UrbanSpeechBubble: Recent Episodes
Simon C Lord
Self-deprecating humour. Working class political themed. Mental health advocate. Urban commentator born and bred, & living in London. Rhymes-Poems-Quotes-General Musings-Musings-NOVELIST-REALIST-SOCIAL COMMENTATOR
I WROTE THIS WHEN THERESA MAY WAS IN POWER. THE WHOLE, "WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER" RHETORIC MADE MY BLOOD BOIL AND I WAS SEETHING. AS GOOD AS FROTHING AT THE MOUTH LIKE A RABID DOG.
CONTRASTING FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS THAT RATHER THAN FIGHT, I JUST GO WHEREVER IT TAKES ME.
ANOTHER ONE ABOUT AN EX 0F MINE. STRANGELY ENOUGH I ALWAYS SEEM TO HAVE SOME PAST AND PRESENT EXPERIENCE TO DRAW UPON IN WHICH TO WRITE ABOUT.
THIS ONE IS ABOUT AN EX 0F MINE. STRANGELY ENOUGH I ALWAYS SEEM TO HAVE SOME PAST AND PRESENT EXPERIENCE TO DRAW UPON IN WHICH TO WRITE ABOUT.
I THINK SO MANY OF US ARE CONSTANTLY QUESTIONING AND SEARCHING, LOOKING FOR THAT HAPPY PLACE WHERE ETERNAL PEACE RESIDES AND BECKONS.
THIS IS ABOUT HOW SMALL, ISOLATED, ALONE AND INSIGNIFICANT ONE SOMETIMES FEELS WHEN YOU CONSIDER HOW LARGE IN SCALE THE UNIVERSE IS.
SWIRLING THOUGHTS, CONTRADICTIONS, & QUESTIONS LIKE A TORNADO SWEEPING THROUGH MY MIND. A MIND OF CHAOS AND CONFUSION.
I AM VERY INTERESTED IN PSYCHOLOGY. THE MECHANICS OF THE MIND. AS SUCH I FIND I OBSERVE OUR PETS FREQUENTLY AND END UP WRITING ABOUT THEM. DESPITE HAVING THEIR UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS THEY ALL SHARE SIMILIAR TRAITS, NOT LEAST WHEN IT COMES TO OBTAINING FOOD, TREATS, ATTENTION AND AFFECTION OR REQUESTING CLOSED DOORS TO BE OPEN LOL
Another short piece relating to my daily struggles as regards mental health. I think it is a very common theme I seem to touch upon but that's purely to do with its forever present. My mind goes around and around on a continuous loop. A bit like a train stopping at the same stations every night. Regular haunts.
I have always equated arguments to pretty much any sporting activity that is both extremely competitive and relies on the minimum of just two people. Boxing is the obvious one, but I like Tennis as their is no strict time frame for when the competition ends. I have only recently. Well, about 5 years ago learnt to ignore the service. Just stand and calmly observe the ball coming my way. It can start midly enough, and then become more aggressive and relentless. Until they get bored and realise they are only frustrating themselves and stop.
ADVERSARIES COME IN ALL GUISES, MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THEY ARISE IN RELATIONSHIPS. THIS IS ABOUT A TOXIC ONE.
MY FATHER IS 84 YEARS OF AGE, AND AS MUCH AS I, AND EVERY OTHER PERSON THAT INHABIT HAVE ANNOYING HABITS, HE ABOVE ALL ELSE HAS FAR MORE. I SAY THAT AS THIS IS NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST AND EXHAUSTIVE LIST.
I HAVE NO REAL EXPERIENCE OF BEING HOMELESS, ALTHOUGH I HAVE SPENT A FEW NIGHTS SPORADICALLY IN ONE HORRENDOUS YEAR AFTER ROWING WITH AN EX AND I HAD NOWHERE ELSE TO GO OR ANYONE TO TURN TO. LONDON HAS ITS FAIR SHARE OF THOSE DOWN ON THEIR LUCK, AND I WILL MORE OFTEN THAN NOT STOP AND SAY HELLO AND EITHER GIVE MONEY OR FOOD AS I NEVER JUDGE HOW THEY FOUND THEMSELVES IN SUCH DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES. JUST TALKING TO THEM WHEN OTHERS SIMPLY WALK BY AND SNEER AT THEM WITH CONTEMPT AND DISGUST GENERALLY MAKES THEM FEEL VALUED AND HUMAN, SO THAT WAS MY INFLUENCE TO HELP COMPOSE THIS PIECE.
