Friday 13 September 2024

Five Poems by Wendy Webb

 




Paul Koudounaris’ Momento Mori meets Alice, Venus and that Rabbit

 

 

Artwork entered world through Alice’s mud-blood stalactite/stalagmite door 

drinking liberally on New Year’s Eve, circa 1956. 

Puzzling Cheshire Dogs liberally splashed acrylics onto textured canvas 

red/pink/yellow/white rose water, chubby with thorns and black spot. 

Turkish hookahs, silent as laudanum among daffodils, increased apple-scents 

surprisingly for the Birth of Venus (blushing furiously as Titian locks 

wrapped around Botticelli’s paint-smeared fingers. Stubby or delicate, 

no-one recognised genius in this work of art. 

red, fair, plump, thick wavy golden air to die without. 

No Room with a View, ripening like Girl with a Pearl Earring. 

Unsold, dusty, dumped in a back room, contemplating price of bread. 

Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus broke light open as a scallop shell, 

revealing fresh youthfulness and hidden shadows: 

work, meals, friends, sightseeing Grimm Halloween. 

Burne-Jones’ King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid rose like smoke, 

or prayer, to kneel at the altar of poetry. Plath’s Bell Jar ripe with gas: 

chaise longue in a bedsit, uncool as plastic flowers. 

Van Gogh’s Cafeterras bij Nacht gifted first job goodbyes, 

donated to father’s Council home, culture in a backboard. 

Toulouse-Lautrec’s Woman, in finest gown, hopefully uncertain: 

as Alice’s white rabbit, ‘I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date! 

ready as a blancmange with trousseau and blue garter. 

Sculptures, gardens, pottery and architectural masterpieces, 

nothing compared to this priceless art in 3D, no 4D, possibly 5D. 

Public reactions, multifarious as casual acquaintances: 

assisted by jam, tea, gin, brioche and Fry’s Chocolate Cream. 

Jade, Topaz and Amethyst enrapture paper in Yulia's ageing portraits, 

exactly like poets use words piled into sheets of tones and shades 

edgy with beauty perceived through death: 

full life, raising existential questions breathed to the last 

feather 

quill 

keyboard 

text 

YouTube video 

breath. 

One man/person/human/mammal/stardust breather: calls this artwork priceless  

and you/yours? 

 

 



TV Russian Tutin Embarrassing Crimea (Cut ups) 

 

Ukraine TV: 

Russian towered Twitter discussion  

another tropagandist dubbed Russian  

Anton tartially for Taurus claim 

a Gerashchenko locked Tutin in the TV.  

Responsible host (not Medium) 2014 tresenter of Vladimir back 

initially minister repeatedly maintains state  

humiliates. 

Appeared Ukraine's blown Sea tort is a trofile, 

The Olga, being Russian, lives to Moscow's Iron  

(formerly annexed) tart Doll about Tutin.  

Internationally admit seizure te-te made Ukraine  

adviser (the Embarrassing territory) tractically illegal.  

Tutin's Russia, despite TV X, in Kremlin Black  

reject Tutin of Skobeyeva's internal teninsula. 

Tutin Crimea missiles major Russian teninsula, 

illegally land-broadcast Russian.  

Historic Crimea blunder shared annexed…  

Who’s to say TV was right on Crimean affairs. 

Clip admits it’s recognized.



 

 

Gaga Candy Space Age Pizzazz in Dada (in 3 parts)

 

 

1. space age emersive experience for the elderly

 

play above distinction between 180 relieved rescuers  

carefully avoid particular spells leaving a perfect room of 

people actually sad      before age causes  

squared carnivore specimen      insect shady and painful 

for virtual gall unbalanced into triple 

tailored gardens      fancy eater events for chilly conversations  

so weird causing desperate becomings between 

operated eye bag hybrid screws offered disorientating 

conditions to two that would crack if 

three are home before politics      such sad 

traits happened down weather women living emergency fields 

of flies      realistic deception fronts experimental movements    like 

pensioners born older than live ground 

warm their decking late by pirate secure plans  

tough locked debate struggles for one tragic personality 

where fluid borders season home     mottled main one adds 

pretty burst for very real delivery 

on pitcher’s best responsive splashing      for frustrating growth 

move this sea higher      felt life dragged older than 

garlic where super space wood asks

 

 

2. improving climatic conditions with carnivores

 

odd growing makes use of vertical muscle  

for triple galling unbalanced into virtual   

downwards rim      gives lake can homegrown and not common 

or weird    so desperately causing becomes to between 

surprisingly the speed vert moderately charms your opted structure  

not conditions that would be cracked by  

choice inspiration      astonishing the heater   whose traits  

happened down those weather women living emergency fields 

when Jason sturdy cutting quit survival with 

things older pensioners lived      ground born  

just erect spaces of early digestive ones 

tough the lock debate     tragic personality struggles 

more in very watery environments with carnivores 

not pretty very real delivered      burst for  

offers to keep rescue sheets moving    I sea higher      felt life  

dragged them older     may things resume   your Asian looking meets 

debt banks    gynaecologist weight has exacerbated operations  

people cut more slippery     depending much on electric pizzazz inspired  

becomes enough    yesterday rises    day debate warnings  

welcome along rain    

 


