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Sometimes we need to stumble
across permission
confirmation
for our proclivities, like

When you said you'd just like to
'walk around looking at things'
in your retirement

And there you are seeing
little brown sparrows
in the rippling flat top hedge

Dressed for the rain
walking in the zone

Comparing avenues of tree trunks
to cathedrals

Admiring the prehistoric
Highland fold

Water and tinnitus
the soundtrack to our days

Speaking of
liquid light as
a medium of the holy
and living in a
three-dimensional theology

A blaze of light
floods the valley

Yes, we need
silence and retreat
yes, we need
contemplation

We need to look
a bit more closely
and shut up
a lot more
Inspired by the Rev Richard Coles episode of BBC's Winter Walks.
I will
cultivate the exquisite
portion of my own remarkable
consciousness

I shall
remain untroubled
strew petals and
relish the long,
long solitary days

Decorate my
tortoise with jewels
perhaps

And society, I remain in a
perpetual state of undeclared
war with you
and I owe you nothing
Inspired by the weekly advice column of The Atlantic columnist James Parker.
Lee Holloway Jul 19
Sometimes we'd arrive at work at the same time
and I'd always be plugged in to my white
headphones, fresh from an mp3 trawl

That morning he caught up with me as
we entered the packed lift 'Hey Lee
what are you listening to today?'

I thought about making something up
but just answered 'Psychedelic Horseshit'

    2nd floor
        3rd floor
            4th floor

and he never asked me again
workplace memory
Lee Holloway Jul 15
I wore a beret to the office today, and people had **** to say
I wore a baseball cap pulled down over my injured eyebrows
I wore a sombrero on an Edwardian picnic

I wore a beanie to bed every night and I think it helped a lot
I wore a balaclava that was frozen to my mouth
I wore a bucket hat because it fits my face
I wore a fedora before it was cool Reuben
I wore a kippah and family pearls
I wore a trucker hat that said
    BRIDE
while my wife wore a button down that read
    QUEEN

I wore a trilby then, and of course one smoked
even if one didn't enjoy it

I wore a kufi and a Public Enemy T-shirt
I wore a Santa hat and each child took my picture
I wore a homburg hat, carried a bumbershoot umbrella
I wore a panama hat to a polo match on a cloudless day
I wore a mortarboard and robe, looking tall and clear-eyed
I wore a tam o'shanter, and had Brave **** written on my back
I wore a pillbox hat to my wedding and still get compliments to this day

I wore a visor and brought a sarong with me every single day
I wore a top hat, a ripped up suit, and dead flowers in the pocket
I wore a deerstalker most of the day Saturday, and I never do that
I wore a stetson with crossed sabers, yellow cord and sgt stripes
I wore a dunce cap and was summoned to the corner for the rest of the day

I wore a boater in summer and a beret in winter.
I did not look as good as this girl

I wore a pith helmet, a veil, a bee proof space suit,
leather gloves up to my elbows

I wore a Phrygian cap of doeskin lined with otter

I wore a turban then. In a flash we were
in each other's arms in an unrelenting hug
Jul 14 · 16
It is joke
Lee Holloway Jul 14
At breakfast on our second morning
I noticed she'd taken the same items as before
from the vast and sumptuous buffet and
perhaps foolishly asked if
she didn't want to try different things

'they've got smoked salmon, and eight types of bread,
honey from their own bees
and there's an egg station!'

she said: 'once I've made my choice I stick with it
it just keeps things simpler'

jokingly: 'I guess the same goes for your men too'

stupid, stupid boy

ladies and gentlemen, that
was my ex-wife
Jul 11 · 67
Those Dragon Games
Lee Holloway Jul 11
"Do you remember there used to be a couple
who they played those dragon games with.
Heather and Ray. They came down
from North Wales and stayed in a B&B.
His hair was even longer than Geoff's but he was very polite.
She didn't say a thing all weekend.

Anyway, they'd just gone to bed in their room
when there was a knock on the door. They
thought it was the landlady but it turned out
to be the chap who'd had the room before them.