ONCE AGAIN I FIND MYSELF READING ANOTHER SHORT PIECE ABOUT MY MENTAL WELLBEING. IT REALLY SHOULDN'T COME AS A SURPRISE CONSIDERING I CANNOT ESCAPE MY MIND. ALSO I DONT SUDDENLY DECIDE THAT ON ANY GIVEN DAY WITH A PREMEDITATED THOUGHT THAT I WILL WRITE TO A SPECIFIC GENRE. I CAN FIND MYSELF WRITING NUMEROUS PIECES RELATING TO MY DEEP DEPRESSION IN ONE DAY. OTHER DAYS THEY COULD BE UPBEAT AND HUMOROUS, SOMETIMES A COMPLETE MIXTURE. SOMETIMES I CAN GO WEEKS WITHOUT WRITING ANYTHING AS I FIND THE CRRATIVE PROCESS MENTALLY CHALLENGING.
THOUGHT I WOULD GIVE THIS ONE A TITLE THAT IS JUXTAPOSED WITH THE ACTUAL MOOD AND GENRE OF THIS SHORT PIECE.
MY MIND IS SO BUSY. I LIKEN IT TO A WASHING MACHINE ON A FULL CYCLE. INFORMATION OVERLOAD, BE THEY SIGNS, CARS REVVING THEIR ENGINES, HONKING THEIR HORNS, LOUD OVERLAPPING TALKING, SHOUTING, FLASHING LIGHTS, POLICE SIRENS, HELICOPTERS OVER HEAD ALL SCRAMBLE MY FREQUENCY, AND I FIND IT ALL WAY TOO MUCH TO PROCESS.
JUSTICE AND EQUALITY ARE PREVALENT THEMES I OFTEN REVISIT. I AM A FIRM BELIEVER IN KARMA AND THAT YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.
SELF DEPRECIATING HUMOUR MIXED IN WITH SOME MIDDLE AGED TEENAGE ANGST. ITS A SPECIALTY OF MINE.
I GOT A THING FOR ANGELS AND MERMAIDS TOO. WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, WELL UP TO MY LATE 30'S I USED TO LIKE TO GET IN TO A DRY BATH AND RUN THE TAPS LUKE WARM. I'D CURL UP IN A FOETAL POSITION AND IMAGINE I WAS A WORLD WAR II PILOT WHO HAD BEEN SHOT DOWN. THE LUKE WARM WATER I WOULD ENVISAGE AS THE SEA LAPPING AGAINST ME AS I LAY FACE DOWN ON GOLDEN SAND. THEN I WOULD TURN THE COLD TAP OFF AND JUST HAVE THE HOT RUNNING WHICH FELT SO COMFORTING WHICH WAS THE PART WHERE I AWOKE SLOWLY AND FOUND MYSELF IN A HOT CLEAR SHALLOW LAKE SURROUNDED BY PALM TREES, EXOTIC BIRDS AND MERMAIDS TENDING TO MY MILD ABRASIONS. MIGHT HAVE TO REVISIT THAT PARADISE ISLAND FANTASY AGAIN SOON I THINK.
THE SOUND OF WATER, FROGS, TOADS, CRICKETS OR BIRDS AND A COOL SUMMERS BREEZE I FIND HYPNOTIC.
WHEN YOU MISS SOMEONE THAT MAKES YOU FEEL WHOLE, AND YOU ALLOW NATURE TO ENGULF YOU AND FILL THE VOID
WE ALL HAVE TWO SIDES. POLAR OPPOSITES THAT COULDN'T BE FURTHER REMOVED FROM ONE ANOTHER. THIS ONE IS ABOUT MY PAST RELATIONSHIP WITH ALCOHOL.
TRYING TO CONVEY MY MANIC MIND. ODDLY IT'S MY MIND THAT REPEATEDLY FORCES ME TO ANALYSE AND COME TO SOME KIND OF UNDERSTANDING. NO CLOSER.
MY MOODS FLUCTUATE IN A HEARTBEAT. I CAN SWITCH LIKE THE CLICK OF THE FINGERS, AND I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE CATALYST IS.
PLAYING WITH WORDS. THIS ONE IS ABOUT A COUPLE WHO LIKE TO ARGUE. WHO ARE CREATURES OF HABIT.
FIGHTING AND STRUGGLE, TRYING TO KEEP ONE'S HEAD JUST ABOVE THE WATER. IT'S TIRESOME BUT I'VE BECOME IMMUNE, ITS ALL I HAVE EVER KNOWN.
