Particles of Light: Poems, puns, word play and witty one-liners

By Chris M L Burleigh

A poetry collection that is an exploration of words and meaning, and a celebration of sounds.
Life is serious, but not to be lived too seriously. In this collection the familiar is shown in unfamiliar ways. Our vanity and our fragility are exposed with gentle irony, and generosity of spirit. This is a collection of poems with something for everyone. There is a section on people, places, and Nature, a short section of love poems, and a large section of witty one-liners, puns, and humorous poems. 
Much in the collection is light-hearted and playful, although often with a more serious intent. The word play is wittier than Stand Up, and funnier than past wits such as Wilde and Parker. There is little introspection – the reader effortlessly becomes both the ‘I’ and the ‘eye’. While any of the poems might be autobiographical, poets, like novelists, can draw on the imagination. 
This book is the authentic voice of an individual poet. His style is original, though you may hear echoes of Shakespeare, Hopkins, Lawrence, Larkin, Betjeman, Lewis Carroll, A. A. Milne, or Milligan. Feel the power of nature in The Shipwreck ‘Wounded wave, writhe wide / Back-curled crest / Furled then swirled ...’ and enjoy the wit as in Exotic Travel ‘Travel broadens / The bowel’ or in Hope 'Hope springs eternal / In a young man’s / Groin'.
As Chris says: ‘Either write your poems and stuff them in a drawer, or publish and be damned! Poets want to communicate, and poetry is written to be heard. I write when I have something to say, and I feel I have found the right way to say it. Writing groups have enjoyed my poems over the years, and now is the time to put them ‘out there’, so others can enjoy them as they wish.’

• Language: English
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Oct 28, 2017
• ISBN: 9781788034098

Chris M L Burleigh

Chris M L Burleigh grew up in South London, read English at Cardiff, and worked in IT. Chris has written poetry all his life, and has been a prizewinner with, and been published by, Fish Publishing. Chris has lived in the Solihull area, in the West Midlands, for more than 30 years.

Book preview

Particles of Light

The Poetry of Chris M L Burleigh

Poems, puns, word play, and witty one-liners

Copyright © 2017 Chris M L Burleigh

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, eventsand incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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ISBN 9781788034098

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To everyone who has moved me

Through their life

And especially to my family

And wife.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Within ‘Love is Blind’. The author wishes to thank the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for authorizing the use of Dorothy Parker’s work

Contents

Reflective and Descriptive

Lancashire Lass

The Shipwreck

Time Present

Loss

Fox

Blackbird

Annie

Fit Child

Winter Hills

Angel of the North

Pigeon Loft

Amnesty

Aubade

Divided Loyalties

A Tragedy

Shot At Trafalgar

‘Working late at the office’

Forget-me-nots

When I’m Sixty-Four

Life

I’m bored

Pheasant

Fun and Games

Breaking news

To a Poppy

Farewell to Erossos

Mates

Drunken Disorderly

Who goes there?

Rushing Raisa

Ruby Wedding

Motorway Hawk

Maddy

Evening Shore

Goat

Night Flight

Tramp

In