Friday Poetry: Hugo Williams

Happy Friday!

This week I have chosen a poem by Hugo Williams. Williams was born in 1942 and is a British poet, journalist and travel writer.

Reading through some poetry this week and this poem really stuck out for me and I have read it quite a few times since discovering it.

Tides

The evening advances, then withdraws again

Leaving our cups and books like islands on the floor.

We are drifting you and I,

As far from one another as the young heroes

Of these two novels we have just laid down.

For that is happiness: to wander alone

Surrounded by the moon, whose tides remind us of ourselves,

Our distances, and what we leave behind.

The lamp left on, the curtains letting in the light.

These things were promises. No doubt we will come

back to them.

Hugo Williams

First Line Friday: 31/07/2020

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

It is time for another guessing game! Here we go…

“Tell me about a complicated man.”

As usual the answer is below the cats.

The answer is…

The Odyssey by Homer (translated by Emily Wilson)

Composed at the rosy-fingered dawn of world literature almost three millennia ago, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage and family; about travelers, hospitality, and the yearning for home.

This fresh, authoritative translation captures the beauty of this ancient poem as well as the drama of its narrative. Its characters are unforgettable, none more so than the “complicated” hero himself, a man of many disguises, many tricks, and many moods, who emerges in this version as a more fully rounded human being than ever before.

Written in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, Emily Wilson’s Odyssey sings with a voice that echoes Homer’s music; matching the number of lines in the Greek original, the poem sails along at Homer’s swift, smooth pace.

A fascinating, informative introduction explores the Bronze Age milieu that produced the epic, the poem’s major themes, the controversies about its origins, and the unparalleled scope of its impact and influence. Maps drawn especially for this volume, a pronunciation glossary, and extensive notes and summaries of each book make this is an Odyssey that will be treasured by a new generation of readers.

Did you guess it? Please drop me a link with your First Lines Friday and I will go over for a visit and see if I can guess the answer.

Friday Poetry: Ogden Nash

Happy Friday!

This week’s poem is a short one that made me laugh. It is by the American poet Ogden Nash and is based on homophones.

A Flea and a Fly

A flea and a fly in a flue

Were imprisoned, so what could they do?

Said the fly, ‘Let us flee!’

‘Let us fly!’ said the flea

So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

Ogden Nash

Friday Poetry: Edgar Allen Poe

Happy Friday!

This Friday’s poem is by the great Edgar Allen Poe.

Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

She was a child and I was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love –

I and my Annabel Lee –

With a love that the winged seraphs of Heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud by night

Chilling my Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsmen came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

Went envying her and me:

Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud, chilling

And killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we –

Of many far wiser than we –

And neither the angels in Heaven above

Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,

In her sepulchre there by the sea –

In her tomb by the side of the sea.

Edgar Allen Poe

First Lines Friday: 17/07/2020

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Hello!

I haven’t done one of these for a few weeks so I thought I would have a go this evening.

Remember, the answer is below the cats. Good luck!

“You’ve got to say this for desperation: it makes you much more open-minded. I really can see some positives in this flat. The technicolour mould on the kitchen wall will scrub off, at least in the short term. The filthy mattress can be replaced fairly cheaply. And you could definitely make the argument that the mushrooms growing behind the toilet are introducing a fresh, outdoorsy feel to the place.”

And the answer is…

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

How did you do? I hope to read this book very soon.

Happy Reading

Friday Poetry: George MacDonald

Happy Friday!

Around this time of year lilies start to flower and although I’m highly allergic to lilies I do love water lilies and look forward to seeing them flower in our pond. So I have chosen a poem about lilies for this week.

Little White Lily

Little white Lily

Sat by a stone,

Drooping and waiting

Till the sun shone.

Little white Lily

Sunshine has fed;

Little white Lily

Is lifting her head.

Little white Lily

Said: ‘It is good:

Little white Lily’s

Clothing and fool!

Little white Lily

Drest like a bride!

Shining with whiteness,

And crowned beside!’

Little white Lily

Droopeth in pain,

Waiting and waiting

For the wet rain.

Little white Lily

Holdeth her cup;

Rain is fast falling,

And filling it up.

Little white Lily

Said: ‘Good again,

When I am thirsty

To have nice rain!

Now I am stronger,

Now I am cool;

Heat cannot burn me,

My veins are so full!’

Little white Lily

Smells very sweet:

On her head sunshine,

Rain at her feet.

