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judy smith Nov 2016
Whether in Montreal, where she was born and raised, or in Delhi, where her award-winning brasserie sits, the stylish chef’s love for gastronomy has always run deep. She came to India to chase her passion about eight years ago, after leaving behind an engineering career and having trained at the esteemed ITHQ (Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec). In 2014, she introduced unusual combinations like oysters with charred onion petals, tamarind puree, and rose vinegar when she became the first Indian chef to be invited to host a solo dinner at the James Beard House in New York City. Also presented there was her very own coffee-table book called Eating Stories, packed with charming visuals, tales and recipes.

In pursuit of narratives

“I am studying Ayurveda so, at the moment, I’m inspired by the knowledge and intuition which comes with that, but otherwise I completely live for stories. Those of the people around me — of spices, design forms, music, traditions, history and anything else I feel connected to.”

Culinary muse

“I truly believe that nature is perfect, so I feel privileged to use the ingredients that it provides, while adding my own hues, aromas and combinations…it feels like I get to play endlessly every day.”

After-work indulgence

“My favourite places to eat at are Cafe Lota and Carnatic Cafe in Delhi, and Betony and Brindle Room in NYC.”

Dream dish

“This salad I created called ‘secret garden’. It’s so beautiful to look at and has such a unique spectrum of flavours…all while using only the freshest, most natural produce to create something completely magical.”

Reception blooper

“Most people make the mistake of over-complicating the menu; having too much diversity and quantity. Wastefulness isn’t a good way to start a life together.”

A third-generation entrepreneur from a highly distinguished culinary family, she runs a thriving studio in Khar where state-of-the-art cooking stations and dining tables allow her to conduct a variety of workshops and sessions. Her grandfather is remembered as the man who migrated from Africa to London to found the brand that brought curry to the people of the UK — Patak’s. She took over as brand ambassador, having trained at Leiths School of Food and Wine and taught at one of Jamie Oliver’s schools in London. What’s more, Pathak is also the author of Secrets From My Indian Family Kitchen, a cookbook comprising 120 Indian recipes, published last year in the UK.

Most successful experiment

“When I was writing recipes for my cookbook, I had to test some more than once to ensure they were perfect and foolproof. One of my favourites was my slow-cooked tamarind-glazed pork. I must have trialled this recipe at least six times before publishing it, and after many tweaks I have got it to be truly sensational. It’s perfectly balanced with sweet and sour both.”

Future fantasy

“As strange as it sounds, I’d love to cater my own wedding. You want all your favourite recipes and you want to share this with your guests. I could hire a caterer to create my ideal menu, but I’d much prefer to finalise and finish all the dishes myself so that I’m supremely happy with the flavours I’m serving to my loved ones.”

Fresh elegance

“I’m in love with microgreens for entertaining and events…although not a new trend, they still carry the delicate wow factor and are wonderfully subtle when used well. I’m not into using foams and gels and much prefer to use ingredients that are fuss-free.”

This advertising professional first tested her one-of-a-kind amalgams at The Lil Flea, a popular local market in BKC, Mumbai. Her Indian fusion hot dogs, named Amar (vegetarian), Akbar (chicken) and Anthony (pork), sold out quickly and were a hit. Today, these ‘desi dogs’ are the signature at the affable home-chef-turned-businesswoman’s cafe-***-diner in Bandra, alongside juicy burgers, a fantastic indigenous crème brûlée, and an exciting range of drinks and Sikkim-sourced teas.

Loving the journey

“The best part of the job is the people I meet; the joy I get to see on their faces as they take the first bite. The fact that this is across all ages and social or cultural backgrounds makes it even better. Also, I can indulge a whim — whether it is about the menu or what I can do for a guest — without having to ask anyone. On the flip side, I have no one to blame but myself if the decision goes wrong. And, of course, I can’t apply for leave!”

Go-to comfort meal

“A well-made Bengali khichri or a good light meat curry with super-soft chapattis.”

What’s ‘happening’

“This is a very exciting time in food and entertaining — the traditional and ultra-modern are moving forward together. Farm-to-fork is very big; food is also more cross-cultural, and there is a huge effort to make your guest feel special. Plus, ‘Instagram friendly’ has become key…if it’s not on Instagram, it never happened! But essentially, a party works when everyone is comfortable and happy.”

A word to brides

“Let others plan your menu. You relax and look gorgeous!”

This Le Cordon Bleu graduate really knows her way around aromas that warm the heart. On returning to Mumbai from London, she began to experiment with making small-batch ice creams for family and friends. Now she churns out those ‘cheeky’ creations from a tiny kitchen in Bandra, where customers must ring a bell to get a taste of dark chocolate with Italian truffle oil, salted caramel, milk chocolate and bacon and her signature (a must-try) — blue cheese and honey.

The extra mile

“I’ll never forget the time I created three massive croquembouche towers (choux buns filled with assorted flavours of pastry cream, held together with caramel) for a wedding, and had to deliver them to Thane!”

Menu vision

“For a wedding, I would want to serve something light and fresh to start with, like seared scallops with fresh oysters and uni (sea urchin). For mains, I would serve something hearty and warm — roast duck and foie gras in a red wine jus. Dessert would be individual mini croquembouche!”

Having been raised by big-time foodie parents, the strongest motivation for their decision to take to this path came from their mother, who had two much-loved restaurants of her own while the sisters were growing up — Vandana in Mahim and Bandra Fest on Carter Road. Following the success of the first MeSoHappi in Khar, Mumbai, the duo known for wholesome cooking opened another outlet of the quirky gastro-bar adjoining The Captain’s Table — one of the city’s favourite seafood haunts — in Bandra Kurla Complex.

