Mine, and occasionally others'.
Submitted by Janine on
Another round of drinks, guv'nor
Get the cash from the missus -
You know she's good for it.
She's got to be good for something, eh lads?
When time's called
he lurches home
to settle accounts.
He drinks
and she pays for it.
Submitted by Janine on
A rewrite of The Adverts' Gary Gilmore's Eyes, from the point of view of his mother Bessie.
I'm lying on my death bed
Just one son here by my side
One had thought me wretched
And the other two had died
A mother of dysfunction
An abused and angry wife
I can't say I'm accomplished
As I look back on my life
Submitted by Janine on
The Clash's Janie Jones from another point of view ...
She's saving up for a college course, whoa
She gets the cash and her boyfriend scores, whoa
She isn't helped by the vice laws, no
She don't mind her whoring job, no
Submitted by Janine on
Bystander. Standing by.
Something in my eye.
I didn't see it. I couldn't say.
Not my business anyway.
Maybe he hit her.
Not really sure.
And I don't think I saw
what happened before.
Maybe she provoked him.
What's a bloke
supposed to do?
I didn't see.
I never knew.
Submitted by Janine on
This stanza is sponsored
by a weekend bonanza
of two-for-one deals
on our easy-cook meals
from the town's happy eater
which has paid for its meter
All of its sponsors
have generously given
a big wodge of dosh
for their brand on its rhythm
A local disk jockey
has sponsored a trochee
(That's a tum-tee-tum beat
with some well-branded feet)
Submitted by Janine on
This is a public service announcement
With Poets on the Picket Line
Know your rights
All three of them
Number one
You have the right to strike
Withdrawing your labour is a fundamental principle
So long as you get not just a majority in a ballot
But a 50% turnout and a 40% threshold
This right is brought to you by a government
elected by 24% of the electorate
Submitted by Janine on
A new sociological category to scare the establishment ...
Somewhat like the angry youth
But rather longer in the tooth
We're gobby, feisty, loud, uncouth
We're Disaffected Middle-aged Women
Kicking our heels against the wall
Plotting in the shopping mall
Go tell them we're not playing ball
We're Disaffected Middle-aged Women
Submitted by Janine on
Crazed Loner - a poem about the portrayal of mental ill-health in the murder of Jo Cox MP, performed at Ealing TUC International Women's Day celebration.
Submitted by Janine on
My (unsuccessful) entry to the 2017 Stanley Spencer Poetry Competition run by the Cookham Festival, celebrating its 50th anniversary and Spencer's 125th. It is about Spencer's 'Shipbuilding' paintings.
Frank was the Furnace Man, earnest and warm
The firebox of Shipbuilding, heat where there’s cold
He’s Chalmers by name and embraced for his charm
Stoking the fire made him strong in the arm
His gift to his workmates whatever their roles
Was letting them dry with a seat on his coals
Submitted by Janine on
Janine interviewed in 2015 by Stand Up and Spit about her 1980s incarnation as The Big J, ranting poet, and her 2010s poetic reincarnation.
