Today I'm thrilled to be hosting Don Matthews of The Flippant, Comic, and Serious once again at EIF. Don hails from Australia and always writes with his mate Skip (featured above, tired out from all the hilarity) at his side. He taps into the silly side of things quite delightfully, but there is also a... Continue Reading →
30 Years On #poetry #bereavement
30 years since you walked out that doorinto another world, unknown to meand did you know, that fateful night the wounds you would be opening?Unhealed for 30 years and moreno doubtunending till eternity should close my eyesas they closed yoursand I can never know the details: where did you go in?I hope that it was high upthat your neck... Continue Reading →
Autumn or Fall? #poetry #Autumn #Fall
Autumn or Fall:Which is more poetic?These words tell me where you come from:Where I’m from, we say ‘Autumn’Which sounds nice but doesn’t mean anything apart from a new seasonwhereas ‘Fall,’ now, there’s a loaded word:Leaves fallWe stand or fall by our words, catch cold (or worse) and thenAtishoo! Atishoo!We all fall down...Fall or Autumn?I do not... Continue Reading →
Postcards from Slovenia #28: Piran
Piran is the Venetian jewel of Slovenia's picturesque coastline. Though we've paid a flying visit here in an earlier postcard, this unspoilt historic town is certainly worth a closer look. History of Piran St George's Church The earliest surviving written reference to Piran as a town dates from the 7th century A.D., at which time... Continue Reading →
EIF Poetry Challenge #6: Quatrain
For today's Poetry Challenge, we are going to take a look at Quatrains, which simply put are 4-line stanzas. They normally follow a strict rhyming scheme, e.g.: ABAB: I went to the Garden of Love,And saw what I never had seen:A chapel was built in the midst,Where I used to play on the green. From... Continue Reading →
‘My Other-Me:’ a new #poem published at Free Verse Revolution
I submitted a new poem, 'My Other-Me' to Free Verse Revolution in response to the October prompt, 'Reflections.' I am delighted to say that the poem has been published over at FVR in advance of the new month: My Other-Me The bent swans’ necksformed a heart-shapereflected in the lake:I thought of you.My Other-Mereflected in themirror-glass... Continue Reading →
Harvesting the Blues #Haibun #dVerse
I have just learned from tonight's dVerse prompt that both the harvest moon and a blue moon await us this October. Well, that shows how much I know about the moon, or the harvest for that matter. I thought I'd already seen the harvest moon this year. I cannot claim to be over moon-aware, but... Continue Reading →
Guest Post: ‘Willy-Nilly’ by Don Matthews
Today I am delighted to bring you another guest post from the wonderfully talented and unashamedly silly Don Matthews of 'The Flippant, Comic, and Serious.' In today's poem he is channelling his all-time hero, Spike Milligan. Even if Don's cat, 'Silly Billy' (pictured above) is not impressed, I'm sure you will be: Willy-Nilly I would... Continue Reading →
Slovene Cuisine #4: Soup of the Day
There is a saying in Slovenia: brez juhice ni kosila - 'without soup, there is no dinner.' It is traditional to serve soup as a starter with the main meal of the day in Slovenia. You will always find a dnevna juha - 'soup of the day' on the menu in traditional gostilnas (pubs with... Continue Reading →
Tone Pavček – Translation
Tone Pavček was one of Slovenia's most renowned modern poets. His work was recommended to me by a family member who knew I liked poetry. So I borrowed a book of his poems from the library. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find many translations of his work into English, so I thought I'd... Continue Reading →