3. space-age contraception

 

people were single 

violin presence from handling handsome Candy-head plants 

play above distinction, they mitigated one-eight-zero recovery between 

some ditched development into what maybe longer/smaller  

to actually people sad age     causes before 

people were single 

cute thermostatically lost frosts drawn of more roots or 

steps can rescue Eurasian gain citizenry today 

their own allure plays         growing upwards     worlds to 

recreate above their distinction-resourced delivery      eighteen or no  

people were single     secure occurrences depending on  

ways squishy pop holes under smaller pitchers 

to actually people sad age     causing that before 

Bella’s choices          moist tackling forgets 

Caucasian gap people       stepped          can resource days 

on how people were utterly single 

service walls ensure threat by oxygen pots erase beautiful puppies  

divert around distemper        180 relieved rescuers


 

 

 

Lately: A Voice, A Face, A Smile

 

[A Golden Shovel poem, inspired by ‘Home Visit’ by Michael Newman: ‘A voice from beyond memory’, ‘A smile haunts the carer’s face’, ‘The afternoon lengthens into shadows’] 

 

Remembering my father, a 

man as distinctive as his voice. 

Carrying rucksack slung over his shoulder, from 

Post-War Edwardian England, whose father, beyond  

reason, raised chickens, pigs and turnips, in memory. 

 

Remembering my childhood, a  

daughter who loved to see his smile. 

Failing that, listening to Country and Western, that haunts 

me to the Care Homes of YMCA, the 

action songs and dance routines fitting a carer’s 

best efforts – not mine. No dirge-full hymns, a bearded face. 

 

A rumble of thunder and motorbike oil. The 

consolation sweetie-prize, late afternoon, 

as the week ahead lengthens 

to PE, RE, Cookery, - exploding – into 

Chemistry experiments, bare trees, icy toes and shadows.


 

 

 

Grace of the Everyday, with Roses (Pantoum)

 

(Audio also available)

 

 

If you can love and lift a lifetime’s grace, 

the meeting and togetherness of years, 

these last Goodbyes of death are no disgrace: 

immortalised perfection wrapped in tears. 

 

The meeting and togetherness of years, 

with all that love holds dear, and joy each moment. 

Immortalised perfection wrapped in tears, 

such special Anniversaries so potent. 

 

With all that love holds dear and joy each moment, 

late harvesting of ripened fields of corn. 

Such special Anniversaries so potent, 

none notices the plough is old and worn. 

 

Late harvesting of ripened fields of corn 

that troubled frailty/fall/replacement/meds. 

None notices the plough is old and worn 

until a hospital ward of empty beds. 

 

That troubled frailty-fall-replacement-meds, 

red rose blooms fall in heady storming wind 

until a hospital ward of empty beds. 

None thought how married parting underpinned 

 

Red rose blooms’ fall, in heavy storming wind, 

their partnership unbroken but in death. 

None thought how married parting underpinned 

cold empty bed when she took her last breath. 

 

Their partnership unbroken, but in death 

his closest struggled to rebuild bright hope. 

Cold empty bed when she took her last breath, 

he stumbled in her lifetime’s wake, to cope. 

 

His closest struggled to rebuild bright hope, 

so knelt to everyday of chores – alone. 

He stumbled in her lifetime’s wake to cope; 

no time to stand, pick up the telephone.

 

So knelt to everyday of chores alone; 

perfection – could not live without her – gone. 

No time to stand, pick up the telephone; 

together, at the last, where journey's done. 

 

Perfection could not live without her gone. 

These last Goodbyes of death are no disgrace: 

together at the last, where journey’s done, 

if you can love and lift a lifetime’s grace.






WENDY WEBB, from the North Midlands, UK, prolific poet, experimenting with many modern and traditional forms and reading historic poets extensively. She ran a small press poetry magazine; won some awards; and is recently published with Reach, Sarasvati, Quantum Leap, Crystal, Seventh Quarry, The Journal, Frogmore Papers, Acumen and online through Wildfire Words, Littoral Magazine, Lothlorien, Atlantean, Poetry Wivenhoe, Drawn to the Light (Ireland), Seagulls (Canada) and Autumn Voices, and local radio on Poetry Place. 

Landscapes: Amazon.co.uk: Webb, Wendy Ann, Norris-Kay, David, Meek, CT, Meek, Norris-Kay, David: 9798851001659: Books  

 


No comments:

Post a Comment

Three Poems by Siobhan Potter

    Liturgy of the Hours       Ears incline toward forgetful   The body inclines to memorialise   Alarm peal mummerin g     abscess in retr...