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Snapshots
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overnight sprinkle of snow on shed roof A SNAIL BOUNCES so here i am mid-morning lounging on the lazyboy i've been up for hours had a shower done bacon and eggs checked my email cleared the spam picked the pinta off the doorstep as i greeted the postman brought the laundry down set the washing-machine so now i settle down to listen to the video-recording of last week's just a minute on freeview digital radio the phone rings and it isn't a distant call centre selling a new mortgage telling of a holiday i've won in a competition i never entered or of how my postcode has come up on their computer i can be a show-house but this time it is the secretary of a society of which I'm a life member he wants to know if i am still me have i still got a life seems the last issue of the societies transactions was returned marked gone away but i haven't i'm still here time for a fresh pot of tea Gerald England Gee Cross, Hyde, Cheshire, UK Wednesday 17th March, 2004; 10.30 am MAST stark sharp sentinal standing on top of Winter Hill illumined by the light of the early morning sun seen from my bedroom window thirty miles away for the first time in twelve months since the council felled the trees that blocked the view one hour on -- the moor's outline fades into the clouds Gerald England Hyde UK, Wed 24th March 2004 6-7 am. orange-tipped half-disc peeps above thick mist last sunset in March Gerald England Hyde, UK 31/3/04 7.30pm upstairs and downstairs four hours in all spraying dusting vaccing polishing dehoming spiders sweeping out dead ants from behind the tumble-dryer unearthing an odd sock two pieces of jigsaw and an old toy car tipping a vase of flowers over the television moving chairs to find unfaded bits of carpet after they've gone we rearrange disturbed ornaments search for the hand-painted ashtray that was under the vase they knocked over empty the dishwasher and microwave a late lunch Gerald England, Hyde, UK Wed. 7th April 2004 the wheelie-bin sits on the pavement waiting all day for the bin-men who do not come i carry the phone around in my shirt pocket waiting all day for my calls to be returned the postman does not come till nearly one like an umbrella the willow tree hangs low over wilting daffodils grey day turns to grey evening Gerald England Hyde, UK 8pm Wednesday 14th April 2004 AN ORDINARY DAY I open the lounge curtains to find a blotch on the window it has arrived in the night. Later in the morning it is still there. I use a discarded note to the milkman to lever away the tiny snail depositing it in the bobbing hydrangea. As I fill the kettle my eyes meet those of the grey squirrel on the little fence a yard beyond the kitchen window. It looks away and scurries quickly down my neighbour's garden path. In the back garden beyond ours a fat tabby prowls as a wood pigeon settles on the roof. After the rain I watch a blackbird digging worms out of the recently mown lawn. It eyes me too but is in no hurry to wander under the willow tree and into the hedge bottom. In the bathroom today the spider is nowhere to be seen. Gerald England Hyde, UK, Wednesday 21st April 2004. the hours from dawn to dusk 7 dreaming of a missed bus in Austria 8 the smell of bacon 9 150 pieces of inedible spam 10 scraping out old grease from the grill pan 11 fetching the wheelie-bin in 12 turkey and apple muffins 1 asleep in front of the tele 2 emptying the dishwasher 3 surfing for holiday trains 4 watching snooker 5 a pizza in the microwave 6 playing backgammon on the computer 7 sliced banana and ice-cream 8 writing emails 9 listening to a jazz CD 10 the moon and venus unseen behind clouds 11 end of another day Gerald England Hyde 28th April 2004 *** THE MARKET only the shell of the building remains the most-loved market for miles around reduced to ashes a hundred traders now with nothing Total Games Wendy & Mandys Cafe Dels Suits Traditional Sausage Co. Scottish Meats Seaking Fisheries W Briggs Butchers Alf Pearson Family butcher David Conn Traditional butcher Rothwells Furniture Market Newsagent A & B Sportswear Bennetts Fancy goods Eileen's Egg Nest The Phone Corner C D S Textiles Phil's Antiquarian Books Bailey's Hardware Hats & Things Rudies Snack Bar Cherubs Specialist Christening wear Victoria's Lingerie Stall On The Wall Ladies & Gents Outdoor Wear Grahame & Gordon Haberdashery Celebrations Cards & Novelties Pick Of The Crop Alwyn's Underwear Stall Goody Two Shoes B & G Fashions Chris's Vac & Washer Service M.C.S Uniforms The Toffee Box The Music Corner Curtain Corner The Traditional Food Stall Pick Of The Crop Junior's Childrens wear S.Williams & Sons Cafe Elaine's Jewellers The Off License Body Bitz Shades DIY Walker's Greengrocers Hussein's Sportswear Brooks Hosiery & Swimwear S Williams & Son Home Cooked Meats Cards Galore J.R Fashions Mobile Revolution Linda's Cosmetics & Perfume Bradbury's Gloves, Scarves, Handbags & Umbrellas Renwick's Bakery & Handcarved Meats A & Y Brierley Footwear Naeem's Ladies Fashion Longdens Toys Brian's Quality Furnishings Brooks Underwear Gifts For All Occasions Phones 4 Us A+A Videos Cafe Nadin J & L Bargains The Sports Box Spec Tackle Paws and Claws Camina Bags Ashton Hall Carpets Craven's Shoe Repairs Morgan's China The Bedding Box Bailey Health Products Joe & Sons Jeweller & Watch Repairs Bailey's Hardware & Electrical Bobby Fashions Barry Gleave Biscuits, Sweets & Cakes Cassons shoes Redmonds Butcher & Delicatessen B O'Donoghue Butcher G. Fish Specialist Cooked Meats & pies J. McClean Biscuits & Cakes Here's Health Herbal Remedies Hallworth's Cheese & Dairy Produce K McDermott Danish Bacon Specialists The Pantry Chicken Barbecue The Hen House Shopmobility Wheelchairs & Scooters none of it left no sprinklers no insurance no recompense no one died so only rates a brief mention on the local not national news Gerald England Tameside, Greater Manchester Poetryetc is a listserv relating to poetry and poetics which provides a forum for poets to debate their critical and creative work. The list has over the years run a number of projects for its members, of which Snapshots has been the most enduring. Every Wednesday, Poetryetc members were invited to post short poems on any subject or in any form they chose. The idea was to make a poetic collage of instamatic “snaps” of that day that reflected the international membership of the list. The project has generated an astounding number of poems. The first two runs, of six weeks each, and the first ten weeks of the third run, are archived at Wild Honey Press www.wildhoneypress.com under Poetryetc Project. The rest - amounting in all to a run of a year - are archived here. Poetryetc, like its affiliate Salt Publishing (http://www.saltpublishing.com), was founded by Australian poet John Kinsella. Salt is managed by Christopher Hamilton-Emery (cemery@saltpublishing.com), while Poetryetc is owned by Alison Croggon (ajcroggon@bigpond.com). Poetryetc is now archived at http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/poetryetc.html. and anyone interested can join from that url. To contact the listowner: Alison Croggon These pages are designed, maintained, and hosted by Rebecca Seiferle, the Editor of The Drunken Boat. To email. 
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