Footwork

We live
we play music
we tip our shadows to the puddles,
we drive and cook
we love
think ourselves brave at music strokes
and we die.
There is no more to it,
no more thought or philosophies
we kiss we walk
we stroke the cat and die...

© Steven Francis poems 2012

Coal Man (Relative of Death)

I am no fun
tick no mercy in your box of chances
as I leap around your shaggy frame
to shake it into putrid mulch.
When I am done (this no good fun)
no medicine or friend will recognise you,
or son or daughter find comfort in holding fathers hand
as it withers in a paper bed.
Disease tenants,
I love you to death...

@ Steven Francis poems 2012

Down

Here lies a dragon
cold like milk fish underground,
lifeless for fables.

@ Steven Francis poems 2010

Newsflash!

In the Burry Port Star

This was one of my appearances in local newspaper the Burry Port Star in November 1997. The headline is inaccurate because as good as a poet as he was, Dylan Thomas was never an inspiration of mine. I was/am more into the other Thomas, R.S. Thomas and Hedd Wyn, Coleridge, Ginsberg and the like.


Poseur

Linkway Magazine

My poetry inside...

In Burry Port (my hometown) back in 1993 a lady named Fay Davies (a writer herself) published the Linkway magazines pictured above. It featured poetry mostly but short stories were also included on occasion. Naturally being an enthusiastic, young poet I submitted my early works to the publication and they appeared in several editions (all of the ones in pic) of which I was pleased.
One must remember that in the early nineties, blogging and publishing work on your own website hadn't yet arrived so to have a platform like Linkway where your work was distributed all over Carmarthenshire, was very exciting. Even more so for this hungry poet because I loved seeing my works in print with my name underneath boldly announcing my arrival.


Shine young poet!