LIVING IN LONDON. A CITY I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN. A PLACE I HAVE CALLED HOME FOR 49 YEARS AND 11 MONTHS. ITS A MANIC PLACE TO RESIDE. NOISE ENGULFS YOU & SO I CONSTANTLY SEEK PEACE AND TRANQUILITY. EVEN FROM MYSELF AT TIMES.
PEACE & SERENITY IS WITHOUT DOUBT THE BEST MEDICATION FOR THE MIND. AT ONE WITH NATURE IS WHERE I LONG TO BE.
I HAVE LOTS OF OPINIONS. MANY THAT I HAVE FORMED I STILL RELIGIOUSLY ADHERE TO, OTHERS I HAVE ADAPTED SLIGHTLY AND SOME I NO LONGER DO. THE MORE I EXPERIENCE OF LIFE, THE MORE THE LIKELIHOOD THAT MY PRECONVIEVED OPINIONS WILL BE CHALLENGED AND ONE WILL BE FORCED TO REASSESS.
I AM NOT ONE TO FOLLOW CONVENTIONS. I HAVE ALWAYS PREFFERED TO DANCE TO THE BEAT OF MY OWN DRUM AND BE MY OWN MAN.
LIVING IN LONDON ONE CANNOT ESCAPE THE PLIGHT OF THE HOMELESS THAT LITTER MY CITY. LIVING UNDER THE SHADOW OF BIG CORPORATE BUSINESS THEY LAY WASTE TRYING TO EEK OUT PAULTRY DONATIONS SO THEY CAN SURVIVE ANOTHER LONELY NIGHT OUT ON THE STREETS.
THE WORLD AND THOSE THAT RUN IT, IS ANOTHER THEME I EXPLORE. POLITICAL INEQUALITY AND THE LUNACY BY WHICH WE ARE GOVERNED BY.
STRUGGLE AND ADVERSITY IS NO STRANGER TO ME, AND SO IT'S A THEME THAT I TEND TO WRITE ABOUT MORE OFTEN THAN NOT.
SOCIAL MEDIA & WHAT PEOPLE ENGAGE WITH MAKES THE MIND BOGGLE. CONTENT THAT IS EDUCATIONAL AND/OR NOURISHING FOR THE HEART, SOUL AND MIND IS FAR TO0 OFTEN OVERLOOKED IN FAVOUR OF THE BANAL.
TIME IS A COMMON THEME OF MINE. AS A MAN TIME IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE PROBABLY BECAUSE WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO DIE YOUNGER THAN WOMEN AND SO TIME, OR AT LEAST THE PASSING OF TIME IS AT THE VERY FOREFRONT OF MIND AND MUST BE CONSERVED.
IF, IS A WORD MOST OF US HAVE USED. IF IS ABOUT REGRET, CHOICES, DECISIONS WE HAVE MADE IN LIFE THAT CANNOT BE RECTIFIED.
THIS IS ABOUT THE CORRELATION I FEEL BEING A WRITER TO THAT OF A MUSICIAN WHO UNLIKE MYSELF CANNOT PLAY A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT OF ANY DESCRIPTION. I CAN BARELY EVEN WHISTLE LET ALONE HOLD A NOTE THAT WOULD BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIABLE.
DRINKING ALCOHOL AND BEING BLIND PARALETIC DRUNK IS NOTHING NEW TO ME, ALTHOUGH IN THE PAST. I HAVE LOST MANY THINGS WHILST IN AN ANEBRIATED STATE, SUCH AS MY WALLET, KEYS, MY MIND AND IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE MY WATCH.
"Oh hear ye!! Hear ye" Gather round, from village to town I have news to spread so take heed.
ROMANTIC OR SENTIMENTAL PROSE IS NOT A THEME I VISIT OFTEN, BUT OCCASIONALLY I WILL AS IT'S ANOTHER DISCIPLINE IN WRITING THAT I FEEL NEEDS FURTHER EXPLORATION.
LIKE MANY OF THE THINGS I WRITE, IT SOMETIMES JUST STARTS WITH A WORD OR TWO LIKE A SEED. I NURTURE IT A LITTLE AND IT GERMINATES AND BLOSSOMS INTO WHAT IS THE FINISHED ARTICLE WHATEVER THE LENGTH.
WRITERS I HAVE DISCOVERED MUCH TO MY CHAGRIN TO BE TERRIBLY BITCHY AND SCATHING. IMMENSELY CRITICAL, SELF INDULGENT, ABSOLUTELY BIASED & SICOPHANTS WHEN IT COMES TO THOSE NOVELS OR AUTHORS WHO HAVE BEEN SINGLED OUT AS INTELLECTUALLY GIFTED.
