3 POEMS FROM SIMONE

Lenny,(who sold me a ticket at 08.20hrs).

Lenny – Lenny Everett,

hearing was hard for you,

and working your computer,

well that was harder too.

You stumbled when you spoke to me;

your hands – I saw them shaking;

your fingers slow, flat, pudgy,

and me so close to waking.

You said sorry for your keyboard,

for your printer on go-slow,

as you passed me ticket and itinerary,

advice on best times, best routes to go.

And as you puffed and panted,

a public-serving heavy breather,

Lenny, you were a gentleman

and I was sad to leave yer.

And when I’d struggled onto my train,

and left your kiosk far behind,

I wished you days of clear-voiced punters

who’d give you no grief, would smile, be kind.

Ode to Mister Fox

Wow! Your fabled tail, your lustrous bustling bushy tail, it

struts the question – am I fabulous, am I fantastic??

Are you hell? Now I’m in thrall

to that pelt, the luscious sweep of your back, the swell of your

russet chest rising to that strong neck, those long yellow teeth,

those gold sleepy eyes, neat feet,

fleetfooted, hold on… I can’t wait! I’m in hock to the shock

of that dark musky scent, sexy and bosky, promising

plenty: I’m disarmed by your sangfroid,

your je ne sais quoi. One flickering look, one flare of white

and I’m snared somehow; hooked by that smell, that tail, those

tawny charms, I’ll be your flame, vixen, doxy…oh

foxyfoxy.

Reason (or I’ve lost my marbles)

Elgin – can this really come from Elgin?

Did he lose something…I thought he gained;

or did all that excess baggage

weigh him down with mental strain?

And if after suffering comes amnesia,

then experience brings familiar pain.

It’s a hamster wheel, a goldfish bowl; judgement,

common-sense, whatever – let’s just lose it all again.

And marbles, glassy marbles, where do they get their name,

with their so-cold candy spirals, their fixed swivel twists,

nothing like carrera or table-tops in pizza parlours,

and as for links to David, well these I must have missed.

And if forgiving you’s irrational,

then I really must have lost my mind,

and if you’d only return my raison d’etre,

surely my reason can’t be far behind?

HELEN THOMAS REVIEW

Helen has been an outstanding character on the performance poetry circuit
for many years, and more recently she has also gained a reputation as half
of the highly successful “We are Poets” who are successfully bringing poetry
into schools with their plays and workshops.

This was Helen’s second appearance for Word Up. Many who had caught her
performance at the Cellar Bar last year turned up with friends, and this was
probably the best attended gig that Word Up has run so far.

As ever Helen’s performance was hilarious. With her assured performance
style Helen sounds like no other, and finds humour in the most unlikely
topics, from soda bread to pubic hair. The audience loved her work, and
were extremely enthusiastic in their response.

Open Mic contributions and competition entries were many and varied, and of
an extremely high standard. The competition, on the topic “Deeply Strange”
was won by Viviana Nomad.

The evening was part funded by the Wales Academi.
Prizes were donated by Pages bookshop, High St, Cardigan

ALISON BRUMFITT REVIEW

Alison Brumfitt is having a great Year. She recently won the prestigious
Swindon Poetry Slam, and featured on Saturday Live on Radio Four just two
weeks before appearing for Word Up in the Cellar Bar.

Alison treated us to a highly varied programme of her work exploring the
daily frustrations we face in our lives – the food we eat, the cars we
drive, and the countless pressures we face to conform – subjects we can all
relate to you.

Then she delivered a poem on Anglo-American politics, and the ‘special
relationship’ which resonated so clearly with the audience that you could
have heard a pin drop. A great entertainer, displaying both wit and depth
in her themes, and masterful use of rhythm and the spoken word. A hugely
successful night.

The evening was well attended, and, as ever, the floor poets were also
excellent. April Greenhalgh won the competition with the most original
entry on the topic “I don’t care about your car.”

Lion Sharks and Prolifics provided interval entertainment, their first time
in the cellar bar. Excallent wordsmiths in their own right they gave the
evening an added new dimension.

This evening was part funded by the Wales Academi.
Prizes were very kindly donated by Pages bookshop.