The poems of Brian Bilston.

[bindeweede]

Yes, I've ordered it!

It is an objet d’art; a beautiful jacket, colourful endpapers, French flaps. Shame about the words inside but you can’t have everything, I suppose.

https://brianbilston.com/2016/09/07/you ... -update-2/

[bindeweede]

The book arrived today, and it's the sort of thing which is wonderful just to dip into now and again. Here's a short poem which seems typical of some of his patterns.

You Can't Judge a Book

you can't judge a book
by its cover
but neither can
you cover a judge
with a book

unless the book
is a foldy-out one
with a map or something

[chaggle]

The book arrived today, and it's the sort of thing which is wonderful just to dip into now and again. Here's a short poem which seems typical of some of his patterns.

You Can't Judge a Book

you can't judge a book
by its cover
but neither can
you cover a judge
with a book

unless the book
is a foldy-out one
with a map or something

Without meaning to be rude about it, I imagine it would be good by the loo.

[bindeweede]

Fair enough, but I have to say I enjoy his play with words, odd rhymes, non-rhymes and the short and long structures. Here's a short one not from the book, which just makes me smile.

Ex-limerick

There once was a man from Nantucket
who, tired of living in a lewd limerick,
upped sticks and resettled
in a piece of free verse,
just outside Chepstow.

And as he dislikes the Mail, 4x4s, Clarkson and Trump (and others), I'm happy to persevere. Here's a longer one, again, not from the book.

Halloween, 2016



This Halloween, I shall dress as the year 2016
and emit a frightful, fulgent sheen
from my orange-pumpkin-Donald-Trumpkin head.

I shall adopt the gait of Theresa May’s Living Dead,
and howl like a slithy Gove under a waxy moon.
My chest will be scarred with Brexit wounds.

I shall visit all doorsteps across this haunted land
with a leer on my face and a beer in my hand,
like a phantasmal, sharp-fanged Nigel Farage.

A dagger will be sticking out of my back
(the Severed Hand of Boris will still be attached).
And there, trailing behind me, poor fools,

will be the ghosts of the heroes you’d pinned to your walls,
all those pop stars and comics and actors
who filled up your lives with music and laughter.

Alongside them will be the bombed and the drowned,
the beheaded, the starved, the blown-up, the gunned-down,
from American nightclubs to Syrian towns.

So Trick or Treat! Happy Halloween!
If you’re not in when I knock, no fear;
I’ll be here all year.

PS. I wonder what his real name is.

[Tom_I]

I am a devotee of Brian Bilston's poetry. I particularly like the short Twitter-length verses.

[Tom_I]

And things like:

POEM FOR INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY

never do yoga
dressed in a toga

always wear
a leotard

check first
it is not
a leopard

or your life
will be placed
in jeopard

y

[Tom_I]

And this quite extraordinary poem. As the author says, stay with it, and follow the instructions at the end.


REFUGEES

They have no need of our help
So do not tell me
These haggard faces could belong to you or me
Should life have dealt a different hand
We need to see them for who they really are
Chancers and scroungers
Layabouts and loungers
With bombs up their sleeves
Cut-throats and thieves
They are not
Welcome here
We should make them
Go back to where they came from
They cannot
Share our food
Share our homes
Share our countries
Instead let us
Build a wall to keep them out
It is not okay to say
These are people just like us
A place should only belong to those who are born there
Do not be so stupid to think that
The world can be looked at another way

(now read from bottom to top)

Brian Bilston

[Tony.Williams]

And this quite extraordinary poem. As the author says, stay with it, and follow the instructions at the end.

Brilliant!

[bindeweede]

[Ketchup]

And this quite extraordinary poem. As the author says, stay with it, and follow the instructions at the end.


REFUGEES

They have no need of our help
So do not tell me
These haggard faces could belong to you or me
Should life have dealt a different hand
We need to see them for who they really are
Chancers and scroungers
Layabouts and loungers
With bombs up their sleeves
Cut-throats and thieves
They are not
Welcome here
We should make them
Go back to where they came from
They cannot
Share our food
Share our homes
Share our countries
Instead let us
Build a wall to keep them out
It is not okay to say
These are people just like us
A place should only belong to those who are born there
Do not be so stupid to think that
The world can be looked at another way

(now read from bottom to top)

Brian Bilston

I like this.

[Tinkerbell]

Brilliant! Love it!

[bindeweede]

Brian Bilston on if English loses "EU".

[Croydon13013]

I'm pleased that by starting this thread I've played a small part in spreading the word about BB but I'm also surprised that he hasn't achieved far greater fame and fortune yet.

I'm always mentioning and quoting him and have never met anyone else who is previously familiar with his work.

[bindeweede]

Have Yourself a Brexit Little Christmas

Have yourself a Brexit little Christmas
and fill your days with fun,
because we know our troubles will have just begun.

Have yourself a Brexit little Christmas
and drink your days away.
From now on, our troubles will be here to stay.

Here we are as in olden days,
so-called golden days of yore.
Failing those who are near to us
for they are dear to us no more.

So just say auf wiedersehen to Europe,
au revoir and ciao,
then hang a tattered flag upon a lonely bough,
and have yourself a Brexit little Christmas now.

[bindeweede]

From The Encyclopedia of Alternative Facts


Frankenstein was the monster’s name.
There’s no such thing as climate change.
A solero is a type of hat.
The planet is not round but flat.

Six is the legal drinking age.
Women are paid an equal wage.
Elvis was influenced by Take That.
The planet is not round but flat.

Achilles had a dodgy knee.
Terror comes from refugees.
Insomnia affects most cats.
The planet is not round but flat.

There are no fascists on the rise.
A politician never lies.
It’s impossible to change a fact.
The planet is not round but flat.