Chef’s own

AA: “We were the pioneers of the South African bunny chow in Mumbai and, even now, it remains one of my all-time favourites.”

On wedding catering

PA: “The most memorable for me will always be Aarathi’s high-tea bridal shower. I planned a floral-themed sundowner at our home in Cumballa Hill; curtains of jasmine, rose-and-wisteria lanterns and marigold scallops engulfed the space. We served exotic teas, alcoholic popsicles of sangria and mojito, and dishes like seafood pani puri shots and Greek spanakopita with beetroot dip, while each table had bite-sized desserts like mango and butter cream tarts and rose panna cotta.”Read more at:http://www.marieaustralia.com/formal-dresses-2016 | www.marieaustralia.com/red-carpet-celebrity-dresses
I’ve been hearin a lot of bad mouthin about socialism ever since the president tried to provide affordable healthcare to the working poor… I also hear some carping when someone suggested that the minimum wage paid to workers should allow them to buy the necessities of life… I don't hear too much bad things about medicare and social security…. I guess thats not really socialism…. I don't hear too much about the big bailouts of the bankers with government money after they put us in a recession… privatized gain and socialized risk must also be a strain of a special kind of entitlement...

We’ll I think this whole socialism business needs some clarity about what its all about…. so I made a list of socialist heroes so my fellow American’s can get a better feel for what going on with this red menace...

Heres a list of socialist heroes….

Jesus Christ of Nazareth...I just can't get past the Beatitudes thing. Since all the po folks of the earth get to inherit all the good stuff when they pass on.... I figure heaven gotta be some kinda socialist paradise....Some don’t buy the idea that Jesus is building a Mar-A-Largo estate for Donald Trump... while having the rest of us live in our cramped apartments…. Jesus did say he’s building many rooms but the po folks get first dibs on everything… For all the doubting Thomas’s and Thomasina’s get Sean Hannity’s fastidious fact checkers to read the good news in the Gospel of Matthew.

Jack London... To think he’s been spreading the Red Menace in the mind of America’s innocent children for near a century now…. When Michelle Bachmann finds out about this she'll introduce a bill to change the title of The Call of the Wild to the Call of the Commies... I don't think it will affect Sarahcuda because she don’t read at a sixth grade level yet. Alaska is safe for now....And all comrade citizens are doing just fine thank you.... spending their annual royalty checks they get from the state for all the North ***** oil drilling...  Hell during Sarah's half term governorship... she did what every self respecting socialist despot would do... she paid out a special $1,200.00 Permanent Fund royalty dividend to all comrade "North to the Future" citizens.....

Carl Sandburg... The People Yes? Sang the songs of the People Yes! Celebrated a broad shouldered, hog butchering America who wrote a biography with love and affection for our country’s greatest Republican President....  Whats that about?...And his treatment of Billy Sunday...a back in the day,.. aw shucks,... from the backwoods holler... Kenneth Copeland like... Believer's Voice of Victory preacher of his day... who hurled fire and brimstone at cowering congregants so when he passed the plate they filled it up with hoards of heavenly manna to fatten his bank account overstuffed with moth eaten earthly treasure… I'm sure even Pat Robertson believes Sandburg’s soul lies beyond the sweet redemption of Jesus...

George Orwell… Unlike **** Cheney... who said he had better things to do when his country called on him to serve during the Vietnam War... Orwell’s fervor for democracy was so great he left his native land to lay his life on the line to fight against the fascist menace in Spain... When he got into a battle he came across an enemy combatant taking a ****. He later said, “I let him go. How do you shoot a guy with his pants down?”... A deep respect for the humanity of others is clear evidence of a socialist's fatal flaw and why the righteous laissez faire American’s hate it so....Unfortunately Orwell and his comrades lost this one to Franco and his sugar daddies Il Duce and Mein Fuhrer… but we’ll keep up the good fight…..

Dorothy Day… This saint of the proletariat kept the soup kettle brewin to feed the working poor during the Great Depression... She spent her own money to build shelters to house catholic workers and didn't make a **** dime off the vulnerability of their screaming want... A squandered opportunity maybe…. definitely a coocoo loon according to the weltentstehung of Ayn Rand… so popular around these parts these days...but Dorothy laid up some serious dosh in heaven for her labors here on earth…. for where your treasure is…. there you will find your heart also… Anyone who knew her said Dorothy's heart was always in the right place….

Albert Einstein…. this guy was no dope….he knew enough to make make moral distinctions of exploitation and greed… and the self condemnation of conspicuous consumption...the destructive capacity of unfettered power….and worked hard to figure out equations to end the wastefulness of war... he did teach at Princeton though… more proof of the red infestation of the universities…. greed is good…. knowledge is bad….

Eugene V. Debs…. went to prison for his beliefs… got a million votes from jail… thats how devious these reds are.... even from prison they run for president and fool the working people into participating in the democratic process…. he believed everyone should vote… and would probably be imprisoned today for violating all the laws being passed that take voting rights away… gotta watch the reds…. next thing you know they'll close the electoral college and force politicians to pay a 100% poll tax on all the money they take from their corporate sponsors….

WEB DuBois… the souls of an oppressed people is the soul of a nation...ain’t it written that a nation is judged on how it treats its most vulnerable?.... Mr. DuBois fought to bring justice to all those lacking the means and rights in a nation teeming with diverse groups with needs and wants… it ain’t just about afro american jazz… its about the blues sung by all people on the outside looking in… he believed it unjust that only a small portion of American’s held the keys to the doors of prosperity… everyone should have a key to unlock the doors of opportunity… everyone…. that includes workers, immigrants, women, gay folks, religious minorities, disabled and the poor and lots other people I haven’t thought of yet…. but what about the real Americans...whose gonna stand up for them??????????

