Overstory - Mix-Tape 43

Every word a peaceful meditation / every silence between rings wound / count leaves in quiet contemplation / count endless rings running loud / listen.. leaves are calling / listen.. silence is falling.. x

A mini homage to Richard Powers' glorious 2019 novel Overstory, published by Vintage Publishing. 

Available to buy from Bookshop.org here. (My Goodreads review).

In angelic feathers folded

under numinous dark skies

it’s revealed the blood of Eden

pours from shining eyes

There are ten degrees of strange

between solemn Earth and sky

between wary Raven’s feathers

and his midnight basking eye

 

He flies a path so awkward

tearing at the night

chasing an invisible sun

beneath a scarlet blood moonlight

 

In ancient creases of time

in the unhurried sap of trees

runs a heartwood strong enough to mitigate

the chaos deforestation leaves

 

Here tomorrow’s wisdom whispers

where ‘er the light will stray

and trees bear witness to our final days

watch us sleepwalk hope away

 

Miraflores falters, flailing

fearful of the day

bowed by prophetic visions

and the bells in Santa Fe

 

‘Love me to death’ she cries aloud

‘Help, help, for I am doomed!’

‘This winter of destruction’

‘has undone me far too soon!’

 

I’ll wait here in the undertow

sure, it’s merely a matter of time

before our spirits fall in nature’s tune

refuse to tow the faulty line

 

Hark, I hear a sound incoming

a voice from the wilderness

that cries ‘Ayo, my Babylon!’

‘I’ve come to ease your long duress,’

 

For many moons she’s sung her songs

patient, blessed Ocean Tree

hear her calling us to wake up!

turn and face the great reveal

 

The storm will not outlast her

for as sure as the wind will blow

she’ll regenerate the heartwood lands

rising from the Earth below

 

She’s been here longer than all the life you lived

before it started to descend

and she’ll be here till the firmament

is forced to make amends

 

This life like dream is ending

oh, creature of mine own

the tree rings are lined with glitter

bodies turning into stone

 

In angel feathers folded

under numinous wide sky

it is here the blood of Eden

will relinquish her disguise

MixTape 41 - Last Winter - 2021/2022

Winter Solstice swallowed us in it's all reaching circle, arms held wide, it felt so easy. Does it matter, should it matter how we were in love, spinning under the October sky.. x

Held in winter’s expectant grasp, she led

her quiet dance across snow fields, cold

Winter Solstice swallowed in whole flame

wild fire like a circle, arms held wide, easy

Does it matter, should it matter, how we were

in love, spinning under an October sky

 

Coupled like lambs at Newgrange we leaped

through mirrored frames following sun rays

right down the line toward a blind horizon

beyond any barrier they tried to hold us in

we remained oblivious to their foolish lies

though someone else might realise it wasn't time

 

Head bent close, breath held tight, you said

I wish you peace in your heart and that was all

I needed to feel at home in the corner of my sky

Where thoughts reside in simultaneous parallel

and all seasons bloom together as one great turn

Oak and Ash holding together one year into another

2021 left us before 2022 had begun its own song

The ship song it was they sang as we waved

a fond farewell to all that had come before, bricks

and mortar holding together fast as atom two

clutches atom three and one in its tender embrace

and they sang Hari Ram over and over which

 

made you frown but it don’t bother me, I fell

into ocean view and lost myself. Is it just me

running on this Night train at Sundown waiting

for Sunset to wrap me in her arms until I can

dance with somebody other than Charlie and

his soft dinosaur - most treasured telepath and seer

Mix-Tape 40 - I Knew You

It's been almost 4 years since I first started dabbling in the art of playlisting on Spotify. Inspired by the beautiful, quirky and random mixtapes folk around my age used to make when we were kids and young adults. At first we created them to record songs we liked off the radio and not have to rely on radio DJs or our own meagre record and tape collections to listen to our favourite tracks. 

Later, as we became more practised and relatively affluent, our mixtape skills focused on compiling songs that worked well together and then sharing our mixes with friends. To make a mixtape for someone was one of the most romantic or caring gestures we could make. That hand-sized plastic package of carefully chosen music with a handwritten track list and sometimes a handmade insert or cover crafted from magazine cut out collage, could seal new friendships, heal broken ones and keep us company through the many tough times of adolescence and early adulthood. 

The idea of being able to stream and buy digital copies of our favourite songs and tracks was something we could not even dream of yet. To have such a vast quantity of music available 24/7 would have been unbelievable to our younger selves. Yet here we are - unlimited streaming, vast catalogues and endless playback. 

Playlisting itself has developed into an art form of its own and despite lacking the tactility, smell or physical presence of analogue cassette tapes, digital playlists can carry a similar potency. The initial magic ingredients of taking time and thought to carefully curate a list, perfect for a certain time, a certain moment, a certain someone, remains. 

