FROM LIVERPOOL - EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2008
 
CAUGHT IN THE NET -  FEATURED POET - JIM BENNETT
 
MAY 2005
 
Editor - John Howard

 

JIM BENNETT

I want to write
a poem a milkman can whistle
on his round
I want to write
a poem to be printed on
a postage stamp
with one word missing
- A poem for you
 
Hello.  Welcome to CITN 26.  This is a new approach to our emag and in future each edition will focus on a single poet and will be selected by guest editors.  
 
As this is a new style CITN and we are hoping to attract a wider readership this is posting is going out to everyone on Poetry Kit mailing lists even if you have not subscribed to CITN.  All other editions will go to CITN subscribers only. 
 
Our other magazine is Poetry Kit Magazine, this is a webzine which appears on the Poetry Kit site which can be found at - http://www.poetrykit.org/   We are seeking submissions of poetry, reviews, essays, articles and illustrations for that magazine.  When submitting please ensure that the magazine title to which you are submitting is clearly marked in the subject line of any emails.  

 


There are already over 2000 subscribers to CITN which is an email magazine so to keep this number growing please pass it on to your friends.   You can join the CITN  at the following link - JOIN CITN

From this edition CITN will focus on an individual poet and will publish a short selection from a forthcoming chapbook or pamphlet of poetry.   This month we feature four poems from the forthcoming chapbook from
 
JIM BENNETT
 
THE SIGN AT THE END OF THE ROAD by Jim Bennett will be published in August by Starwood Press. £4.50
 
We also feature three poems from Jim Bennett's poetry collection "The Man Who Tried to Hug Clouds"
pub 2004 by Bluechrome read about it or order from; http://www.bluechrome.co.uk/
 
All poets published in this series will be included in Poetry Kit's Bookshop at BOOKSHOP
 
To have your work considered for inclusion in this series please send a sample of five poems and a publishing history to jjhoward99@yahoo.com
 

 
THE SIGN AT THE END OF THE ROAD by Jim Bennett
 
__________________________________
 
The sign at the end of the road
 
There was a sign at the end of the road
It said “adopted”
I always thought
that was how
people knew
 
but no one had told me
I found out at 12
 
in a shop
I heard a lady I did not know
as she spoke
to someone else
this is the one
Mary adopted
she said
as she smiled at me
 
and it was
 
I never told Mum or dad
kept it secret
like they had
but searched for
proof
eventually found it
in an envelope
pushed
under clothes at the back
of a bedroom drawer
 
_________________________
 
inventory 1953
 
the inventory came with the baby
1 three piece outdoor set
4 turkish Napkins
2 pair of socks
2 nightdresses
2 pair of shoes
2 vests
2 liberty bodices
2 pair knickers
1 cardigan
2 Jersey suits
1 pair rubber pants
1 pair mitts
 
it filled up the space
below the statement
which read
I will receive James into my home
feed, clothe and look after him
and bring him up
as carefully
and kindly
as I would a child of my own
 
below this and below the
inventory
was the familiar scratched
signature of my mother
who has always kept her word
 
_____________________________
 
Why I hate Barnardo’s

when my mother died
I went in search of myself
I knew most of the story
abandoned at Christmas
taken to a children's home
later taken to hospital
near death
but then I found
I had avoided deportation
because Barnardo’s
only wanted strong children
they took them
lied to them
sent them to new lives
out in the Commonwealth
for many Australia
was the place that hid
the shame of their birth

I am always grateful I was left
with asthma
coughing through
the British winter
too sick to be sent away
glad my new parents
found me then
glad I had the chance to have
the life I have
but even so
I will always hate Barnardo’s
always
 
__________________________
 
Discovering Scotland
 
I discovered Scotland
waiting in ambush
north of Glasgow
you must come
hold the cord
carry your mother
to her resting place
I was told
this was the mother
I had met six months before
who lied on her last breath
to keep the truth
of my birth from me
 
once she made me
now she made me a hypocrite
I stood principle mourner
put my new sisters
into second place
turned her funeral
into a sham
I walked
carried her coffin
held the cord
lowed her into
the ground in Morar
and buried my past
with her
 
********************************************************************************
 
From THE MAN WHO TRIED TO HUG CLOUDS by JIM BENNETT
 
_________________________
 
A poem for you
 
I want to write
a poem a milkman can whistle
on his round
I want to write
a poem to be printed on
a postage stamp
with one word missing
just to make each one valuable
I want to write
a humourous poem
one can sell on draft
in the pub
a barrel full of laughs
I want to write
a poem for you
 
____________________________
 
Liverpool Is
 
 
Liverpool is
town on Saturday
football and beer
Pierhead and ferries
Dale Street Church street
Sefton park and the rec
it's places and people
accents and buildings

Liverpool is

old and new
the Tate and the Walkers
the Spinners and the La's
Christians and McGough
The Liverpool Scene
and the Dead Good Poets
sarcastic and funny
using words like daggers

Liverpool is

a bevie with your mates
having a laugh
the Albert Dock and Canning Street
the Rope Walk Roads
the good old days
the bad old days
poverty and tears
making do

Liverpool is

cathedrals and religion
mosques and temples
chapels and churches
the red, and the blue
the orange and the green
Goodison and Anfield
universities and shopping
students and the homeless
side by side
shoulder to shoulder
with the Pope
in Hope Street

Liverpool is

nann bread and pita bread
chips and Chinese
pizza and bagels
an Indian and McDonalds
it’s every colour and tradition
it's white and black
brown and yellow
England and Ireland
Wales and Scotland
Pakistan and Bangladesh
India and China
the West Indies and Hong Kong
Somalia and Cameroon
it’s every place
its a kaleidoscope
of mixed living
loving colour

Liverpool is

______________________________________

At night when the world ends
 
there was a time when people believed
that at night the world ended
so many myths about it
the sun being eaten and born again
the day held by the powers of darkness
sacrifices and prayers
blood and effort
to birth the new day
make everything right
 
now in our cold bedroom
and my empty bed
I want to believe
that you will be there
when I wake
but there is no sacrifice
or effort I can make
no prayer that will work
 
and each morning
my heart is ripped out
held aloft
by your final words
 
 
 
www.poetrykit.org
___________________________________________________
 
PK On-line Poetry Workshop
http://pk-poetry-list.port5.com/
 
JIM BENNETT - Publisher's site
http://www.poetrykit.org/jim/index.htm
 
An interview at;
http://www.poetrykit.org/iv00/bennett.htm
______________________________________________________
 
 
Afterword
email John Howard - jjhoward99@yahoo.com - tell us what you think.
 
To have your work considered for inclusion in this series please send a sample of five poems and a publishing history to jjhoward99@yahoo.com
 
Thank you for taking the time to read Caught in the Net.
 
 
 

Back