Dean Norton
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zentinl.bsky.social
Dean Norton
@zentinl.bsky.social
66 followers 58 following 440 posts
somewhere between cold coffee
and used twist ties
is a paper life
in an automatic heart
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zentinl.bsky.social
@tomsnarsky.bsky.social my first for #smallpoemsunday #poetry #poetrycommunity #poetry #poems #blueskypoets #blueskypoetry
December 1, 2025 at 4:33 AM
zentinl.bsky.social
Offering one for #retroartprompt #silver and #wintry @anntigone.bsky.social
#poetrycommunity #poetry #poems #blueskypoets #blueskypoetry
December 1, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Reposted by Dean Norton
owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social
For #PoemsAbout #NoFuture , , , and maybe breaking the hourglass?
Will return later to read others’. Thank you for reading! 🙏💫

@thebrokenspine.co.uk
#Oulens #blueskypoets #blueskypoetry
#poetrycommunity #poetry
There’s NoFuture in This Bound Hourglass - C. Oulens That which wecamearoundto prepondering— the future— thatwhichpresseddownpoundingona couple of poor grains at the narrow neck piling up piteously at the bottom of this time-plagued hourglass Is nothing but the past flipped and posing as Future everforevernever to be a to be,,, ,,,oh! I forget! I’m trying to break free of shards that came t o b e.
November 28, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Reposted by Dean Norton
philippabowe.bsky.social
This week's #PoemsAbout prompt #NoFuture took me straight into something that is a sad reality, here in France, I have been closely connected to. Thank you for the ongoing inspiration @thebrokenspine.co.uk @alanparrywriter.co.uk Happy weekend poets! 💜
Black text on a white background, the words of a poem: Bounded Future They flock here, the boys, and sometimes girls but mostly boys, here to the land of liberté, fraternité, égalité, where the streets are paved with education, with jobs, with fat consumer goods, whose language they speak, were taught at school, colonising legacy. They leave their villages, towns, cities, these children of West Africa, they flee the places where their horizons have shrunk to nothing, they walk north trying to keep their shoes together with string, they cross the desert on the back of pick-ups trying not to look at the corpses littering the route, they cross the Mediterranean trying to choke down their terror because they never learned to swim. The ones who get here are children in the eyes of the law, but the eyes of the system are indifferent, wanting to dislodge them like grit from the Sahara. When the system is forced to finally open the gate it guards so closely, Cerberus system, it tells them, this is your future, bounded here and no further. Some of them are grateful, some are relieved, exhausted, and some are angry. But they all know there is no going back.
November 28, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Reposted by Dean Norton
stacebot.bsky.social
For this week's #PoemsAbout #NoFuture, I'm thinking about paradoxes and the future problem.

Holding our host @alanparrywriter.co.uk in my thoughts this week and thanks to @thebrokenspine.co.uk and to all of the other writers.

#poetry #poem #writing #PoetryCommunity #BlueSkyPoets
the future problem that’s the part nobody warns you about— how long something dying keeps walking past its own expiration date. we perform belief until the ground peels out from under us, quiet as hunger, elegant as ruin— already down, bruised, off balance, pretending we meant to fall. if i were to tell you this, you mustn’t tell anyone else: stop believing in living into the endings. everything always is forever until it isn’t.
November 28, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Dean Norton
paulrapley.bsky.social
#poemsabout #NoFuture #KeepWriting
@alanparrywriter.co.uk
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
#TakeRisks #EndOnAnImage #AvoidCliché #poetrycommunity #poetry #PoetsWhoSupportPoets #PoetsOfBlueSky
knocked out quickly - interrupted by a person from Porlock
gaps to be filled...
rip tiredness tired of searching, lugging, peering, failing, nagged by certainty that if he found it, or if they, discovering themselves to him, through half-dreamt chance, by half-remembered waking, longing, long-abandoned planning, buried deep within forgotten books; or crushed beneath a pile of magazines long semi-read while meaning drained away; or dwelling with a creche of much-loved toys whose lovers, grown and gone, had bid adieu; or furniture awaiting skilled repair and warm return to rooms that never were; or, trapped within soft piles of sleepless blankets, confidants of truth to aid his quest; or relics from the homes of hard departed, promising solutions to life’s puzzles only if he’d brave his torch to read them; or, tucked beyond in some far crevice, out of reach, denying his spent grasp, he lay in darkness under his dark roof. […] slipping the ripper between the flat slates, its flat body subverting their reign of opacity, feeling its nose tap against the old nail, he adjusted its tooth to engage in the darkness and pulled out the nail… […] …and began his ascent to the light and the sky and his future beyond… […] Paul Rapley 2025 #NoFuture
November 29, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Dean Norton
merrildsmith.bsky.social
Good morning! With Thanksgiving and houseguests, I wasn't going to participate in #PoemsAbout #NoFuture this week, but I felt the urge to write--so a quick one from me. I'll be back to read when I can. Thank you @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk
Darkest Nightmare, Brightest Dream The possible impossibility of no future, the universe’s flawed design, a bug in its brilliant breath, a break, a slow bleed-- or a flashbang— the syncopated rhythm of stars collapsed jazz-hands flutter and fall time folded, an accordion waiting to play every song and none here, not here a hummingbird, an azure sky, green vines, orange lichen, a soft-pink lotus flower opens, a laugh.
November 29, 2025 at 11:50 AM
zentinl.bsky.social
Arriving late to #poemsabout for #nofuture. Thank you to our host @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk for the weekly prod to continue creating. #poetrycommunity #poetry #poems #blueskypoets #blueskypoetry.
November 29, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Reposted by Dean Norton
owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social
For #PoemsAbout #DogTags
Will come back later to read others and comment. A slightly long poem today, will understand if you give it a miss. Thank you! 🙏 💫

