Sometimes a simple name can conjure a sound,
produce a tone or mood, or evoke a colour.
Try John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock,
Cannonball Adderley, Wayne Shorter, Charlie Parker.
Say them out loud to enter a world now gone,
where bands chase the elusive rhythm of
adrenaline beating, coloured black and white,
and tinted blue.
Spent this afternoon working to a soundtrack of Blue Note Jazz.
(26.01.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo William P. Gottlieb, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Better late than never,
My daily attempt at rhyme,
This stab at wordsmith rhythm only
Squeezes in on time.
A jazzy slate of syllables,
Alliteration rock,
It finally makes its debut on
The last seconds of the clock.
The metronome helps meter
Iambic beats combine
And with a crash of consonants
We make the end bar line.
Home alone, I got distracted playing my guitar, and almost forgot my daily poem…
(24.01.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Kobby Mendez on Unsplash
Leon, like, I literally love,
But loopy Linda what a laugh!
Lisa left her liturgy, whilst
Shameful Charlotte shifts her tongue.
Manipulating Minah makes her move
But fearful Freddie finds the answer.
Francesca chooses to chew things over
But artfully, Alex avoids attention.
As Alexander articulates
Leanne angrily argues back.
Jubilantly Jake announces, ‘I knew it!’
but Anna never knows it’s coming…
Will feuding faithfuls find the faithless
or treacherous traitors survive in triumph?
The opening admiration of Leon was uttered by one of the contestants on The Traitors last night (15.01.25). It’s alliteration immediately caught my attention, I knew it had to become a poem…
(16.01.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo David Kratz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Today, all day,
I sat in a meeting
And found myself
Wondering
Wouldn’t it
be more fun
If someone was
A traitor…
From time to time
We’d break into
Subcommittees
And scheme
And then we’d draw
Our pens and cast
A suspect out
Before
The constitution
Affords the traitor
A chance to veto
Someone’s voice.
After a six hour meeting, it was good to come home and catch up with Traitors, a complete contrast!
(11.01.25)
Tricky decisions have to be made as
Round the round table divisions are played.
Against one another in plotting and scheming
In devious manoevers, of success they are dreaming.
Tripping each other with unfolding feelings
Of who they suspect of foul play in their dealings.
Respect has no place as they race to the gold,
So gather your wits or be left in the cold…
New Year, new series of Traitors, and once again we’re hooked.
(09.01.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Tyler Quiring on Unsplash
Oh, the irony
Of developing symptoms
Whilst we’re watching House
Hoping sleep will see this off…
(07.12.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
I made it to the 6th
with not even a hint
of you know what…
But then, before Storm Darragh
hit, George Michael tapped
my careless shoulder.
It isn’t fair! Even
storms these days come
with warning.
I didn’t stand a chance…
(05.12.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Leo Wieling on Unsplash
Slouched on the sofa
Watching programmes on the box
With my other half
It’s the weekend. A night to relax.
(29.11.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Michael DeMoya on Unsplash
SONGS can be sonic portals, dioramas,
OF youthful memories long forgotten,
A door through which, released, our senses tumble,
LOST landscapes wherein we dance with arms outstretched,
a WORLD of angst yet somehow hopeful.
I’ve been listening to The Cure a lot recently, especially their latest album, the terrific ‘Songs of a Lost World’. Despite Robert Smith’s obvious awareness of aging and mortality, and their classic gothic sound, I find so much of their music strangely uplifting. (And yes, that is me in the photo…)
(17.11.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Sophie’s magic trick
“Masquerading as a male”
Fools Magic Circle
9th December 1991, the Magic Circle finally allowed women to join their ranks, only to find that one already had! Sophie Lloyd, disguised as Raymond, had earned her place. With the decision of the Circle she revealed her true identity, and was promptly kicked out… Now, the Circle is trying to find her again, in order to invite her back.
(12.11.24)
© Ben Quant 2024
Photo by Sergi Viladesau on Unsplash
Ode for the Day 
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