David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 18
April 1, 2017
Writing - 10 bits of news
It seems that this week's items focus on hidden meanings.
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1. Tyrannosaurus Rex was a sensitive lover
Doesn't look possible
-------------------------------
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2. Eating salt makes you need the loo more in the night
As well as pushing your blood pressure up.
-------------------------------
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3. Canada is going to legalise marijuana "next July"
-------------------------------
[image error]
4. The new £1 coins have a "hidden" security feature
Full face value perhaps?
-------------------------------
[image error]
5. Mice have been living alongside humans for 15,000 years
Not in my house!!!!
-------------------------------
[image error]
6. Eating fruit may be the key to the evolution of bigger brains in humans
Is this desperate science from vegans
-------------------------------
[image error]
7. Gary Barlow is going to be in the next Star Wars film
Is it going to be a musical?
-------------------------------
[image error]
8. Ketchup and brown sauce should be kept in the fridge
No room
-------------------------------
[image error]
9. You will no longer be able to get heartburn and indigestion drugs on the NHS
No need
-------------------------------
[image error]
10. Playing Tetris can help the recovery of trauma victims
Its so boring it induces coma
-------------------------------
God Bless
[image error]
1. Tyrannosaurus Rex was a sensitive lover
Doesn't look possible
-------------------------------
[image error]
2. Eating salt makes you need the loo more in the night
As well as pushing your blood pressure up.
-------------------------------
[image error]
3. Canada is going to legalise marijuana "next July"
-------------------------------
[image error]
4. The new £1 coins have a "hidden" security feature
Full face value perhaps?
-------------------------------
[image error]
5. Mice have been living alongside humans for 15,000 years
Not in my house!!!!
-------------------------------
[image error]
6. Eating fruit may be the key to the evolution of bigger brains in humans
Is this desperate science from vegans
-------------------------------
[image error]
7. Gary Barlow is going to be in the next Star Wars film
Is it going to be a musical?
-------------------------------
[image error]
8. Ketchup and brown sauce should be kept in the fridge
No room
-------------------------------
[image error]
9. You will no longer be able to get heartburn and indigestion drugs on the NHS
No need
-------------------------------
[image error]
10. Playing Tetris can help the recovery of trauma victims
Its so boring it induces coma
-------------------------------
God Bless
March 31, 2017
Writing - Steele travels
Where to set your story is as difficult or as simple as you wish to make it. Steele has travelled from Japan to Egypt to the USA with a variety of stops in between. Most of the places he has been to, I have been lucky enough to visit. One of the benefits of having been to a place is the acquisition of the 'atmosphere of that place. Let me elucidate further.
If you visit Lake Louise in Canada you cannot fail to be struck by the colour, calmness and beauty. Walking alongside the water there is a quiet beauty that photographs do not capture. You can find plenty of photos on the internet but they don't give you the smell of the pines or the stillness of the air and the water.
Lake Louise, Canada
On a visit to Krakow, Poland I made an excursion to Auschwitz and Birkenau.
Birkenau
The photograph above is not a stock image from the internet, I took it personally. Once again walking in the places where millions of people were murdered and then seeing the barrels of gold teeth, mountains of human hair and piles of shoes alters your soul. Photographs alone cannot convey the emotions that such places generate through their history.
I could continue but the fact is that 'hands on' research is always going to be better than internet research. At the beginning of Inceptus I describe the soft Irish rain which you have to experience to fully appreciate the accuracy of that phrase.
Synopsis
In this the 5th Steele novel Patrick tackles the person who has been surreptitiously dogging his footsteps over a number of his adventures. This is not without risk and the focus of his love, Naomi Kobayashi, disappears which seriously affects his ability to function as well as he can. We also find out more about the man himself.The adventure takes him to Eire, France, the USA before he returns to resolve the issue in the UK.Will Patrick finally rid himself of a deadly enemy?Can our hero rescue his love or is it already too late?Another Patrick Steele adventure filled with tension and action as well as the support provided by the team he has developed over the years.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Ince...
God Bless
If you visit Lake Louise in Canada you cannot fail to be struck by the colour, calmness and beauty. Walking alongside the water there is a quiet beauty that photographs do not capture. You can find plenty of photos on the internet but they don't give you the smell of the pines or the stillness of the air and the water.
Lake Louise, Canada
On a visit to Krakow, Poland I made an excursion to Auschwitz and Birkenau.
