Young, with much to learn. The hard way

 

Young, staring down the barrel

 

I trusted him

And that was a big mistake.

 

I believed her

Every heart felt word

While she kissed me back

Before trashing

The love I exposed.

 

I never believed

That fate

Wasn’t mine

To control.

 

Now I know better

At such cost

That I resolve never

To feel that pain again.

 

And end up

Shutting out

All the goodness

Open to me.

 

Such is the price

Of knowledge

Of the ways of people

And the life

We must endure.

 

That pain is inevitable

And that it is happiness

That readily eludes us.

 

The only real option

Is to dive in

Or crawl dry

And risk free

Through a life

Devoid of opportunity

Where euphoria

Knows your name

Never.

 

22.1.24            10.40 pm

 

Source: nuisms.com/images/life-is-risk

What are your thoughts on love?
And for that matter, on happiness in general? And risk. And depression. And one's 'default state' as it were. Sum it up your own way. Just share your thoughts. 

Love to hear your view.

Peace

Anthony

Ignorance is King

 Ignorance Rules

I wanted to be on the Winning Side. I joined the throng. 

The ignorant are happier, aren't they?

Watch my short Video on the subject HERE

Or stay ignorant. 

Watch on YouTube

Please share your thoughts on the post or via email or on YouTube. Make your opinion count!

More Video Poems

Explore more Videos, Free Downloads, Books and more on my official website A.J. Langford Books

My last two books - Both 2022

My first poetry collection - 2013

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading and hopefully watching. I do appreciate it. These little posts keep me going. And I do really hope that you get something out of it. 

Until next time,

Peace and love

Anthony

Drought Breaker! - NEW Desalinating semen plant (Gross out warning).

 

The controversial new Drought Breaker 

This story first appeared in the Daily Standard on December 13, 2019. 

 

In what could be a world first, scientists have succeeded in desalinating sperm into perfectly healthy drinking water.  

‘We know it’s a difficult concept to swallow, but the idea of drinking sea water was also considered repulsive by some. It’s not so far removed from that.’ 

In fact, a similar chemical process is used to break down tadpoles into its most basic form. Zinc components remain intact so it’s actually more healthy than water.  

When we asked whether people will refuse to drink it, the spokesperson for the revolutionary Purify or Die Project said, ‘I suggest people just put their ideology to one side and give it a go. It really is completely safe. Just close your eyes and swallow!’ 

Unprocessed water

This new company will at first truck their tankers to rural areas to test it in the wild, so to speak.  

‘It’s an actual fertiliser,’ the scientist said. ‘If people don’t wish to drink it, then it’s great for crops. It’s a veritable magic bean. Stuff shoots up all over the place. Animals love it too. They genuinely prefer it to water. They’re crying out for the stuff.’ 

Naturally some people joke that it can make you pregnant. ‘Rest assured, no one ever got pregnant from swallowing semen, so the same applies here. Add ice, alcohol and fruit and you’ve got a mojito, with an extra bang for your buck.’ 

Men wishing to make a donation are encouraged to line up at one of the company’s new milking stations. See the company website for locations. ‘They’re popping up everywhere. We hope to have one in every suburb by 2028. You won’t be able to keep us down!’ 

Very popular in China

Leave that tap alone and give it a go. You don’t know it until you try it. As stated on the company website, ‘You’ll be grinning, licking your lips and groaning with satisfaction!’ 

Rival companies are reported to be in throes of erupting onto the scene. Some entrepreneurial types are also cashing in on this new phenomenon. Mini Milk Bars are now opening, in the style of 1950’s Milkshake Diners with modern names such as Pump Up The Jam, Jizz Whizz, Blow and Go Joes, Sippy Cup Spunk, Willy Water, Teste Times and The Funky Fluid Factory.  

Just don’t hold your glass up to the light. It’s better not to know.  

More Satire Bytes.

I came across this piece (excuse the pun), just this week, having no idea what it was. I had forgotten I even wrote it. Given my lack of writing at the moment and in need of a laugh I thought, what the hell, I'll share it anyway. I was probably concerned it was too much and it is haha but it is quite creative. Bizarre perhaps. Certainly gross but creative!

It follows me around like a shadow. Does it follow you?

 

Edvard Munch - Melancholy (1894)

Like you, I have my good days and bad. Melancholy and anxiety has followed me around all my life, and sometimes I stop to document it. It's a form of therapy. 

I do think it's getting harder to deal with. The last twelve months have been pretty serious. (Certain thoughts). I haven't written for months now. The struggle is very real. It's daily. I am grateful however, for my good physical health and that I'm still here. And that there are those who care about me. Some have no one. I don't know how they keep going. 

This was written four and a half years ago.

