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Gordon Schenck's avatar

James McMurtry

Just Us Kids

Out Here in the Middle

Too Long in the Wasteland

Talkin at the Texaco

I'm Not From Here

Vague Directions

Where's Johnny

Pocatello

Old Part of Town

Levelland

Six Year Drought

We Can't Make It Here

Save Yourself

Don't Waste Away

Sweet Suzanne

Poor Lost Soul

How'm I Gonna Find You Now

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man of aran's avatar

Nice! Feels grounded and really captures a mood.

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

I like the running theme, not from here, vague directions, lost, how to find you.... very good! In this search throughout this poem! Wow!

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

That's another one where you forget they're even song titles and just get lost in the story... 😎

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Gordon Schenck's avatar

Thanks Chris. It's pretty easy to do with McMurtry being such a great writer.

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Dick Whyte's avatar

--For Metallica--

.

Moth to a flame--

.

Chasing light

Shadows followed--

.

Even the god that failed

Holier

Than thou.

.

And here it is paginated properly :-) https://substack.com/@publicdomainpoets/note/c-56227410

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man of aran's avatar

Totally works! Killer last stanza.

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Dick Whyte's avatar

Ah cheeeers! I chose Metallica to honour my teenage self, and then as I started reading the song-titles, I was like, hmmmmm.... not sure this is gonna work out hahaha. But after hunting through all the albums - well, here we are :-) Full disclosure - I cheated a tiny bit on that final stanza and added the word "even". Never let a prompt get in the way of a good poem, right? ;-)

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man of aran's avatar

Ah, I'm not sure you even need the 'even'. Try it without, see what you think.

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Dick Whyte's avatar

Yeah I did - I went back and forth a few times and preferred it in the end. But y'know, apples and apples.But yeah, could go either way. :-)

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Dick Whyte's avatar

Cheers Pilgrim!! :-) I was surprised to get a new style poem out of Metallica haha. But I guess they are a part of me after all.

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Very nearly did Metallica myself, but went with Madness instead! 😎

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man of aran's avatar

My Morning Jacket Villanelle

---

The devil’s in the details

Tropics (erase traces)

Least expected

---

Climbing the ladder

Holdin on to black metal

The devil’s in the details

---

Lucky to be alive

Compound fracture

Least expected

---

Knot comes loose

You wanna freak out

The devil’s in the details

---

It's about twilight now

War begun

Least expected

---

The day is coming

Touch me I’m going to scream

The devil’s in the details

Least expected

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Dick Whyte's avatar

Nice work - I love the stanza:

.

It's about twilight now

War begun

Least expected

.

:-)

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man of aran's avatar

Thanks, Dick!

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

The devil's in the details and least expected are used perfectly! Every line is!

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man of aran's avatar

Thanks! Been listening to this band lately, coincidentally, so when M came up, I had to do something.

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

Am listening to them now thanks to you. Don't have a clue about who they are! Kraftwerk on the other hand... blast from the past. I am reluctantly admitting I knew more songs than I thought I would.

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Treasa's avatar

My morning brain likes how this is pieced together. Very clever.

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R. Rangan PhD's avatar

Frozen

Material Girl

Express Yourself

In Madonna's world

Open Your Heart

Like a Prayer

Ray of Light

Papa Don't Preach

Rebel Heart

Back Up to the Beat

La Isla Bonita

Take a Bow

Celebration

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

Fantastic! Madonna is another tough one to tackle here you've done an amazing job!

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Ahh, a bit of Madge. Lovely... 😎

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

George Michael

Praying for time

Freedom

Outside

Amazing, Faith

Jesus to a child

Something to save, one more time

Spinning the wheel

Cowboys and Angels Heal the pain

As, Kissing a fool

You have been loved

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Ahh, George Michael. He was so gifted. It's such a shame what happened to him. 'Praying For Time', 'One More Try', 'You Have Been Loved', 'Please Send Me Someone'. All so beautiful... 😎

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

Love George... very painful he left this early... tragic... his music lives on and brings so much joy but there's a bittersweetness there. Those are all top tracks. I don't think there is one song by him I don't like. Too biased. Hahahahah

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

I still clearly remember the day I dashed to Tower Records to buy 'Older'. Amazing album... 😎

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

Oh do tell! I’m partial. Love all albums but live the cover of Older!

