Anybody there?

It's been a long while since I blogged, sorry if you missed me but I think in the end you're only as good as your last blog and, more importantly, I think blogs are better in the NOW than THEN. So a change of direction from what was to what is. I'm not abandoning the whole idea of reviewing my past but, I want to add in some reflections about now to give a rich flavour and more to chew on.

 

I take the lead on all of this from my daughter-in-law's blog: www.katson.blogspot.com . It is, in my opinion, one of the best blogs that you'll come across. There again, another good one is Melvyn Bragg's weekly blog (which you can reach via the BBC website). So, with those two as torches in the world of blogs, let me go on into the realm of exploration. Come with me on the journey, let me know you're there. It's going to be good ...

 

Bounce. Wow that was a long nap. It's all dingy in here, with lots of cobwebs everywhere. But it is beginning to clear. Trouble is, when I left you I had just celebrated the publication of my poem about Ezra Pound; the result of ten years in the making. A milestone. Now where? Well that was in the early part of the 21st century and I had to concentrate on other things than writing (a mistake I know, but I had sold my soul to mammon long ago). But when I could find time, I found that my creative impulses were turning away from just poetry to fiction. I will give some examples later but, for now, here's a musing from my notebook:

 

As you listen to the fortune

of the wind

and understand the creaks

of the bark

 

Play me now

I am unto you.

 

And have always been.

 

It is a mark I carry

as a symbol

a cast from the rest.

 

We are joined

but individual

a band

of criers.

 

I am, but many

that kiss the stone

and pats the hand

upon my shoulder.

 

Hang on, I said I would be in the now and not just the then: so how about Stephen Poliakoff? Last night there was a celebration of his work on BBC2. Magnificent. Such an imagination. Poetry for the eye. The man claims he makes films for television because he has complete control. Film industry: give him complete control. We need his work on the big screen. NOW. I know what makes him great, it's because he's a writer, as well as a director. That's why he needs complete control so he can take us into his mind and show us his creations. I have always seen the mind as a spiral staircase with landings containing collections that we discover on our way to seeing...well I haven't got to the top yet, so I cannot tell you what's there, but on the way the light holes get bigger, you can see further, and the clatter of that that is down below becomes less and less.

 

So, I'm back, hope you'll want to stay with me. If you do, what do I offer: weekly musings, a mix of stuff on the style of Kathy's blog. Most importantly, it would be good to have a dialogue. I met some great people on a recent trip to San Francisco to see my son and daughter-in-law: if this blog gets passed on like a round robin; greetings to you all, I so much enjoyed being in your company.

 

Until the next time, keep climbing your own staircase: I'll wave to you from my peep-holes.