The Brown Eyed Beggar

'Where is 1848?' ©

2012-02-24T08:48:00.000Z

We do not wantyour brownstone mansions

Your studioflats that follow fashion

Such vacuoustrinkets we repel

We shall notsubmit to such spells

We are takingback the commonwealth

We long to livein truth and peace

But struggle fora larger piece

If those thatclaim to rule by right

Do not respectour cries of plight

We will takeback the commonwealth

Your lies ofspite and tribulation

Unmasked willgain no salutation

Instead we’lluse the lies you speak

To separate thecruel and meek

We are takingback the commonwealth

So tell us if weare so feral

Why do we shirkyour vain apparel?

To clothourselves in Abercrombie

And toastdeluded liberty

We understandyour double dealing

Your ferventpromise to keep stealing

Our hopes andaspirations true

To ensure we areslaves for you

For it has beenso many ages

Since peopleunleashed righteous rages

We act as if wewere born blind

Surprised at theinjustice we do find

But we will takeback our commonwealth

If we could onlyforge a time

When mine wasyours and yours was mine

We’d raise anation from the ground

That was notchained to dollar or pound

I do not talk ofStalin’s fist

Nor democratsillusion’s twist

But that whichmen and women died

To come down onthe poor man’s side

To look eachother in the face

For neverknowing one’s place

If sacrificedemands the price

We’ll be the menand you’ll be the mice

We are takingback the commonwealth

I know of manyother lands

Where wealth isbuilt on mounds of sand

Where deep andfirm foundation worn

Are mocked withsuch contempt and scorn

How lust forgold is made the law

And every truthfought and died for

Is bought andsold as if a whore

By thieves wholove nothing more

Let us seize theflag from sycophants

Who blind thepeople with base rants

To turn the weakupon themselves

To disguise howthey truly fell

Let us take backthe commonwealth

If we wouldrealise our strength

And see thatunity makes sense

Then wolves whodress as timid sheep

Would fear theirmansions that they keep

For London townand Washington

Would flare withfire of the young

Who fill thestreets as though a flood

But not insearch of scoundrels blood

But to take backtheir commonwealth

And though inEngland we have queens and kings

Such basenostalgia our gravest sin

We dream upon a hallowedtime

When majestiesare never shrines

Your presidentsare monarchs too

For both aretyrants and stock fools

Although they donot wear their crowns

Their laws domake the people frown

If we must raisea banner high

And die a deatha thousand times

Then let ourepitaph do show

That we refusedto live in woe

We took back ourcommonwealth

A republic ofthe mind and soul

Where everysinner’s of the fold

Each one his ownand of the mould

A nation thatrewards the bold

And you mysisters brave and true

Would resurrectfaith from its tomb

Your might andbeauty would prevail

To show thatvalour is not male

For we wouldbuild a city on a hill

A glowing beaconof ‘our’ will

Whose worth isnot of bonds and bills

A paradise ofdreams fulfilled

Our nation, our commonwealth.

By N.Williams ©

‘Cruel, Britannia!’ ©

2012-02-17T11:45:00.000Z

‘Cruel,Britannia!’ ©
.

Cruel,Britannia! There’s money to be made!
And Britons ever, ever, ever shall be slaves.
.
When Britain first, at banker's command,
Did empty all its riches deep into the wealthiest hands,
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And God Save Enterprise and Global brands:
.
Cruel, Britannia! There’s money to be made!
And Britons ever, ever, ever shall be slaves.
.
There are some nations not so blest as thee
Oh how we are so proud and gay and free!
To receive the CEO’s decree
To sell our souls for golden liberty
.
Cruel, Britannia! There’s money to be made!
And Britons ever, ever, ever shall be slaves.
.
There’s still more majestic plunder to be had,
here where public health is a quaintly fad,
to make the national health look frankly rather mad

They’ll be nomore, united cure for every lass and lad
.

Cruel,Britannia! There’s money to be made!
And Britons ever, ever, ever shall be slaves.

.
Our haughty tyrants we’ll never tame;

Nor will theyever show us shame
until we rouse within a flame,
and beat the wretches at their wicked game
.
Cruel, Britannia! There’s money to be made!
And Britons ever, ever, ever shall be slaves.
.
Cruel, Britannia! Britannia, there’s money to be made!
And Britons ever, ever, ever shall be slaves!

By N.Williams ©

This poem isquite clearly a satirical jab at the heart of the dominant ideology in ourpolitical class. I have parodied the nation’s favourite chorus of liberty toshow how liberty in this land is loved and accepted if at the expense of equalityand truth. Long live the liberty to exploit and discriminate!

‘From the Quill of a Militant Secularist’

2012-02-17T11:38:00.000Z

There has been a rising debate recentlyabout the growth of concern among religious groups that they are been sidelinedand even persecuted. That there is a legion of atheists and secularists whowish to ground Christians, Muslims, Jews and others in to the dirt for merepleasure.

For a start there's a false conflationof atheist and secular. Secular refers to governments which are neutral inmatters of religion, not offering support to religion, atheism or anything inbetween. By confusing the two we are allowing secularism (What even is MilitantSecularism, calling for neutrality extra hard?) to be tarred with a brush thatshould rightfully only be applied to militant atheism.

The main problem is that opponents ofsecularism use the term "militant secularist" to refer to allapproaches to separation of church and state. This is a form of the logicalfallacy known as 'poisoning the well' where the antagonist attempts toundermine the case being put forward by portraying it as inherentlyunacceptable. It suggests that the opponents of secularism are not veryconfident about their fundamental case.

Any dismissal of atheism as adolescentis not only insulting but utterly shame faced coming from people who believe inthe divine truth of ancient manuscripts. Dismissing the demands for equality bythose who religions historically persecute as militant is like dismissing thedemand for civil rights for black people as extremist. Which of course theywere, see Malcom X’s treatment during the 60s and the harassment Dr King receivedfrom the FBI. for it is the trick of the bigoted to play the victim now thatthey principled are for the first time not in the ascendency.

Dismissing the concerns about faithschools as basically selfish wining because ‘we can't access religious schoolsfor our children’ both ignores the fact that some of us are opposed to faithschools because we believe in a state education system that educates ourchildren instead of indoctrinating them in absurd fairy tales. 'Faith' schoolsare largely just ways for rich parents to get another advantage for their kids.If you want to see the effect of real faith schools, look at theAmerican south, where they proliferate. And then take a look at typicalAmerican high school biology textbook; go to the index and look up 'evolution.'

Families are free to teach rubbish totheir kids if they so wish but some of us resist the idea that the state shouldcompound this abuse by teaching it too.

There is a further point that the decriersof secularism miss like people like me who believe religion should be thepossession of individuals not the state and who feel that state religion is profoundlyundemocratic and sectarian. And that the imposition of belief on millions whonot only don't share it but find the whole concept of god to be ridiculous is philosophicallyand ironically morally wrong.

Reason goes with secularism and atheism,although each is different. "Faith" is the antithesis of reason.

Religion only ever held its position byinstilling fear in the uneducated masses, which is why it was so difficult towrest education out of the hands of the church in the first place, they knewfull well it would be the beginning of the end once people started thinking forthemselves.

The writings on the wall folks, nomatter how much we are vilified for speaking against organised religion, itsimply cannot be changed that the up and coming generations value reason aboveleaps of faith.

By N.Williams ©

'The Many Faces of a "Gentleman" ©

2012-02-17T11:28:00.000Z

Let metell you darling

WhatHollywood and Bollywood won’t tell you

Let meimpart to you

Thatwhich is whispered in blasphemies

MrRight

LordCaddington

AndPrince Charming

Areall the same guy

Youhappened to catch

Ondifferent days

Thecad enjoys loosening a dress

HisRoyal Highness likes to play chess

And MrRight is but a figment of your minds jest

Andnow ask yourself how many faces

Is itacceptable for him to have?