@alanparrywriter.co.uk
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
#Oulens #blueskypoets #blueskypoetry
#poetrycommunity #poetry
Of Certificates and Of Those Missing - C. Oulens I was born happy and blue! A little confused coz there seemed a lot of hullabaloos over this fact and that I did not wail and kept my eyes shut—they even discriminate against babies that are introvert! Oh c’mon, what’s the deal with this—I thought—should I gawk wide at the beauty of sunshine? Can I not let it seep in with time? Have they not learnt from dawn, of light’s slow release? Should I let the sun jump on me and damage my eyes? Let’s say I concede to that, but why, oh why—should they want me to shriek? Then I heard my mom’s wail—Yeah, well, emotional blackmail commences as early as that—even before they’ve prepared your destiny’s sketch (and the many certificates of mismatch). Besides, they were shaking me (and what not—uncomfortably)—so, with an eye roll, I kindly complied and delivered a heart-rending scream—an encore to my mom’s premature mournful cries (it seemed she thought I got born with an intent to die)—and to my bafflement—followed by a roomful of applause and cheer—it now appeared I had claimed my first entitlement of existence—certified in a registry. … and that, in short, is my introduction to a kind world that said—undocumented—you’ve had your heartful—henceforth the world would appreciate if you kept your screams inside and your tears dry—there’s too much, anyway, to pass by. And sunshine I found is not infinite—how can it be when some are looking to steal from you with a sleight of hand—but some, at the edge of abyss, will find a bagful of a warm wish—unclassified, uncertified. I am not happy but I’m happily blue. I stole too—some stars—of a blue moon—committing poetry—without standard devices—without requisite licences—without certificates to earn.
November 21, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Reposted by Dean Norton
janpsolivagant.bsky.social
🙏 @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social #PromptCombo
Out of season & they nest under #eaves, rather than #OnRoofs, but fits, I guess. 😁

#poem: ©Jan Peters/Solivagant Wisdom, 2025

#swifts #swallows #NaturePoem #BirdPoem #poetrycommunity #bskypoetry
Swifts, Swallows Swifts, swallows: ghostly Doubles meeting at Whitsun - Sky god’s full-throated Season echoing the Abyss. Forebear tongues and Sagas revelled in Whirlpools and swallies, Devoured by the sweeping, Churning presences Glimpsed in sky and sea. Swifts, swallows: ghostly doubles, Aerial nomads, Custodians of Ancient songlines etched with a Thumbtack of neurons. ©Jan Peters/Solivagant Wisdom, 2025
November 24, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Reposted by Dean Norton
drnaturegirl.debbiemross.co.uk
Hello #promptcombo crew Thanks Paul @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social for this week’s #onrooftops theme. I’m just about to go out, but thought I’d post my wee offering first. Photo by me, Jerusalem rooftops looking towards the Dome of the Rock.

#poetry #poem
A poem by Debbie Ross entitled, Domes Stars and Steeples text as follows From up here the churches, mosques and synagogues glint in sunlight, perfectly co-existing. Rooftop views can be deceptive. On the ground invisible barriers fracture communities. Nationalism, religion and fear keep people apart. Down in the narrow tangle of alleys and streets we found communities that mixed. A glimmer of hope in a desert of grief. A view across mostly flat rooftops - with TV aerials and shade shelters - towards the Dome of the Rock
November 24, 2025 at 2:02 PM
zentinl.bsky.social
Appreciate Paul @thewombwellrainbow.bsky.social for this prompt #OnRoofs. It got me thinking about the need to get out from under what hangs over us.