Birkenau
The photograph above is not a stock image from the internet, I took it personally. Once again walking in the places where millions of people were murdered and then seeing the barrels of gold teeth, mountains of human hair and piles of shoes alters your soul. Photographs alone cannot convey the emotions that such places generate through their history.
I could continue but the fact is that 'hands on' research is always going to be better than internet research. At the beginning of Inceptus I describe the soft Irish rain which you have to experience to fully appreciate the accuracy of that phrase.
Synopsis
In this the 5th Steele novel Patrick tackles the person who has been surreptitiously dogging his footsteps over a number of his adventures. This is not without risk and the focus of his love, Naomi Kobayashi, disappears which seriously affects his ability to function as well as he can. We also find out more about the man himself.The adventure takes him to Eire, France, the USA before he returns to resolve the issue in the UK.Will Patrick finally rid himself of a deadly enemy?Can our hero rescue his love or is it already too late?Another Patrick Steele adventure filled with tension and action as well as the support provided by the team he has developed over the years.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Ince...
God Bless
March 30, 2017
Writing - Scenes
When I have my imagination in action increasingly I find that I am thinking of my stories in scenes rather than in a one piece linear progression. As a result I have been able to slow my pace and produce fatter prose.
[image error]
By that I mean that there is time to consider more fully the site of action in stories and how that influences the players in that scene. This means that the history of the characters has a relevance to the hear and now of their activities.As we all know historical events that influenced us in a given situation will effect our emotions when we find ourselves in that same situation once again. Typically, people revisit favourite holiday places expecting the same pleasurable feelings as previously but minor changes can because great disappointment.
In For the Best I have the same players as in previous stories with some new significant others, that produces familiarity. However, by creating a scene whereby previously dominating and assertive characters, are put into stressful situations changes behaviours. Those observing the action will then see that person from a different viewpoint and so alter opinions. This allows you, the creator, to guide your character in a different and therefore more exciting way.
I used this ploy at the beginning of my 5th novel Inceptus.
Synopsis
In this the 5th Steele novel Patrick tackles the person who has been surreptitiously dogging his footsteps over a number of his adventures. This is not without risk and the focus of his love, Naomi Kobayashi, disappears which seriously affects his ability to function as well as he can. We also find out more about the man himself.The adventure takes him to Eire, France, the USA before he returns to resolve the issue in the UK.Will Patrick finally rid himself of a deadly enemy?Can our hero rescue his love or is it already too late?Another Patrick Steele adventure filled with tension and action as well as the support provided by the team he has developed over the years.
God Bless
[image error]
By that I mean that there is time to consider more fully the site of action in stories and how that influences the players in that scene. This means that the history of the characters has a relevance to the hear and now of their activities.As we all know historical events that influenced us in a given situation will effect our emotions when we find ourselves in that same situation once again. Typically, people revisit favourite holiday places expecting the same pleasurable feelings as previously but minor changes can because great disappointment.
In For the Best I have the same players as in previous stories with some new significant others, that produces familiarity. However, by creating a scene whereby previously dominating and assertive characters, are put into stressful situations changes behaviours. Those observing the action will then see that person from a different viewpoint and so alter opinions. This allows you, the creator, to guide your character in a different and therefore more exciting way.
I used this ploy at the beginning of my 5th novel Inceptus.
Synopsis
In this the 5th Steele novel Patrick tackles the person who has been surreptitiously dogging his footsteps over a number of his adventures. This is not without risk and the focus of his love, Naomi Kobayashi, disappears which seriously affects his ability to function as well as he can. We also find out more about the man himself.The adventure takes him to Eire, France, the USA before he returns to resolve the issue in the UK.Will Patrick finally rid himself of a deadly enemy?Can our hero rescue his love or is it already too late?Another Patrick Steele adventure filled with tension and action as well as the support provided by the team he has developed over the years.
God Bless
March 29, 2017
Poetry Thursday 257 - Bradley and Jermain
No one could fail to be touched by the relationship between highly paid footballer, Jermain Defoe and the terminally ill five year old Bradley Lowry (Brad)
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I have been looking into the construction of ballads and have written the following about Brad and his mate.
The Ballad of Bradley and Jermaine
There was once a fine soccer player called Jermaine Defoe,who displayed his great skills in the city of Sunderland,befriended Bradley Lowry a young lad he didn’t know,from Hartlepool, a Black Cats fan, needing a helping hand.