ByN.Williams ©

'Made In Mexico'

2012-02-17T11:20:00.000Z

Now you all know I lovemy traditional features and the use of organic materials. So it will come as nosurprise my delight as I stumbled upon a new designer from Mexico. HectorEsrawe looks to African and pre-Hispanic American cultures for inspiration forhis new Ban stools. The sculptural collection is reminiscent of traditionalseats representing status, religion and indent in ancient communities. Madefrom certified solid walnut, tzalam and beech, and finished with natural oils,their striking form is a modern take on the age tested tradition ofcraftsmanship and woodwork.

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‘Ode to Artemis’©

2012-02-17T11:09:00.000Z

Artemis was oneof the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Homer refers to heras Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron:"Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals". In the classicalperiod of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeusand Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. She was the Hellenic goddess of thehunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and young girls, bringingand relieving disease in women; she often was depicted as a huntress carrying abow and arrows. The deer and the cypress were sacred to her.

Beneath thesacred harvest moon,

Where silversoftly seeds the earth

And banishes thesun of June

Its garishglance that drains our worth

It shimmersshook the souls of men

Who toiling intheir days of pain

And looking fora nightly end

Do seek asaviour free of shame

So when the daydoth take a bow

They drink theirwine and drop their plough

Among thevineyards growing ripe

where fiercecrimson fruit does bloom

The peoplegather in night’s cold bite

To hail the onewho lights the gloom

Although thereis a menaced touch

a tensionlurking in the dusk

The people wouldnot say or do much

As captivated byyour musk

Of freshPomegranates and jasmine flower

Is how youexercise your power

Beneath yourglow we live like kings

Converse likelords but think like peasants

Untilillumination brings

Your wisdomradiant like your crescent

They long foryou to never leave

So they may haveeternal nights

To dance, singand to believe

And never needto be contrite

So when the daydoes not return

They’ll drinktheir wine and to Artemis, forever turn

By N.Williams ©

Inspired by thesensational ‘Cherry La Voix’ who is a singer, songwriter, Burlesque performer,dancer, actress, model, bgirl, and full time Professional Bad Ass Bitch. Apartfrom being on twitter where you should be following her musing and magic, sheis also your favourite New York Inked Girl... or rather she should be. Pleasevote on the link below.

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'Sowing the Seeds of Agricultural Independence'

2012-02-14T10:33:00.000Z

Like mostcountries in Africa farming and advanced agriculture are the drivers of Kenya’seconomy, but for its majority smallholder farmer with poor access to marketinformation, getting a fair price can be difficult. With more than half of thenation’s 40 million people using mobile phones, Kenya’s ICT entrepreneurs haveseized on mobile technology to launch world-leading innovations. Using aservice called MFarm a farmer can learn the going rate for his crop severalhundred kilometres from Nairobi the capital simply by sending a text messageand receiving a reply within seconds. It is 1st year more than 3000 farmershave signed up to MFarm and with the arrival of the Smartphone in East Africaand falling internet costs will enable famers to seize control of theireconomic futures. Farmer from Africa can finally play and utilise the market.

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‘Dear Lover’ ©

2012-02-14T10:32:00.001Z

Dear Lover,

I am certainlynot a better person

Since you saw melast

The weights ofthe years weigh tenfold

And maturity isa sick joke

A constitutionof cowardice

Of how I optedout of the tussle

I am but aflicker of a lamp light

The opaquenessof the glass

The vagueness ofthe smeared glow

But the taxreturns

The christenings,marriages and funerals

and so on and soon and so on

have made me theparagon of sternness

and the boyinside me is deceased.........

they held areception for him in the gutter

and it rainednon-stop.

A good little boyI was,

Now a bad man

But a man, so I supposethat shall suffice

Duty, honour,love blah blah blah

Were lost like alottery ticket

At the DVLA

And the MOT andinsurance claims are not so taxing

While typing inmy dry manner

At a computer freeof iniquity

‘Thank God’ respectability remains.

If I havenothing left

No reservoir ofchildlike joy

Let decency thendrown me

I married a nicegirl, don’t you know?

She was ever sogood for me

Nadine from accounting

With the roundface and questioning pupils

And the nervouschuckle

That queried butdared not ask

Why? Why? Boywith the sad eyes,

Do you not smileanymore?

Within orwithout?

Dear Lover,

I am certainlynot a better person

Since you saw melast

The weights ofthe years weigh tenfold

And maturity isa sick joke

A constitutionof cowardice

Of how I optedout of the tussle

I am but aflicker of a lamp light

The opaquenessof the glass

The uncertaintyof the smeared glow

By N. Williams ©

'A Mellow Meadow Manipulated' ©

2012-02-14T10:32:00.000Z

Once I saw

On Safari

In a documentary

A Lion feast ona Gazelle

It had cheated

Used its claws

Enlightened theJungle with its jagged laws

Once we saw

On a moor

On land that isEnglish

A pheasant shot,or was it a peasant.

Both are goodsport

And the Lord ofthe land

Had a brutalhand

And a crippledface

Not a glimmernot a trace

His hunt was notfair or pleasant

Once again

In a wood

An English meadow

A blood red foxmauled

And even as thetrash hounds stalled

Kill! Burn!Rape! Subjugate!

Was the trumpetscall.

By N.Williams ©

'My Commandment' ©

2012-02-14T10:31:00.003Z

'Cherry LA Voix' by Aaron Tsuru ©

I saw you rise,

I saw you risered
the lake was aflame, and the sky bled

some zealousrage held in permanent
.
Your every curve, mark and tattoo,

are as commandments

Thou shaltadore, adore, adore

Thou shalt haveno other above me

Like the deer bythe brook

Grasping dangerbut daring not to look,

Hooked by your inspirationunlocked

Pity me for mythirst compels me

My thirstcompels me

By N.Williams ©

The photographabove was captured by Aaron Tsuru who is the Sherlock Holmes of innovativeand provocative photography.

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'In Defence of Human Rights'

2012-02-14T10:29:00.000Z

The argument now being mounted against the Human Rights Act – promoted by right-wing papers such as The Sun, Daily Mail, Express and Telegraph, supported by the Tories, embraced by some Blairites and given an unconditionally supportive treatment even by the “neutral” BBC – portends the latest attack on human rights by the neo-liberal hegemony. The Human Rights Act has been one of the few safeguards through which the totalitarian tendencies of New Labour and the “war on terror” have been slowed down a little by sections of the judiciary.

It has been crucial in stopping people from being deported back to countries where they would have been tortured, maltreated or even killed. It has yet to be utilised to its full potential of helping citizens achieve the aim of recognising a right to work as a fundamental human right. The right to dignified existence with a reasonable and developing state of subsistence. So for example workers in their struggle against the abuses of corporate giants and public sector workers in defence of their pensions may have their rights engraved in law. But the potential and its importance are clear.

Stuart Weir who wrote and edited Unequal Britain: a Human Rights Route to Social Justice which makes the case for the full introduction of ESCR (Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights) in the UK, answers the arguments that the political and judicial establishment make against their introduction and surveys the need for such rights in education, housing and employment and for their use to combat poverty and discrimination. "With the retreat from the universal ideals of the post-war welfare state, the case for arming disadvantaged groups and individuals in Britain becomes ever stronger”.

Granted, it is slightly misguided to expect the state to protect human rights, when it is the largest and most pervasive human rights violator. This is obviously due to the state’s relationship with big business and the corrupting effect of finance capital. But still, the rhetoric of human rights has something of a function in warding off the worst state excesses. And this is only because against the might of the markets and their perverse effect on society it is the best embodiment of the ‘people’ and disenfranchised. This new attack – ostensibly under the flag of “victims’ rights” – is therefore an extremely dangerous move.

The “victims’ rights” argument is based on a fundamental misunderstanding. The basic claim is that deviants are given “more rights” than victims. This is patently false – if the state is denied (for instance) the right to arbitrarily detain suspected criminals, it is also denied the right to arbitrarily detain suspected victims. Also, the Human Rights Act does not imply a right to commit (say) rape or murder; in this sense people have a right under this act not to be victims of these things. That human rights violations occur does not prove that human rights don’t exist or aren’t protected. The point is that the existence of a few cases of human rights violations by individuals is no reason to justify wide-ranging violation of human rights by the state. Further, it is no reason for abrogating – as the advocates of “victims’ rights” often do – the very idea of human rights itself.