Anchored

 

I scratch at the air

Which chokes me

Tar like shadows

Heaving at my legs

And I’m sinking

Ever sinking

The surface

No longer a memory

Merely an idea

Out of reach.

 

A heaving, cloying pit

With no end

No solace

Only the deep rejection

and ill formed assumptions

Like death

A new but darkened existence.

Perhaps I died already

And remain slowly dragging

Through self-aware muck

To catch up.

 

2020

I've actually done well to have stuck it out for so long. 

Have you had long periods of depression or anxiety? Are you in a better place now? How did you get through it? I've done so much reading, watching and speaking to mental health people, but I'm still battling so I'm always open to listen. 

A.J. Langford Books

More Poems

The Night We Should Have Died - A True Story

 

We Should Have Died

I was 17. And about to go through an experience I'd never forget, nor wish to relive.

This audio/visual story is taken from the book Us and Them and the things in-between and is 100% true. It was written some years ago, and was dusted off for the 2022 book. It happened in the 80's.

You Watch or simply Listen on YouTube HERE. 

'Andrew' (not his real name), tragically took his own life five years later. It was a drunken act in the spur of the moment. I never believed that he meant to. I saw 'Lenny' quite a lot over the next couple of years and a few times over the next ten, then we also drifted apart. I know nothing of his or 'Bruce's' life. Darren and I are still in contact.

I'd really love to hear your thoughts. Have you been through a similar life changing incident?

Representative only. Not a photo from the event

More Audio Stories

A.J. Langford Books

Until next time,

Peace

Anthony

There goes a friend. Was it worth it?

 

Online ranters ain't what they used to be. 

Or is it just that I've 'cleaned out' the perpetually outraged?

Comments sections on public posts probably prove that nothing has changed. 

Ramble with bite

 

I never stopped questioning

Or challenging the status quo

(No matter the political divide)

Yet its relevance

Externally

Had no impact

Other than an occasional argument

With another non-entity.

 

Which draws the conclusion

That it’s pointless

Mere ego stretching

Achieving nothing

For some it bolsters self-importance

Worth the price of admission

Though most believe it matters

And is worth losing control

And even friendships over.

 

Finding the like minded

Is merely a collection of mirrors

Patting themselves on the back.

 

Millenia old

Never to change

Irrelevant opinion

Holds too much sway.

 

The Grandiosity of One

Raises some

Undoes many.

 

 

30.10.23   8.30 pm –  edit 22.1.24

What's your experience with arguing a point or shouting your opinion or having someone shout theirs at you? We all see comments that piss us off but is it worth our time engaging?

Any thoughts on any of these issues, I'd love to hear. Just please don't shout. 😉

A.J. Langford Books

The Eighth Wonder of the World - Incredible! (Last in this Series)

 

 Eighth Wonder of the World

There are a few considered for the title.

Four are listed here. They are constructions rather than natural wonders.

Pre-1900 creations

Part Eight

The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal  'Crown of the Palace') is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work continued on other phases of the project for another five years. 

There are many myths surrounding it, including that it was actually built in the 12^th century. That it was designed by a Frenchman, another claims a Spaniard, an Italian and another by a Hindu King. No concrete evidence exists for claims that describe, often in horrific detail, the deaths, dismemberment and mutilations which Shah Jahan supposedly inflicted on various architects and craftsmen associated with the tomb.

Photo - Muhammad Mahdi Karim - Own work, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23199927

The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction and attracts approximately five million visitors a year.

                                                    The Terracotta Army

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from approximately the late 200s BCE, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers.

GFDL, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2103826

The figures vary in height according to their rank, the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army hold more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses. Other, non-military figures have since been found in other pits, including those of officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.

By kevinmcgill from Den Bosch, Netherlands - KAM_5048, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31690639

                                                        The Thames Tunnel

The Thames Tunnel is a tunnel beneath the River Thames in London, connecting Rotherhithe and Wapping. It measures 35 ft (11 m) wide by 20 ft (6.1 m) high and is 1,300 ft (400 m) long, running at a depth of 75 ft (23 m) below the river surface measured at high tide. It is the first tunnel known to have been constructed successfully underneath a navigable river. It was built between 1825 and 1843 by Marc Brunel, and his son, Isambard.

 
The tunnel was originally designed for horse-drawn carriages, but was mainly used by pedestrians and became a tourist attraction. In 1869 it was converted into a railway tunnel.

By Lars Plougmann from United States - Thames Tunnel walk, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11606054

Previous entries HERE

Bonus - One more for the simple thrill of it. This is the Victoria Bridge in Montreal, Canada. It opened in 1859 and spans the St. Lawrence River. 

Human beings can be quite amazing afterall!

Photo 1901

This is the last in this series. I hope you enjoyed them. 

Peace

Anthony