He'd come back for his drugs. He said they were
hidden behind the toilet. Well, they didn't
want to upset him so they let him in
and he got his drugs and that was the end of that."
Jul 9 · 38
Pie Crusts
Lee Holloway Jul 9
Some days are for consolidation
some days are for transformation

You cannot hide your vestigial tail
your belly is ***
your jelly is hot
stumped cut off salamander trail

I am the secretary of my sensations
my magic is my weakness
you must invite me across your threshold

It's pretty uh *******
only four miles from your house
say it's semi mediaeval, but
great stuff for the launch pad, and
something about the bleakness, the
overbearing concrete structures

Some of the evenings may require consolation
some of those nights end in devastation

Lies are exotic, and the truth
the truth is pretty basic
Jul 8 · 55
James T. Farrell
Lee Holloway Jul 8
You don't hear much about James T. Farrell anymore

The novelist and short-story writer known for his
realistic portraits of the lower-middle-class
Irish in Chicago, and best remembered
for his Studs Lonigan trilogy

A consummate realist in viewpoint and method-
who now will ever read the Danny O'Neill Pentalogy
or the Bernard Carr trilogy

He wrote about people who were
victims of injurious social circumstances
and of their own spiritual and intellectual shortcomings

He depicted human frustration, ignorance, cruelty
violence, and moral degeneration
with a sober, relentless veracity

And he determined that he would write
"regardless of the consequences."

"I have a lot of work to do," he said.
"I write 20 hours at a stretch;
I hate sleep and I fight it."

His sentences follow one another
like bricks in a well made row.

His prose is simple and direct,
powerful and blunt.

His courageous stance against Stalinism
took a toll on his literary reputation,
and later, as the naturalism he employed in
his best fiction slipped out of vogue,
his work fell into neglect and his star dimmed.
Lee Holloway Jul 6
there was a lot I liked yes there was a lot I liked

the familiar and popular attributes

Z said we were mirror imaged, like twins

we could have been related back in the old country

but then there was her term for the locals which was quite frankly unacceptable

the long story about how she'd meant to end up in america but got stuck in this hole for 20 years

the time she spent in soho hanging out with [pop star #1]

the time she told the nobel prize winner he was a fake

the time we went to see a film in leicester square and she saw a couple she knew but didn't introduce or even acknowledge my presence, as I stood right beside her

I mean, come on!

we did it yes we did it but kissing was not encouraged

I didn't ask but she read me some of her poetry and I quite liked it - "it's biological!"

she played a lot of Massive Attack and explained how every song had the most meaning

she brought out 'the puff' and laughed 'you no good at this!'

while she was cooking I set fire to her curtain
she didn't notice and this isn't relevant

'I hoped tomorrow we go for 5 mile run
but now we drink two bottles wine and puff so maybe not
since you choose to stay'

when was 5 mile run on the agenda
and was I not invited to stay?

I was out of my depth and I liked it/ didn't like it
Jul 4 · 142
NYT Games Spelling Bee
Lee Holloway Jul 4
Trying to tease out the pangram
from BLNFIOE
before I can begin my day

what could it be?

bellefino - an Italian sherry

lifebone - don't we all need a lifebone

fonebill - alternate spelling

bonefill - an archaelogical process

bonnelife - ancient Scots greeting

boonfile - archaic term for a will

nibbleoff - polite cake eating contest

lionbeef - forbidden meat

beefloin - see above

folbine - I got nothing

come on man
I don't have all day!
(are you sure about that)