#PromptCombo #poetrycommunity #poetry #poems #blueskypoets #blueskypoetry
November 25, 2025 at 3:41 PM
zentinl.bsky.social
For #Emoetry #Ferocity I am hoping perhaps this one will fit. It a very early piece of mine from 1995.

#writingcommunity #poetry
@fafo-poets-society.bsky.social #poetrycommunity #poetry #poems #blueskypoets #blueskypoetry
November 22, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Reposted by Dean Norton
johnchmura.bsky.social
I don’t usually post #PoemsAbout @thebrokenspine.co.uk this early, but I’m taking some antihistamines and may sleep through a good portion of the night, or not. Will post a reel for #DogTags in the comments.
DOG TAGS Send them into space, all of the dog tags and toe tags, Trumps’ three Purple Hearts, and the mindset of men who pay dear and trade cheap that the God who abandoned this sorry blue world might see the joylessness of man’s desiring and act as a “signpost up ahead” so benevolent passengers may be forewarned drifting near our debris field on their judicious excursions coming from and returning to, hopefully, better planets smelling of ginger melon balls and mint, where space travel was a glorious culmination, not an escape or an escapade, where they needn’t keep people like me as pets or souvenirs anymore.
November 21, 2025 at 5:45 AM
Reposted by Dean Norton
stacebot.bsky.social
This week's #PoemsAbout #DogTags got me thinking about what should the world know about you in an emergency?

Thank you to the host
@alanparrywriter.co.uk and
@thebrokenspine.co.uk
and to all of the other writers.

#poetry #poem #writing #PoetryCommunity #BlueSkyPoets
Dog Tag On hold with the repair shop I draw concentric circles on a lavender piece of junk mail. I write my own name so many times it starts to feel vulgar— unspeakable. There’s a flyer telling me to be all I can be-- dog tags dangling. The small weight of a name you can’t put down. To pass the time, I make a list of the three things the world would need to know to save me. But nothing comes. Only my own breathing down the dumb phone and the blank page waiting.
November 22, 2025 at 1:50 AM
zentinl.bsky.social
For #PoemsAbout #DogTags I did not feel I had the right to write. Finally, a meager offering emerged. Thank you to all those who serve and have served.

Thank you @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk.

#poetrycommunity #poetry #poems #blueskypoets #blueskypoetry
November 22, 2025 at 2:35 AM
zentinl.bsky.social
Thanks, Fidel @dragonslayerma.bsky.social
for #northstar and for anchoring #promptcombo this week.
November 18, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Reposted by Dean Norton
sarahclareconlon.bsky.social
✨ Hi Fidel @dragonslayerma.bsky.social I spotted @victoriaspires.bsky.social lovely beau présent (which I’ll try out) for #northstar #promptcombo – maybe my a e h i l n o r s t anagram (the 10 most common letters in the English language) fits, from the current issue of @manchesterreview.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Reposted by Dean Norton
poetryman1.bsky.social
Here's to beautiful reading on an ugly grey wet day where I am!!😀🖐 All the best to Alan and everyone!! 😄

@alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk

#desire #poemsabout #poetry
November 14, 2025 at 12:12 PM
zentinl.bsky.social
A second one for #PoemsAbout #desire. @alanparrywriter.co.uk @thebrokenspine.co.uk #poetrycommunity #poetry #poems #blueskypoets #blueskypoetry
November 14, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Reposted by Dean Norton
saintghost.bsky.social
For #PoemsAbout #Desire ✨