Woody Guthrie…. this country belongs to us… next time a frackin jacker comes to tear up your land and dump poison in your well… next time a strung out strip miner wants to plow away the top of your mountain and dump arsenic in your river…. next time a GMO attorney says the crops you planted don’t belong to you because they are contractually patented to him…. next time a big oil company says that they got a right to pollute the oceans and **** the fish so they can pump out a passel of fossil fuel… next time a bankster comes knocking at the door to take your house away… next time a tea slappin Teabagger starts screaming that the Koch Brothers should be allowed to own the national parks so they can cut the trees down for firewood…. tell em...you heard it on good authority…. that this land is your land…. not theirs….. if thats socialism…. I’m liken it….

American Socialists

Woody Guthrie: This Land is Your Land

Oakland
10/21/13
jbm
Yes, mechanical leaf mover,
create the shrillest sounds known to man.
See if it doesn't just slowly make the world a ******* place
by taking away the joy of crunchy leafs,
which gradually become moist, squishy leafs,
then, after a long period, emerging from a snow covering
thaw and lie there, fully exposed, recumbent,
depriving the dormant seed of grass its sunlight, preventing grass,
freeing up water for infrastructure needs more urgent and rational
than supporting the most boring of decorative plants encompassing our lives.

I guess what I'm saying is that, not only are your sounds annoying,
they're just another of the short-sighted endeavors our present society insists on.
You are the "circumcision-for-hygiene-purposes" of our urban planning.

*******, leaf blower. ******* and the excruciating environmental ignorance you represent.

I SAID *******, LEAF BLOWER, YET YOU PERSIST!

You need to let that leafy-******* grow,
covering the shaft of ground.
Rid it of the pleasure-impeding growth of grass!
Let the earth cry out for the sensation of tiny points of pressure
moving delicately along its surface.
Let the ground erupt with wild flowers, or at the very least,
the trampled exuberance of plodded soil
and the desperate levels of human debris that would collect upon it.

Or are you trying to hide our wastefulness from us by removing something
which is nothing, a nothing, invisible barrier?

You've already succeeded in giving my apartment complex the ambience
of an industrial production complex
which I suppose it always was.
Maybe your attempt at concealment
has been a revelation.

Or maybe I just can't think straight,
because there's been a god-**** leaf blower
circling below my window all morning
and now a heavy, riding lawn mower is coming to cut the grass
that hasn't grown since September
but has been watered every day
even though it froze last night
and it's almost November.
MMXII
This poem is about something that was stolen from me.
"Love, Love is a verb. Love is a doing word.
Fearless on my breath. Gentle impulsion
Shakes me, makes me lighter."
                ~~~
Snipping, mechanical apparatus of air
pushes around, the slightest elements of sound
unknown torment, blowing
leafs strewn through the corridor.
A reverse vacuum, no bag
only the earth
which perpetually maintains
the forceful stream of words
like
"snip" and "blow;"
they are verbs,
just like "love"
only harsher.

Your decisions don't merely impede the flow of days
relocating things that would like to stay
like crunchy leaves, unacknowledged beneath feet
until cries of ecstasy are heard by neighbors
who have nothing to step on.

Those discarded vestigial coverings would,
with a gentler blowing
have turned tepid, flaccid and freed.
Emerging from a snow covering
thawing and lying there, unashamed of their repose
shriveled and fully reclosed, recumbent.
Protecting from rough, sodden clothing, parts that can’t be hidden any other way--
diverging water toward infrastructure needs more urgent and vital
fallen leafs would not only **** grass, but let flowers grow
flowers of intimacy and exuberance
touching the hands of young women.

The sounds escaping mouths of leaf blowers are a demand--
they are a type of love lacking tenderness
myopic utterances of planning committees
who don’t know love is a doing word,
like snip and blow, an impulse, only gentler.
Ordinances are the "circumcision-for-hygiene-purposes" of urban planning,
never seeing that leaving things concealed by Fall
is the best way to see Spring
and experience the joy of new awakening.
They should let each leafy-******* grow,
covering our shaft, our ground.
Prevent the pleasure-impeding growth of grass!
And the earth will continue to cry
out!
Tiny sensations of pressure
moving delicately along its surface,
cause soil to writhe with lost control
then erupt with wild flowers and shrubs.
And if not these, then at the very least,
trampled torsion of plodded soil
covered by desperate human debris, collecting upon it
showing what we try to hide:
our wastefulness and discarding of things we really need
ripping off our closeness sheath
and replacing it with dark, green, translucent barriers
of grass
and blowing machines with blades
their maintenance demands.

Our apartment complexes have ambient
tones of industrial malls
when your procedures are taking place
you cut and snip and blow.
Maybe your attempt at concealment
has been a revelation.
But the fearlessness of love
I feel
is something you thought you could snip
and blow.
MMXII
(This is a revision of "For ****'s sake with the leaf blowers?!?")
A group of people conspired against me at my birth
to remove a very important piece of my body
(circumcision, not castration-- this is purposefully vague in the poem,
as I feel it limits certain possibilities).
This is something I'm just beginning to write about.
Circumcision should be discussed more.

In contemporary society,
I have to deal with the sound of leaf blowers
and lawn mowers-- but I also get the benefit of
listening to Massive Attack's song "Teardrop"
which is like being rocked to sleep gently.
JB Claywell Apr 2017
I wrote a book in this place.

