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Ignatius Hosiana Jul 2023
Love is a pink diamond, it's ice cold sunshine
An invaluable antiquity that can't be sold
It's the dance of the moon to the music of the stars
Love is a quiet whisper of the tides in the storm
a new shock absorber smoothing an off-road adventure
It's the joy of weaver birds praising the rising sun
the swashing sway of trees in the early morning breeze
Love is a palm by the sea, a chain of liberty, a key
an invaluable painting hung up the walls of a heart
a slow roller-coaster that lets you savor the view whilst on the ride
Love is kids playing in rain, letting nothing steal their thunder
Love is the Masai mara, a breathtaking wonder
Love is a spark that sets hearts ablaze
It's an eternal flame, in a mysterious haze.
Hastfan Jul 2023
I stock shelves, oh how life sells
My anger and my hatred
Left behind a life held sacred
Poetry doesn’t pay the bills
If any good, even still
And as I feel myself slip away
To join the boxes stacked atop
I can’t help but wonder
If this life could happen not?
Ignatius Hosiana Jul 2023
Her mother lied, spun the horror of reality into a beautiful tale,
Of perfection and grandeur, painted calm from storm and hail
She always whispered, "My princess, you're beyond compare,
With a big heart like yours, love will always be there."

But lies dripped from her lips, painting a mirage,
A portrait of non existent affection, like a flickering collage.
She claimed that men would **** for eyes that bright,
While truth hid beneath the surface shrouded in night.

Her mother lied that men would scramble for the warmth in her arms,
that her smooth and silky hair carried with it fairy charms
She blinded her to the grotesque of reality she had seen
and masked her from the sweet stench of where she had been

Her mother told her that hips like hers made men want to stay
that the man for her wouldn't show up just for a roll in the hay
her mother showed her how ugly she looked with a frown
that her smile was for a queen, and she should never let go of that crown...

the only truth her mother told her was to forever be down to earth
and to never ever let anything or anyone undervalue her worth
for whatever life would turn out to be years later
She would always remain her mother's daughter....
~
July 2023
HP Poet: N (Neville Pettitt)
Country: UK


Question 1: Welcome to the HP Spotlight, Neville. Please tell us about your background?

N: "Although I currently post my little scribbles here under the initial N, I once used to sign myself off with my full first name which is Neville and in fact, I may well do so again .. For anyone interested, my full pen name is Neville Pettitt and it is only after much deliberation that have I decided to reveal it here today .. My birth name is different .. The reason for my caution is entirely due to my line of work .. I am employed as a clinical specialist in adult psychiatry, with special interests in substance misuse, personality disorder and clinical risk management .. Consequently, from time to time I may be called upon by the Coroner, local Mental Health Trusts, or very occasionally the police dept, to conduct in depth investigations into serious adverse events for example, murders and or suicides .. I hope the reason for my transparency becomes clearer as you read on (that is, assuming anyone actually does read on) .. I studied at both Middlesex & Hertfordshire universities and have occasionally served as a volunteer in psychiatric facilities overseas .. The longest was a few years ago at Tanka Tanka Hospital in West Africa the Gambia and Senegal to be precise where I managed to last just under six months .. I am as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth, I was born and currently live in a beautiful part of England by the sea in the county of Somerset and in an old converted Banked Barn that dates back to 1547 .. I know I am very lucky .. I have two grown children .. My daughter heads up the hepatology department at a local hospital and my son has his own business .. My wife was previously a partner at a General Practice .. In 1995 I registered as a Kongo Zen Buddhist and am also a black belt student of Shorinji Kempo which I also used to teach .. "


Question 2: How long have you been writing poetry, and for how long have you been a member of Hello Poetry?

N: "I guess I have been writing poetry for the best part of my life to date, certainly from around ten or eleven and I have been posting here at ‘Hello Poetry’ for around three years or thereabouts .. "


Question 3: What inspires you? (In other words, how does poetry happen for you).

N: "When asked what inspires me, I often find myself lost for words because there are so many things, I love nature, people generally, travelling, my work occasionally and those I encounter during the course of just being .. There’s probably not a lot that I have not been inspired to write about at some time or other .. Relationships of course do tend to feature a lot, as do both losses and gains of various kinds .. My lovely parents, now both deceased were also a great source of inspiration too .. I would be lieing if I denied getting pleasure from writing .. I get a great deal of pleasure from it .. and I enjoy trying to give others pleasure too .. Sometimes my muse deserts me for a while and I get those dreaded blank page days but always carry a pen and notepad around just in case something tickles my fancy or I get one of those light bulb moments .. "


Question 4: What does poetry mean to you?

