poppy poems

you being in love
will tell who softly asks in love,

am i separated from your body smile brain hands merely
to become the jumping puppets of a dream? oh i mean:
entirely having in my careful how
careful arms created this at length
inexcusable, this inexplicable pleasure – you go from several
persons: believe me that strangers arrive
when i have kissed you into a memory
slowly, oh seriously
- that since and if you disappear

solemnly
myselves
ask “life, the question how do i drink dream smile

and how do i prefer this face to another and
why do i weep eat sleep – what does the whole intend”
they wonder. oh and they cry “to be, being, that i am alive
this absurd fraction in its lowest terms
with everything cancelled
but shadows
- what does it all come down to? love? Love
if you like and i like,for the reason that i
hate people and lean out of this window is love,love
and the reason that i laugh and breathe is oh love and the reason

that i do not fall into this street is love.

(e. e. cummings – you being in love

He said:
“Let’s stay here
Now this place has emptied
And make gentle pornography with one another,
While the partygoers go out
And the dawn creeps in,
Like a stranger.

Let us not hesitate
Over what we know
Or over how cold this place has become,
But let’s unclip our minds
And let tumble free
The mad, mangled crocodile of love.”

So they did,
There among the cigarettes and guinness stains,
And later he caught a bus and she a train
And all there was between them then
Was rain.

(Brian Patten – Party Piece)

poetry

I was six when
Mama was careless
she sent me to school
alone
five days a week

One day I was
kidnapped by a band
of Western philosophers
armed with glossy-pictured
textbooks and registered reputations
'Holder of BA
and MA degrees'

I was held in a classroom
guarded by Churchill and Garibaldi
pinned up on one was
and
Hitler and Mao dictating
from the other
Guevara pointed a revolution
at my brains
from his 'Guerilla Warfare'

Each three-month term
they sent threats to
my Mama and Papa

Mama and Papa loved
their son and
paid ransom fees
each time

Each time
Mama and Papa grew
poorer and poorer
and my kidnappers grew
richer and richer
I grew whiter and
whiter

On my release
fifteen years after
I was handed
(among loud applause
from fellow victims)
a piece of paper
to decorate my walls
certifying my release.

(Kidnapped, Ruperake Petaia)


The diameter of the bomb was thirty centimeters
and the diameter of its effective range about seven meters,
with four dead and eleven wounded.
And around these, in a larger circle
of pain and time, two hospitals are scattered
and one graveyard. But the young woman
who was buried in the city she came from,
at a distance of more than a hundred kilometers,
enlarges the circle considerably,
and the solitary man mourning her death
at the distant shores of a country far across the sea
includes the entire world in the circle.
And I won't even mention the howl of orphans
that reaches up to the throne of God and
beyond, making
a circle with no end and no God.
The Diameter of the Bomb, Yehuda Amichai)



What a sight for my eyes
to see you in sleep.
Could it stop the sun rise
hearing you weep?
You're not seen, you're not heard
but I stand by my word.
Came a thousand miles
just to catch you while you're smiling.

What a day for laughter
and walking at night.
Me following after, your hand holding tight.
And the memory stays clear with the song that you hear.
If I can but make
the words awake the feeling.

What a reason for waiting
and dreaming of dreams.
So here's hoping you've faith in impossible schemes,
that are born in the sigh of the wind blowing by
while the dimming light brings the end to a night of loving.

(Reasons For Waiting, Ian Anderson)

mersey sound

info here.