I have filled notebook pages
hunched over this very table.

Virtually every time I’ve
come here to write,
I start with a ¢.97 chocolate
chip cookie and the ‘Sunday Special’,
an ¢.87 cup of dark.

Today, upon entry,
I stumble upon
Chocolate Shift Change.

I watch as she tosses the
first molasses disc into the
garbage can.

I ask:

“You’re just going to throw them away?”

She says:

“They’re old.”

“As am I.” I think, but don’t say.

Instead:

“I’ll buy them all right now.”

(She looks at me embarrassed just a bit,
but hurries to pull the rest of the expired cookies
out of the warmer.)

“We can’t sell you the old ones.”

“The fresh ones taste better.”

I doubt if I’d have known the difference.

(Expired confections slide from her grasp.)

Purchasing one, fresh,
I speak of lost profits
and typical first-world
wastefulness.

She nods knowingly,
but shitlessly,

(In that she couldn’t have
given a ****.)

I ask for a pack of smokes
as well,
meandering off in search of pulp
and fire.

My mind racing with the temporary
status
of
everything.

*  

-JBClaywell

© P&ZPublications
Coffeehouse Poem:
Ritual writing.
Mitchell Feb 2011
Two soldiers
Who write together
Question life's
Serenities

Loving words
Is a craft
Of crazy wastefulness
And tastelessness

I forget at times
That the moon
Does but one job

And the flowers
Dewy, yellow, and ******
Lay there
Looking nifty

Laugh at the clothed mother
At the way she prances
And dances
At her own secret sorrows
She knows
But is unable to show

A word
Is a word
With one thousand meanings

Some are demeaning:
*******
**** my ****
Lick my duck
Your never enough

But whom do I truly talk to?
An illiterate
With already enough of the jive ****?

Or maybe
A stronghold of a woman
With a temper tantrum
Of an intellectual
But a face of suction

Grudges ain't never enough
For they share no sense
Of absolute solitude

To write
To be alone
To cry
And then die
And to then reach readers
Where ever they may be
Will ask,
Why?
Why?
Why?
Ha!
All who strive to feel
Love to be beaten

But they are the ones with the questions
And we are the ones with the answers?
Go to the monsters upstate
They've been signing all their papers
With ink blots and officially posted dates

A will less man
In a world un-renewed
Is a follower
In a loser's shoe
Jordan Frances Nov 2014
Seventeen.
I start doing homework at coffee shops and Applebee's
I cannot tolerate my father's *******
But for the first time in my life
I am able to revive myself from the frustration he fills me with.
Each time his biting comments pierce my skin I say:
"College eight months"
"College seven months"
"College six months..."
By telling myself that coming home has become optional
I am able to smile and gently whisper
"Yes, Dad."

Sixteen.
One of the two times I can remember compassion from my father.
A heartbroken me watched my grandpa deteriorate
Just ten days after I had entered recovery
From a bad bout of bulimia relapse.
Dad actually hugged me
Even cried with me
When grandfather died.
But for the other 360 days of the year that did not include that week
Even when my friend committed suicide
My father did not meet me with kindness.

Sixteen.
My battle with bulimia
Was mine to wage alone.
When my parents got the call
They were more worried about my wastefulness
Food isn't cheap, you know.
Daddy continued to bash my weight
And I continued to spiral downward
Until I decided I was worth more.

Sixteen.
Had I told you a boy had taken advantage of me
I would have just been a **** once again.
After all, I led him on
After all, my shirt was fairly tight
After all, my friends told me it was my fault.
I know you would have considered me blameworthy
I sure thought I was.

Fifteen.
One handful of pills
And a crimson message on my arm
Lands me in intensive therapy.
I sit there
Telling myself I am not like the other suicidal kids around here
I'm not ****** up
I just ****** up.
Sick of listening to people tell me why I did it
The most frequent was my experiences with molestation
Just because some pervert touched me
Doesn't mean I'd go off the deep end.

Fifteen.
You didn't care
About my drinking, my cutting, my anything
Until you heard my plans to end it all.
You called me a ****
When you found out I had slept with my ex.
You permeated **** culture by telling me not to discuss my abuse
With anyone but my counselor.
You didn't mean to,
But you did.

Fourteen.
The other time I remember compassion.
You heard that I had been horribly violated
By your cousin.
It curdled your blood
As well it should
And you told me we'd get through it.
Fortunately,
It was never yours to get through.
You tried your best to help me
But to no avail.

Fourteen.
Lost my virginity
With a strong chance of unwanted pregnancy
That was thankfully inaccurate.
Started drinking
Taught myself how to throw up
Tarnished your perfect image
Of Daddy's little girl.

Thirteen.
Middle school ends
But my battle with eating disorders
And my dysfunctional relationship with food
Gains speed.
My then boyfriend described my dietary patterns to you
Before he was scared to death of your rage for him.
Where are you Dad?

Twelve.

Eleven.
I cut myself for the first time
And obsessive thoughts about food began to litter my mind
Depression and anxiety
First showed their ugly faces this year.

Ten.

Nine.
You told me I was fat again
So I began storing things in my room
Whole bags of junk food
I would have miniature thanksgiving feasts
Because eating in front of you was horrifying.

Nine.
Got a phone call from my fourth grade teacher
Who was in earshot of me telling my friends I was fat
My mom cried that day
Although she has a lot to do with my self-image.
But still
Don't let her pick up your mess.

Eight.
Humiliated me in Wendy's
For not ordering a kid's item.
Children are like elephants
We really don't forget.

