changes of colour
cannot disguise reality
working a treadmill
~
CLP 29/10/2021
on the wheel
Tag Archives: Capitalism
on competition
going nowhere fast?
there is an alternative
to the free market
~
n.b. How can it be free when it’s costing the Earth?
~
CLP 26/10/2021
daylight robbery
this is ours
the canvas that fills with cumuli
where delicate cirrus decorates our moon
where Sun drags its heat from dawn to dusk
the venue of Venus, the field for Mars
where Saturn plays perpetual hula hoop
dance floor of Jupiter and its spinning jewels
backdrop for all our stars
this is our space you build in
concreting our view
damping our days
darkening our nights
boxing the light
constricting our breath
into narrow alleyways
you, who have enclosed our commons
now prepare to steal our sky
~
n.b. Time to draw a line to protect our light. Walls are being built on river banks and coasts for the few who are buying up our common views, breathing space and sense of space.
Norwich is being slowly smothered by these concrete and glass blocks. The Wensum is being enclosed.
Watching the building foundations being sunk is fascinating until you realise how deep the piles go and then the horror takes over; the sky is being taken from us.
~
CLP 15/10/2021
on Switzerland vi
constant spinning web
silk threads entangle us all
we await spider
~
n.b. Mountains shown are in France…national borders are just lines on maps after all, or mountains, or rivers, or wastelands, or shores.
CLP 28/09/2021
On Work i
what do we call it
when forty plus hours isn't
enough to pay rent?
~
CLP 28/08/2021
Herds
Based on ‘Words’ by Tadeusz Różewicz
(translated from the Polish by Bill Johnston)
Published by archipelago books (New York, 2007)
Herds
Herds are rounded up
treated as fodder
for innocent smiles
reduced to mere patties
sold by a clown
.
macerated with machined steel
compressed into packets
wrapped
conveniently for
shipping
.
distant forests
have been cleared
reduced to pasture
for consumers
who know not this work
.
soon
disposed of
through the human gut
‘though residual traces lie in wait
still living
.
converted blood
converted bone
converted to something
else we use up
converted from living
creatures to
foodstuff
~
n.b. 
Day 5 take a poem and convert its shape and sound into something of your own, using the first letter of each line from the original to start your own poem. I have taken the shape of a poem and used it as a template for my own, but using my own first letters. Not the original prompt, but as with all prompts, a starting point, not a proscriptive set of rules, (for me…). Also the original poem is not out online for you to cross reference, as far as I can find, sorry.
~
CLP (05/04/2021)
L3 (Day 39): On Foot
The city is bounded by rivers. Banked up inside their curves, the sprawl of the urban is curtailed and it takes no time to escape into open farmland.
Further on is protected woodland and a lake (“broad”) that was formed from industrial era excavations. Both pleasant locations for exercise.
Every square inch of land is managed, clearly designated as recreational, industrial, residential, commercial, farming, military, conservation, transport, or the ominously labelled developmental land use.
Those who own land are well represented in Parliament, the House of Lords and Buckingham Palace. All changes pass through these vested powers slowly and grudgingly.
What do we need a say in land use for now commons land is an anachronism? Move along people, nothing to see here.
Walking for three hours compensated for a day at my desk yesterday.
~
CLP 14/02/2021
On Losing (8)
Big Pharma profits
will have to take a back seat
to humanity
~
n.b. Intellectual property rights and patents are all very well, but as with HIV, not worth the paper they are written on if used to hold a gun to the heads of the poor, or inhibit production of effective vaccines for Covid-19.
If you have not heard about the idea of the “intellectual commons” this is a good place to start. https://www.monbiot.com/2016/12/15/the-fortifying-commons/
~
CLP 10/12/2020
On Numbers (20)
No Babel’s tower
development allowed here.
Sanity prevails.
~
n.b. Good news for the city of Norwich as permission is denied by national government to build a 20 storey office block in a city full of empty shops and offices. Can anyone seriously pretend such a dreadful construction is needed? Why would a councillor be upset by this decision?
Probably because this monstrosity is currently dominating the proposed development site. Why not build some user-friendly low-level social housing? It’s a very convenient site for town and there is access to the countryside along Marriott’s Way. Maybe even engage with likely residents to assist with designs?
CLP 14/11/2020
On Wealth
Although pollen rich
Sweet scent of nectar still draws
The bee far from home
.
CLP 27/12/2018
Voyage des Mots 