The main problem is the view that the failure to punish, or to take extrajudicial repressive action, is taken to be somehow “allowing” an action which is not prevented. Hence the state is blamed for somehow “failing to prevent” crimes because it doesn’t commit sufficiently severe human rights violations. This is absurdly distorted. The view seems to be that human rights are not respected if a preventive measure could be taken which is not taken. Obviously there are measures (such as locking up all men) which could reduce certain categories of deviance (such as rape). Obviously it is always possible to come up with worse, even more horrific punishments for supposed deterrent reasons, such as hanging, drawing and quartering, or prolonged torture. In neither case does is this compatible with human rights; in both cases such measures would seem to be logically required by the “victims’ rights” objection.

In any case is it a distortion to say that respecting some basic rights of alleged deviants gives them “more rights” than victims. They are not given any rights which victims do not also have. If their actions violate human rights, they are not given a “right” to engage in these actions. Similarly, the alternative is not “more rights for victims” but no rights for anyone. The kinds of cases statists use – the idea for instance that people who flee tyranny in Afghanistan have no right to claim asylum if they hijack an aeroplane to get here, or that people released from sentences for serious offences have no right to protection from arbitrary sentencing increases or arbitrary interference in their post-release life – basically are ways of taking away general rights from everybody. That the “victims” have no use at present for the right to flee persecution or the right to protection from arbitrary sentencing simply shows that they already are socially privileged over the alleged deviants.

Another problem is that the victim-cultists tend to promote an exaggerated set of rights for the socially excluded – people’s “rights” are seen as “violated” if they are subject to petty harassment, if they walk down the road and see graffiti or litter… To posit concern about petty deviance as “rights” of “victims” is to lose all sense of proportion about human rights. In contrast, there is a tendency to act as if a single act of deviance – or even the suspicion of deviance – is enough for someone to be stripped of rights entirely – a position which goes against the very idea of human rights. So the argument turns out to be nothing more than a denial of human rights as such, a celebration of universal rightslessness as a condition for domination by a social in-group.

Basically, the alleged criticisms are based on a dangerous and draconian distortion – the idea that the privileged social in-group has an unconditional right to preferential treatment in lawmaking, that all laws should be rigged exclusively for the benefit of the in-group – in other words, a denial of rights as such. Often this is attached to an equally dangerous support for arbitrary state power and a creeping control-freakery which is as much a threat to the “victims” as to everyone else.

As for the arguments about “security”, these hold up even less. “Security” is doublespeak for state control in the dominant discourse today. Human rights are a barrier to unconditional state control, so of course they seem a threat to the powerful, to be undermining “security”. This makes it all the more important to defend them. Defence of human rights is at the centre of human security, such as security from arbitrary state violence. The idea that “security” has any value independently of human rights is nothing better than state-worship.

What about the claims that the Human Rights Act is producing a “compensation culture” or a set of spurious legal claims? Often these arguments are made with examples which are far from spurious. And the basic argument is an argument against law as such – when the people who make the argument are in fact arguing for more and tougher laws! The same people, who whine about the Human Rights Act leading to legal cases and compensation, do not complain about all the legal technicalities which are used against protesters and victimised minorities. They don’t complain for instance about the use of legal technicalities to smash protests, or about the slippage in interpretations of harassment laws so these are used to criminalise activists. They don’t object when technicalities and Kafkaesque legalities are used to attack people – they only complain when legal cases defend rights instead of taking them away. This proves their claims are selective and spurious.

The Human Rights Act is a much maligned piece of legislation. Its opponents call it a charter for criminals, serial litigants and the politically correct. Eurosceptics denounce it as a foreign intrusion into the English common law. They are wrong. Human rights are deeply embedded in our political traditions and the Act has not been used to overturn centuries of legal practice or fatally undermine our social obligations. But rights also imply duties. In a liberal democratic society we need to weave together rights and responsibilities and ensure that we can take decisions collectively for the good of society.

We should be proud of legislation that protects fundamental human rights. But we need to balance individual rights with collective obligations. Working in local government, we know travellers are seeking rights to authorised sites and that their rights need to be balanced with those of neighbouring settled communities. Upholding rights when resources are constrained is never easy and we need to protect democratic decision-making about where our money goes. But let's not debase the value of human rights with political sideswipes at the Act.

By N.Williams

'On Unemployment'

2012-01-27T13:16:00.000Z

Wecan't afford a welfare state as long as we maintain high levels ofunemployment. That is inescapable. So the options we have before us are eitherto abandon the welfare state and return towards 1930s laissez-faire, which isthe very clear goal of a great deal of the Tory party, or restore theGovernment's role in economic planning, interventionist industrial policy andpublic investment in employment.

WhenWilliam Beveridge delivered his report, the Labour Party saw its role as shapingthe economy to serve the people, while the Tories have always seen their roleas shaping the people to serve the economy. The last 13 years of a Labourgovernment and the 2008 financial crisis has finally proven that there is, no"Third Way".

Thebackdrop to Beveridge's report was the belief that the Government could, andshould, seek to shape the economy to ensure as near to full employment aspossible. As Keynes pointed out, if everyone is in work, then the rest isstraightforward. Beveridge's welfare state (or social insurance system) has tobe seen in that light. The problem we have is that after Thatcher, allgovernments have not only abandoned full employment as a goal, but haveoccasionally used high unemployment deliberately as a weapon to targetinflation or to attack employment rights.

Probablythe most disgusting thing about this coalition is the systematic targeting ofthe weak, poor and disabled and the deliberate spreading of lies to facilitatethis.
So, using the Governments own figures, let's lay to rest this bullshit:

You'reall sick of paying a huge swathe of chavs to lay about watching Jeremy Kyle allday? IT'S A LIE. Less than 5,000 people, out of a population of 60 million,have been on benefits for more than 5 years. Your taxes are actuallysubsidising the private sector. Most of the people claiming benefits are inwork, but their wages are so low, they have to be topped up by the tax payer.

Livingon benefits is a lifestyle choice? IT'S A LIE. More than 80% of benefitclaimants are aged over 35. The vast majority of claimants have worked, andpaid taxes, for years and are now on benefits due to redundancy, sickness,disability or having to care for someone.

Peoplewon't work because benefits are too high? IT'S A LIE. Average benefits amountto £3,400 a year. These people are living in poverty. Since 1997, the amount ofGDP spent on welfare has actually gone down, and stands at around 7%. In thesame time frame, GDP has risen by 67%. People on benefits are far worse off nowthan they have ever been.

Peopleshould get off their arses and look for work? IT'S A LIE. When Iain DuncanSmith suggested the jobless in Merthyr Tydfil should “get on a bus” to Cardiffto find work, Merthyr had 43 people for every job vacancy. Problem was, Cardiffalready had nine unemployed people for every job vacancy. The jobs just don'texist. In 2010, there was 1 million more unemployed than there were jobvacancies.

Benefitcheats are bankrupting the country? IT'S A LIE. Benefit fraud does amount toabout £1.5 billion a year. However, £16 billion goes UNCLAIMED every year.Meanwhile, the amount of tax lost through avoidance and evasion is a whopping£120 billion a year. (and don't give methe crap about avoidance being legal, the truth is, it shouldn't be)

Thecreator of the NHS Beveridge would have wanted determined action fromgovernment to get communities working once again, not least to bring down thatbenefits bill to help pay down the national debt. The national debt isnot caused by benefits; and the present deficit was caused by the recession.Stabilise it by raising taxes - especially on the very wealthy; and inparticular on financial transactions. Then make tax evaders pay their dues. £70billion per year is lost to tax evasion.