Seven.
He touched me
And I didn't know what to make of it.
I thought this was truly just a game
You could not have protected me, Dad
He is the one at fault
No one else is.

Six.

Five.
You told me for the first time
That eating a bagel would make me fatter.
The first time I remember being skinned with comments
About my weight.

Four.

Three.
My perfect sister was born
As she entered the world
I was suddenly no longer good
No longer skinny
No longer pretty.
She would become acceptable by society's standards
And I never would.

Two.

One.

Zero.
Do you ever wonder what your parents imagined for you
When your mother was pregnant?
I do
And I don't think they imagined
A counter culture, feminist
Resident fat girl.
I was defined before I was
And I redefined my expectations.
Sometimes the only information left is in the form of a question. Was that a waste? The by product of existential quandaries gone awry again... The wastefulness of asking oneself about wastefulness is quite possibly the rosetta stone of consciousness but a waste one could argue if feeling up to the part... The tattered ends of ends wrapped around ends... Threads of metaphysical conversations running out of material... Was that a waste....
Seizing the sky to milk it's ink
calling aloud to a forbidden god
I try to fly but tend to sink
naive and broken in mediocre sod
Too many prisons have I fled
in tattered remnants of freedom lost
leaving the gold that laboriously bled
lustfully I lift the dross
astonished by my self made plight
through wastefulness and disregard
ever nearer comes the night.
Brian Ray Nov 2010
Its hard to care when
The only thing you've loved
Has been buried in years of wastefulness,
And months of regret.

You told me to look at myself,
What a piece i've become.
And now i do,
When i'm intoxicated and nearly dead,
With my guts on the ground.
My reflection off the puddle,
The stench of a collection of teeth.
I know who i am.

I am an alcoholic,
My flesh aches for a new body.
I am a christian,
Hypocritical and a liar.

You told me to listen to myself,
How i've changed from a whisper to a scream.
And now i do,
When i'm chewing on glass bleeding from the throat,
With my tongue swollen,
My ears have never been so relieved.
I've never been so relaxed.
I know who I am.

I am an insomniac,
Vision is tempered to a point.
I am a pessimist,
God i swear i'm going to die.

An indifference figure our past has created,
And friday is coming.
A reunion I swear it,
But for now I'll just remain dead.

----------------------------------------------------------­----

I know who i am.
I'm a nobody,
And you're perfect.
November 13, 2010
Poetic T Sep 2019
The  dormancy of my linguistics,
          doesn't mean  I'm ignorant.

But I jest at the wastefulness
                                  of breath.

To expel the fortitude of such.

    Anger is to give me weakness
           of character, and you undue
                                        strength.

I may seem like the sheep,
                   but do not take my

muteness, as a respite of no validation.

For one is most aware when all is smothered
                      in contemplation.

And then you are like a crumpled leaf,
                    silent and calm....

I didn't utter a word, I just walked away.
            letting you take in the view
of me not caring that you were in my shadow.

Not uttering  your worth, but I showed you
                that silence can knock down the
                                              strongest word.
Cate Dec 2015
Emancipated spirit
Losing pace
This loose flesh hangs
A reminder of
Indiscriminate taste
A tangible limit
To my wastefulness
And haste
And without grace
I tumble from sacred space
Into tainted complacency
And an un- retractable
Fruitless chase.

Like a Phoenix
I will die and replace
That which I lost in poor taste
Laced with predictable catastrophe
Encased in the blasphemy of self
The wealth of life
Now dealt it's wrath
Struck with the intention
Of being felt
Quaking about in my
Synapses
And nerve endings
Time bending becomes threatening,
The clock is an ungracious lender
And the interest of the wasted
moments pending
all too soon be expended
At the turn
Of the seasons
Lost in the maze
Field found its end.
My breath hesitates...



I will do what it takes.
I will not embrace this fate.

C.e.M. 12.22.15
jeffrey robin Jul 2014
(      

       )

|||

Vast and insubstantial tears fall from bewildered eyes

Onto the floor

Where they mix with the blood

From self inflicted wounds

While the pixies and fairies

Fly around laughing

At the sheer folly of our ways !

••

** ** !

LOOK AT THIS !

ARE WE TO  PITY SUCH WASTEFULNESS !

HARDLY !!

\\

The love floats freely

***

This is now the ONLY DAY

::::

You knew it would come to __ this

{|}

well it has & here we are

••

What you do is up to you

I suggest you wipe that **** up off the floor !

