Hedley Verity
no one should die here, except in peace.
news travelled slowly; weeks, months or more passed
till all those who knew you heard of a hill
in Sicily, of wounds, of capture and death.
one more soldier, one more war,
where is its honour, except in us all,
to fight the aggressor who lives
in our breath, who heeds no call.
listen. [...]
no great drama, simply done,
perfectly flighted, and spun.
flight to draw the bat towards the ball,
without the ball being where the bat is drawn,
that is the guile of the craft.
to beat the stroke through thin air
thins the air though the air
itself turns as one in the deception
twirled twixt fingers and thumb,
end of story, the rest perfunction.
once [...]
When Panesar came out to bat at Cardiff less than a month ago, did anyone either side of the Antipodes reckon that Australia would face being two-nil down in the series? To prevent this, their task or test is a mirror image of England’s in the first Test – to bat out just over a [...]
I shall show them their maker’s name.
I shall not hide, nor angle nor feint,
But smite might with unholy power
The utmost of deliveries
Till their hope extinguishes,
exiled from the crease,
incarcerated for transgression,
denied deferred redemption
while I broad-blade all morrow into shape.
I am more than the Gods,
I am hero, I choose their fate
By the wreaking of havoc
When I show [...]
Today didn’t exist, fuller write-up to appear later about global warming and security from medieval times to be illustrated by five poems….
In the meantime, here’s the tweet-by-tweet commentary:-
body-searched x3 x2 not needed cos brought Sunday ticket for daughter. ‘For yr safety.’ Prefer the truth. ‘More than my job’s worth not to.’
Lad risks life & limb to rescue [...]
8-203 What a difference a day makes. England bowl accurately, no dud burgers, Australia found it hard to play or not play shots. From the prospect of batting second against 400 plus, England will probably be looking at 350 being a match-winning knock.
Half the spectators didn’t see Onions kick-off with two wickets in the first [...]
James James Anderson Anderson
Five-for’ed Australia today.
Hair gelled back, heads the attack,
Didn’t give anything away.
James James Anderson Anderson,
Commonly known as Jimmy,
Up till now was too often seen
As a bit of a Green Baggy gimme.
‘No worries, blokes, climb in an’ go to town,
Too bloody silly to fret about Jimmy;
Smash it about, give it some clout,
We’re apples to [...]