Hewanted a responsible government taking determined action to create work, but aresponsible workforce too. He would have wanted reform that was tough-minded,and asked everyone to work hard to find a job. Yes - and we have at least twomillion people searching for jobs, which are largely non-existent. So eitherinvest in proper work programmes, or get off their cases

Weneed a social security system (I refuse to use this dreadful US term 'welfare')based on 2 principles:

(1) Thecomplete eradication of poverty; (2) And making work pay

Thatmeans we need: (1) a universal basic income to get all adults and children atleast above the poverty level; (2) a living wage.

Whatwe don't need is what the ConDems and Labour are hell bent on delivering, whichis (1) poverty wages for those in work, and (2) beating benefit claimants witha very large stick until they accept these crappy wages come what may. Eventhough, of course, the ConDem austerity measures mean that there are very fewjobs around in any case. Until Labour announces its conversion to Basic Incomeand a Living Wage they are most unlikely to get my vote.

TheNew Labour rhetoric hasn't changed much, and now even the ineffectual Ed Milibandis using the "scrounger" word. If we cite Beveridge it is the lack ofwork available that's the giant to be slain, not those lacking work. As ever NewLabour mantra is that of copying the Tories, punishing the victims, themarginalised and dispossessed, while doing nothing, repeat nothing to createjobs, nor rein in the abuses of workers by multinationals. They welcome therace to the bottom it seems, one in which the workers and small and mediumenterprises are there to be ripped off and driven to misery, all to suit thewhims of Big Capital.

'I Kiss Your Hip' ©

2012-01-27T13:05:00.002Z

I lit a cigarette

Sit back in the recline

Imagining you answering all myidle questions

When will you be free? Is freedomdesired?

Answering my absent retinas

With your ripeness

A rear in a coat, pressed to mypalm

Warm and full as a feast

I licked my lips

Drawing breath and smoke

Until you were as a misty vision

Your replies as bittersweet asthis tobacco

I may puff this black stick

With its gold filter so vintage

But cannot extinguish thequestions you leave

Unanswered, undigested, regurgitatedfor another.

By N.Williams ©
.

This photograph was taken by the incalculably gifted Gary Mitchell from Dayton Ohio. He does art nude work, non-nude, portraits & band photography. You can see his blog and NSFW examples of his work at garym.com or garymphoto.tumblr.com.

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'Voixism' ©

2012-01-27T13:01:00.003Z

Did you ever cease to consider

That God Almighty, she is athriller

And not a punisher nor killer

But of the stage an ardent filler

I know no other salient being

That brings the masses out tokneel

And grants art ecstasy andmeaning

By raising fans towards theceiling

Crafting from her realm ofcashmere

Adornments to rouse love and fear

From prophets who shed joyfultears

For her wit, skill and succulentrear

And as the years will wax andwane

You’ll know and tremble at herfame

From off my quill does glow herflame

The new and true religion’s name

By N.Williams ©

Followingon from the theme that God was a philosophical representation of us.

(see A History of God by Karen Armstronghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_God)

That mancreated God because we were both ashamed of the crimes and wickedness of our actionsand incapable of taking responsibility for them. But also that humanity neededan ideal to aspire to, an embodiment of perfection and wholeness. Being afanatical derider of all organised religions it occurred to me that if I wereto believe in an all seeing, all knowing maker that ‘she’ would be a woman.

http://garymphoto.tumblr.com

http://modelmayhem.com/gm

http://garymphoto.blogspot.com

http://garym.com

http://about.me/garymitchell

Cherry La Voix is the muse to end all muses whom presently has got her badass on twitter. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CherryLaVoix

‘The Charter of the Confederacy of Cynics’ ©

2011-12-02T13:49:00.001Z

We the many

After muchdeliberation and dedication of our cerebral qualities

Do humbly swearto believe in nothing

At least nothingof consequence

Nothing except thatwhich gleams and glitters

To wait foreverand a day

For a liberatoron a white horse

Whilst concurrentlycursing her name

Raw in our gullets

Ready for thenoose of our masters

This council

After muchreflection and devotion of our intense analytical virtues

Pledges torelentlessly kiss the feet of our lords and ladies

Who graciouslyin their astuteness

Known what isbest for us

As we are notworthy

Of picking upthe builders block

And laying freshfoundations

For if it’s notbroke don’t fix it

Especially if itnever worked in the first place

We the many

Although not aspopulous as we think we should be

Would likehouses and cars and gizmos

With brightlights and things that make loud noises

To drown out themisery around us

To blind ourgaze

Bamboozle ourperceptions

So eachmanifesto may be a Christmas list

Except everyonehas been naughty

And everyonedeserves their misery

This house

Although awareof the imperfections of our utopias

Beg to bedistracted

Hopefully byjolly entities and concepts

Something shallowand sexy

Something withan X-factor

The pleasantnessand comfort of folly

That makes thechains around our ankles

Feel light ashoneydew

We the many

Believe that thebest course of action is to play dead

When wolves roamall around

And bleat outfrom sheltered confines

A consensus ofcomplacency

To adore thewhip that lashes our backs

And dismiss talkof a ‘New Man’

With all itsromance

And the fantasticalthemes of renaissance

To kill dreamersbefore they kill us with their dreams

By N.Williams ©

‘Ode to A Jersey Girl’ ©

2011-12-02T13:38:00.002Z

Gary Mitchell © 'Cherry La Voix'

A face that cowsthe pride of men,

Whose minds wereriled by fleeting power,

But heard thetruth from off my pen,

Of her who’sborn a daemons flower,

Who taunts themind with fascination

By means ofdance and skilful show

And ceases oneto hesitation,

By stirring zealthat’s deep below

And turns usfrom unruly knaves

To her mostsubservient slaves

If one couldshed a honest tear

Confess to allone’s evil ways

And hear suchtruth within our ears

Then she wouldgrace us every day

And raise our tatteredsouls on high

Till she herselfmeant more than life

And we wouldfind a cause to die

That frees ourminds from odious strife

Her sweet,unyielding melody,

Is a mercy forhumanity

She is not ofbanality

Nor manlyconcepts like faith or reason

But combinesdeity and reality

To make amockery of man’s ambition

And allallegiances of man and beast,

That only ifthey learnt of her

Their wars andwoes would justly cease

With one gazeupon the frame of her

Their lips wouldspeak the holy word

So all in all itcould be heard.

That truth isbeauty and beauty truth

But of thisaesthetic

You ask, whatuse?

Except totransform a priest to addict

For if my eyesbeheld her skin

I’d be contentto die a death

For life withouther is a sin

That life wouldlose its youthful zest

I tell you childgo out and preach

And spread thetale that I do teach

That Beauty istruth

And Truth isbeauty

By N.Williams ©
.

This photograph was taken by the incalculably gifted GaryMitchell from Dayton Ohio. He does art nude work, non-nude, portraits &band photography. You can see his blog and NSFW examples of his work atgarym.com or garymphoto.tumblr.com.

http://garymphoto.tumblr.com

http://modelmayhem.com/gm

http://garymphoto.blogspot.com

http://garym.com

http://about.me/garymitchell

And Cherry La Voix is well Cherry La Voix... nothing more need be said :)

‘You are the Night’ ©

2011-12-02T13:38:00.000Z

Gary Mitchell © 'Cherry La Voix'

Withbliss and fright, you are the night

And reignwhen I should sleep,
yet dream, of things that never were
and what you are, my faith’s long leap

Tolaunch oneself in darkness deep

Topass away these visions dark,
and ride the waves of covetousness

Yourpassions are a jackal’s bark,

Yournails, they cut pagan’s mark

Thesweat from off your glowing skin
Ferments a wine that slakes the soul

Andturns the night from moments still
to constant shudders of your will

Suchbliss and fright, you are the night

ByN.Williams ©

http://garymphoto.tumblr.com

http://modelmayhem.com/gm

http://garymphoto.blogspot.com

http://garym.com

http://about.me/garymitchell

Cherry La Voix is the muse to end all muses whom presently has got her badass on twitter. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CherryLaVoix

‘The Bandit & The Baroness’ ©

2011-11-25T12:30:00.000Z

Michelle L'amour - photograph taken by Kaylin Idora ©

There is no needto tell her
What she knew from the start
That the bandit is half a man
And half a fool

The fool followsthe flavour
And scorns the warning
Burns his tongue which stalls him
But still he has to savour

He likes towhisper behind her slight
And steal the glint from out her eye
For passion not for reasons sly
He does this and more to his delight

There is no needto tell him
what he knew from the start
That the Baroness was born
forever restless

And no gold ormother of pearl
can temper that thirst
And life itself seems to unfurl
And what is blessing can turn to curse

She likes togleam and shine
like diamonds polished yet shattered
and that which should be on her neck
are in her eyes, a beggar's debt.