And walk freely the road that is here
badtaste Aug 2019
hello ***
you seemed to not have noticed
me dressed in your favorite clothes
slummed to the floor like a pile of wastefulness.
good-riddance
you seemed to loss your patience
when looking at a piece of plastic glass
with a half-guessed assumption
of me and her
loving life together.
good-morning
is what I'll sing every-time to my new lover
when she won't be a nosy noisy
never ending story of the same heartbreak
broken on a loop of another thief who stole
and would take your "innocence".
don't forget this
this is what you wanted...
burnt toast is beautiful
if you release the desire for softness
and embrace the crunch of life
strife is a part of our reality
so are reflexive agreements
allegories and stories
help put it all into perspective
the elemental equivalents of the big picture
furnished by our souls
merged with our goals and our desire
there are billions of prisms spinning everywhere
serenading us with their visions
unseen spirals design our chiral handedness
sadness like honey
burnt by the sunʼs wastefulness
selects its own course through the woods
stardust seeking self reflective gardens of neglected space
reserve their places at the theater
semantics are rusty
muddy feet tracking ***** foot prints around your apartment
wipe them clean upon the milky wayʼs apron
slowly i am learning to unplug my heart from the leeches
that wish to drain it of its joy
slowly i am severing all attachment to the backwards looking people
samples of their hatred can be witnessed in the morning before theyʼre awakened
theyʼve already cursed themselves
stand clear of speakers who need to be seen as teachers
they waste your time and money
surely as the sun will rise
our ascendants met in the early autumn sky
and curled around the axis of our charts
stretching their fingers like wandering serpents
all spells being cast were revoked
all shadows undermined by their own shallowness
someday somebody will have to answer all of these questions
someday we may learn why we were created
here and now its useless to dwell
on pointless tasks and queries
mend your own dresses and forget about the elections
humming is our sweetness
swimming in our shadows like cucumbers in bowls of water
sordid longing
forgot its calling and became the mourning of the trees
i tore off my appendages and danced upon the broken edges
Alice Campbell Jul 2019
Every day I look in the oblivion to see the black, thick smog cover my branches. I want to scream and shout and cry but not a peep comes out of my dark wood. I see them walk by on there phones, consumed in the everyday necessities of life. If only they would look up. If only they would see that I'm suffering. That soon, I won't be in this life. I would be another mere statistic of the ever decreasing population of nature. I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry that they can't take a minute out of the 24 hour day to look at the beauty of life. Instead, they are consumed in their selfishness of individuality. Soon my leaves will start to fade and turn into dust. My wood will start to pill and peel off my spin. Lastly my roots will shrink into a fraction of what they once were. Will they even notice? Notice that I won't be there to provide shade on those hot summer days? That I won't be there to block the freezing breeze in the crisp winter? Notice that I won't provide a cool, refreshing breeze and those excruciating hot days? Will they? No they won't. Because they are so consumed in the ever expanding wastefulness of the human population. You perceive me as a trashcan to throw your flaming hot cheetos onto my roots, yet you use me as an umbrella and hold small pincis under my gushing leaves on the cool days. What more do you want? I give and give and give but yet all you do is take? You take my self worth layer by layer until there is nothing left except the tree that use to be. You make me feel sorry for myself. Sorry for growing in your city, sorry for being an inconvenience, sorry for being in your way. We'll see whose apologizing when your gasping for air because you've managed to exterminate every last beauty thing about life. Is this the price your willing to pay? Will you apologize then? I wondered if this was worth it all. Worth it to provide comfort to the ones who abuse me. As a child I didn't feel this way. My family was right by my side holding up their branches in unicen. But we didn't know we were waiting in line, slowly to die, until it's our turn.
bill Hancock Jan 2021
A collection of poetic writings
Of questionable mastery

THE

FIRST TOME










There are many forms and styles
Of poetic expression that I am
Just beginning to be introduced to
And understand

A number were written prior to my joining the
All Poetry site and beginning my education

To me, poetry is rhyme and rhythm, but
It has form, as I have learnt.

This booklet will only allow 16 pages
Of which this is the second, so
The remaining 14 will carry a number of
Pre All Poetry, and post All Poetry
And hopefully you may perceive
An improvement









AMERICAN SUMMER

A Blackmans death, caused by police
Subsumes the brain, and reason kills
And primal animal contained, released
To the world displays their ills

Subsumes the brain, and reason kills
Property garners but scant regards
To the world displays their ills
Respect of any, is shattered shards

Property garners but scant regards
As need to possess, over rides all else
Respect of any, is shattered in shards
It’s take what you can, from any shelf

As need to possess, over rides all else
The reason for the riot is lost
Its take what you can from any shelf
The black man’s life

The reason for the riot is lost
As other feelings rule the mind
At looting time it’s free of cost
As Humanity leaves civilisation behind

As other feelings rule the mind
Mankind gone feral, no longer smart
As humanity leaves civilisation behind
A blackman’s dying, tore life apart








AGES OF MAN

A stage, they say a joke that is
A plank upon the ground
Players they say, the people is
They’ll beat you pound for pound

Their entrances and exits,
will keep unto themselves
and as for seven ages
that’s what this story tells

man begins all worm like
a kid a useless thing
poops, and pukes and whines a lot
and doesn’t earn a thing

Schoolboys next, Oh! God forbid
Why did we make this one
It must have been that point in time
When I did some stuff for fun

The lover , ah!, my ***** did melt
A poet he did try
The effect upon the mistress’s brow
Did make the eyebrow cry

The military man, so full of spit
And polish at the fore
Did play his part, with bearded kit
And veered the cannons gore

Age number six has changed the scope
To a lean and loudly man
Whose time is on the downward *****
And no longer in the van

Seven ages man will glory in
Not all we wish to recall
Love and home, and wondrous sin
As begun will finish small







Bedtime Story (Homework No 5 Pantoum

The child did love their bedtime read
With granddad sitting on the bed
The Knight & hero’s rearing steed
And in the story her childhood shed

With grandad sitting on the bed
The hero’s steed went racing past
And in the story her childhood shed
The royal queen she came at last

The hero’s steed went racing past
And stopped the dragon there and then
The royal queen she came at last
Helped herd the beast back to its pen

And stopped the dragon there and then
From having chook and pig repast
Helped herd the beast back to its pen
And granddad closed the book at last

From having chook and pig repast
The story ran down to the end
And granddad closed the book at last
The next book read, the child would lend

The story ran down to the end
No further words left to be said
The next book read the child would lend
With granddad sitting on the bed







