address) or participate in any 'immoral' activities.

2...My first UK passport stated that I was a 'British Overseas Citizen'; whatever that meant. I don't know why this was the case because I was born in Pontefract.

HAIKU

more grey hairs
than this time
last year

reaching for his coat
he didn't need to consult
the weather forecast

---

sunshine and showers
no need to water the garden

later though, I'd like to go
to a friend's barbecue

---

shaving for breakfast,
just confirming
last night's invitation

---

on the same day
the last leaf falls
from the garden oak
another leaflet
through my letterbox

---

another sleepless night
wearing lambswool
next to my naked skin