for @thebrokenspine.co.uk
& @alanparrywriter.co.uk

I know I need to learn how to edit but this is another one of those that just burst out of me in a fountain of blood and snot. It kind of had to get out, I guess.
Desire She asks me, what do you want, and I say I need a raging cattle gun between my eyes. I say, I want to go crazy, like real crazy, not this choked silent suffering but a scream that will burst every seam-crazy, neon-crazy, heroin-crazy, woman with her head in the oven-crazy. The kind with confetti and ambulances. Chalk outlines. Hot as brimstone, emergency room-bright. Look here, I want to open this here window and jump the fuck right out of it. I want to cut deeper. Darker, more demented, more desperate. I want to hemorrhage. I want you to have to sew me back together from scratch, without all of the mistakes, the failure, the fear. Twenty-one stitches is not nearly enough. You ask me, why, and I say, desire desire desire. I am going mad with desire. for him for love for belonging for applause for a hand around my neck for fame for attention for death for cheating death for outliving for the blood of christ For the rush of losing your mind. The desire to cross that line. I want to be the lady in the park that coos at the doves and flaps her arms like wings. I want to dangle from the precipice like a leaf in October, I want to be a tightrope dancer across all of your edges. I want to be that patient on the ward who barks the whole day long like a frenzied dog. I want to stick needles into my arm until I squeal like a porcupine. I want my veins fat with methamphetamine. I want a harder door, a bluer bruise, a more brutal concussion. I want to bash my head against this wall until I laugh again. I want to tear this room down this skin this padded cell a world a girl a wound that hurts like fire that is too sharp to touch to kill to feel to fuck. I want to leave myself behind to become everybody else. I want to be a poet I want to be a lover rockstar priest saint cult leader a goddamn work of art I am possessed by desire and empty as all hell.
November 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM
zentinl.bsky.social
#PoemsAbout #desire. Here's one from 1997 that has survived all this time without a re-write. Appreciation to @alanparrywriter.co.uk and @thebrokenspine.co.uk and the other folks helping to support this community. #poetrycommunity #poetry #poems #blueskypoets #blueskypoetry
November 14, 2025 at 4:14 PM
zentinl.bsky.social
First post in #BlueSkyRelay for #ascendant. Thank you for the prompt @telaranrhiod.bsky.social
#emoetry #rapture #writingprompts #writing #poetry #BlueSkyWriters #SkyPoets #WritingCommunity #PoetryCommunity @fafo-poets-society.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 4:26 AM
zentinl.bsky.social
#Emoetry #Rapture #WritingCommunity #poetry @fafo-poets-society.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Reposted by Dean Norton
janpsolivagant.bsky.social
🙏 to @hool415.bsky.social #PromptCombo
#DeepTime take on #workinglove

#newpoem / #photography:
©Jan Peters/Solivagant Wisdom, 2025/2022-24

#poetry #JohnCage #MechtildOfMagdeburg #AsSlowAsPossible #orgelprojekt #MysticMonday #thework
Fatal Day in Halberstadt 1361 Decameron‘s Twelfth Night. Lollards hitch their prayers, their Plight to the Morning Star. Pestis Secunda scourges Plantagenet England. Giotto’s Last Judgement Slumbers in umbrage on the Cusp of the Quattrocento. Halberstadt, Flush, bustling prince-bishopric - its Cathedral-treasure stash of Relics looted at the Sack of Constantinople – hosts the First of its Kind: Chromatic keyboard, Twelve half-tones arranged in Octaves. Halberstadt - where, at St. Burchardi’s Monastery, Cistercian Sisters Scale the canonical hours: Minor - Terce, Sext, None and Compline; Major - Matins, Lauds and Vespers, in Perpetual rounds of Work, prayer and Lectio Divina. A century before, They nestle in a fecund vessel of Mystical vision, where Mechthild of Magdeburg - Fluid, erotic, vernacular - Lights the way for Meister Eckhart; where Mechtilde, Helfta’s Nightingale, Dispenses Special Grace to Dante as Matelda. Six-hundred-and-thirty-nine years Slip by. Millennium tenor Deeds St. Burchardi’s to Zen musical maverick already Eight years passed: Bird now uncaged - Purposeless, intentionless - Pecking away at membranes - Temporal, musical – from the Beyond. The Six-hundred-and-thirty-nine-year Lease unfolds As Slow as Possible on an Organ fashioned for this purpose. Hiss of compressors, taut notes Coasting over billowing groans until 2640. Pauses a week before 9/11: seventeen months of silence, then Nine movements, each lasting Seventy-one years. Chord kept up over seven years, between Benedict’s flight to Castel Gandolfo and Second Lockdown. Austere piety, Avant-garde whimsy - ©Jan Peters/Solivagant Wisdom, 2025 Spurning utility, instrumentality - Partaking in visions that far Outstrip lifetimes, Current-day zeitgeist confines. Contemplative prayer, Playful contingency - Tentative forays into Deep Time, Possible only when one Listens closely with Open heart, Open mind. Eternity disclosed in Nugacity, ephemera: Birds, lilies, Mustard seeds. Cloistered life, Choral work Whetting one’s Keenness for the Core - Still and small. ©Jan Peters/Solivagant Wisdom, 2025 ©Jan Peters/Solivagant Wisdom, 2024 Highly contrasted monochrome image of a statue by Susan Turcot (2007/8) of mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg (1207-1282) ©Jan Peters/Solivagant Wisdom, 2022 Poster-sized mural of US avant-garde composer, John Cale (1912-1992)
November 10, 2025 at 7:37 AM