Like much of my writing I have a tendency to pay homage or reference to TV or Film's from my childhood. Monkey was no exception and was magic.
I HAVE ALWAYS HELD A FASCINATION WITH WORDS, HOWEVER THAT FIRE THAT RAGED WITHIN WAS SWIFTLY DOUSED OUT BY MY HEADMASTER AT A VERY EARLY AGE. I WAS AROUND 10-13 YEARS OLD, AND I WAS NOT TO PICK UP A PEN AGAIN UNTIL I WAS IN MY MID 30'S AND THAT FIRE WAS RE IGNITED. TO MICHAEL POULSON I WILL ALWAYS OWE A DEBT OF GRATITUDE.
I NEVER QUITE KNOW WHAT MOOD I WILL BE IN. NOT JUST DAY TO DAY, OR HOUR BY HOUR BUT IT CAN OFTEN BE MINUTE BY MINUTE I CAN JUST SWITCH.
I WAS UNABLE TO COME UP WITH A TITLE, SO I SETTLED ON UNTITLED AS IT WAS APPROPRIATELY APT.
I wrote this as I feel like I am waiting for a seismic shift of my current circumstances to occur. I don't know when or even if that will happen, but life is unpredictable and good fortune must surely come my way in due course.
When all you know is humour, and yet its left you and you're feeling down. One must remain optimistic and coax out that shy and retiring clown.
A word popped into my mind. Then a phrase, from which I crafted a sentence or two and so it grew
A SHORT POEM ABOUT...YOU GUESSED IT...OUR DOG. This is not a ficticious account. This is an actual fact.
I often get nostalgic. Some memories are better than others. This one was about evolving and the changes we make with growth.
I wrote this piece to express how difficult a task it is, to gain people's attention when it comes to engaging with one's creative content. Social media is saturated with what seems like everyone vying for attention, that it seems like an almost impossible and daunting task.
MY ATTEMPT AT TRYING TO WRITE SOMETHING ROMANTIC, AND I COULDN'T HELP BUT DETRACT AWAY FROM THAT BY GIVING IT A SILLY TITLE
CONTRARY TO OPINION, I DON'T JUST WRITE ABOUT DEPRESSION & DEATH, I DO ALSO DABBLE IN SOFT, MUSHY SENTIMENTALITY ALBEIT NOT MY PREFERRED GENRE OF CHOICE.
ANOTHER ONE RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH. I FEEL AS THOUGH I AM ALWAYS TRYING TO FIND THE PERFECT WORDS TO CONVEY HOW DEBILITATING MENTAL HEALTH IS. NOT FOR THOSE THAT SUFFER BUT FOR MYSELF AND FOR THOSE THAT DON'T.
I WROTE THIS AFTER A VISIT TO THE TOP OF BATH CATHEDRAL, OR WAS IT LINCOLN OR SALISBURY?
WRITING IS NOT A VOCATION I WOULD ADVISE. IT'S A LONELY ONE. ITS WHERE SELF DOUBT RESIDES.
Melancholic. Whenever I feel myself questioning life, usually in the early hours of the morning this is the kind of stuff I find myself writing.
Whilst many of my poems are a tad melancholic, they don't scream, "I want to die" despite dying and death being prevalent words that permeate many of my works.
Haven't read this out since I originally penned the book, so it was difficult keeping the rhythm flowing. My mouth was bone dry from the 4 minute mark onwards so apologies if I stumbled and fumbled in places.
Without US, there would be no THEM. We create billionaires and they create a need for us to want, and the more we want, the more we spend, the more we need to earn and the more we are reliant on working harder, for longer and for a pittance.
One of my more darker pieces. A regular theme as I toil with depression and when I have those kind of episodes I have a tendency to try and explain it in words. Its a cathartic exercise.
A whimsical true story where computer gaming enters the realm of sexy time. Yeah baby!!! Yeah!!
Like many themes that I like to explore, and write about age and the fragility of life seems to a common thread. I will officially be half a century old in June and so I thought I would write a short humorous rhyme to capture that. ;)
Just one word popped into my head, and from that seed this rhyme grew. Many of the things I write begin life in much the same way. A seed of a thought, water it and it germinates into something beautiful.
A true incident played out in a large supermarket that uses the slogan, "every little helps".
A very warm welcome. Please wipe your feet on the Doormat and come on in. Let me take your coat and I'll pop it on the coatstand for you, there you go. Take a seat, kick back and make yourselves comfortable.