My first attempt was a little roughshod mix for a friend going through some momentous life changes. It runs over 5 hours long and includes such disparities as Pete Tong, Robert Plant, Alex The Astronaut, Billie Holiday, St. Vincent, Fleetwood Mac, Geri Halliwell, Elbow and many many more but each track is carefully selected and ordered (although back then, I naively imagined that the ultimate track order would be whatever I chose by clicking on ‘date added’, ‘album’ or ‘song title’ (ascending or descending) rather than the original order of tracks as they were added) to give an overall effect of playful curiosity and burgeoning confidence wrapped up in a soothing hug. I hope that comes across!! 

As you can see by the notes I added to the playlist description (or imaginary cassette insert if you like) there is magic in the giving of as well as the reception of a well thought out mixtape: 

This ‘mix-tape’ was put together as a musical hug for a friend. I've listened to it almost daily these past few months which have been a super challenging time for me. It has been a life buoy, comfort blanket, spirit lifter, solace, distraction + inspiration. I hope you feel moved by the music too x 

My first Spotify Mix-Tapes were considerably longer than they are now, reflecting my excitement at the seemingly endless possibilities of curating a soundtrack gift to share. They contained anywhere between 37 and 78 tracks - up to 5 ½ hours of play! Now they are limited to 27 items but are still derived from an addiction to the curating of music to share. 

In the beginning stages of writing practice back then, it seemed natural to bring that craft to the playlist too. Feeling the need for a challenge to shake up my early writing style, I gave myself the challenge of writing a piece of poetry or prose using all the track titles listed to construct a conversation, a letter, memory fragments or some other form of communication - a message in a bottle if you like. Thus the Mix-Tape Poems were born. 

Mix-Tape 1 - I Believe In Music - Jun2018 

November 2021 I began creating my fortieth Mix-Tape called I Knew You, titled after the first soul baring track by Future Islands. I'm not sure why this mix needed a full hibernation period before sprouting its wings out into the world, but this slowly emerging spring feels like the right time to unearth its gems and let it grow. Personally, I am falling in love with it, and the magic of the mixtape process, all over again. I hope you do too.. x

Mix-Tape 40 - I Knew You - Winter2021/22

Description Poem:

Always running down / this dead end street is hard / There's music in the darkness / grooves pounded into heart / sways with our emotions / Hush. Yonder door is open / bright lights beam our way / disco balls glitter, say / we've arrived.. x

Fragments:

Our last sundown fell aeons ago, way beyond our horizons yet

Was it so long-ago that you knew me babe and I knew you?

 

We were love’s refuges rolling a dark train of disappointment

Pushed underground through a tunnel snaking dark and long

 

Myriad memories meander over this aging mindscape-

That last year as surprising as the seasons confused

 

Like time runaway we were far from our true selves..

Unnaturally warm spring and it was cold in summer

 

A lonely girl in the rain and my love, I kissed someone (it wasn’t you)

Though I was thinking of you I swear, your face was all I saw..

 

They say, you’re on your way and I wonder after all this time

Will you remember me? Will you recognise these darkened eyes..

 

You came back then and I can’t believe we had another chance

Yet there on Redondo beach we claimed our own secret Paradise

 

The clouds lifted and we danced, you in your faded blue jeans

My white dress torn like my heart, a tattered shell, unshored

 

But you held my hand, said ‘I know places’ and you know how it is

When you love too much, I swear my heart was a firework - constant

 

Explosions - all senses flowing like a river to the open sea

We were in heaven, and I swear, it was just like old times..

 

At Groovata the sun swelled over the midnight ocean

In your arms I felt serene, full of grace by your side

 

I only feel cool when I’m with you and something wonderful-

Something unparalleled fell into our laps, babe, magic, I swear.

 

Our eyes fixed, you breathed ‘My Millennium Angel’, and I belonged

From that moment on, I swear I was yours. Even now, all it takes-

 

A touch of southern breeze can bring me back to you, those nights..

You remember how the edges bled and we lived in soft filter babe

 

Polaroid kisses, even the whale song called out to our wildness

The sound fills me with heartbreak now, time and time again

 

Sunset’s arms still stretch wide though there’s only me now

But you’re coming back, and I swear babe, if this ain’t love

 

I don’t know what is. This summer will be my last here so

Whatever the weather, find me babe, come give me love.. xx

Exposing One's Truths - UKGov Consultation on Ending Vaccine Mandates

I'm not one to keep quiet about my political or indeed apolitical leanings in 'real-life' but for some undefined reason I don't regularly post politically minded pieces on here (or at least not for a while). Perhaps it's in part because politics was the fiery spark and continued flame throughout my previous blog - ecomonkey.blogspot.com - which I wrote for around 10 years and got a little burnt out by towards the end. This journal was a deliberate move away from that kind of discussion - from politics to poetry!