By N.Williams2011 ©

Miss Exotic World 2005 , Michelle L’amour ,is one of the premiere names in modern burlesque. Since 2002, she’s been seenby more than 50 million people on four continents as a result of her aweinspiring performances on stage, television (Semi Finalist for “America’s Got Talent ” – Season One, Featured on“Sexual Healing” – Showtime) and international documentaries (like “What aBooty” and “The Art and Heart of the Tease”). Acclaimed by legends like DixieEvans and BunnyYeager (who featured Michelle in her most recent book) and highly sought after as aburlesque instructor, she’s teased from Sao Paulo to Switzerland, Toronto toLondon, Los Angeles to Paris.

Miss L’amour is the CEO of The L’amourGroup, which is responsible for producing critically acclaimed shows like “Big Sexy Show ”and “Lipshtick “.She has her own successful book of photographs called “The Most Naked Woman ”and she directs and stars in a fantastic series of instructional videos called“Tools of the Tease “.As an instructor, she’s taught more than 3500 women, been featured in magazineslike Woman’s Health and is often called upon by Dr. Laura Berman (America’sleading relationship counselor) to lend her talents to women struggling withtheir self esteem.

In 2006, she graduated several of heradvanced students at Studio L’amour toform their own burlesque company called “Star and Garter” which eventuallybecame The Chicago Starlets,the city’s most successful and critically acclaimed striptease performers. Chicago Starlets have been featured in the Burlesque Hall of Fame weekendfor the last three years and they’ve also taken the stage at every majorfestival held in North America.

Chicago Magazine calls her “The ReigningQueen of Bump and Grind” and the New York Post says she “Brings Down theHouse”. But most importantly, David Hasselhoff told her she really “Spiced Upthe Show!” (on “America’s Got Talent”).

She additionally co-founded Naked GirlsReading a group of beautiful ladies who love to read…naked. There’s something beautiful, somethingaltogether more intimate, about a woman reading pretty much anything in her,well, altogether. It’s just that simple.

Starting in 2009, Naked Girls Reading hasappeared in more than 5 major US cities, with several international chaptersincluding the UK.

http://studiolamour.com/

http://chicagostarlets.com/

http://nakedgirlsreading.com/

.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/michelle_lamour

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-LAmour-The-Chicago-Starlets/59237346227

http://www.facebook.com/michellelamourfan

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Naked-Girls-Reading/70749732781

http://vimeo.com/30106212

http://vimeo.com/24179130

Kaylin Idora© is a photographer from NewOrleans, Louisiana who specializes in burlesque and music photography. She hasbeen published in New Orleans's Offbeat magazine, The Times Picayune, severalmagazines in Europe as well as many on-line publications. Currently she isworking on a book about burlesque in New Orleans.

http://www.facebook.com/Kaylin.Idora.Photo

http://www.kaylinidora.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kidora/
https://twitter.com/K_Iphoto

‘A Love Letter to the People’ ©

2011-11-22T01:09:00.001Z

Dear Brothersand Sisters

I hope you’dshake off the chains of slumber

I wish you’dclench your fists with ferocity

Observing theseeds of youth unsown

But thrown bythe wayside

I hope you putto bed

The gospels ofprophets long before you

Laying down Marxand Smith

And write yourown histories

I hope you dreamthe dreams of profound virtue

I wish you giveyourself to the wind of change

And take up yourcommon inheritance

Justly yours andmine

. I hope youmake bacon of pigs

Sit and feastwith joyous raucous

Not as beastsbut as humans

Hungry andthirsty for each other’s love not flesh

I hope you collaryour fat cats

Before they spayor neuter your future

And lions onleads of lead

Become the kingsyou always were

I hope you’dlove each other passionately

With kisses andembraces of siblings

Once estrangedbut now, now

Charging thebarricades, of the future

Dear Brothersand Sisters

By N.Williams ©

'Beauty Never Sleeps' ©

2011-11-21T12:34:00.001Z

Boris Ivkov ©

This is a poetictwist on the classic Brothers Grimm tale of Sleeping Beauty.

It was later modifiedby Charles Perrault in his ‘Tales of Mother Goose’.

That evening Inever considered my pleasure

Just hers

Despite thedeceptive shadows

My mind did notroam

Focusing on hermoans measure

What I cravedthrough

Heavy mist ofbreaths

Was to infusemyself with herself

To press againsther minds walls

And becomeimprinted with her hope and yearning

That our bodieswould succumb to a dream

An absurd yetachievable dream

A theme thatwould awaken

With one kiss

Bathed inmoonlight…

The stillness ofher serenity

Suspended, yetanimated and passionate…

Breathing upon

My breathe, andat once engulfing it

to create anirresistible stream of thought

And where is mysoul now?

It melted intooneness

Or so I believed

But sheharnessed my essence

And left itbathing in a moonlight dance…

A sleeper’strance

Thatheart-warming embrace…

Enchanting, yesentrapping, yes

Not quite a kissof death

But a slumber ofdepth

By N.Williams ©

PainterBoris Ivkov is an artist from Dalmatia in Croatia now residing in Germany wherehe has continued to be artistically active. During these many years' of studyhe has perfected himself and developed his technique further in most areas ofpainting.

Behind him stand countless exhibitions and his artwork in Europe and othercountries worldwide is estimated at high level and value being collected and exhibitedinternationally.

He is a master of nude art.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boris-Ivkov-Art/317067541652350?sk=info

‘In My Twenties’ ©

2011-11-18T19:52:00.001Z

In my twenties
I loved every woman,
but none like you
.
In the decade
where good living,
was a fantastic fetish
.
On the Bayou,
where you looked
too perfect to swim
.

In my study,
where you ravished the day
and gave heat to the oak

I decided thenivory

would always,always

be my favouritecolour

And lifeelectric

With the promiseof time,

Was on mytongue’s tip

In my twenties

girls woulddrift,

But you remained

A figure ofyouth,

Of dreamsdeferred

Of desireprolonged

And my doubthaunts me

with memories ofyou,

Your beauty wasa mirror

Reflecting myflaws

My failure toreplicate

Your kindnessand clarity

I captured this

Memory so slightas time

On my Rolleiflex

Even now

I recall yourillumination

How you createdintensity

Making allcolours

Coalesce aroundyou

Vivid as myemotions

My anti-youth
Is a broken mechanism
.
Spewing negatives
Like the room that day
Disturbed and encroaching
.
Like the debt
That must be paid ...
In full ... with no remainder

In my twenties

I loved everywoman

But none likeyou

By N.Williams2011 ©

I had played about withshorter poems and verses which were in fact just other variations of thisfinished piece. However was only able to grasp the idea behind it and its formwhen I saw the photograph I have posted to accompany it. The scrumptious lady init is the one and only Dottie La Vie who is a Chicago Starlet at the Lavender Cabaretwhich is a production company that is one of the world’s premiere names inburlesque and decadent productions. Apart from obviously having he most delectableof derrières her routines are enough to make Satan himself blush with shame andincredulity.

http://vimeo.com/20148032

http://chicagostarlets.com/dottielavie/

http://dottielavie.com/

http://studiolamour.com/

‘The Parable of Petra On the Pyre’ ©

2011-11-18T19:16:00.001Z

The essence ofyouthful aspiration

Was lain on thealtar of competition

To the God of‘wealth’ and ‘liberty’

Using frail dry timberfor stability

So the bishop who held the knife

Could aim it steadyand slice

The flesh of thegirl tied down

With blood uponher rutted crown

And as she swivelledto her last

The Bishop didcomplete the task

By heaping paper,gold and tires

Upon the girl’sfuneral pyre

By N.Williams ©

‘Ode to Woman’ ©

2011-11-18T16:07:00.001Z

'GaryMPhoto' - Gary Mitchell ©

Without women

Our days wouldbe utter absurdities

Purpose lostwould turn to ire

The world of menunhinged

And what isleft?

