The poet John Skelton lived in the reign of Henry 8th. He apparently wrote his satirical poem “Speak, Parrot” in the precincts of Westminster, from the sanctuary still precariously available in the minster there. In the poem, Galathea is a lady in waiting who plies the parrot with almonds and dates, as she tries to persuade him to speak from… continue reading
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The Bird of Paradise Danced Last Night
… The Parrot, the Cage and the Pulpit
The tower pictured above is of the Tyndale Monument. This is situated north of Bristol, on the Cotswolds escarpment, above the village of North Nibley. The tower was built in Victorian times, for it was only then that people realised the extent of Tyndale’s influence over, and contribution to, the English of the King James’s Bible. At that time, North… continue reading
… The Soaring Bird
The soaring bird did ok last night. It soared all round the Clifton branch of Waterstones. So did the name of the late Pat Boyden, to whom the book is dedicated. Even Maybot and the American Minotaur made an appearance, since this is the world we live in now, but they were each well in control for a change… continue reading
Of Animal and Other Meetings Book Launch
The book itself is already online and for sale on this blog to the right of the home page.
It is a collaboration between me, the author of the poems, and the members/artists of the Portugal Prints community, who produced the illustrations. Portugal Prints is based in Camden and run by Brent, Camden and Westminster Mind. PP community members and… continue reading
National Poetry Day
The UK’s National Poetry Day took place on Thursday 4th October. The given theme was “change” – which seemed topical enough. I took real and enormous pleasure in spending some of the day in St Katherine’s School in Pill, on the outskirts of Bristol. I was acting as poet-in-very-temporary-residence, a public position with a slightly hazy job description, but one… continue reading
Parrot Finds Honour Lying Forgotten Among Our Ruins…
… and knows that honour must be the foundation of any future we might have.
The Background :
This latest little poem records actual events and an eloquent speech in the UK’s House of Commons in the Spring of 2015.
For a video of an excerpt of the speech, see : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32073791
For an article published soon afterwards see :… continue reading
Parrot speaks to the 2-Bit mobsters
This latest parrot stanza refers to Theresa May’s encounter with the EU leaders in Salzburg yesterday and “The Sun’s” headline which appeared yesterday evening.
It said : “EU DIRTY RATS – The SUN SAYS we can’t wait to free ourselves of the two-bit mobsters who run the European Union.”
“The Sun” is owned by the far right billionaire Rupert Murdoch,… continue reading
The Parrot Seeks a Cage
Here is that parrot again, bird of paradise, thundering from his cage in rhyme royal, claiming his liberty to speak his truth. He fears for his young and sees no true or worthy leaders anywhere, merely creatures of self-interest seeking their own gain from our flounderings in the valley of the shadow…
Or put it another way : where’s the… continue reading