In these 'pandemic' days of fear and confusion however, it seems that almost every conversation, every nervous or determined silence, every thought, idea, deliberate or unconscious action or non-action, every poem even is political in one way or another. 

To reveal one's political thoughts, aspirations or allegiances puts one in a very vulnerable position. Yet to keep them hidden seems to me even more detrimental to one's health, mental state and indeed the nature of the culture in which one finds oneself. And if one's purpose is to better the culture and society one lives in, then exposing one's own truths seems like the only viable option..

So, today I completed the UKGOV Health & Social Care Sector consultation around ending mandates - Revoking vaccination as a condition of deployment across all health & social care. I stated why I am opposed to Vaccine Mandates and why I think there should be no discrimination based on choice. You can have your say too by filling in the short form here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/revoking-vaccination-as-a-condition-of-deployment-across-all-health-and-social-care

The consultation ends on 16th February 2022 so please do voice your opinion as soon as you can.

The last two questions of the consultation are the meat of the piece and I took some time to lay down my thoughts before sending. I've copied my answers below in case it might help you to express your own opinion. Some of the details and figures come from the Together Declaration who informed me of the consultation. The rest are my thoughts and opinions based on months, sometimes years of research.

Of course you may disagree with my reasoning, perhaps agree just a little.. whatever you feel about this issue, I think it is important for us to take opportunities like this to voice our thoughts, if for no other reason than to cathartically release pent up anger, fear, confusion or apathy that can stagnate if kept quiet inside..

Q. Which particular groups might be positively affected and why?

Every group will be positively affected by the permanent eradication of mandatory vaccination procedures - whether upfront or covert - for the following reasons:

• Mandatory vaccination procedures will result in the loss of 120,000 members of staff, in addition to the 60,000 workers in care-homes and other ancillary posts.
• The NHS is already in need of 95,000 staff so such sickening losses will be devastating to the nation’s health.
• Added to the current 2 year multi-million NHS waiting list, mandatory vaccination procedures will be a monumental disaster, ensuring myriad damage and fatalities across the population including those who are vulnerable and protected.
• It is well known that Omicron is mild, VACCINES DO NOT STOP TRANSMISSION, and that natural immunity from having had Covid is higher (see the Israeli and other studies). Thus it is clear vaccination is to protect the person having it. Not anyone else. 

Perhaps it wasn't the 'proper' place to do so but having no section offered for additional comments, I also added a caveat of sorts about the lies and disturbing choice of phrases used in the consultation wording itself, and this I added to the above question.

Please desist the deceitful blurring of facts and fabrication of the truth about Covid:

• Omicron presents no more of a threat to public health than the winter flu. It does not require mass vaccination.
• Those who do seem to catch and suffer from all variants particularly Omicron, are those who are vaccinated not those who have chosen to abstain or wait until vaccine testing is complete to decide.
• It is clear that the government intentionally ignores the latest clinical and scientific advice and uses only that which fits with its agenda purposely fabricating ‘science’, ‘the numbers’ and deliberately confusing the public.
• If it was the government’s aim to achieve public health and safety as it claims, restrictions would have taken place far sooner than they did and would have only been necessary for a short period of time without generating undue stress, fear and mental health issues on the public as well as denying care to those with genuine needs.
• Constant repetition of the lie “vaccination is our very best line of defence against COVID-19” will not make it true.
• NHS and care-home staff have a professional duty to protect their patients/clients by being there to provide the best health care possible in accordance with their training and the patients/clients wishes, not to adhere to government whims and fancies.

Q. What actions can the government and health and social care sector take to protect the groups identified if vax not a condition of deployment?

To protect all the groups identified the government and health and social care sector must take the following action:

• Government can ensure that the NHS is well funded and staff well paid (not just adequately) so that vacancies are filled and staff are able to fulfil their roles - to care for patients and clients - efficiently and in the necessary compassionate, unhurried manner.
• Government can admit to fabrication of truths about Covid and the false, confusing tactics used to confuse the public and generate fear. It can put measures in place to ensure that such abuses of power do not take place in the future.
• Government can listen to the science (not their own convenient and convoluted ‘science’) and act in accordance - issuing advice rather than mandates about how to manage and live with Covid and other viruses that may be forthcoming.
• Government can put an end to stealth privatisation of the NHS, embedding private interests, fragmenting our national institution, entrenching political posts & private providers and instead provide the funds and support needed for the NHS to survive and then thrive in its public capacity. E.g. eliminate systemic bias when awarding contracts, end the use of public money to build unnecessary private hospitals, rescind the abhorrent processes of private US companies buying our GP services which will inevitably result in loss of care for all and so on..
• Health and Social Care sectors can continue to provide the best services possible focusing on lifestyle and health as well as pathology.

Well, that's my piece said, for now. Maybe I'll find some peaceful poetry to post next, ha! Much love.. x