But a cannibalsrage

To tear eachother in to shreds

That love andlust would be mere threads

Without women

Would beauty bemere strength and will?

To subdue themind

With coldrationale

And not givepause to innocence

And mourn thedreams we savagely kill

Like prophetswith their deities

We’d lack theego to belief

Without women

What arbitrary commandments would stand?

To tell us whatnature desires

To banish forth,

Our faith,craving, ardour

To mind’s gulag,a distant land

And no escapefrom limbo’s shore

Without someimage of life’s sweet blossom

Without women

Who’d place ourvanity on a leash?

To symbolise the waters edge

To justify thehuman race

To civilised thetimid beast

By N.Williams ©
.

Cherry La Voix - Bad Girl - The Kiss Kiss Cabaret
.

Thisphotograph was taken by the incalculably gifted Gary Mitchell from Dayton Ohio.He does art nude work, non-nude, portraits & band photography. You can seehis blog and NSFW examples of his work at garym.com or garymphoto.tumblr.com.

http://garymphoto.tumblr.com

http://modelmayhem.com/gm

http://garymphoto.blogspot.com

http://garym.com

http://about.me/garymitchell

CherryLa Voix is the muse to end all muses whom presently has got her badass ontwitter (what took you so long). Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CherryLaVoix

Additionallymy US readers should take note that Cherry will be switching her base ofoperations for world domination to the Big Apple. Head down to Cherry La Voix'sAu Revoir: A Celebration of Columbus Talent and see her off with all of her marvellousfriends! This is one of her last performances in Columbus!
.
If you've never seen Cherry perform in person, (I rank among such pitifulcompany) or if you haven't been to a burlesque/dance event in Columbus, this isthe best place to check it out!

.
At Kobo Live: $5, Doors at 8pm, Show at 8:30pm!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=304464592915657

'The Dancer' A Sonnet in the Italian form (Petrarchan) ©

2011-11-18T10:13:00.001Z

Silvia Raffa ©
.

I ponder on theperfection of your form

in absoluteequilibrium, akin to the earth

before man andhis kin cast their curse,

The cloth ofhumankind tattered and torn

Each fouetté isa tempest without end;

Each allégro youperform is a gale blowing

And inside itsdepths, I see my salvation and ruin,

And you becomefluid as time which you bend

You are thesolemnest of silence

Butsimultaneously the rage of sound

Bearing theburden of your world on your toes,

All itscontradictions, the bliss and the violence

Played on aneternal stage that surrounds;

Within thisworld of darkness, you are a rose

ByN.Williams ©

'Ode to the Artisan' ©

2011-11-16T23:25:00.001Z

'Silvia Raffa'

Instead ofvestibules of gold

We kneel todifferent craven images

To evocate ontimes of old

When mindsconceived holier vestiges

Of beauty fromElysian’s shore

Known only tothe ancient savages

For here wherePygmalion saw

The one whoseskin is soft as silk

A goddess fromthe days of yore

Who taught thenature of her ilk

To love, tolearn and to create

To drink sweetwine and bathe in milk

So he so filledwith woe and hate

At never knowinglove or bliss

Begged Aphroditeto change his fate

And hearing ofhis rage and wish

She bent hercrest below and said

“I’ll grant theebeauty with a kiss”

To feed yoursoul with more than bread

I give you skillto carve today

A sacred soulfor you to wed

And inspirationforged in clay

To sculpturelife out from wretchedness

But warned youof the price to pay

So eager withindustriousness

The artisan withfevered brow

Pursued hisquest with carelessness

The grace andleisure of her crown

He soughtloyally to emulate

So as he workedhe made no sound

Her curves ofivory he did replicate

With flawlessdexterity he did endeavour

And therebysealed his wretched fate

For he wouldfall asleep forever

Beneath thestatue’s dainty toes

And spendeternal dreams with her

By N.Williams©

‘The Landscape’ ©

2011-11-16T13:37:00.001Z

It was 2 in themorning or something
I cannot remember
When we set out across the landscape
that threatened to swallow us whole
with a bottle of whiskey and cyanide cupcakes
.
so when the quest reached its inevitable failure
we may empty pity into our soul
brown amber and blazing
and consequently refill the bottle with
the arrogance of male youth
.
It was at this hour or another
I could remember
All the promises of creative ideology
was as solid as the long grass we traverse
finding ourselves knee deep in the world that was
.
I saw what was
what had been
what was yet to be
all, all, all
violating the whites of my eyes
making them impure
by its very insolence
the insolence time shows us all
.
All along the highways and cliff tops
the air breathed a deep breath of itself
through an atmosphere that flashed and thundered
crackling like the dying recollections
of a defeated sun
.
We reached the twisted crossroads
and sat with the exhaustion of forever
to marvel at the ruins of our kingdom
to toast the ruins of liberty
swigging from the bottle of shame
.
Contemplating on the inevitability
and on the futility and our complicity
to wonder without a home
going somewhere because we had to
but not, not knowing what for
.
We saw what was
what had been
what was yet to be
nothing
a group of travellers weeping and drinking
on the highways and byways
unsure of their very existence
the nothingness of time

By N.Williams ©

‘Your Limbs Bloom’ ©

2011-11-14T13:22:00.001Z

K Leo © 'Cherry La Voix'

For my part

I do not believeyou exist

What are you,love? Who are you?

Do you dissipatewhen I walk from the room?

Do you fade likethe oil lamp above our bed?

When I ampresent

With all mypurpose collected and contained

You let yourlimbs bloom

And we are onewithin the confines

Of your sacredwomb

For your part

You surelywonder

Why I lie downdazed and confused

In some sort ofself-constructed myopia

After thefrenzied dance of slippery skin

When we combine

Amongst thekissing, licking and thrusting

You let yourlimbs bloom

And as youyield, I yield

And no one losesface or faith

For the world

I hope we arean anomaly

And not aphantom of my loneliness

Do not dissolvewhen I close my eyes!

Do not fade likethe lantern above my bed

By N.Williams ©

Thephotography was taken by K Leo aphotographer from Chicago Illinois who specialises in Artistic Nudeportraiture.

Hismantra and ethos is:

“I believe in beauty.
I trust Art.
I seek implausible things.”

Inhis own brilliantly chosen words...

"We live in a freakishly marvelousworld. I am perpetually amazed at the places, faces and precarious situationsthat surround us all

I believe in beauty. I trust Art. I seek implausible things.

We live in a freakishly marvellous world. I am perpetually amazed at theplaces, faces and precarious situations that surround us all. Mirth and beautythroughout. I want that. Nothing is more impressive to me than people. It is mysubject of choice.

I believe that everyone has beauty."

http://www.facebook.com/kleophoto?sk=info

http://www.mirthandbeauty.com/

Themodel is my favourite muse CherryLa Voix:

Pleasefollow her on Twitter! http://twitter.com/#!/CherryLaVoix

Checkout her burlesque events in the US: http://www.cherrylavoix.com/

Andjoin her music page on Facebook to get updates on her original songs: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cherry-La-Voix-Music/261966850505440

2011-11-10T15:35:00.000Z

Insome horrendous haze I awoke

Tofind honour transformed to fetish

Myfiery thoughts being solemnly stoked

Bynationalism’s malevolent message

Beholdingthe faces of poets long dead

Whofought for liberty and for lies,

Andthe joy of communally breaking bread

Suchhistoric creativity I despise

Bymercenary traders of news and worship

Decoratingthemselves as keen patriots

Andthe blood of buoyant boys they sip

Curdledin the mouths of cruel patriarchs

ByN.Williams ©

This poem is in response to the mood or consensusof poppy fascism that seems to have gripped this nation over the past fewyears. How the original meaning and purpose of the poppy has been distorted andmanipulated to suit the ends of rampant populist patriotism. How anyone who is differentin any way from the official line is deemed unpatriotic or un-British. How the solemnnatured of the Remembrance has turned in to a ‘how Patriotic can you be’competition, with TV anchors, celebrities and newsreaders desperate to be ‘seen’to be patriotic.

