Posts Tagged ‘Poems’
Tiger
Inspired by a photo that accompanied an obituary of Emma Humphreys. Published in Let’s Shout About It, an anthology to raise funds for support services for survivors of sexual abuse, and on ABCTales.com.
Tiger
(from a photo accompanying Emma Humphreys’ obituary)
Emma called you Tiger:
a big name for a little cat.
Her case changed the definition of [...]
Filed under: Poems | Leave a Comment
Tags: Emma Humphreys, Emma Lee Poems, Poems, Tiger
Triggered by a poem I read in a magazine. I modestly thought I could make a more imaginative treatment of the themes it raised. I got carried away. Published in Fire magazine.
Seven Traducements of a Stolen Poem
(1)
for Ryan Robbins
Teacher don’t know our word for praise.
She thinks it’s wicked.
She says the world [...]
Filed under: Poems | Leave a Comment
Tags: Paul Lee Poems, Poems, Seven Traducements of a Stolen Poem
Julie
“A biography in 18 lines”, featured on a bookmark to celebrate National Poetry Day by Leicester and Leicestershire Libraries.
Julie
Wore kitten-heeled boots
skin-tight jeans, studded belt
and a leather jacket,
feather-cut blonde hair
with heavy kohl and mascara
to age her blue eyes.
Huddles on a park bench
at midnight.
There’s a gap in her pocket
where her stepmother refused
to give her house [...]
Filed under: Poems | Leave a Comment
Tags: Emma Lee Poems, Julie, National Poetry Day, Poems
Good Morning Midnight
Jean Rhys, best known for “Wide Sargasso Sea”, wrote about women in the 1920s and 1930s, this poem tries the capture the spirit of some of her novels. Originally published in Exit 21: Poems Selected by Ian McMillan.
Good Morning Midnight
(after Jean Rhys)
This hostel room is bare.
The remaining wallpaper,
wallflower-like, refuses to peel.
She’s huddled into [...]
Filed under: Poems | Leave a Comment
Tags: Emma Lee Poems, Good Morning Midnight, Jean Rhys, Poems
Free Champagne in St Petersburg
Sitting in the lobby of Hotel Leningrad (in 1996) waiting for a friend led to an offer of free champagne… too good to be true? Originally published in The Journal of Contemporary Anglo-Scandinavian Poetry. Also included in “Yellow Torchlight and the Blues”.
Free Champagne in St Petersburg
In the lobby waiting for Amanda,
while avoiding eye contact [...]
Filed under: Poems | 1 Comment
Tags: Emma Lee Poems, Free Champagne in St Petersburg, Poems
After the Gig
Originally published in the Featured Poet section of Poetry Monthly.
After the Gig
I – The Fan
He stands,
charcoal grey pinstriped suit
still immaculate
although the white shirt cuffs
are now grubby,
amongst feedback and roadies;
isolated in imposed idleness.
Long, bony fingers
push jet black hair
from his mask-like face,
not sure what to do
without microphone or beer.
Thin mouth, after singing,
relaxes into something
approximating a [...]
Filed under: Poems | Leave a Comment
Tags: After the Gig, Emma Lee Poems, Poems
The Light Forecast
The Light Forecast
” Here is the light forecast at 0600 BST.
Patchy light in the West
more general in the South and East,
some of it prolonged and heavy
leading to localised floodlighting.
(light shines in the darkness
even if the darkness cannot understand it).
Scattered darkness over Northern Ireland
and the West of Scotland
will give way to brilliance
gusting from the [...]
Filed under: Poems | Leave a Comment
Tags: Paul Lee Poem, Poems, The Light Forecast
Yellow Torchlight and the Blues
Yellow Torchlight and the Blues
(Bristol)
The Old Duke stands
between the Llandogger Trow and the harbour.
Inside Saturday night shines dull
on yellowed walls
through beer-fumed tobacco-fog.
Cramped in a corner
the drummer’s invisible
but the beat’s real
driving below
the pit of conversation.
Musicians appear as blind watchers
sensing their way through songs
viperous eyes all but closed.
She’s torchlit blonde
in a slimming widow-black.
Blue eyeshadow creeps [...]
Filed under: Poems | Leave a Comment
Tags: Emma Lee Poems, Poems, Yellow Torchlight and the Blues
