Delighted to have this poem here at International Times today, with thanks to Rupert and IT.

This actually comes at a time when there are the beginnings of a counter to the fad for punitive/nasty ‘behaviour management’ approaches in UK schools, prompted by ideas/developments in the States [as with the infatuation for the Knowledge curriculum].

I’ve been coming across cogent but also empathic/empathetic arguments against, for example, isolation booths and similar – these proffered by false prophets like the Behaviour ‘guru'[!] Tom Bennett and acolytes – explaining alternative experiences. I have written about this kind of behaviour brutality before, like here at Stride with my poem Flattening the Grass.

There is also the beginnings of a backlash against the dismantling of Arts subjects and creativity in general in schools, these the demolition jobs proffered by those other charlatans Cummings and Gove.  The English and Media Centre are particularly proactive and persuasive in this, mainly to do with my subject of English, but organisations like STEAM Co. here are making dynamic statements about creativity in all our lives everywhere.

NB Late afternoon, and I have just noted that the image for my poem has altered, as has the layout which was meant to be in two line stanzas. Interesting…

[Image by artist and photographer Nick Dormand]

In light of current pathetic observations being made about ‘woke’ sensibilities – e.g. the typically dismissive barb Wokerati – I was going to write a ‘Woke Blues’ poem and then I remembered the gist of what I wanted to say had already been made long ago: apt and poignant then; apt and poignant now

Me: this meters! Me: this meters!

This is exemplification –
I mean, of course, that

this matters!

A word sentence.

Once you is unacceptably poor writing
let’s be clear

this is a disturbingly meaningless meter.

No, that isn’t poetry.

This is, however,
with both meters, as in this perfect line,

and a metaphor.

Me: missing after ‘their’.

No, I am not,
but you have

when you wrote what you had written.

Me: let’s be clear – this suggests MPAN 2200019111453.

That there are two meters
companies are unable to support miscommunication –

but do not hesitate to contact back the meters.

Please be advised:

the physical transference implied
was the exemplification of miscommunication regarding

serial number 6719188.

[Image by artist and photographer Nick Dormand]

Read and/or download Viscid, a collection of Nick Dormand/Mike Ferguson collaborations 2016-2019.