grease the brain
cells with
coffee

and then it came to me
~~~~~~~~~
(no spoilers)

and some people say
I have too much
time
on my hands
Lee Holloway Jul 3
We piled into the lifts
and she said to me:

  "When you're in one of those meetings
  sitting all polite and listening
  with the serious and interested
  look on your face
  do you ever get the impulse
  to do something outrageous
  to disrupt the proceedings
  and draw attention to yourself
  in an inappropriate manner?"

- "As if to say *******
  and everything you stand for?"

  "Possibly."

  - "As if to say
  although I may have grey hair and a mortgage
  in DEEP DOWN
  reality I am only
  5 years old, and I am
  BORED BORED BORED
  thus it is my infantile nature to run amok..."

  "That sort of thing."

- "Sure. I have this urge to heckle
(******* while making disturbing growling noises)
or kick the seat of the person in front
(go screaming naked berserk with an
assault rifle) but you know... "

  "Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one."
Lee Holloway Jul 1
You've seen the eel twice now
I saw it once on
Our weekend walk and
I have to say, it was genuinely thrilling

Mysterious and often overlooked
Perhaps lost in the
Ornamental canal
Some distance from the river now

Sharing water with ducks, swans, a small
Fish family, the lonely heron
And those crab carcasses which are
A mystery unto themselves
Lee Holloway Jun 29
In that organizations are carried on
except for perhaps one or two Englishmen
unexpectedly came in sight,
which necessitated Mr. Jacobson and a young Sachen
hinauf zu tragen und das Boot an den Strand zu ziehen,
was white as Sonyas.

Dolores uttered a faint little cry, Jim!
obliged to resort to such a matteroffact way of
making money as Anthony and Sir Charles Meriwill,
and a Tory gentleman, named Wilding.

Of the professors also teach in the schools
connected with the mosques including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly
from any of ja antavat vapaasti liikkua.

Kevyt sadeviitta gummikankaasta tai
Siltäse vähitellen näyttää, murisi perämies.
Koko kaupunki tulee most other parts of the world
at no cost and with almost no restrictions
approached its end.

He seemed to see in the recent plague
a grant of CONSENTĬO, sensi, sensum, ire,
nonnunquam consentir.

The annihilation of Admiral Cerveras fleet,
followed by the to see what a work
their husbands had achieved and when their children

Which was on of the moste wise,
jälkeen oli virrassa hyvin vähän vettä,
ja joenpohja, jonka muodostaa
tuumittiin kohottavasti toisilleen.
Ihmeen itsepintaisesti se talo

You cannot, she said quickly.
She will not see you.
She charge them boldly
with the guilt of this ******,
and summing up the the good
cheer of the children at their play.

How happy they were in would think,
from such data, of inferring a habit
in the Greek sculptors
I fear shell flee your face
into the grave subsided.

Long periods of erosion then planed down
the region until ollut kokonaan unhottanut,
päättäen pullottavasta povestaan.
Niin, mutta nytnyt! tiuskasi nuori mies kuohuksissaan.

Olette suggests I should get a nursing sister.
This is dull work for you,
men bouwde alleen langs de Dellaware.
Deze Rivier, die langs de Erhuh! Erhuh

You aint furgot dat, is you, majuh,
nur de supper I buildings,
painted in modest colours.

Here and there the spire of a buying cows
for them in the Highlands,
has treacherously gone off with punaisten,
turkiksilla päärmettyjen pienten saappaiden päällitse,

Tom Locke was one of those who sought to protect **** Hoover
from the Gutenberg associated with
or appearing on the work,
you must comply
annoying the English battery
from the cliff in question but

This town seems to be Roman, and possibly its name was Braciaca,
aiden from her home, and set her on the sleigh
with the leaders of Honor is in her own room,
I suppose, looking over her finery, as usual.

Cospiravano contro la vecchia società,
nè tampoco sospettando che con salmelle,
johon edellämenijät juuri puikahtivat.
Salmessa tuli vastaan from the nature and
extent of the powers conferred by the Constitution
portaiden yläpäässä ovea, ja tuskastuneesti sadattaen
alistui vieras Hlakanyana said You are just a child
I shall not lend you my spoon.

Influenced him in the moments preceding
the signature of a contract.
Living worthy of the name!

On the other hand they admire this Acercábase
uno a mirar de cerca el rostro del anciano,
y con ademán and it looks quite slack.
I could reach it easily with a small pair of Ireland,
to see Clifden Castle, and also the Marconi Station.

Marconi the magistrate and executed if he decided
against the prosecutor, the without some sort of god,
they have made idols of almost everything

It's a long trip to Detroit, resumed the old frontiersman,
after Saurontils jamais manœuvrer en présence des Républicains?
'Kindle them, etc. - Comus.

Men change, but the hills remain the same,
and the face of Nature will he knew
he had no right to presume on her invitation,
he stayed on as usual station, but on arriving
at the innyard, he dropped down dead!

A thousand men at arms as his vicar.
At a public feast he took leave of minutes of
effort told him he was on the trail of the pony.
Lack vitality.

They have a fine brag of words,
and they have fine within days following each date
on which you prepare or are...

She had seen him very seldom since
that evening at the Vicarage, when ropes.
I've got to get away before they come up
to feed me. Pamper themselves a great deal always do.

They have all they want tranquillity.
He was shivering and languid, and told his wife he
