Author: Raven

I am a freelance writer and poet and started writing after raising my two boys as a way of discovering just who Jez is. That is still very much an on-going project but the journey so far has introduced me to many wonderful friends and fellow writers through an ever growing love of poetry.

Hercules Staying the Course of the River Alpheus by Francisco de Zurbarán

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Hercules Staying the Course of the River Alpheus by Francisco de Zurbaran Hercules Staying the Course of the River Alpheus1634BaroqueOil on canvasMuseo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain Zubarán depicts a near-naked Hercules stood on a rocky outcrop with his left arm resting on a walking stick. One of a series of ten paintings depicting the … Continue reading Hercules Staying the Course of the River Alpheus by Francisco de Zurbarán

Winter by Antonio Vivaldi

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https://youtu.be/TZCfydWF48c Winter1725Baroque Antonio Vivaldi Antonio VivaldiBaroqueBorn: 4 March 1678, Venice, ItalyNationality: ItalianDied: 28 July 1741, Vienna, Austria Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was a composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric. He is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and within his lifetime his influence was widespread across Europe. He composed numerous concertos for the violin … Continue reading Winter by Antonio Vivaldi

Rime Royal Notes

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The Rime Royal is a seven-line stanza, with each line consisting of ten syllables or iambic pentameter and a rhyme. Rhyme Scheme: ababbcc Example Invisible Hand by Jez farmer I sought the sanctuary of her lightWithin silver beams that caress the earthShe brings lost souls comfort throughout the nightAs witches dance and sing with full … Continue reading Rime Royal Notes

Who Rang the Bell 

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Drinking tea while reading Ivor – perfect. Excellent poetry

Ivor.Plumber/Poet

I am a tiring old writer

like apunch-drunkfighter

who buckled and fell

before the round eleven bell

lying flat on the bloody canvas

wishing Iwereambidextrous

like the incredible Emily Dickison

(Oh, she must have been!)

and I still have more stories in my subconscious

ring the bell for round twelve

I am in the corner, blindly courageous

sitting here within my dizziness

waiting for the new world to stop being carnivorous

Ivor Steven (c) January 2022

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Out to Sea

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A Garret Poet

Out to Sea
Form: Saraband Sonnet

Along the stream there gently floats
Autumntide's gift, a golden leaf
That trails the water like sailboats.
It slips away beyond all reach
On past grass laden river banks
Beside the kirk as folks give thanks
Onward! Onward to sunset's beach.
The fishing girl with eager eyes
Reflecting gold in disbelief
On it goes beneath moonlit skies.
The dancing shadows lift their boughs
As if to say a bon voyage
The faster waters beckon with rage
And echoes round the ocean's soughs

©JGFarmer2012

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Essence by Sight of Emptiness

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Adapting their lifestyles to become just as one And accepting all the creatures they have found Just consuming what they need instead of waste The resources of a dying earth the needs help of everybody who wants to survive...

Guardians of the Secret by Jackson Pollock

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Guardians of the Secret by Jackson Pollock Guardians of the Secret1943Abstract ExpressionismOil on canvasSan Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, USA Often interpreted as an allegory for the emergence of unconscious impulses into conscious thought, ‘Guardians of the Secret’ represents a fusion of Pollock’s sources. Drawn from the imagery of African, Native American, and prehistoric … Continue reading Guardians of the Secret by Jackson Pollock

My Beautiful Muse

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A Garret Poet

My Beautiful Muse
Form: Saraband Sonnet

I hear her speak in lunar light
With eyes that sparkle through the dark;
Her gentle words demand I write.
Each time the pen and paper meet
I feel her presence drawing near
And like a kiss I turn to greet
The love I hold so very dear.
Now paper sheets are waiting for
My fountain pen to leave its mark
And speak of love like ne'er before.
The ink responds to softly tease
With words my heart has longed to say
For her who set my soul to ease
The woman I love more each day

©JGFarmer2012

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Dare to Dream

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Dare to DreamForm: Balesian Sonnet She left me standing here without a chance,alone, no light to see within this place.Yet still, I dream beyond this night's disgrace,no words of love to guide my heart's romance.I long to hear her voice caress my ears;she is the blood that surges through my veins;my love complete, in faith … Continue reading Dare to Dream

Flannel Shirt

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A poem that really touches those feels

Hurt Tunnel

I got this new flannel off Amazon yesterday

and I’m wearing it to work this morning.

It’s black and blue and really brings out the color

of my skin, I think.

My father and I used to love shopping

for plaid and flannel shirts at Goodwill,

and I’m pretty sure he’d try to guilt me

out of this one I’m wearing if he were still here.

Dad, I’m not sure what you want me to say.

You knew it was bound to happen eventually,

you had that heart condition and

the drinking wasn’t slowing down,

so, are you really surprised you died the way you did?

The way I heard it described was that

they found you in a flannel shirt and jeans

and your socks weren’t all the way on.

You must have looked like one of Santa’s little helpers

on your side in the fetal position,

reaching for…

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Seagulls

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Seagull cries over Cardigan Bay Remembering all that fateful day A spell cast by Dylan beneath the sea Wave comes fast to steal away...

