Good one EB your a legend for giving it a shot with a good song.     

352

(4 replies, posted in Poems)

Arthur Stace, AKA Mr Eternity. Also considered by many street artists worldwide as the father of street art and tagging. As his tags were made of chalk they washed away or disappeared quickly after a few days he wasn’t a vandal.

He worked as a cleaner early in the morning to make a living and lived in a humble cottage with his wife which is now a tourist attraction. For over thirty-five years from 1930 to 1967 the people of Sydney woke up to the word Eternity handwritten in yellow chalk on walls, footpaths and train platforms in Sydney. It attracted the ire of Sydney City Council. Even though he was illiterate and could hardly write his own name, he could write the word Eternity legibly in beautiful copperplate script with his chalk on hard surfaces. He managed to keep his Identity secret until he was caught one morning in 1956. He carried on doing it though right up until his death in 1967. He narrowly escaped arrest 20 times with his defense every time “ I had permission from a higher source”. Anyway reading about  Arthur Stace inspired me to write this which I attempted to put to guitar unsuccessfully in a sort of a way that maybe Johnny Cash and the Carter family would perform it as a poem. Arthur wrote the word Eternity everywhere in Sydney as a result of his Christian belief. His script inspired atheists and believers worldwide of all religions to think about eternity in various ways.  The successful Eternity theatre in Sydney a thoroughly modernized old building was originally a church with a different name that Arthur attended. His script is their logo. For a man born out of incest in 1895 and put into an orphanage as a kid and working in a coal mine at 12, he would be surprised at his notoriety now. He also experienced the horrors of the First World War as a soldier on the frontline and the world wide depression afterwards. Up until 1930 he spent a lot of time in and out jail until he completely changed his life in 1930.


              Mr Eternity I Want The People To See.

I want the people to see.

No matter what would be.

There must be something  good waiting in eternity.

For those who do good things.

I’m thankful for the man who gave me a helping hand.

I didn’t know when I was younger what to believe.

Then touched by the spirit a hidden hand.

I felt that I was part of the plan.

That doesn’t mean it is  just me.

It could be you who just calls on him.

To give you a helping hand.

Millions who love the man.

Who laid his life down for human kind.

Gave his blood on the cross at Calvary.

He rose from the dead.

So you and I can have a blessed eternity.

That simple word eternity is made for you and me.

All you got to do is reach out to the lord.

353

(6 replies, posted in Poems)

I was inspired to put this poem up here on chordie, I wrote a while back after reading Phill Williams brilliant poem “Ah Morning”.


As If Morning Spoke

If my poems were as obvious as a photograph.

It would give no one a space to think.

If the grass on the hill stayed a dark green all year.

Everything would be the same old.

At high tide the ocean kisses the coastline.

Then retreats to admire her beauty.

Party dogs aimlessly howling at the full moon on a dark still night annoy the quiet.

Warm morning arrives sun touches the windowpane before the curtains are drawn.

Party dogs hide under blankets while the busy bees of life rise and head out.

The loved feel warmth as the frog on a leaf hopes for a transforming kiss.

The good news of the day arrives like a solid rock sending ripples all over the pond.

With a new found faith in a higher power believers walk through a loud silence.

Leaving nothing behind not even fear.

The great spirit in the sky pushes away all the dark clouds.

While somewhere else.

Someone else.

Works through their pain.

A caring parent makes the day rise brightly.

As if there were no more pain. 

354

(5 replies, posted in Poems)

Piri, this poem everything in it that makes it an exceptional piece of writing.     

355

(12 replies, posted in Poems)

Thank you Jim I love the fact that a working-class character like Arthur Stace humble cottage he lived in is now a tourist attraction. A place where people go to from all over the world to write on the footpath outside in chalk the word eternity. All these years after his death in 1967 people still remember him.     

356

(7 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

A goose that is getting its neck strangled.     

357

(5 replies, posted in Poems)

Good one EB I often wonder what the fashionable elite mean by being suitably late is great. If you and I did that they would change our fate.     

358

(5 replies, posted in Songwriting)

I call them guys on talkback Heknows. good one EB     

359

(4 replies, posted in Poems)

EB this poem should be in your next kid's book.     

360

(9 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Easybeat 4 days in and you're doing brilliant.  Your an inspiration.     

Jim you're a man who writes real good songs. You are a champion and your a singing and guitar player who gets the message across in what I call Bob Dylan way.     

362

(12 replies, posted in Poems)

Cheers thank you Jan. I’m glad to hear that some of the words I’m emptying out of my wheelbarrow are good.
I’ve just recently read about Arthur Stace aka Mr Eternity a humble cleaner who could barely write. He became famous for using one word “Eternity”  in a copper script chalked on hard surfaces around Sydney to get his message across. In 2001 the Sydney City Council Trademarked his Eternity” script in order to protect it from indiscriminate commercial use. Arthur life has been written about in a  book. It got me thinking maybe all it takes sometimes is one good word to get a story or message across. I recommend people check out the Arthur Stace story. People such as the famous street artist Banksy have used Arthur script “Eternity” in their works. A short tv thing about Arthur attached.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EMAdvqbkkE     

363

(12 replies, posted in Poems)

Thank you debervifan  and Jan for your encouragement.

Every word that comes out of our inner self.

Can sit on an invisible shelf turning to dust.

Or breathe life onto a page.

It can be heard by a listening ear.

Backed by silent air or filling the soul with music.

Sometimes putting our words or music out there.

Can feel like murder.

Once it's done it can't be undone.     

Jim with a slightly different tempo and phrasing I could imagine George Thorogood doing a real good job of your song. You're a talented songwriter.     