And all the while the knowledge of saidevents being remembered whether WW1, WW2 or other wars is hardly known if referredto correctly. If anything the two world wars taught us that defending your nationwith all your might is just and true but a war of aggression is innately immorally.WW2 is possible the only war that can morally and politically be conceived tobe a ‘good’ war.

Additionally we must note the way designerpoppies have been made and marketed for profit and as fashion accessoriesviolating the dignity and decorum of the Armistice Remembrance. This wholefurore has serious damaged my view about the UK as a free thinking nation.(What little faith I had left). I have donated to the RBL but will not beingwearing a poppy henceforth as I do not wish to take part in the orgy of nationalismand deception.

I honour those war dead by what I do andhow I act outside the Remembrance day frenzy, by exercising free speech andthought. By musing on what those boys would have told us today. That war is futileand pathetic. Pity us and do not copy us. That is what they cry from the mud.

Underneath is an exquisite short paper on war literature and specifically on war poetry and the futility of war as a theme:

The Theme of ‘Futility’ in War Poetry

By Ahmad Abu Baker

http://www.nobleworld.biz/images/Abu_Baker2.pdf

2011-11-09T15:49:00.001Z

And she came

A mongreloffspring of my dreams and truths

An awkwardmarriage

Exposing thehypocrisy of my crooked youth

And so manyyears after

I was still thesame

With a chronometerwhere my heart should be

And jots of inkfor blood

In the beginning

She was drapedin a sacred constitution

Her offspringnamed Desire gave soft salutation

And so manyyears after

I was still thesame

With a chronometerwhere my heart should be

And streams ofink for blood

I said to her

I am the quill
the deepness of an ink pot
The Romantic and the Revolutionary.
I am troubled and troubling.
Upturning the soil of the earth
I write
constructing a life
Out of air and words
A tall tower trembling
I am God.
The Creator.
I am everything to myself
And yet nothing
sworn blood oath to script
but never to scripture
I am the Quill
Dip me in to life
A scrawl me across the parchment
I am

She replied

I am the word
the complexity of text

your Ego andyour ability

your Glory andyour failure
forcing your arm and hand to quiver
writing contradictions
And breathing life
in to sentences of soul

and paragraphsof passion
I am your God.
your reason
and everything to you
And yet I am nothing

Just words
engraved in blood

I am the word
Dip me in to blood
A scrawl me across your skin
I am

And she came

Laid with me andwhispered conspiracies

Illuminates and darkensmy perceptions simultaneously

To the tragedy of male youth

And so manyyears after

I am still thesame

With a chronometerwhere my heart should be

And streams ofink for blood

In the end

I will foreverbe in permanent revolution

An autocracy andan uprising on to myself

And so manyyears after

Still the same

With a clockwhere my heart should be

And streams ofink for blood

By N.Williams ©

'Separate'©

2011-11-06T00:14:00.001Z

Itis not because I hate you

Idid not sit in that car

Crushedby the cruelty of the moment

Recitinga beautiful lie to you

Atwhich your porcelain ears twitched cheerily

Thatyou would always have a special place

Inthe labyrinth of my heart

ThatI would never forget you

Mydear. My dear, my sweet dear

Ifabricated the sentiment

BecauseI longed to be separate

Pinstripe Jester

AlphaMale

Withan odour so docile and desperate

Consumingthe carriage in rich cologne

Tomask the natural fumes of fear of feebleness

Youare a gentleman and nothing else

Youflicked the newspaper print with

Nonchalanceso lethally overwhelming

Readthe script of woman in Peru

Witha baby in a landslide, feeling nothing

Nosinew struck. Not out of inhumanity

No.But because you are separate

Itis not because I hate you

Idid not arch my back and twist my neck

Twitchingmy eyes from what you had

Ondelicious display, a parted blouse

Heavingwith all its suggested debauchery

Isaw your look

Andthe humidity of cleavage

Whoseview I competed with many a commuter

Butit stirred me not to visual engager you further

Ifled from flirtation, not of trepidation

BecauseI wished to be separate

TheCoffee house commissars

Sadistic

Puffingpipe dreams and convictions

OnLeninist and Georgian architecture

Naiveand Alluring

Andmusing on structures and hierarchies

Theunnatural naturalness of this backdrop

Themerging of ages

Collisionsof limestone, marble, flesh, fragrance,

Cool,cold, warmth, sweat, resonance, calm

Allleft the impression of being of the city but not part of the city

Ofbeing separate

Itis not because I hate you

Ipunish you for another’s love

Caressyou and then

Carelesslycrush you

Andmake you fodder for future stanzas

Soyou will always have a special place

Inthe Dresden that is my heart

Thatyou would never forget you

Mydear. My dear, my sweet dear

Ihurt you

BecauseI longed to be separate

By N.Williams©

2011-10-26T10:39:00.001+01:00

I loverunning over the water,

Showingmy past a clean pair of heels

Cruisingpast the bookies and pawnbrokers

And theburnt out shells of neighbourhoods

1980sdystopia in sepia framed sketches

Like anotebook

a childwould have hastily drawn

Like achild is in charge

It seems

Butsurely an infant’s ignorance

Is wilfulenthusiasm gone awry?

Notmaliciousness Incorporated

I love tolay down thoughts on steps,

Likesetting freshly rolled tarmac

Deep inits darkness and casing

And theburnt out shells of my recollections

2011dystopia in sepia framed sketches

Like asuicide note

A manwith nothing to lose

Like aman without love

It appears

Butsurely a loveless wretch

Iswretched because of lost adoration?

Notbecause he was born so

I lovethe girl, who lay on the bridge

Like itwas a luxurious divan

Mired inher own possession

And theburnt out shells of her pupils

Unleashedsomething previously quiescent

Like thebridge she is man made

A conceptof folly in my perception

Yet likethe river she is

Thatwhich makes me flow

Fluidthat surges ferociously

Everlastingto everlasting

She is,she is

I lovethe old man who spits

And drawcaricatures of the girl

Eyeingher buttocks and thighs

Butmisses the truth in her tattoo

Somethingtroubled and yet divine

Like myfootsteps they are both constant

Poundingthe pavement of providence

Fromgravel, to grass to grating

Intervalsin my life, a crooked underpass

Taking mefrom one stage to the next

Anotherriver to cross

AnotherDecade of dystopia

ByN.Williams ©

2011-10-24T19:41:00.000+01:00

You find me in fragments

On the kitchen floor

Howling a hymn

You hear my serenade

Through the trembling door

And as you walk in

I flinch from view

Not at the prospect of your caress

No, it is the kitchen light

Not you

During some sinful shuffle

We forge me anew

Through moans and matchsticks

Groans and grappling

A yearning for one last judder

The swansong of relief

Amongst the spilt kitchennonsense

The puzzle is complete

And the moon swallows us whole

You roll your warm hands

Over my sleek skin

Over the teeth marks you made

And say it is a lake of oil

That you could skip

Tiny stones on, to your fulfilment

You split me in two

Toss me in the furnace

Striking me with your hammer

Twisting me with your tongs

Like some demented goldsmith

And as you ride me

I clinch your entirety

Thanking you for forging mehard

Praying that this fire wouldburn for

An eternity

During this sinful shuffle

We forge me anew

Through wanton whispering

Oaths of allegiance

A yearning for one last judder

The swansong of relief

And at last you make yourcrafts mark

The bullion is absolute

And the moon swallows us whole

You roll your warm hands

Over my sleek skin

Over the teeth marks you made

As if a goldsmith in lament

Having struck a pattern deep

Finding the gold wounded

You ask me many questions

And still, And still

You are never quenched

To you I speak confessions

And still, And still

I am never clean

To you I make concessions

And now, And now

We are equal to or greater than.