Young Bradley and player Jermain by popular demand,to represent the club at matches both home and away,before terraces at Everton and Wembley they’d stand,with love and pride before the teams entered the football fray.
Humanity across generations on field of play,as the whole world could observe between two of God’s children,displaying mutual respect and love on the game day,before thousands who were awaiting the football action.
Bradley and Jermain in our hearts with great affection.©David L Atkinson March 2017
The 'ballad' format is interesting but at times I find the metre somewhat limiting.
The story behind the poem and drawing is very touching and deserves researching.
God Bless
[image error]
I have been looking into the construction of ballads and have written the following about Brad and his mate.
The Ballad of Bradley and Jermaine
There was once a fine soccer player called Jermaine Defoe,who displayed his great skills in the city of Sunderland,befriended Bradley Lowry a young lad he didn’t know,from Hartlepool, a Black Cats fan, needing a helping hand.
Young Bradley and player Jermain by popular demand,to represent the club at matches both home and away,before terraces at Everton and Wembley they’d stand,with love and pride before the teams entered the football fray.
Humanity across generations on field of play,as the whole world could observe between two of God’s children,displaying mutual respect and love on the game day,before thousands who were awaiting the football action.
Bradley and Jermain in our hearts with great affection.©David L Atkinson March 2017
The 'ballad' format is interesting but at times I find the metre somewhat limiting.
The story behind the poem and drawing is very touching and deserves researching.
God Bless
March 28, 2017
Writing - How much detail?
It is Tuesday afternoon on a slightly warm and hazy day with the sun tantalisingly close to breaking through and warming us all up.
OR
In this blog I'm looking at the amount of detail that is necessary when writing a story.
It is easier with painting, drawing and sculpture but when writing a story you have more choice and decisions to make. I think it is an area in which I'm not the strongest but I am trying! (Some would say very trying!)
It is a question of pace. When writing the Steele novels I have erred on the side of keeping the pace up but sometimes that is at the expense of the depth of the characters and the convolutions in the plot. It is undoubtedly true that writing, as with other arts, is a learning experience in itself and I have been learning from the writer Peter May. The books I've read thus far are set in the Scottish islands and the descriptions are excellent. In my most recent project I am taking my time and spending it enriching the text that is being produced. (Well that is the aim.)
For the Best
For the Best is a journey into the convoluted world of surveillance, entrapment and intrigue. There will be less fighting and chasing and more trickery which demands more description.
[image error]
Rather like Mr Spock taking the time to describe from every angle is rather like luxuriating in the words you can use. So it is with new found pleasure that I am creating this book.
God Bless
OR
In this blog I'm looking at the amount of detail that is necessary when writing a story.
It is easier with painting, drawing and sculpture but when writing a story you have more choice and decisions to make. I think it is an area in which I'm not the strongest but I am trying! (Some would say very trying!)
It is a question of pace. When writing the Steele novels I have erred on the side of keeping the pace up but sometimes that is at the expense of the depth of the characters and the convolutions in the plot. It is undoubtedly true that writing, as with other arts, is a learning experience in itself and I have been learning from the writer Peter May. The books I've read thus far are set in the Scottish islands and the descriptions are excellent. In my most recent project I am taking my time and spending it enriching the text that is being produced. (Well that is the aim.)
For the Best
For the Best is a journey into the convoluted world of surveillance, entrapment and intrigue. There will be less fighting and chasing and more trickery which demands more description.
[image error]
Rather like Mr Spock taking the time to describe from every angle is rather like luxuriating in the words you can use. So it is with new found pleasure that I am creating this book.
God Bless
March 27, 2017
Tuesday Food Blog - Jollybee spaghetti
Apparently the recipe I played with this week is close to the jollybee spaghetti recipe, I'd never heard of it until last week but it is very much a comfort food style meal.
Jollybee spaghetti
Ingredients
500gms minced pork4 rashers streaky bacon, fried and chopped4 hot dog sausages, sliced1 tin chopped tomatoes2 cloves garlic, chopped1 tbsp oregano2 tbsp tomato puree1 onion, chopped1 pt chicken stockolive oilsalt and black pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion until clear, add the mince and stir until browned. Add the oregano, garlic and tomato puree and stir thoroughly then add the sausage and bacon cook for five minutes. Add the chopped tomato and season well then pour in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.Serve with spaghetti
I've always found spaghetti as a tasty and frustratingly messy dish. This version with the bacon and sausage has extra 'comfort' elements which makes it even tastier. Apparently the jollybee description is akin to a Filipino spaghetti recipe.I made a slight alteration in that I used fried and chopped bacon rashers instead of minced ham. It is my opinion that minced pork and ham are too similar to compliment each other whereas the crunchy bacon rashers add texture and flavour.
