K. Morris's Blog, page 275

Statue of Black Actor and Poet Alfred Fagon Defaced in Bristol

On 9 June, I wrote a post entitled “In Defense of our Monuments”, (please see https://kmorrispoet.com/2020/06/09/in-defense-of-our-monuments/). In that article, I argued that people should be judged by the standards of their time, and condemned the actions of those who damage our monuments.

Last Sunday the statue of Edward Colsoun, a Bristol slaver, was thrown into the harbour. Now we hear that the statue of black actor and poet Alfred Fagon has been covered in a corrosive substance (possibly b...

Statuesque

I found a girl under my desk

Who was real pretty and most statuesque.

She said, “my name is White

And this space is too tight.

Sir, you must buy a new desk!”.

When I Saw a Young Lady Dancing

When I saw a young lady dancing

And said, “are you looking for romancing?”.

And I spoke of sin.

She said, “I am lin.

And sir, your luck you are chancing!”

How to Assist a Blind Person During Social Distancing

I received this message from the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (GDBA), the charity which trains guide dogs in the UK, and thought it would be of value to my readers as it offers useful tips on how to assist a visually impaired person during this time of social distancing:

“Did you know that only one fifth of the public ‘completely comfortable’ offering to help someone with sight loss while social distancing is in place?*

“Today Guide Dogs has launched a new campaign called ‘Be There’ to ...

I Walk in the Wood

I walk in the wood

Wishing to keep away

From the fray.

The birds up above

Have something meaningful to say.

Whilst angry crowds,

(Elsewhere, in street and square)

Shout to loud

And call

For everything to fall.

It is easy to smash

And trash

That which you do not understand.

Macbeth’s idiot walks the land.

And, in his tale of sound and fury

There is no room for a more nuanced story.

Maybe I should

Stay in the wood

And write poetry.

But those who know

And love

Their country

Can not see

It br...

Darkness

I wrote the below poem late one evening, which is unusual for me as most of my writing takes place during the day. Perhaps the late hour of it’s composition goes some way to explaining the somewhat (to my mind at least) sinister nature of the poem.

In Defense of our Monuments

(If you have not read this post, https://kmorrispoet.com/2020/06/08/thuggery/, you may wish to do so prior to reading the below).

Back in 2016, I composed my poem Rhodes, in response to the demands of Oxford students that the statue of Cecil Rhodes should be removed from Oxford University. A recording of me reading that poem can be found below. My apologies for the less than perfect quality of the recording.

The ongoing demonstrations by Black Lives Matter has led to renewed calls for the s...

Snowlilie’s Brother – Book Announcement by Author Victoria Zigler

Title: Snowlilie’s Brother
Author: Victoria Zigler
Book description:

“Getting a little brother is a good thing… Right?

When Snowlilie the West Highland White Terrier first meets her new little brother – a Cavapoo puppy, who tells her the humans call him Rascal – and realizes having a little brother means having a new doggy friend to play with, she’s excited. That is, until she realizes it also means sharing everything with him – including her favourite ball, some of her food, and Mummy and Dadd...

The Nun

I met a pretty young nun

Who offered me lots of fun.

Over our hot breakfast toast

I said, “my kind host,

When did you become a nun?”.

Thuggery

All civilised people have been deeply shocked by the death of the black American George Floyd, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd).

The death of George Floyd has, very naturally aroused strong emotions and has lled to demonstrations (most of them peaceful), protesting at his death, and calling for reform of the US police and judicial system, which the demonstrators see as biased against black people. Given the extremely tense situation (and the need for a fair trial of the officers inv...