Christmas Thought

We gather here on Christmas eve
to share part of the joy
2000 years ago this day
Mary would have a boy

that day affirmed mans place in life
the woman to her chores
and life upon this blissful earth
was governed by mans laws

years have past and times have changed
relationships are growing
of woman's emergence from the home
into the place of knowing

who knows what life would have been like
if Mary had, had a girl
would have have held his rightful place
or ended up a churl

no matter how it would have been
it is, as it is, to-day
kinds thoughts & joy to all mankind
with love on Christmas day

the feeling of love to all mankind
its stay is rather short
there is no place for thoughts like that
in a world where wars are fought

life's hard cruel lessons, shut us in
we dare not - extend or feel
until that time round Christmas eve
when we give thanks, as we pray and kneel

William Hancock penned: 20.12.82 (pre AP)


Faerie Symphony

brushing his fingers across the glistening crystals
produced a cacophony of harsh discordant notes
rebounding off the caverns walls and music thoughts did smote
Placing hands upon the crystals, calming down the thrum
fingers selecting differing lengths, did flex and start to drum
harmony like butterflies, did rise as motes in light
traversing down the caverns walls and drifting to the night
outside the valley trembled, uplifted, and it sighed
the gentle folk looked inwardly, but outwardly they cried
taking his fingers from the glistening crystals,
they died



LITTLE MISS MUFFET

Miss Muffet was a comely girl
and turned the heads of most
But wouldn't share her curds and whey
A really dreadful host

The field held an eight legged beast
Whose local name was schnider
He managed to get her curds and whey
when he went and sat beside her

It is better to share than to lose it all

Bill Hancock
07.04.2020


Fates Feast
watching his body, sink slowly into the tree
this I laughed is your, reward deserved for jilting me
laughed again, and watched his unmatched beauty fade
realised too late, the wastefulness of mistake I've made

the prince his body slowly turned, to timber light and fair
wondered sinking further in, I really thought she cared
I courted her with flowers and commented on her hair 
It seems I would have better luck, If I had spoken to the bear

Revenge the forest maiden, reeked on the prince in spades
now he was ever with her, part of the forest glade
her demands she thought were simple, leave all and live with me
and feast upon the passersby for dinner lunch and tea

the prince he was a vegan who tried to sway her round
made out greens were good for her, beat meat, by the pound
the maidens heart was broken, in tatters lay her dream
when he refused, ensorcelled him into the forest green

These days on paths less travelled, in the forest down the way
a magnificent tree stands from the rest, its beauty on display
Not many pass it anymore, as they say it's haunted still
By the soul of the forest maiden, who died lonely on the hill









Hiccup of the Mind

Have you ever tapped the keyboard
Then looked at what was written
accessing where the thoughts were stored
And found the rhyming process stricken

Panic doesn't quite occur
Between the ears, a blank
words to page no longer purr
Encyclopedic knowledge sank

leave the keyboard and the chair
a glass with ice and liquid gold
Sip and savour, ceiling stare
berate ones self and blank mind scold

From off left field, revelation comes
fingers keyboarding begins again
The words you're reading are the sum
For from out of mind, letters do rain

Bad Location

Do they consider me
I don't think so
Other wise they wouldn't
Stand where they stand

Think of what it means
to be a tree
try to imagine where 
my fingers are

The girl is standing on them
I choose this spot
For the solitude it promised
****** tourists



Macbeths Misadventure

(a parody of Bill Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the three witches brew a spell)

Macbeth whilst travelling stopped at the pub
A cauldron and three hats on the sign
Had heard from others how good was the grub
And entered with drink and a stew in mind

The cooks, three weathered crones did strive
To keep the patrons upright and live
this struggle you know was a hapless one
already knowing what went in the drum

Newt and frog and dog and bat
The first crone donned a pointed hat
Snake and adder worm and wing
The second crone donned the apron strings

Toad and venom, entrails too
The third crone added nightshade brew
Double trouble, don’t add no more
The broths near walking out the door

a steaming *** was served Macbeth
the sight of which removed his breath
The vapours turned his nose hairs green
His liver hid behind his spleen

A mouthful made his eyelids quiver
His entrails turned into a river
His mind did cartwheels in his head
Two mouthfuls and he’d be stone dead

Refusing nicely, he said had troubles
Left a tip, he paid them double
Listen not what others say
And live to see another day



The Musician

Resting her body on the chaired podium
And leaning slightly down to the left
Her fingers caressed the highly polished surface
Of the Cello

Left hand clasping the frets
And the right hand wielding the bow
She addressed the strings with a gentle wave
And made the music flow

Somber, sounds, moaned off the instrument
Quickening and they rose in tone and pitch
Wrapping around the chamber
In a haunting hugging melody

Rising, rushing, falling and softening
Harsh and hard, then silent, but wait
Hand twitches and the refrain returns
Only to die again, as the hand falls away

Returning the cello to its resting place
And the bow into its niche
Her hand runs gently over the polished timber
The caress of a lover and friend


The Book

A thing that comes in black and White
and some times in colours as well
with words and concepts, one can write
scenes and stories, in minds to dwell

it's such a simple seeming thing
two covers, some pages between
with words that have the authors ring
Fact or fiction the reader gleans

A simple start on bark or stick
or was it paint upon a wall
to carvings on stone walls and brick
waiting discovery, then tell all

today we progress further still
into the realm of digital times
where phone or tablet makes the ****
and hand held printed book declines

regardless of the current trend
hand held books are still much loved
and continue to be there to lend
for as long as man can use a pen