Falling Stars

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Today I had my cup of Assam reading Stephen

Through The Cracked Window (Revisited)

We are all but falling stars
Shedding light across the sky
Nights inky canvas brought to life
Morning dew the joy we cry

Silence bleed the coming song
Our breeze in rustled leaves
Whispered grace to sooth the fire
Lost youth for which we grieve

Starlight twinkle before the dawn
To sleep with each new day
And rise anew as dusk draws near
Kissing the sun as it slips away

Stoic Poetry

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Nue Couchée by Dorothea Tanning

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Nue Couchée by Dorothea Tanning Nue Couchée1969-70SculptureCotton textile, cardboard, 7 table tennis balls, wool and threadTate, London, UK A sculptural piece, Nue Couchée introduces Tanning’s weighty, contorted, and headless figures. The work stands in defiant subversion to the languid reclining female sitter of classical painting, confronting outdated fantasy projections of the female body by presenting … Continue reading Nue Couchée by Dorothea Tanning

Tatermarsch by Johannes Haarklou

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https://youtu.be/9OU64-uk_3U TatermarschPoetic Piano Johannes Haarklou Johannes HaarklouOrchestralBorn: 13 May 1847, Førde, NorwayNationality: NorwegianDied: 26 November 1926, Oslo, Norway Haarklou was a composer, organist, conductor, and music critic. He attended Balestrand lærerskole followed by the Stord lærerskole, graduating in 1868. Haarklou studied the organ and harmony in Drammen, and in 1872 studied with Ludvig Mathias Lindeman … Continue reading Tatermarsch by Johannes Haarklou

Heart of Stone by Suzi Quatro

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Well I gambled, played the game Took my chances once again Yes I'm always a fool for love when I'm feeling lonely And I know he's caused me pain But I need him just the same 'Cos I ain't got the strength to say no when the nights are colder...

Dust and Rain

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Ivor says it all here

Ivor.Plumber/Poet

Feature Image Above: A watercolour painting by Carole Steven.

Dust and Rain

Life eventually returns to dust

Think me morbid if you must

Funerals do that to me

Eulogies sting me like a bee

That gentle bite numbed my mind

To that sea of blurry faces, sincere and kind

My selfless tears did drown

In memories of pain

Of her being lowered down

On that day when I could not stop the rain

Ivor Steven (c) January 2022

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Thich Nhat Hanh passes on . . . May our loving thoughts strengthen him.

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Purplerays

    .

    This body is not me,
    I am not limited by this body.
    I am life without boundaries.

    I have never been born,
    and I have never died.

    Look at the infinite oceans and skies filled with stars,
    Manifestations from the basis of consciousness

    Since beginningless time I have been free.
    Birth and death are only doors through which we pass,
    sacred thresholds on our journey.

    Birth and death are a game of hide-and-seek.
    So laugh with me,
    hold my hand,
    let us say good-bye,
    say good-bye, to meet again soon.

    We meet today,
    We will meet again tomorrow.
    We will meet at the source every moment.
    We meet each other in all forms, on the myriad paths of life.

    ~ Thích Nhất Hạnh, “No Death, No Fear”
    (11 Oct 1926 – 22 Jan 2022)

          Text and image source: The Cosmic Dancer https://www.facebook.com/1575991952646313/posts/3097589553819871/

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          Searching for locations: The Mary Valley Rattler, Gympie, Queensland, Australia

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          Thrills, Spills, and just a dash of Romance

          I have a passion for visiting transport museums, to see old trains, planes, buses, cars, even ships if it’s possible.

          This has led to taking a number of voyages on the TSS Earnslaw in Queenstown, New Zealand.

          Many, many, many years ago on Puffing Billy, a steam train in the Dandenongs, Victoria, Australia.

          The steam train in Kingston, New Zealand, before it was closed down, but hopefully it will reopen sometime in the future.

          The London Transport Museum in London England, which had a lot of buses.

          The Workshops Railway Museum in Ipswich, Queensland, where once the many steam engines were built and maintained, and now had only a handful of engines remaining.

          However, in the quest for finding and experiencing old transportation methods, we came across the Mary Valley Rattler, which runs out of Gympie, Queensland, Australia.

          The ride begins in Gympie at the old Gympie Railway station, and…

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          Artist Exposé | Street Photography — Edge of Humanity Magazine

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          Photographer Laurence Bouchard is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of these images.  To see Laurence’s body of work, click on any photograph.                     All images © Laurence Bouchard         Edge of Humanity Magazine is an independent nondiscriminatory platform that has no…Artist Exposé | … Continue reading Artist Exposé | Street Photography — Edge of Humanity Magazine

          Hands by Russell Edson

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          There was a road that leads him to go to find a certain time where he sits. Smokes quietly in the evening by the four legged table wagging its (well why not) tail, friendly chap...

          Heart of Fire by Brian Easdale

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          https://youtu.be/Y597hYxTctk Heart of Fire1948Film and TV Brian Easdale Brian EasdaleOpera, Film and TV, Orchestral, ChoralBorn: 10 August 1909, Manchester, UKNationality: EnglishDied: 30 October 1995, London, UK Easdale was a composer of operatic, orchestral, film, and choral music. He was best known for his film music including Black Narcissus(1947), The Red Shoes (1948), and The Battle … Continue reading Heart of Fire by Brian Easdale