N: "As already mentioned, poetry in many of its various forms has been a major part of my life, if not a friend and comfort for almost as long as I can remember .. I also use it as a means of expressing my self and communicating with others .. However, in the last five or six years, I have been publishing anthologies in order to raise money for each of my chosen charities .. Mental Health of course features, but also for Breast cancer since my wife had this .. More recently however, Brain Tumour research has been included following the death of my sister in law and my little niece developing a similar brain tumour too at age four years .. I currently have eight books/anthologies of poetry in print which are available almost anywhere on the planet from Amazon .. and these are listed in chronological order below a ninth is due out in early 2024 and called A Handful of Ghosts and a Woman in Blue .. a bit of a mouthful I know, but it features an old image of my wife on the cover ..

Turquoise & Other Shades of Blue

Somewhere Behind These Eyes

Victims of Indifference

Beautiful Bruises

The Logic of Fools

Cotton Girls & Paper Chains

Chasing Light

Slaves of Eros"



Question 5: Who are your favorite poets?

N: "My favourite poets are Leonard Cohen whom I kind of grew up with and who incidentally once wrote to me twice in fact .. or to be absolutely correct, the first time, he answered one of my letters to him .. I am also a fan of the late great Sylvia Plath, Charles Bukowski and oh’ so many others both classical and more modern .. "


Question 6: What other interests do you have?

N: "Other interests include travelling in particular foreign travel, dining in and eating out, gardening painting and drawing when I have time .. (hardly ever these days) I still practice zazen as per Kongo zen and I enjoy reading and listening to music .. "


Carlo C. Gomez: “Thank you so much for taking part in this series, my friend! You have truly enlightened us about yourself.”

N: "Finally, I would just like to say what a real and great honour and a privilege it was to be asked to post a little about myself here on this mighty fine poetry site and to express my very sincere thanks to anyone that follows me or reads just one of my works .. Many thanks to one and all .. Peace, Love & All Good Things, Neville"




Thank you everyone here at HP for taking the time to read this. We hope you enjoyed Neville's story. For certain I have. It is our wish that these spotlights are helping everyone to further discover and appreciate their fellow poets. – Carlo C. Gomez (aka Mr. Timetable)

We will post Spotlight #6 in August!
~
N: "Having been asked to list a few of my own favourite poems has proved impossible .. not because there are so many, but because, I truly feel that my next one will be it .. however, I do sincerely hope that others here who are kind enough to visit any of my scribbles will each have their own .."

Carlo C. Gomez: "I highly recommend Neville's book 'Turquoise and Other Shades of Blue.'  It's an anthology of 200 journeys. Open and direct, Neville allows us to be privy to his disquieting thoughts about life, love, loss, ***, curiosities, and travails; whether they be his successes or failures. The poem  ‘War Is Not for Lovers’ is an essential read."

War Is Not For Lovers:
https://hellopoetry.com/poem/3333072/war-is-not-for-lovers/

Link to book:
https://www.amazon.com/Turquoise-Other-Shades-Neville-Pettitt/dp/1699210268/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3MYUAAWTXINAK&keywords=neville+pettitt&qid=1688237395&sprefix=neville+pettitt%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-2
Styles Jun 2023
that Fear that subsides
Deep inside your mind
ties that hold you down
so deep you could drown
All alone, I have cried
The silent tears I must hide
Thousand times I've tried
From a heart made of pain
its already turned my soul to stone
with a reality so cold
these cards I fold
Styles Jun 2023
First, when there's nothing
But a dim glowing dream
fear that subsides
Deep inside my  mind
All alone, I have cried
Silent tears I hide
from a heart made of pain
turned to stone
hope,  I just can't condone
I’m better off alone


Then, I feel your touch
Close my eyes, feel the rush
Wrap my arms around,
until i can't get enough
What a feeling
to be healing
I can’t have it all,
just need your passion
to make it happen
my dreams come alive
when I look in your eyes
it all makes sense with you by my side
this present is mine
girl your blow my mind
girl i love your vibe
Styles Jun 2023
In your presence, where desire takes its hold,
Yearning surges, a story yet untold,
With eager lips, I seek her tender kiss,
A dance of tongues, an intimate abyss.

Exploring further, my tongue does trace,
Her sacred curves, a path I gently trace,
Whispers of pleasure adorn her sacred mound,
Each taste, an artistry of senses unbound.

As I delve deeper, a mouthful of her essence,
A symphony of flavors, a divine presence,
It's the elixir that calms my restless soul,
Truthfully, her nectar, my senses extol.
Styles Jun 2023
In your presence,
              my longing unfurls,
              eager to taste the sweetness your lips hurls
              from touch to caress,
              exploring with desire,
              a sensuous journey,
              with an explicit intent,
              to igniting an internal fire.
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