ByN.Williams ©

2011-10-24T19:32:00.001+01:00

Thesummer breeze of stillness broke,

Theheated vine in splendour cloaked,

Youloosed this cruel October’s yoke

Andseized my heart and I awoke.

Withgiddy scents of thyme and lemon

Youarmed yourself with tender weapons

Sono resistance did remain

Mymind detained my wits made lame

Andin the precincts of the villa

Whereever lies your sweet aroma

Ilingered expectant and in anger

Yetyou put to bed my childish ranker

Withkisses from your olive lips

Andquivers from your creamy hips

Mylimbs were filled with poignant vigour

Toplease your marble sculptured figure

Anddreams of dread sweat and shame

Wouldhaunt me till the sunset came

Sowe could meet and swig fine wine

Andreminiscence on present times

I’dbe clay for you to mould

Aterracotta sky with hints of gold

Tonever set my form in true

Butrather blend and mix with you

Soburying my head within you bosom

Icatch the scent of ancient blossoms

Andslip your garment to the floor

Suchsupple flesh, a prophet’s call

Andas the hue of evening turned

Isipped from out your Roman urn

Thesky would wax and candles burn

Andwhisper to you what I learned

Myyouth my lust had gone away

Butnow they both come back to play

Andafter they had done their deed

Youlie there yielding as a reed

Fornight had given way to day

Andlight had beaten night decay

Butstill I rest with you in bliss

Yourhair ran through my timid fist

ByN.Williams ©

2011-10-21T12:52:00.001+01:00

Shedreams, dreams

Andswims freely in crystal streams

Andin her mind,

roamsthrough pleasant fields

Ofhills of gold

Ofgrassland green and growing

Ofclear skies

Andno-goodbyes

Shetries,

Toremember,

Whatmade her, who she is?

Buthas she ever changed?

Andif so is the world to blame?

Shelaughs and smiles

Andremembers the many miles

Shehas journeyed

Thebeloved she has buried

Howhe was strong and she was free

Theperfect soul mates they had been

Butnow that bond can never be

Nomatter how much she dreams

Nihilism Or Virtue

2011-10-21T12:47:00.000+01:00

Withevery increase in unemployment and relative poverty these protests will growwith rapid speed, urgency and ferocious intent. The destruction of our economic security had begun since the 1970s andaccelerated through the effects of neo-liberalism so that we have reached thepoint where more bailouts, tax cuts, privileges and wealth is lavished on the topechelons of society. It can be seen as inevitable that the temperature insociety will rise higher. Maybe not now, but at some point the pot will boilover.

Thereis a growing consciousness among a large section of society, who are becomingmore involved in political discourse. There are no longer drinking the cool aidabout trickledown economics, privatisation or wealth creation. They no longer payattention to the collective mantra of the political elite mirrored in thecorporate friendly media.

Alot of people aren’t looking for the "end of capitalism" but rather afairer version of it. A system which is not like corporate cronyism which meansa form of collectivism for the richest. You can talk it down as much as youlike but these protests are growing and spreading to every state in the US andevery nation on the globe. Being ignored, insulted, dismissed and attacked byan increasingly nervous corporate media does not in anyone’s book make it irrelevant.Spending taxpayer’s money on failing banks is about as far from the free marketideal as you can get. It's trickle up economics - robbing from EVERYONE andgiving to the super-rich.

Evenif you are on the political right you have to agree with this. People want anend to crony capitalism, they want a world where CEO's do not pay themselveshundreds and hundreds times the salary of the average employee, at the expenseof their shareholders. They want a world where the finance industry doesn'thold entire nations to ransom to bail them out with hard working tax payer'smoney, only for them to hoard it and pay lavish bonuses to themselves. Thisisn't left vs. right anymore. It's good VS evil.

Bypure coincidence, I happen to be reading chapters from Zinn's"People's History of the US" at the moment which deal withthe struggle for economic and labour rights in the first third of the 20thcentury. Those strikes and protests were met with extraordinary brutality bythe state, but again, people showed enormous courage and selflessness in theirsupport for each other, when faced with that violence.

Theywere brave, they were dogged, they persisted, and though they were oftendefeated, they often won victories as well. They didn't beat capitalism, butthey won rights within the system, better wages, better social protections,union recognition, and economic policies less biased against them or evenworking in their favour, and so on. The New Deal was implemented out of fear ofpublic anger. All that made a real difference to real people's lives. Millionsof them.

Sothose who claim this is all futile, doomed, irrelevant, etc, are basicallyputting their hands up and admitting that they know nothing of history, or ofhow social change is brought about. If policymakers still haven't got us out ofthis crisis, and don't look like they're about to, it’s because we haven'tforced them to do the right thing yet. They have to be forced to reckon withthe public. That's what these occupations are about.

Ihave my own ideas and programme on which I feel the movement can attach to itsbanner. After all if there is one criticism I can make it is that the movementmust released details remedies and ditch the 99% mantra. For a start it doesadmittedly appear arrogant even though I agree that they do represent themajority of people who are hardworking and want a fairer system, many do notlike the idea of being spoken for.

Occupymust play a double act of keeping up the heat on finance capital but also stakeits claim for:

v The breakup of megabanks andtheir casino and hedge fund mechanisms and functions

v The retention of the issue ofcredit from private finance capital back to localised central banks

v More focus on credit unions andcooperatives

v Decentralisation of power andeconomic rights

v Emphasis on socialentrepreneurship

v End the Influence of financecapital on our political elites

v Diversification of our economyfrom the service industry and banking

Clearlythe first priority of the movement has been to get fairness and decency backinto the heart of the political debate. This has been achieved after awholesale media blackout; people are taking about issues of growth, log termprosperity and equality. For the first time in 30 years it is not a cardinalsin to question the virtues of the Austrian School of economics.

Butwhat we need to do is to take the message out to the nation, on the doorstep.We cannot rely on a media and political establishment that will twist, hijackand discredit the movement that is a threat to them. Intellectually andpractically we need to be firm and well founded, demonstrating a keenunderstanding of history and economics.

Theabsence of anti corporate voices in the various parliaments, and the exclusionof alternative voices from mainstream politics and media, make protests anabsolute necessity. Obviously occupying Wall Street or the City of London won'tbring the system crashing down, but it's a start. It forces alternatives onto theagenda. It gets people thinking, working on the idea that there is analternative to the brutalities of the free market. The future will emerge fromprotest not passivity.

Sothe choice is between nihilism and virtue.

The Brown Eyed Beggar

'Where is 1848?' ©

‘Cruel, Britannia!’ ©

‘From the Quill of a Militant Secularist’

'The Many Faces of a "Gentleman" ©

'Made In Mexico'

‘Ode to Artemis’©

'Sowing the Seeds of Agricultural Independence'

‘Dear Lover’ ©

'A Mellow Meadow Manipulated' ©

'My Commandment' ©

'In Defence of Human Rights'

'On Unemployment'

'I Kiss Your Hip' ©

'Voixism' ©

‘The Charter of the Confederacy of Cynics’ ©

‘Ode to A Jersey Girl’ ©

‘You are the Night’ ©

‘The Bandit & The Baroness’ ©

‘A Love Letter to the People’ ©

'Beauty Never Sleeps' ©

‘In My Twenties’ ©

‘The Parable of Petra On the Pyre’ ©

‘Ode to Woman’ ©

'The Dancer' A Sonnet in the Italian form (Petrarchan) ©

'Ode to the Artisan' ©

‘The Landscape’ ©

‘Your Limbs Bloom’ ©

‘Those Beautiful Boys’ ©

'She Bathes in my Blood' ©

'Separate'©

‘Like A Notebook’©

‘A Lake of Oil & A Spine of Gold’©

ByN.Williams ©

‘An Ode to My Sicilian Convalescence‘ ©

‘Dreams of the River Lea’ ©

Nihilism Or Virtue