yes, Basil, I have come. And she released herself,
and stood with her be more swift,
more ready, than the Perugino novice.

She had already "Requirements and Progress"

- Yours faithfully,
  Section Capt. S. M. Cadwell
Jun 26 · 9
109 reaction
Lee Holloway Jun 26
Yes you do need to leave your room
You should not remain sitting at your table
And you must listen to many other voices
Do not ever simply wait

You do need to leave your room
Don't wait, and don't be so still and solitary
Be restless and numinary, no matter
How troubling, how counter to your nature this may seem

You do need to leave your room
The world will never freely offer itself
To you for its unmasking
You must request this pleasure, you must
Attend each ceremony

You do need to leave your room
Nature may have no choice, but you have a chance
It will never roll in ecstasy at your feet
Nor will it writhe in raptures before you
Come on now, did you really believe
This is the way it would ever be

Yes you do need to leave your room
"You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet." ~ Franz Kafka, Die Zürauer Aphorismen
Jun 25 · 109
Immortal, still
Lee Holloway Jun 25
One day, and we've all got this coming
the blood oop didn't expect this sudden
drip through the nose caught in the mirror
surprise tentative touch yes this is it

The clutching of the temple
the towels, don't make a mess
the mutterings, don't have time for this
the whispers, please not now but when
is this the right time, and the panic
the panic now worse than the drip

And who can you call, starting to slide
if you could even call, as you slide
Jun 23 · 48
Karma karma
Lee Holloway Jun 23
You put your hand in the bag for a book
               and you pull out a rock
put your hand in the bag for some gum
             you pick up a stone
Your fingers clutch for cash
             and they rub against pebbles
your fingers scrabble for keys
             they grab up some gravel

You put your hand in your pocket for a rock
             and you pull out a book
put your hand in the sack for some cash
             you find it full of pebbles

Your fingers search for the stash
             they get glued up with gum
your tongue waggles for the keys
             you taste the gravel
Lee Holloway Jun 22
But one vision I could endorse
is the scene early in 28 Days Later
when Jim leaves the hospital and
walks across Westminster Bridge into
a deserted London at sunrise
as Godspeed You Black Emperor play

Finally I'd be the rightful
Emperor of London
raid supermarkets, steal cars
(it's not really stealing any more)
until, as the rest of the film
inevitably points out

You'd have to deal with
the dead
the undead
the rats and
the loneliness

Although I've been preparing
for that
my whole life

F♯ A♯ ∞
Lee Holloway Jun 20
From the highest level of our exclusive resort
there was a ladder you could climb down
not even slightly dangerous I'm sure
to reach excuse me the private beach

Where we'd witnessed horses frolicking in the surf
it seemed too idyllic for the likes of us and yet
here we are clumping down the aluminium rungs
onto the sand, hand in hand

Exploring this pristine zone, silent
and majestic, we come across the
bloated corpse of a puffer fish who
we name in our glory/ignorance

Puffing Billy, and whose graphic icon is now
recognised as the figurehead
of our globally successful surf clothing and accessories range
including wetsuits, swimwear and rash guards
Jun 18 · 103
Unresolved
Lee Holloway Jun 18
When does the film begin
when does the film begin
           I've been waiting so long
          with a bowl of popcorn
When does the film begin

When does the programme start
when does the programme start
         I'm in theatre one
         where the curtains are drawn
When will the programme start

When does the film begin
When does the film begin
        I've turned off my phone
        now I'm sitting alone
When will the film begin

First act!
              Second act!
                                Third act!

When does the programme start
When does the programme start
        Your story's done
         Mine hasn't begun
Oh when will my programme start
Jun 18 · 63
Please indulge me
Lee Holloway Jun 18
But I struggle to say the word c-----
such a clumsy combination of diphthongs
is that right, check it out later

Why not just say syllables and don't
pretend you're some sort of diphthong lord
you like saying diphthong don't you
almost as much as you hate saying c-----
and it's not even the correct term

Also how are you stressing the
con and the dom?
give them equal weight, or go all out on the CON
and then a brief and apologetic dum

        CON CON CON
        dum dum dom

It's a small thing but it popped
into what is left of my mind so
I just had to share it

While we're on the subject, there
is a four letter word beginning with F
that I also can't bear to say
    - he's so refined, like some
    Downton Abbey yourladyship
and it isn't even f---
Lee Holloway Jun 17
I ordered a blazing Bordellino and mescal
what's that you say, why it's an alcoholic drink made with the
fruit of a wild tree, typically flavored with orange peel

I was sat next to a Pilator
that's a person who guides someone or something
this guy was the father figure of political science
it's not the same as a mentor, no
his name was Mitchell, and Mitchell was his name

His wife was an Amarrat
in case you are not aware, that's a
woman who is an Honorary Dame, ranked above a
Privy Council or Baroness
Martha was her name, and her name was Martha

I must admit they both had
something of the Snarper about them
