Melancholy

Winter had died a slow and lingering demise.
As springs subtle silhouette hinted at better times.
Warmer fruit filled days will soon come, 
and the sun will break from behind the clouds.
This was a  promise that mother nature,
had never once failed to deliver.
She will lighten my mood just as quickly as winter had dampened it.
but: inevitability the seasons return
and that will remain forever more.



A version of this poem has now been published in AD LIB 2012 - A poetry collection from Rising Brook Writers. 
ISBN 978-0-9557086-9-5

Bad start

Just when you thought
'It can't get any worse'
Oh My God!!
Toothpaste down my shirt.

Last throw

From the dirtiest of clay
A potter forms his treasure
With our own hard toil
our perseverance and imagination
We can often create a future
That far excedes our measure

Poems and Pints at The Leopard

The Leopard Inn Hotel in Burslem, Stoke on Trent is the superb venue for the monthly ‘Poems and Pints’ night, that is hosted by the well-known musician Richard Faulkner in partnership with the City Voices Writers from Hanley.
The night is being advertised inside the venue as taking part on ‘the last Tuesday of the month’ and has so far been quite well attended by the 20 or so regular members of the City Voices forum.

The group is probably better known for its festival of words and music, which again has been held at the Leopard Hotel for many years, and has been so popular it has even brought them to the attention of The Sentinel ‘our hero’ awards for their hard work raising funds for many local charities.

This is the first time the group has ventured out into the ‘pub scene’ in Stoke on Trent. With many similar ‘poetry nights’ springing up all over and around Staffordshire and The Moorlands, they will certainly have their work cut out to both entertain the general public and to have the many local poets flocking to share their own work to both their fellow writers and with an eager and attentive crowd.

For me the night was quite ‘sterile’ when it is compared to the many ‘poetry slams’ and hip hop nights that I have attended over the years, but that said; this is Stoke on Trent so maybe my expectations are far too high just yet

My only ‘real gripe’ was that the vast bulk of work read on the night was by members of City Voices reading comedy verse, various ‘meaningful prose’ and some recollections of the 1950′s that I have heard many, many times before (being a former member of City Voices for many years)

My concern is this: If this night is to survive and to flourish with so many similar ’open mic nights’ that also cater for poets and comedians, it will surely need a constant and varied influx of ‘new blood’ and ‘new ideas’ to keep it interesting and not quickly become ‘just another city voices meeting, in a pub’

Stephen Harvey

All Sorts

The new anthology by City Voices Writers Forum is now ON SALE and features 7 of my poems from this blog and one new one.

She

Riots

Murder in Crabtree Field

Froghall

Princess

Molly Leigh

Down and Out

Body Blow

The Healing Stone

The Gawton Stone - Knypersley

In woodland copse where fawns did roam
Here lies the wondrous Gawton Stone
That rests middling those waters deep
from ancient tor where magic seeped
It holds a cure from bygone days
That broke a mind but cured a plague
An hermits life within hard rocks
A show for lords who stood and watched.

Information

The Gawton stone lies within a country park that is north east of  Knypersley reservoir in Biddulph, Staffordshire.The stone is approximately 15 cubic metres in size and is thought to weigh approximately 40 tonnes. It rests on three smaller stones and it must have been quite a feat of engineering to put it in place. It is also very near to other sites of interest including: Gawtons well and Druids Grove, both of which have been long regarded hold mystical significance.

The Gawton Stone siite dates back as far as the dark ages and is possibly pre-historic in origin. It is regarded as a healing stone, said to have magical powers. Excavation work in the nineteen hundreds revealed it had once been used as a burial site. There is a legend of a man being cured of the plague after submerging himself in Gawtons well and living the life of a hermit thereafter, sheltering underneath the Gawton Stone for many years and being of much amusement to the guests of the local land owners who often ate picnics near by.

Shield me

An umbrella can shield from the snow and rain
But it blocks the sun that may brighten again.

Still Waters - AVAILABLE NOW

Rising Brook Writers presents 'Still Waters' 2011 poetry collection.

The collection features 4 of my poems written in 2011 alongside Stoke On Trent's best local poets. It is available to purchase from the registered charity

RCN :11117227 for £5.00

The book and group is supported by their patron and renowned poet Ian McMillan

ISBN 978-0-9557086-8-8

Purchase here