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Well that one I was just excited to get hold of because he hadn't done an album for ages, due to his legal issues with Sony or whatever. The release day of Supergrass 'In It for the Money' was a funnier story. About three of us had been coming back from somewhere or other on the Tube or the Train, and we thought we'd stop off to pick up a copy each, because it was still early. It was like ten to five or something, but we thought HMV was closing at five, so we sprinted all the way there from the station. And we got through the door just in time, absolutely panting and trying to recover by the counter. And the guy standing there said, "You do realise we close at six, right?" Haha... 😎

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA that's a hilarious story. How did he know why you were running? Must have been quite a sight. Any George story has me sit down and listen though. Music makes us remember quite some detailed stuff.

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Fotini Masika's avatar

The Muse

-

Feeling Good (a haiku)

-

Undisclosed desires

ruled by secrecy escape

the void—new born bliss.

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Treasa's avatar

Such a sense of relief comes across in that last line.

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

MADNESS

On SUNDAY MORNING, bright and early, SAMANTHA and I took the Tube to Chalk Farm, not far from PRIMROSE HILL. It was a GREY DAY, and we had to walk the rest of the way IN THE RAIN, but by the time we got there, the MISERY the weather was causing had started to lift and we could see RAINBOWS.

This was a very affluent area, and PROSPECTS were looking good. There were a lot of rich people for us to target. It was the PERFECT PLACE.

So I took out my guitar, laid my hat on the ground, and she started singing.

And we just prayed our first performance together wouldn't be an EMBARASSMENT... 😎

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Also, if you enjoy stories like this, I've just posted the second volume of my new Flash Fiction series on my page. An extra view or two would be hugely appreciated! Haha... 😎

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PS Lorcan's avatar

"Morrissey’s Lament"

Dear hero imprisoned,

I can’t help quoting you

An Interesting Drug y’are

With such bad people on the rise

—This was 1990 alternative

Those bad people have risen—

And this is where we are now

Piccadilly Palare pegged me an easy kill

It ain’t about frowns & circus clowns

Touring in absurdly small cars

They ain’t your lovely eek & lovely riahs

howling in the background

O, Ouija Board Ouija Board

What year of what era bore you?


Nineteen Seventy Three or ‘Four?

Would you help me get a message through?

One November Spawned a Monster

A child until the very last line

Such little things

As red bare footprints again

But we’re all okay

Lucky Lovers At Last United

Lifeguard On Duty this time

Writing your happy ending

Wish you were here,

Lucky Lisp

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Morrissey! Fantastic! 😎

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The Sea in Me    (Síodhna)'s avatar

I didn't pick a band or artist beginning with M, but one of the three songs that inspired this poem is 'Martha' by Tom Waits, thanks to Freya Rohn's share earlier. Poetry and prose...

'time collapse'

https://open.substack.com/pub/theseainme/p/time-collapse?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=46rss

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

It's great you use a prompt to inspire you to be creative! Thank you for sharing!

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The Sea in Me    (Síodhna)'s avatar

Think there's music in most of what inspires what I write. Lovely to see it as an explicit prompt, thank-you, so much engagement around it.

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Treasa's avatar

MASSIVE ATTACK

.

Panic Attack

.

I against I lately.

Dissolved girl

voodoo in my blood.

Inertia creeps,

splitting the atom.

Butterfly caught antistar

daydreaming better things.

https://youtu.be/u7K72X4eo_s?feature=shared

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

It's a good day with M artists!

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Treasa's avatar

Lastminute.com from me today. I wonder how many Nirvana poems will pop up tomorrow. See ya then.

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

Omg….

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Very nice. That's another band I'd completely forgotten about... 😎

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Fotini Masika's avatar

All time favourite!

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Jonathan Potter's avatar

Mozart

----

The feigned simpleton,

the pretend garden-maid,

the deluded bridegroom,

the clemency of Titus,

the magic flute —

women are like that.

----

The obligation of the first and foremost commandment:

Scipio's dream,

The shepherd king,

Thamos, king of Egypt,

Idomeneus, king of Crete,

the marriage of Figaro.

----

The impresario?

Don Giovanni!

----

----

La finta semplice,

La finta giardiniera,

lo sposo deluso,

la clemenza di Tito,

Die Zauberflöte —

così fan tutte.

----

Die schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots:

Il sogno di Scipione,

Il re pastore,

Thamos, König in Ägypten,

Idomeneo, re di Creta,

Le nozze di Figaro.

----

Der Schauspieldirektor?

Don Giovanni!

----

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Writer Pilgrim by So Elite's avatar

Amazing! Love that you went back in time, way back and brought some truly classic for this poem. Thank you!

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