‘Thanks to the sunshine!

Thanks to the rain!

Little white Lily

Is happy again!’

George MacDonald

Happy Reading!

Friday Poetry: Clive Webster

Happy Friday!

The poem I have chosen today is from a poet I’ve never come across before but I throughly like this poem so thought I would share it.

The Magic of the Mind

I’ve read in books of magic lands

So very far away,

Where genies pop up out of lamps

And magic creatures play.

Where wizards weave their magic spells

And dragons breathe out fire,

Where just one wish gives young and old

Their every heart’s desire.

Those lands, of course, are just in books,

But if you try real hard,

Those magic places come to life

Right in your own back yard.

For sitting quietly in the sun

On a lazy Summer’s day

You can sit and smile and dream you’re there

In those lands so far away.

And as the sunshine warms your mind

You’re in those golden lands,

With wizards, genies, dragons, spells,

And cut-throat pirate bands.

You’re saving damsels in distress,

You’re fighting deadly duels,

You’re banqueting in marbled halls,

You’re decked in priceless jewels.

You’re there, you’re there, no need for books,

So real and oh so clear,

So marvellous and so magical,

To touch and smell and hear,

Just sitting there in golden sun

You leave your cares behind,

And go to magic places

In the Magic of your Mind.

Clive Webster

Friday Poetry: Mandy Coe

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has some fantastic books planned to read this weekend. I can’t help but remember that this time last year I was in Hawaii having an amazing holiday and reading some fab books by the pool.

Anyway, here is my chosen poem.

Amelia Earhart

‘…fears are paper tigers.’

A ribbon in her hair and mud on her dress

Amelia climbs too high

then, like any child in a tree,

blinks at the dizzying ground and sky.

Amelia spreads the map on her knees

to light the Atlantic with her torch.

She taps the fuel gauge, adjusts her course.

The stars seemed near enough to touch.

Amelia’s red Vega roars around

a world of cloud and sun and time,

and whenever a child defeats

her fears, Amelia still climbs.

Mandy Coe

Happy Reading

First Lines Friday: 26/06/2020

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

Hello!

It is time for another guessing game? Remember the answer is below the cats!

Here we go…

10th July 2007

She has been walking for a long time. It’s funny but she hadn’t thought that there was so much space in England. The map, which she printed out in the library at school, seemed to show the youth hostel here, somewhere in this sea of green, but now that she’s walking, in her special shoes with her backpack on, there’s no sign of any buildings anywhere.

and the answer is…

Everything has changed for Dr Ruth Galloway.

She has a new job, home and partner, and is no longer North Norfolk police’s resident forensic archaeologist. That is, until convicted murderer Amyas March offers to make DCI Nelson a deal. Nelson was always sure that March killed more women than he was charged with. Now March confirms this, and offers to show Nelson where the other bodies are buried – but only if Ruth will do the digging.

Curious, but wary, Ruth agrees. March tells Ruth that he killed four more women and that their bodies are buried near a village bordering the fens, said to be haunted by the Lantern Men, mysterious figures holding lights that lure travellers to their deaths.

Is Amyas March himself a lantern man, luring Ruth back to Norfolk? What is his plan, and why is she so crucial to it? And are the killings really over?

How did you do? Please drop a comment with a link to your First Lines Friday and I will head over to see if I can guess the book.

Happy Friday!

Friday Poetry: Spike Milligan

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has some good book plans for the weekend.

My chosen poem this week is by Spike Milligan and I love it because it is nonsense and sometimes we all need a little nonsense in our lives. Oh and it mentions cats!

The Land of the Bumbley Boo

In the Land of the Bumbley Boo

The People are red white and blue,

They never blow noses,

Or ever wear closes,

What a sensible thing to do!

In the Land of the Bumbley Boo

You can buy Lemon Pie at the Zoo;

They give away Foxes

In little Pink Boxes

And Bottles of Dandylion Stew.

In the Land of the Bumbley Boo

You never see a Gnu,

But thousands of cats

Wearing trousers and hats

Made of Pumpkins and Pelican Clue!

Oh, the Bumbley Boo! the Bumbley Boo!

That’s the place for me and you!

So hurry! Let’s run!

The train leaves at one!

For the Land of the Bumbley Boo!

The wonderful Bumbley Boo-Boo-Boo!

The Wonderful Bumbley BOO!!!

Spike Milligan.

Happy reading!