God Bless
Jollybee spaghetti
Ingredients
500gms minced pork4 rashers streaky bacon, fried and chopped4 hot dog sausages, sliced1 tin chopped tomatoes2 cloves garlic, chopped1 tbsp oregano2 tbsp tomato puree1 onion, chopped1 pt chicken stockolive oilsalt and black pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion until clear, add the mince and stir until browned. Add the oregano, garlic and tomato puree and stir thoroughly then add the sausage and bacon cook for five minutes. Add the chopped tomato and season well then pour in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.Serve with spaghetti
I've always found spaghetti as a tasty and frustratingly messy dish. This version with the bacon and sausage has extra 'comfort' elements which makes it even tastier. Apparently the jollybee description is akin to a Filipino spaghetti recipe.I made a slight alteration in that I used fried and chopped bacon rashers instead of minced ham. It is my opinion that minced pork and ham are too similar to compliment each other whereas the crunchy bacon rashers add texture and flavour.
God Bless
March 25, 2017
Writing - 10 news items
Personal fears and spurious upgrades.
[image error]
1. Bear Grylls is afraid of cocktail parties
That makes two of us
-------------------------------
[image error]
2. Parrots find 'laughter' contagious and high five in mid-air
Me too!
-------------------------------
[image error]
3. There were a quarter of a million attempts to access Grindr from the Houses of Parliament in December
I've led a sheltered life
-------------------------------
[image error]
4. Donald Trump may have finally upgraded his phone
You can make calls AND text.
-------------------------------
[image error]
5. Living near the best schools "adds £18,600 to house price"
Kids cost us a fortune
-------------------------------
[image error]
6. iPhone users should not say 108 to Siri
FYI 108 is the equivalent of 999 in India and Siri puts you through to the emergency services
-------------------------------
7. Russians hold curling tournaments with cars
Its about all their cars are good for
-------------------------------
8. There is now a muppet with autism on Sesame Street
I like that they've made the effort
-------------------------------
[image error]
9. Bob Dylan loves the Stereophonics
Each to their own
-------------------------------
[image error]
10. Norway is the world's happiest country according to the 2017 World Happiness Report
Okay what's the joke?
-------------------------------
God Bless
[image error]
1. Bear Grylls is afraid of cocktail parties
That makes two of us
-------------------------------
[image error]
2. Parrots find 'laughter' contagious and high five in mid-air
Me too!
-------------------------------
[image error]
3. There were a quarter of a million attempts to access Grindr from the Houses of Parliament in December
I've led a sheltered life
-------------------------------
[image error]
4. Donald Trump may have finally upgraded his phone
You can make calls AND text.
-------------------------------
[image error]
5. Living near the best schools "adds £18,600 to house price"
Kids cost us a fortune
-------------------------------
[image error]
6. iPhone users should not say 108 to Siri
FYI 108 is the equivalent of 999 in India and Siri puts you through to the emergency services
-------------------------------
7. Russians hold curling tournaments with cars
Its about all their cars are good for
-------------------------------
8. There is now a muppet with autism on Sesame Street
I like that they've made the effort
-------------------------------
[image error]
9. Bob Dylan loves the Stereophonics
Each to their own
-------------------------------
[image error]
10. Norway is the world's happiest country according to the 2017 World Happiness Report
Okay what's the joke?
-------------------------------
God Bless
March 24, 2017
Writing - Do we need to know any of the facts?
In looking at the facts in a story and using them to write a new view of events one could ask why bother? We are in the realms of creative writing. We could use nothing of the real details and create a new scenario but in fact using the real events and what comes with them can provide the writer with a ready made audience.
[image error]
There is some attraction in a story which turns convention on its head. It is purely a matter of choice but the idea that I subscribe to is that if you get the level of veracity correct there will be enough natural curiosity in people to encourage them to make them want to read the stories in this genre.
My novels, Flight into Secrecy and 7 Hours After, are written from the conspiracy theorist standpoint because even today not all the facts are known. It allows theories to develop.