Without you every morning would feel like going back to work after a holiday,
Without you I couldn't stand the smell of the East Lancs Road,
Without you ghost ferries would cross the Mersey manned by skeleton crews,
Without you I'd probably feel happy and have more money and time and nothing to do with it,
Without you I'd have to leave my stillborn poems on other people's doorsteps, wrapped in brown paper,
Without you there'd never be sauce to put on sausage butties,
Without you plastic flowers in shop windows would just be plastic flowers in shop windows,
Without you I'd spend my summers picking morosely over the remains of train crashes,
Without you white birds would wrench themselves free from my paintings and fly off dripping blood into the night,
Without you green apples wouldn't taste greener,
Without you Mothers wouldn't let their children play out after tea,
Without you every musician in the world would forget how to play the blues,
Without you Public Houses would be public again,
Without you the Sunday Times colour suppliment would come out in black-and-white,
Without you indifferent colonels would shrug their shoulders and press the button,
Without you they's stop changing the flowers in Piccadilly Gardens,
Without you Clark Kent would forget how to become Superman,
Without you Sunshine Breakfast would only consist of Cornflakes,
Without you there'd be no colour in Magic colouring books,
Without you Mahler's 8th would only be performed by street musicians in derelict houses,
Without you they'd forget to put the salt in every packet of crisps,
Without you it would be an offence punishable by a fine of up to £200 or two months' imprisonment to be found in possession of curry powder,
Without you riot police are massing in quiet sidestreets,
Without you all streets would be one-way the other way,
Without you there'd be no one to kiss goodnight when we quarrel,
Without you the first martian to land would turn round and go away again,
Without you they'd forget to change the weather,
Without you blind men would sell unlucky heather,
Without you there would be
no landscapes/no stations/no houses
no chipshops/no quiet villages/no seagulls
on beaches/no hopscotch on pavements/no night/no morning/
there'd be no city no country
Without you.

Adrian Henri


Love is feeling cold in the back of vans
Love is a fanclub with only two fans
Love is walking holding paintstained hands
Love is.

Love is fish and chips on winter nights
Love is blankets full of strange delights
Love is when you don't put out the light
Love is.

Love is the presents in Christmas shops
Love is when you're feeling Top of the Pops
Love is what happens when the music stops
Love is.

Love is white panties lying all forlorn
Love is pink nightdresses still slightly warm
Love is when you have to leave at dawn
Love is.

Love is you and love is me
Love is prison and love is free
Love's what's there when you are away from me
Love is...

Adrian Henri



A little bit of heaven fell
From out the sky one day
It landed in the ocean
Not so very far away

The general at the radar screen
Rubbed his hands in glee
And grinning pressed the button
That started World War Three

From every corner of the earth
Bombs began to fly
There were even missile jams
No traffic lights in the sky
In the time it takes to blow your nose
The people fell, the mushrooms rose.

'House!' cried the fat lady
As the bingohall moved to various parts of the town
'Raus!' cried the German butcher
as his shop came tumbling down

Phillip was in the counting house
Counting out his money
The Queen was in the parlour
Eating bread and honey
When through the window
Flew a bomb
And made them go all funny
In the time it takes to draw a breath
Or eat a toadstool, instant death

The rich
Huddled outside the doors of their fallout shelters
Like drunken carol singers
The poor
Clutching shattered televisions
And at last week's editions of T.V Times
(but the very last)
Civil defence volunteers
With their tin hats in one hand
And their heads in the other
C.N.D supporters
Their ban the bomb badges beginning to rust
Have scrawled 'I told you so' in the dust

A little bit of heaven fell
From out of the sky one day
It landed in Vermont
North-eastern USA
The general at the radar screen
He should have got the sack
But that wouldn't bring
Three thousand million, seven hundred, and sixty-eight people back,
Would it?

Roger McGough


mother the wardrobe is full of infantrymen
i did i asked them
but they snarled saying it was a man's life

mother there's a centurion tank in the parlour
i did i asked the officer
but he laughed saying 'Queen's regulations'
(piano was out of tune anyway)

mother polish your identity bracelet
there is a mushroom cloud in the back garden
i did i tried to bring in the cat
but it simply came to pieces in my hand
i did i tried to whitewash the windows
but there weren't any
i did i tried to hide under the stairs
but i couldn't get in for the civil defence leaders
i did i tried ringing candid camera
but they crossed their hearts

i went for a policemen but they were looting the town
i went out for a fire engine but they were all upside down
i went out for a priest but they were all on their knees
mother don't just lie there, say something please
mother don't just lie there, say something please

Roger McGough

official hiatus.

i'll be back, but for the moment you can find me here.