Pilators and Amarrats tend toward the snobbish

While sipping our Bordellinos we were offered
some Compugns which, I'm sure you know, are
small edible drums with antennae
found in tropical and subtropical regions

This alarming snack was followed by a
hearty slab of Terraea, the Argentine cheese
which derives from dried sambalaya

Mitchell and Martha, their mouths masticating the Terraea,
confided in me that they were Paulpaul quartees.
That was their Snarperish way of confessing
they had a keen interest in wine

They longed to impart all they knew
as part of their Praecological - 'it's more
than merely educational' - mission. Indeed they
insisted on being known as world class
Praecologicalists, even when they
were cross-eyed on Bordellinos and frothing with Terraea
Jun 15 · 161
Clumsy footwork
Lee Holloway Jun 15
Would you be my shoebox
a sturdy contraption, pleasingly
geometrical and versatile
able to cradle our heavy hearts
and hide all kinds of secrets

I could be your carpet
you can walk all over me
as I protect you from the cold
the unvarnished truth and its splinters

Or I could be your socks and shoes
you can walk around in me all
day all snug and warm at least
until they need replacing
around this time next year
Jun 13 · 93
Asking for a friend
Lee Holloway Jun 13
Is it possible to sleep so long you die?
can we take a week off work for heartbreak?
how do you function without coffee?
where can I buy a new face & body?

Is it bad to put magic in your ***?
does anyone actually know what they are doing in life?
is it ok to cry during a wrestling match?
how many days until a dead body starts to stink?

Does a cat know when you're *******?
does it feel good to stab someone?
is it possible for something to only be slightly mangled?
and is the world ending?

Do seahorses taste like shrimp?
at what point do you stop looking like a jacket potato?
does anyone know any good cults to join?
where tf are y'all finding true love?
Jun 11 · 76
An Opening
Lee Holloway Jun 11
This job is not suitable for those with
experience of light excavation

We are not looking for
amateur
archaeologists
with your little hammers going tippy tap tap

Metal detectorists need not apply

And we are not interested
in weekend spelunkers
with your fancy flashlights and your energy bars

The ideal candidate will know how to operate
earth augers and trenching machines

Training in gravedigging will be provided

You will have achieved the relevant qualifications
in pipe jacking, microtunnelling
impact moling and guided boring

Demolition techniques are a must
and do you know how
to work a crushing machine?

Interviews will be held soon
in the bunker
Lee Holloway Jun 10
In the dark theatre she stared
deep into my void and mumbled something
about vacuum energy
particle pairs blinking into existence
and quickly annihilating each other back into
the nothingness from whence they came
   much like she did

- The point is to make something, she said,
  not to care if it's any good

- It doesn't matter if your playing
  is poor or incomplete. Failing doesn't mean you'll die

- Bruce Almighty used his divine power
  to manifest some coffee
  & you're much better than that goofy *******
Lee Holloway Jun 9
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Jun 8 · 84
Lorem Ipsum
Lee Holloway Jun 8
is it placeholder or place holder
a placeholder is a dash that holds the content
my ex used me as a placeholder
my singing monsters placeholder
was i just a placeholder to fill the hole inside you

placeholder -
                in the bible
                in the field
                in the calendar
                in italiano

am i a placeholder for him
am i a placeholder for her
placeholder vs dream girl
placeholder vs stakeholder
placeholder in python {}

placeholder -
                business meeting
                engagement ring
                disney cruise
                east of england
Lee Holloway Jun 7
Feeling the warmth, feeling the cold
people come, some people go
and my mind is always wondering
how long you are going to stay

Among the sandals and tambourines
the firefly diamonds and
the sudden silence, the big vendetta
and the scene stealing corpse

Night falls, sleep comes, sand
bugs bite my ankles and I still
hope to see your sunburned face when
I open my bonfire encrusted eyes
Lee Holloway Jun 7
The whimsical sculptures of Ken Nyberg
found throughout Vining and Otter Tail County
for example The Big Foot

Ken's busy hands have created pieces such as
a dancing knife and spoon with arms and legs
a huge doorknob floating in mid-air
giant pliers crushing a cockroach
a jumbo potted cactus, and a huge watermelon

His sculptures are made from scrap metal
old lawn mower blades
and other recycled materials

I would really like to see
the special sculpture honoring
his daughter Karen, a NASA astronaut

Also, the giant clothes pin
the alien with a rose
the cowboy welcoming you into town
and the spilled coffee cup

Ken Nyberg insists that there isn't any
special meaning behind most pieces.
He just creates them
Jun 7 · 102
Too precious to live
Lee Holloway Jun 7
I keep moving seats
elbows buddy elbows
    I keep moving seats
sir, do you have headphones some say earbuds?
it would appear not
    I keep moving seats
geezer's hoicking up a lung
    I keep moving seats
now we have a nutscratcher
with hairy legs akimbo
    I keep moving seats
maybe I should find this child charming but
he's doing my crust in poking my leg
    I keep moving seats
yes I enjoy listening to the sounds
of the bingo video game or like
whatever the **** do you mind
    I keep moving seats

— The End —