© a month ago, Bill Hancock











The Lizard Slithered

Crawling stealthy below the leaves
eyeing insects upon the trees
mosquito's winging with the breeze
the lizard slithered - tongue flicked free

eyeing insects upon the trees
climbing tree's to gain it's dinner
the lizard slithered - tongue flicked free
it must eat or grow much thinner

climbing tree's to gain its dinner
mosquito's high upon its list
it must eat or grow much thinner
though beetles added meaty grist

mosquito's high upon its list
the lizards belly filling fast
though beetles added meaty grist
none of its food was made to last

the lizards belly filling fast
cold air came calling in the breeze
none of its food was made to last
the lizard slithered - tongue flicked free


cm coli picture prompt lizard slithered 120 words © a month ago, Bill Hancock   rhyme










Wordsmiths Hey

Have you ever wondered of poets
And the things they do try to write
Does it take, five minutes of writing
Or four candles worth, into the night

does the theme come from somebody social
or seeps out from ones deep inner dark
or comments from words thrown out vocal
from jibes that like barbs hit their mark

the words from mind's vault, start to line up
some jumbled, some straight, others curved
with a headiness, like good wine that's supped
A poet's souls being readied to serve

After theme, then the style is selected
And if rhyme, then the rhythm as well
If the endings or rhymes not connected
It's the poets, equivalent of hell

If freestyle, I'm not sure what matters
If Haiku, it don't ring a bell
There's others I have no idea of
Is it write, to write or to sell

A poet is plagued as a wordsmith
as their thoughts, are constant, a stream
the ink on the page, like, a musicians riff
is the success, or failure of dreams




The Caretaker

astride the gentle steed of nature
the nymph did guide its sharp beak home
into the golden hued ambrosia
around the outskirts insects roamed

The summer lady adorned with flowers
kept a watchful eye on the little nymph
as she passed her special gift, her powers
to her assistants, the brownie, pixie and slyth

The brownie ran through the Forrest floor
her touch bringing the summer buds to bloom
knocking on the animals doors
their seed collection, a promised boon

the pixie sprang from branch and flower
spreading colour of many a hue
For such was the summer ladies power
and she touched and shared where it was due

the slyth began her eternal sigh
lifting the new seed into the air
to get it planted, before the cry
the Queen of winter, it's now her care

the four continued their epic task
for none of the seasons last for long
The plants only had so long to bask
As autumn commenced to croon its song

the seasons play their role in nature
not one does stand alone
each one portrays a different stature
if one fails, nothing grown

Contest PIC;Pixie astride hummingbird lady looking on
© 3 months ago, Bill Hancock



New Australian

They came into Australia
from places far and wide
where the system failed you
no further place to hide

sailed into, the North Head Bay
Quarantine, into they go
diseases of, they must be clean
The Physicers, make them so

Not all the migrants, survived the race
the souls, of expired bodies left
rooms and tunnels, claimed in place
which overtime, the live have left

Company, comes scarce these days
from haunting tourists, as they tread
the dark and errie, passageways
of the station, on north head


The quarantine station in SYDNEY Australia and New South Wales, was located on the bay inside the Northern Headland of the entrance into the Harbour

Immigrants (who became the New Australians) came with TB, Cholera Typhoid and the other known diseases of the late 1800 to early 1900's

The migrants had to spend time at the station until they showed to be symptom free. Sadly not all made it, and it is said that their souls / Spirits still occupy the tunnels, rooms and cottages of the old Quarantine  station to this present day - Ghost hunters regularly quest in there. It is also a tourist spot. © 12 minutes ago
With golden thread
You mend the tears in my pockets
I am only allotted one item per day
So let's stay here until the stars fade away
And face the neverending promises
We laugh at memories of pain
Harboring no need for tragic romances
Or life's fragile remembrances
It's already exacerbated by boredom’s wastefulness
So we decline more license plates and credit cards
And instead compare our hearts to targets
Idiong Divine Mar 2020
Come away you savage city girls and boys.
Come away to the natural countryside.
What is it that makes you think you’re civilized?
Your dry urban toil or white collar employ?
That break your bones, waste your days and leave you pain?
Come and feel the sleekness of nature’s valour
Come and see the meekness of the wind’s colour
You have around this place, but so much to gain.

You boast of your club life how you drink and smoke
But you know just how too often you go broke.
You brag of the cars you drive but it’s funny
How you’d take to fright on sighting a donkey.
Your girls think they are as beautiful as they seem
But come and behold a country girl after a swim
No make-up, no sparkling ornaments or lace
Just a soaked wrapper, dangling beads and her face.

You consume too much obscene books and videos
That you know nothing about your inbuilt radio.
You dine with Satan everyday by your ways
Though you never miss a service on church days.
Such is the hypocrisy of city life
And such is the wastefulness of all your strife.
Come away to learn something about nature
And free yourself from urban drill and torture.

There is so much left here for you to enjoy
If only you put your city pride aside
And in quiet, ask yourself the question why  
Why the city seems stripped of all forms of joy.
Come away and eat the freshness of our grains;
Drink from our salinity and get your cure.
Our herbs possess a potency that is sure
And our serenity to soothe your tired brain.
Bruce Levine Nov 2018
Striations
Gradations
Filling the atmosphere
In stillness

Pink
Mixed with
White and gray
To almost holiness

Fallacy of fate
Languish
The unknowing
With helplessness

Testing the tide
Pressing forward
Through fear
Of loneliness

Watching the idle
Wither without them knowing
Through vacant
Wastefulness

As the nouveau riche
Luxuriate
In ostentatious
Lavishness

And society’s
Double meaning
The self-inflicted oxymoron
And the selfishness

Promulgates
The stagnation
The paucity
Which ends in emptiness

— The End —