Flight into Secrecy
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Flight-Secrecy-What-happened-370-David-Atkinson/1849148570/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490281688&sr=1-9&keywords=david+l+atkinson
7 Hours After
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hours-After-Steele-Novels-Book-ebook/dp/B01MD296UM/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490281688&sr=1-6&keywords=david+l+atkinson
God Bless
[image error]
There is some attraction in a story which turns convention on its head. It is purely a matter of choice but the idea that I subscribe to is that if you get the level of veracity correct there will be enough natural curiosity in people to encourage them to make them want to read the stories in this genre.
My novels, Flight into Secrecy and 7 Hours After, are written from the conspiracy theorist standpoint because even today not all the facts are known. It allows theories to develop.
Flight into Secrecy
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Flight-Secrecy-What-happened-370-David-Atkinson/1849148570/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490281688&sr=1-9&keywords=david+l+atkinson
7 Hours After
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hours-After-Steele-Novels-Book-ebook/dp/B01MD296UM/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490281688&sr=1-6&keywords=david+l+atkinson
God Bless
March 23, 2017
Writing - Searching for truth
It would be remiss of me to let the day go by without mentioning the terror attack in London yesterday. On a purely personal level I find the most upsetting part to be the thought of the families left behind. We have a policeman's wife and his children and the children of a Spanish teacher. What must the pain be like in those households?
[image error]
As an Englishman from the far north I haven't visited the capital that frequently but I have my favourite parts of the city. Last July I spent five days down there and walked all round the area of the Houses of Parliament. There but for the grace of God.
Of course, it is not the first attack on our soil and, sadly, unlikely to be the last. In the future, when the years have cloaked the pain and consigned the events to history, someone will examine these events and create 'answers'!
In truth, stories based upon true events are no more than a search for answers and reasons. Even those occurrences, such as the dambusters raid of WWII, when all of the facts are known are simply searching for the humanness in the event. When you take a snapshot in time surrounding a specific event that occurrence can be viewed in many different ways.
Let's take the analogy of the Dambusters a little further.
[image error]Practising dropping the bouncing bomb
The powers that were had decided that the 3 dams in the Ruhr that supplied the German arms factories with water, should be blown up so that their ability to manufacture arms for the war effort was lost.
The scientists, politicians and generals would have one viewpoint of the action.
Then there were the pilots trained to fly low at night to achieve their target. These were young men chosen for a very dangerous task and as the photo shows practised dropping the bouncing bombs. They would be aware of the hazardous circumstances into which they were flying.
The pilots would have a another viewpoint.Then there were the German soldiers who would encounter the low flying aircraft and manning the gun positions set to protect the dams from attack.
The Germans would have their opinion.
The above three positions would probably produce three very different stories of the same event which we all can find the surrounding facts. The same can be said of the modern day terror events that have been inflicted upon the world.
My novels, Flight into Secrecy and 7 Hours After, are written from the conspiracy theorist standpoint because even today not all the facts are known. It allows theories to develop.
Flight into Secrecy
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Flight-Secrecy-What-happened-370-David-Atkinson/1849148570/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490281688&sr=1-9&keywords=david+l+atkinson
7 Hours After
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hours-After-Steele-Novels-Book-ebook/dp/B01MD296UM/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490281688&sr=1-6&keywords=david+l+atkinson
God Bless
[image error]
As an Englishman from the far north I haven't visited the capital that frequently but I have my favourite parts of the city. Last July I spent five days down there and walked all round the area of the Houses of Parliament. There but for the grace of God.
Of course, it is not the first attack on our soil and, sadly, unlikely to be the last. In the future, when the years have cloaked the pain and consigned the events to history, someone will examine these events and create 'answers'!
In truth, stories based upon true events are no more than a search for answers and reasons. Even those occurrences, such as the dambusters raid of WWII, when all of the facts are known are simply searching for the humanness in the event. When you take a snapshot in time surrounding a specific event that occurrence can be viewed in many different ways.
Let's take the analogy of the Dambusters a little further.
[image error]Practising dropping the bouncing bomb
The powers that were had decided that the 3 dams in the Ruhr that supplied the German arms factories with water, should be blown up so that their ability to manufacture arms for the war effort was lost.
The scientists, politicians and generals would have one viewpoint of the action.
Then there were the pilots trained to fly low at night to achieve their target. These were young men chosen for a very dangerous task and as the photo shows practised dropping the bouncing bombs. They would be aware of the hazardous circumstances into which they were flying.
