Sunday Review

David Mellor's poem "Dressed like Miley Cyrus,Pouting like Rihanna" started the week off in uncompromising form with a look at the way society, in general, and some men, in particular, treat yong women. We still have a way to go, people. It has been particularly evident in NZ , this week.
On Tuesday we welcomed P.K.Deb to Poetry24 with the poem "A Slap---The Slavery System"  which was an eye opening view into a world many of us are unfamiliar with. There is hope in this poem and it is well worth the reading.
Luigi Pagano contributed "Sauce for the Goose " on Wednesday that looked at the NSA bugging story and compared it to when the Eastern European states did it and how it was decried then. That was different, obviously *rolls eyes*.
Carolyn Cornthwaite's poem "Wasted" brought to light a story which I was unaware of , yet felt as though I had heard it 100 times before. The first world using the rest of the world as a rubbish dump. Carolyn wrote that the poems physical structure is very carefully worked out and it is great to see a poem constructed for visual effect. We can't always get Blogger to publish them but we will try.
The Friday poem was "Escape" by Raquel d'Andel about some gender mixing and the forces that do not want it to happen. It's a good exercise to turn things on their head every now and again in poetry.
I hope you had a better week than New Zealand where we have been confronted by rape culture in society and in the media and a better week than Abi who is unwell. Please send some warm thoughts her way. Keep sending in the poems and be kind to each other.

Escape

She wanted an escape

from living inside a bag

with a pillbox for postage and speech

So she drank a potion

rubbed herself in testosterone lotion

and bum fluff grew within a week

She fell in love with the caresses of air

and warm strokes of sunshine upon her hair

and dared to belly wobble up the street

see her button blinking

as she walks through winking

at smoky beards in coffee houses

Men came from far and wide

hiding their fascination

for the curvaceous curls of

the hairy orator

Her greatest fear was being

caught in the act, living a

life of fun outside the sack, 

always on the run, with its

contents open.

©Raquel d"Andel

 British male terrorist suspect leaves mosque dressed in Naqab as means of disguise. Now deemed missing by surveillance police.

  'Kind of bag': Ken Clarke's description of Islamic female dress:

Raquel  explains: Idea of poem relates to a reversal of witness wanting to undress, escape bag (Naqab) and live life as a man.

Don't know if this will be appropriate- ie politically correct - but when I read each story I flipped it around in my head- a reversal analogy I guess which challenges taboos about gender and individual freedom.

Raquel d'Andel  is proud of 3 things- bringing up 4 relatively sane children (even if their mother isn't !) in a flat in South East London. Riding and surviving on a beautiful sky blue bike. Working for one of the best public library authorities in London. As for my writing- I am always hopeful. Raquel's website is waveattheworld.blogspot.com