(Spaniel)
I want to be your friend.
I don’t even know you, but I know I like two legs.
two legs like to play, to fetch and catch,
to jump and snatch.
I want to be your friend.
I nose your hand with questions.
Two legs run and chase,
two legs throw sticks into space?
I want to be your friend.
My plunging strain is a sign of fun,
of energy balled in muscle and fur.
Two legs take me for a run?
I want to be your friend,
Even as you slip away,
Eyes locked to the floor,
My fractious bark means only, stay.
-Ali Jones
A Dog Called What
What?
A dog called what?
What was it called?
Yes, it was.
It was called what?
What?
That’s its name.
My first fun with words
because John, a friend
in Junior school whose dad
was a farmer of endless
golden wheat, had a dog called “What”.
-Paul Brookes
Potential
Pushing my way
Out front
Has never made
Me comfortable.
Sure, I don’t mind
Sharing a bit of my head.
But mostly
I want to hide
In my paper bag
Behind you,
Put you in the
Limelight
In my stead.
-st
Rapscallion
there is always a naughty one
rapscallion
rule breaker
lives for treats
looks at you with big sweet eyes
gets away with everything
pulls her sister into shenanigans
gallops into joy at full speed
wonders what fool says no
to a good romp and a bone
lives for play
for love
for a warm snuggle under the covers
at the end of the day
-Susan Richardson
Breakdown
Your eyes are pivot points
on the way towards your soul.
You lie but eyes don’t follow
the narrative.
The tears will ebb for a while
but they will smash the dam of
“I’m so powerful.”
in this flood
first calamity will be ego.
Illusions and delusions
will follow—
Hoarding will vanish
and all that will remain
is gratitude
-Jay Gandhi
Bios and links
-Jane Cornwell
likes drawing and painting children, animals, landscapes and food. She specialises in watercolour, mixed media, coloured pencil, lino cut and print, textile design. Jane can help you out with adobe indesign for your layout needs, photoshop and adobe illustrator. She graduated with a ba(hons) design from Glasgow School of art, age 20.
She has exhibited with the rsw at the national gallery of scotland, SSA, Knock Castle Gallery, Glasgow Group, Paisley Art Institute, MacMillan Exhibition at Bonhams, Edinburgh, The House For An Art Lover, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Compass Gallery, The Revive Show, East Linton Art Exhibition and Strathkelvin Annual Art Exhibition.
-Susan Richardson
is an award winning, internationally published poet. She is the author of “Things My Mother Left Behind”, coming from Potter’s Grove Press in 2020, and also writes the blog, “Stories from the Edge of Blindness”. You can find her on Twitter @floweringink, listen to her on YouTube, and read more of her work on her website.
Here is my updated 2018 interview of her: https://thewombwellrainbow.com/2020/04/08/wombwell-rainbow-interviews-susan-richardson/
-Ali Jones
is a teacher, and writer with work published in a variety of places, from Poetry Ireland Review, Proletarian Poetry and The Interpreter’s House, to The Green Parent Magazine and The Guardian. She has a particular interest in the role of nature in literature, and is a champion of contemporary poetry in the secondary school classroom.
Here is my 2019 interview of her: https://thewombwellrainbow.com/2019/12/28/wombwell-rainbow-interviews-ali-jones/
-Jay Gandhi
is a Software Engineer by qualification, an accountant by profession, a budding Guitarist & a Yoga Sadhak at heart and a poet by his soul. Poetry intrigues him because it’s an art in which a simple yet profound skill of placing words next to each other can create something so touching and literally sweep him of the floor. He is 32-year-old Indian and stays in Mumbai. His works have appeared in the following places:
An ebook named “Pav-bhaji @ Achija” available in the Kindle format at Amazon.in The poem “Salsa; a self discovery” published in an anthology motivated by Late Sir APJ Abdul Kalam. The poem “High Caloried love” selected for an upcoming book “Once upon a meal” The poem “Strawberry Lip Balm” selected in the anthology “Talking to the poets” Four poems published in a bilingual anthology “Persian Sugar in English Tea” Vol.1 Two poems published in the anthology “Poets on the Run” compiled by RC James.
Here is my 2018 interview with him: https://thewombwellrainbow.com/2018/09/23/wombwell-rainbow-interviews-jay-Gandhi/
-Samantha Terrell
is an American poet whose work emphasizes emotional integrity and social justice. She is the author of several eBooks including, Learning from Pompeii, Coffee for Neanderthals, Disgracing Lady Justice and others, available on smashwords.com and its affiliates.Chapbook: Ebola (West Chester University Poetry Center, 2014)
Website: poetrybysamantha.weebly.com
Twitter: @honestypoetry
Here is my 2020 interview of her:
https://thewombwellrainbow.com/2020/04/08/wombwell-rainbow-interviews-samantha-terrell/
-Paul Brookes
is a shop asst. Lives in a cat house full of teddy bears. His chapbooks include The Fabulous Invention Of Barnsley, (Dearne Community Arts, 1993). The Headpoke and Firewedding (Alien Buddha Press, 2017), A World Where and She Needs That Edge (Nixes Mate Press, 2017, 2018) The Spermbot Blues (OpPRESS, 2017), Port Of Souls (Alien Buddha Press, 2018), Please Take Change (Cyberwit.net, 2018), Stubborn Sod, with Marcel Herms (artist) (Alien Buddha Press, 2019), As Folk Over Yonder ( Afterworld Books, 2019). Forthcoming Khoshhali with Hiva Moazed (artist), Our Ghost’s Holiday (Final book of threesome “A Pagan’s Year”) . He is a contributing writer of Literati Magazine and Editor of Wombwell Rainbow Interviews.
YouTube; Poetry Is A Bag For Life
Twitter: @PaulDragonwolf1
WordPress: thewombwellrainbow.wordpress.com
Facebook: Paul Brookes – Writer and Photographer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulbrookes07/
Reblogged this on Stories From the Edge of Blindness and commented:
We made it to the halfway point!!!!!