The Ministry of Silly Poets: "I am not a poet!"

By Martin D Rothery

I am not a poet!
That is what I keep telling myself anyway!
A poet is someone that takes the literary form very seriously and it would appear that I tend to be quite the opposite. I just enjoy playing around with words to create something enjoyable to read, something to make people laugh, something to make you think or just say “what was that?”.
Who cares as long as it provokes a reaction?
Yes, sometimes they are a bit of fun, sometimes a bit grim, sometimes thought provoking, but at the end of the day what poetry should be? Entertaining!
I have been writing “poems” and rhymes for quite a few years now and I didn’t realise how many I’d done until I put them altogether in one place This book is the result of that.
There is quite a variety and hopefully something for everyone. There is no theme or message I’m looking to put across, no particular order to read them in and no agenda but for you to take pleasure in the power of words, whatever order they come in!
Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fishcake Publications
• Release date: Aug 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781909015296

Martin D Rothery

Martin Rothery (AKA Damon Rathe) started creative writing in September 2008 after enrolling on a creative writing course at the local college wanting to develop his writing style and ideas and has never looked back since.By June 2009 he had joined the Holmfirth Writers' Group and March 2010 he became the treasurer.After having had a few poems published, an article in a cat magazine and self published his first charity book Nonagenarians in remembrance of his grandparents and their writing, everything had been leading up to the first defining moment - the release of COWS!, his first novel.Since then, in 2012 he's started his own independent publishing company, Fishcake Publications (www.fishcakepublications.com), released and co-authored another book of short stories, Souls of Darkness, under the pen name of Damon Rathe, published the prequel to Cows! titled Sheep and has just released his first full novel under the guise of Damon Rathe called Human Rights: Undead Set on Living.Preferring to write children's stories and horror/fantasy/sci-fi he likes to release the former under his own name and the latter under his writing pseudonym. Damon Rathe is the dark side of Martin Rothery that sometimes wishes to be let out.Martin is also an illustrator and cover designer and has done the covers for COWS!, Sheep, County Tales, Murgatroyd's Christmas Club, Human Rights and A Fistful of Marigolds as well as some of the internal images for Souls of Darkness. This allows him to do all the work in house at Fishcake Publications.He often does workshops for children in the local community (if this of interest, please get in touch) and Huddersfield Libraries and has recently been involved with the Pageturners Festival in Huddersfield and will be involved in some way at the Holmfirth Arts Festival in 2014. He also loves going on residential writing weekends like the ones run by the National Association of Writers Groups and can usually be found at the Wentworth Castle, Barnsley retreat every year.In the future, as well as continuing to write, Martin is excited to be working with a host of debut novelists as an editor and bringing new authors into the spotlight as a publisher very soon.

Book preview

I am not a poet!

That is what I keep telling myself anyway!

A poet is someone that takes the literary form very seriously and it would appear that I tend to be quite the opposite. I just enjoy playing around with words to create something enjoyable to read, something to make people laugh, something to make you think or just say what was that?.

Who cares as long as it provokes a reaction?

Yes, sometimes they are a bit of fun, sometimes a bit grim, sometimes thought provoking, but at the end of the day what poetry should be? Entertaining!

I have been writing poems and rhymes for quite a few years now and I didn’t realise how many I’d done until I put them altogether in one place This book is the result of that.

There is quite a variety and hopefully something for everyone. There is no theme or message I’m looking to put across, no particular order to read them in and no agenda but for you to take pleasure in the power of words, whatever order they come in!

Enjoy!

Martin.

Sheep

Ovies Aries, or Sheep as they’re known

Live upon the moors and roam

Found in flocks in places rural

It’s Sheep in singular, Sheep in plural

Worried by Collies and herded through gates

At least it’s a sport they can do with their mates

In springtime there’s newborn among the flock

Cute little lambs abound and amok

As summer drifts in they have to be bold

Cos shaved and sheared, they’re left in the cold

Their fluffy wool bore the textile trade

On which the valley’s industry was made

So thank the Sheep, who, of course

Taste delicious with rosemary and minty sauce

Unlucky!

Find a four leaf Clover

I should be so lucky!

Just like the three legged rabbit

Or the horse looking for its shoes

If seven was my lucky number,

It would be viewed upside down

A capital Loser

At rainbows end

I‘d receive a golden soaking

I’d wish upon a falling star

But clouds block the view

The ones without silver linings

Of course!

Waiting

Waiting Around

Nothing to do

When Will It End

Haven’t a clue

Want to go home

I’ve had enough

Patience Has Gone

Waiting is tough

The Sentinel

The sentinel

Stands erect upon its hill

Across a century, its silhouette

Ever watchful, over the inhabitants of Odersfelt

Raised to celebrate a sovereign’s reign

Now a beacon of regional pride and

Lynchpin of community spirit

A rallying symbol

Commanding the horizon

Surveying historic villages nestling among