Arriving at the sixth weekend in this series, we reach the conclusion of my ‘milestone’ poems:
These half-sonnets mark the start of each new group of poems in my recent collection Shimmering Horizons.
At the first milestone we had read ‘That’s the bell! And thirty fledglings rise / as though one flock and surge for the classroom door … ‘
Published recently by Bennison Books through Amazon, Shimmering Horizons has the theme of the journey, the quest, the odyssey.
If you are curious to read more, there is a selection of the poems on my website at https://johnlooker.wordpress.com/extracts-from-shimmering-horizons/
Poetry from John Looker 
I like how the rhymes are not predictably adjacent, and yet create the musical language.
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By: Brian Dean Powers on 12 December, 2021
at 14:02
Thanks for that Brian – this was the effect I was aiming for, so I am especially pleased that it worked for you.
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By: John Looker on 12 December, 2021
at 14:07
John – I don’t know how I missed these last 5 of the 6 milestones. I blame Word Press but will have to be more diligent in the future! I think they’re simply terrific. In the 6th one I was half expecting “A cold coming we had of it” but it was of a similar standard! Marvellous!
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By: Bruce Goodman on 26 December, 2021
at 19:17
That’s most kind Bruce, thank you. Of course they can each be read as a stand-alone poem (they are half sonnets). Or they can be read as six stanzas in a single poem – or as I envisaged them as milestones along the way, marking off the stages in the journey through the book. People often talk about a poetry’collection’ but this isn’t a collection: although each of the seventy poems can be taken on its own, the book was constructed as a single entity. It took me seven years but I had great pleasure in the journey!
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By: John Looker on 26 December, 2021
at 20:10
Half sonnets – I love the idea. And yes, they do stand alone.
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By: rogermoorepoet on 13 March, 2022
at 19:04
Just ordered your book, John.
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By: Cynthia Reyes on 14 March, 2022
at 17:55
My word, that’s a wonderful encouragement to me. Thank you Cynthia. I think – I hope! – you will enjoy it. Warmest wishes, John
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By: John Looker on 14 March, 2022
at 18:01
I have enjoyed all your poems so far, so I know I will enjoy the book. In fact, I will probably gift copies to others too.
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By: Cynthia Reyes on 14 March, 2022
at 18:03
That would be wonderful! 💐
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By: John Looker on 14 March, 2022
at 18:12
Funny – I thought about both Cynthia and you on the weekend, then came across your post today. And stopped to read a few poems. And was moved to buy the book.
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By: Cynthia Reyes on 14 March, 2022
at 18:04
I like to think about Cynthia too. I have read her poetry at a poetry group here in England.
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By: John Looker on 14 March, 2022
at 18:10
Truthful poem. For me it is not easy with poems as I’m not a native english speaker. I feel poems are harder to grasp than conventional text when not a native speaker. ( I dont know why.)
But this one catches me.
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By: H Schlagen on 16 March, 2022
at 22:54
Thank you – I appreciate that.
By the way, I recommend your own blog to others: your drawings are remarkable and a forceful comment on the times we live in.
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By: John Looker on 17 March, 2022
at 12:27