365

(12 replies, posted in Poems)

Cheers Piri. I am enjoying your feedback. I know I have been guilty of casting negative aspersions on a person’s character which weren’t justified due to my own ignorance. No doubt most people on this planet have been guilty of that at one time or another. The first line of Perception came to me after reading an EasyBeat poem  that started with the first two lines              Empty room
                                                      But filled with light



PROST Jim

I hear that word used by my German and Swiss friends sometimes, your Europe trip would have been a very special and interesting time? Thank you for your ideas on what to do with my poems.

My assumptions can sometimes lead me to the wrong place or answer.  I always assumed that Jesus was working with Joseph as a carpenter in those missing 18 years.   Just now having looked in on google to see what that says about what’s in the Bible has made me realise its not that clear what he did in that time. Anyway it made me think of that song written by Larry Norman “The Outlaw” which talks about  how Jesus is perceived by different people.

It starts with his clever lyrics.



Some say he was an outlaw that he roamed across the land
With a band of unschooled ruffians and few old fishermen
No one knew just where he came from or exactly what he'd done



After that he has clever lyrics in the song for the other options of what people thought of Jesus.

There is a very good show that has been on TV  here in NZ recently called “The Chosen” made in the USA which is very cleverly done bringing to life the characters in the bible. It would have to be one of the best I have seen on that subject. Have you watched it?

Thank you  Jim for your input and encouragement it means a lot to me.

Pete

366

(12 replies, posted in Poems)

Thank you Piri and Jim, for your feedback. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to put that poem up on chordie at first as I have this thought that maybe I’m over supplying chordie with my poems.  I thought by at least by posting this poem on chordie it will be available for anyone who might be interested in my poems in the future rather than disappear altogether by not being shared in a public way. Up until now it had only been sent out to a couple of people by email in the hope that it might entertain them rather than bore them. I have had a look at contributing some of my poems to some poetry sites but none of them appealed to me.  I guess I'm overthinking it and, in the end maybe my perceptions can lead me in the wrong direction. While I'm ranting on about words here is another poem I wrote on words.



Perception

Some say the room is empty.

Even when there is only one person happy in thought.

Some say that person is lonely.

Others say that person is happy alone.

A person who sleeps most of the day even though they have had a shower and breakfast every morning.

If they stay in bed most the day some say their bedridden.

If they get up early have breakfast and a shower.

Then get on a chair and sleep most the day.

What do they call that chair-ridden.

Someone enjoying a book on a couch.

Some say they are feeding their mind.

Others call them couch potatoes.

Some feel lonely in a crowd and yet happy at home on their own.

To each their own.

Today a person called a Hermit is often considered antisocial.

In days of old becoming a Hermit was considered a legitimate pathway to salvation.

Many hermits came to be regarded as saints.

Beware of perceptions that a word can paint.     

367

(12 replies, posted in Poems)

Mother With The Lost Child

Lying in wait, set to pounce a crazy idea.

The disorganised complexity of my mind.

Turns this crazy idea into words jumping onto a blank page.

Taking a plunge into the unfathomable depth of a reader's mind.

Do these words come to life or numb the readers minds.

Fishing lines hook into my fingers pulling them in different directions.

Thrashing away my fish fingers are unable to sink into the music in my mind.

Today dancing around will be just words not lyrics to a song.

Out of satisfaction comes dissatisfaction.

Satisfaction the mother.

Dissatisfaction the child.

How can I not love the mother with the lost child.

Not all words have a tune.

The joy of writing. 

368

(7 replies, posted in My local band and me)

Thank you Piri for affirming that the odd odd song can work at times. I read that Dick Francis wrote, "some are born weird, some achieve it, others have weirdness thrust upon them. "

369

(7 replies, posted in My local band and me)

Cheers Jan and Piri thanks for taking the time to have a listen and comment. I was trying to put together something outside of the conventional as more of an experiment than anything else. I hope it didn't come out as being weird?     

370

(14 replies, posted in Poems)

Cheers Piri and Jan, I enjoyed reading your comments and for some strange reason that song "Grandad." by Clive Dunn popped into my head.     

371

(7 replies, posted in My local band and me)

I don't play much guitar nowadays due to what is going down with my shoulder's fingers and arms, About a month back I managed to put together this simple little song I wrote on YouTube called Rain Move On.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXRqXrga9yM

372

(14 replies, posted in Poems)

One of my favourites from when I was a kid was when my Nan would get us laughing by saying, "how many million times have I told you kids not to exaggerate". When the laughter died down after some of her comic turns, she would say, "I love it when you all laugh your faces off."     

373

(14 replies, posted in Poems)

Cheers Jan thank you for your feedback. Recently I have found myself using old fashion sayings more often when chatting with people such as "A stitch in time saves nine."     

374

(11 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

I don't know what the answer is I would like to see more people post on here. In my short time of being part of chordie I have been very thankful for the generosity of spirit of those on here who have helped me navigate music and storytelling through helping me with words and lyrics and their knowledge of music.

375

(14 replies, posted in Poems)

Cheers Jim when I wrote that poem, I was metaphorically trying to put together my feelings about ageing and coming to accept the changes that come with it.  I find it hard as I get older to conceptualize what people mean when they talk about middle-aged, elderly aged. third age. This third age thing does that mean we have a first age and a second age if so, what makes a person fit into those categories? In my head I’m young but my body as it is now falling apart tells me different things. I guess like most people tell me youth is wasted on the young. I’m glad that you got my metaphoric way of expressing myself as I was worried that people would take my words literally or read them as the nonsensical ramblings of a mad man. I hope my words are something that people from all over the world can relate to.

Like you and Phill I would be interested to know how two of the legends of Chordie Bill and Russell are doing.