angeletoomey

Letting go

Primarily today’s poem is a reflection the slow process of losing someone to dementia, for example Alzheimer’s. All the things you remember become tales from a strange land for them: strange, and frightening, tales they don’t want to hear and you don’t want to tell them again. The poem also reveals a fear that lingersContinue reading “Letting go”

Coal is good for humanity

“The future for coal is bright and it is the responsibility for government to try to ensure that we are there making it easier for everyone wanting to have a go. It is a great day for the world because this mine will keep so many people employed … it will make so many livesContinue reading “Coal is good for humanity”

Poetry about sport

We are approaching rugby union season in those Southern Hemisphere countries that partake in this particular form of sport. The Black Ferns, New Zealand Women’s side, has had remarkable success winning five of the past six World Cups. The male team, the All Blacks, are an ok side too. I wrote these poems while watchingContinue reading “Poetry about sport”

Not quite, but close enough

I haven’t found my poisoned honey poem yet – it was in a set list from early last year I think. It will turn up, I hope. In the meantime I thought I might write some new material based on some of my favourite phrases. A haiku Golden words drip from your mouth like poisonedContinue reading “Not quite, but close enough”

Hardening

This poem was written a while ago and was hiding out in the archive, waiting for its rediscovery. I was actually looking for a work that contains the phrase “poisoned honey” but it must in another note book pushed further to the back of the cupboard. Anyway, I found this one and read it again.Continue reading “Hardening”

Barrenness

This poem last written last year when I was thinking about the word ‘barren’ and the various connotations it can have. It started with the first line, as I had just harvested some Christmas potatoes, and I been digging the soil in search of their starchy treasure. The rest of the poem flowed from there.Continue reading “Barrenness”

What is ‘survival’

Over the last few weeks I have watching Extant, a TV show starring Halle Berry. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3155320/ It’s got me thinking at a meta scale about species extinction and those that are extant (still surviving). But at a micro level, every individual is surviving in face of challenges both real and imagined. For those who surviveContinue reading “What is ‘survival’”

A critique of the art world

I got to thinking today, (which always leads to trouble of some kind), about the fine arts. You know, the highly perfected & theoretically sound works that are destined for greatness. The reality is that very few people can make a living doing truly unique and imaginative work – most art has to be “commercial”,Continue reading “A critique of the art world”

Broken earth

This poem has been a little while in the writing. The idea for it came from a conversation I had with my friend Kate Creatif in which I mentioned the Australian mining town Broken Hill. https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/broken-hill-nsw Broken Hill If you drive far enough you will arrive at the Silver City built on eight hundred deathsContinue reading “Broken earth”

The law of the jungle

This poem is a critique of human hubris and our ability to fool ourselves into thinking we are at the top of the pyramid (spoiler alert: there is no pyramid, we’re just another mammal). What we could learn, if we listened I’ve been told that all the things that are wrong in the world can’tContinue reading “The law of the jungle”