(ps. meet fred, my new best friend. i'm in love)

edit:
please feel free to submit a post to my tumblr here
i think it's an awesome way to communicate & i would love to see what you guys have to say.
please please do so! :)

you said that hill looks far too steep.

(what better photo for this song than the most perfectly matched on/off couple ever?)

so we've put an end to it this time.
i'm no longer yours and you're no longer mine.
you said this hill looks far too steep
if i'm not even sure it's me you wanna keep.
and it's been ten days without you in my reach,
and the only time i've touched you is in my sleep.

but time has changed nothing at all -
you're still the only one that feels like home.
i've tried cutting the ropes and
i let you go but you're still the only one
that feels like home.

you won't talk me into it next time,
if i'm going away your heart's coming too.
cos i miss your hands i miss your face
when i get back let's disappear without a trace.

cos it's been ten days without you in my reach,
and the only time i've touched you is in my sleep.
but time has changed nothing at all -
you're still the only one that feels like home.
i've tried cutting the ropes,
tried letting go but you're still the only one
that feels like home.

so tell me, did you really think...
oh tell me, did you really think
i had gone when you couldn't see me anymore?
when you couldn't...

cos baby time has changed nothing at all -
you're still the only one that feels like home.
and i've tried cutting the ropes,
i let you go but you're still the only one
that feels like home
yeah you're still the only one that feels like home,
you're still the only one i've gotta love.

back.

phew, very long unplanned break in posting there kids! in the last couple of weeks, i have finished uni, been working full time & been sick for the good part of a week. how exciting!

the above photo is from the time traveler's wife movie which is due out towards the end of the year, but i'm not going to see it because the book is my absolute favourite & it could only ruin it for me. not to mention eric bana is epically miscast, as per usual.

i do love this photo though.


world enough and time

if you haven't read it i suggest you get your hands on a copy asap, it is amazing. i have read it at least 5 times, probably closer to 10.

the diameter of the bomb.

The diameter of the bomb was thirty centimeters
and the diameter of its effective range about seven meters,
with four dead and eleven wounded.
And around these, in a larger circle
of pain and time, two hospitals are scattered
and one graveyard. But the young woman
who was buried in the city she came from,
at a distance of more than a hundred kilometers,
enlarges the circle considerably,
and the solitary man mourning her death
at the distant shores of a country far across the sea
includes the entire world in the circle.
And I won't even mention the howl of orphans
that reaches up to the throne of God and
beyond, making
a circle with no end and no God.

Yehuda Amichai


sorry for the filler-ish post kids, but i finish exams tomorrow & will hopefully have some time to cook up some lovelies for you :)
i do love this poem a lot though.

fuck me gently with a chainsaw.

playlist for today, 14/06/09.

lucky you, the national
book of love, the magnetic fields
i just don't think i'll ever get over you, colin hay
a song to sing, hanson
designs on you, the old 97s
get lonely, the mountain goats
see you soon, coldplay
go, hanson
orange sky, alexi murdoch

i seriously adore every single one of these songs, please give them a go.
also this is my 101st post! yay!
thanks to all of you who read :)

curiouser & curiouser!

" 'There is no use trying,' said Alice, 'One can't believe impossible things.'

'I dare say you haven't had much practice,' said the queen.
'When I was your age, I always did it for a half hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.' "


extended version here (won't embed)

"My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that."



"If one drinks much from a bottle marked “Poison”, it’s almost certain to disagree with one sooner or later."



"I -- I hardly know, sir, just at present -- at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."



"Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."


this song is ridiculously good. download here.

"If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does."



"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?"

i don't care that i just quoted miley cyrus, because it is perfect.