The pilots would have a another viewpoint.Then there were the German soldiers who would encounter the low flying aircraft and manning the gun positions set to protect the dams from attack.
The Germans would have their opinion.
The above three positions would probably produce three very different stories of the same event which we all can find the surrounding facts. The same can be said of the modern day terror events that have been inflicted upon the world.
My novels, Flight into Secrecy and 7 Hours After, are written from the conspiracy theorist standpoint because even today not all the facts are known. It allows theories to develop.
Flight into Secrecy
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Flight-Secrecy-What-happened-370-David-Atkinson/1849148570/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490281688&sr=1-9&keywords=david+l+atkinson
7 Hours After
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hours-After-Steele-Novels-Book-ebook/dp/B01MD296UM/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490281688&sr=1-6&keywords=david+l+atkinson
God Bless
March 22, 2017
Poetry Thursday 256 - World Poetry Day
As it is World Poetry Day on 21st March I thought I'd produce something topical and in a style that is very old - the ballad.
The ballad was a form used as early as the 14th and 15th century and had a regular format.13 lines14 syllables/lineRhyming pattern ABABBCBCCDCD D
The Ballad of Sturgeon and May
There were once two fine women of political extremes,intent on furthering their own power and ambitions,took the fair country of Scotland with its hopes and its dreams,and rent it apart for their own advancement and missions.
May and Sturgeon stand toe-to-toe defending positions,each hoped to best the other with fine speech and in debate,differing viewpoints from the electorates decisions,will the national families continue to relate?
The coming few years are for the politicians to create,a union that works in Europe and across the world,so that our children have futures of worth to await,even though the blue starred European standard is re-furled,
with bated breath nations wait the chaos of netherworld.©David L Atkinson March 2017
For what its worth the art work above is also mine!
On such an auspicious day for poetry I repeat the quote made by Robin Williams and point you towards my last collection of poetry.
We don't read poetry because it is cute.We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race,and the human race is full of passion.
(Robin Williams)
This second collection of poetry is different from ‘The Musings of a Confused Mind’ in that it is NOT intended as a semi-educational experience in which I explore a range of styles with examples and rules. This collection apart from some recent insertions, if read chronologically, could almost be biographical in that I write poetry weekly and the enclosed works are from the last three years. When I write poetry I choose a style that feels appropriate to the subject and mood I’m feeling at the time. It is my wish, as always, that when this is read it delivers something to the reader and provides a level of entertainment. Also if you need an outlet for tensions of your own then try writing.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Words-Raindrops-second-collection-poetry/dp/1503231437/ref=sr_1_34?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489767613&sr=1-34&keywords=david+l+atkinson
God Bless
The ballad was a form used as early as the 14th and 15th century and had a regular format.13 lines14 syllables/lineRhyming pattern ABABBCBCCDCD D
The Ballad of Sturgeon and May
There were once two fine women of political extremes,intent on furthering their own power and ambitions,took the fair country of Scotland with its hopes and its dreams,and rent it apart for their own advancement and missions.
May and Sturgeon stand toe-to-toe defending positions,each hoped to best the other with fine speech and in debate,differing viewpoints from the electorates decisions,will the national families continue to relate?
The coming few years are for the politicians to create,a union that works in Europe and across the world,so that our children have futures of worth to await,even though the blue starred European standard is re-furled,
with bated breath nations wait the chaos of netherworld.©David L Atkinson March 2017
For what its worth the art work above is also mine!
On such an auspicious day for poetry I repeat the quote made by Robin Williams and point you towards my last collection of poetry.
We don't read poetry because it is cute.We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race,and the human race is full of passion.
(Robin Williams)
This second collection of poetry is different from ‘The Musings of a Confused Mind’ in that it is NOT intended as a semi-educational experience in which I explore a range of styles with examples and rules. This collection apart from some recent insertions, if read chronologically, could almost be biographical in that I write poetry weekly and the enclosed works are from the last three years. When I write poetry I choose a style that feels appropriate to the subject and mood I’m feeling at the time. It is my wish, as always, that when this is read it delivers something to the reader and provides a level of entertainment. Also if you need an outlet for tensions of your own then try writing.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Words-Raindrops-second-collection-poetry/dp/1503231437/ref=sr_1_34?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1489767613&sr=1-34&keywords=david+l+atkinson
God Bless