"that's the best part about hanging out with a sister. you're not having conversations with beginnings, middles and ends, you're just letting unformed thoughts bounce up and down and around and around."

miley cyrus

cos birds can fly so high.

hayden panettiere.
i adore this shoot.
soundtrack: birds by kate nash.

e needs this fucking song in her life.

i can't find any information online about what guitars she actually plays, but from memory i think she plays a 12-string & a steel lap guitar, as well as acoustic guitar & drums.

in 06 she was named a "guitar god" by rolling stone, becoming the first ever female to make this list.
in 07 she was nominated for a golden globe for her musical contributions with eddie veder (of pearl jam fame) to the sean penn movie into the wild.
(which by the way is a fantastic movie- i highly recommend it. stars emile hirsch, catherine keener, kristen stewart, vince vaughn, marcia gay harden, william hurt + others)

she's fantastic though, i was first introduced to her at tegan & sara's 07 tour when she was their support act. she mostly played songs from her daysleeper ep, which i stupidly didn't buy at the gig & have regretted ever since, as you can't get it anywhere. i did, however, manage to track this song down on myspace, & i love it a lot.

e needs this song in her life.

once i'm dead i won't need gold

Preacher, don't send me
when I die
to some big ghetto
in the sky
where rats eat cats
of the leopard type
and Sunday brunch
is grits and tripe.

I've known those rats
I've seen them kill
and grits I've had
would make a hill,
or maybe a mountain,
so what I need
from you on Sunday
is a different creed.

Preacher, please don't
promise me
streets of gold
and milk for free.
I stopped all milk
at four years old
and once I'm dead
I won't need gold.

I'd call a place
pure paradise
where families are loyal
and strangers are nice,
where the music is jazz
and the season is fall.
Promise me that
or nothing at all.

Maya Angelou

daisy lowe.

some of the other shots didn't appeal to me quite as much, but you can find them here if you're interested.

wintertime.

My mouth hovers across your breasts
in the short grey winter afternoon
in this bed we are delicate
and touch so hot with joy we amaze ourselves
tough and delicate we play rings
around each other our daytime candle burns
with its peculiar light and if the snow
begins to fall outside filling the branches
and if the night falls without announcement
there are the pleasures of winter
sudden, wild and delicate your fingers
exact my tongue exact at the same moment
stopping to laugh at a joke
my love hot on your scent on the cusp of winter

DH Lawrence

pretty ladies.

all of these can be found in my heart.

it's easy to say, but harder to feel.

digging a hole & the walls are caving in behind me
air's getting thin but i'm trying i'm breathing in
come find me

it hasn't felt like this before
it hasn't felt like home before you

& i know it's easy to say but it's harder to feel
this way
& i miss you more than i should
than i thought i could
can't get my mind off of you

i know you're scared that i'll soon be over it
that's part of it all
part of the beauty of falling in love with you
is the fear you won't fall

it hasn't felt like this before
it hasn't felt like home before you

& i know it's easy to say but it's harder to feel
this way
& i miss you more than i should than i thought i could
can't get my mind off of you

& i hate the phone
but i wish you'd call
thought being alone
was better than was better than

& i know it's easy to say but it's harder to feel this way
& i miss you more than i should
than i thought i could
can't get my mind off of you
can't get my mind off of you

i know it's easy to say but it's harder to feel
this way
& i miss you more than i should
than i thought i could
can't get my mind off of you

& i know it's easy to say but it's harder to feel this way


the fear you won't fall
joshua radin & ingrid michaelson

+ bonus
sky, also by them

new necklace <3

it's made out of etched brass & is amazing.
i wear it all the time & it goes with everything.
best $25 i ever spent.

woohoo.

woohoo by the 5.6.7.8s
it's actually off the kill bill soundtrack,
but i first heard it in this hilarious video filled with pretty ladies.
<3>

random pretties from FOREVER ago.

uhhh, i just found this saved as a draft from JANUARY.
enjoy! hehe.