Heard about new Britpop sensation The Arctic Monkeys?
Have you read how they are taking America by storm?
Does it start to sound like you've heard it all before?
Did it leave an unpleasant aftertaste like the chemically laden empty calories of fast food?

To find out if there is any substance to the Arctic Monkeys or if it is all just hype visit Boggart Blog, probably the funniest blog on the web

Beloved Succubus (poem with audio track) - Gothic Horror

hot Vampire (Image source)

There seems to be quite a fad for Vampires, Werewolves, ghosts and monsters at the moment no wonder beloved Succubus is my most popular poem at AD. Its just a love story about an undead girl seeking a willing blood donor (not!) Check out the spooky audio track with the poem performed as a dialogue for two voices accompanied by the music of Camille Saint Saens' Danse Macabre.

Though I spend the long day seeking
in crowded streets where memories teem
she only comes while I am sleeping,
in the stillness of my dreams.
"Come to me my one true lover,
bravely walk beyond the dark divide;
take my cold hands or I must rest here,
There is no way back but by your side."
At dawn the image stays; repeating

"Please my love, please do not desert me,
endless darkness fills my heart with fear.
But the shadows can never hurt me
if I could only feel you near.
Find me in this love - forsaken desert,
caught between the living and the lost,
kiss once more these cold pale lips, caress
cheeks death's insubstantial hand has blessed
Hold me, warm me and reclaim me."

I feel her here in children's laughter,
soft wind; her kiss upon my cheek.
A movement at the edge of vision,
hint of perfume; her Mystique.
But she is gone, her light extinguished,
dead; without goodbye or parting kiss.
Fate has aborted all we wished
and now she cries for my catharsis
Should I cling on or follow after.

Shadow words like sharp little knife cuts;
her message fading on silver screen;
"I need your love to quell my hunger,
sacrifice your blood for me.
Come warm me with your vital body,
let new life flow in these dry veins.
else reject me, cast off your ennui.
One tiny drop love, will sustain,
Life cannot end where love survives."

Her photograph's changing expression,
(foreknowledge clouds bright, laughing eyes.)
Brushes shifted on her dresser,
curtains moving without a breeze.
A spot of blood staining my pillow
an addict's trackmarks on my neck.
These dark ringed eyes say I must follow,
discover some way to bring her back.
Is love beyond death a transgression?

The months of yearning have fatigued me,
I grow more pale, my soul is weak.
I cannot turn from her completely
One embrace is all I seek.
In darkest hours she waxes stronger,
her compelling pleas never desist.
Every night she feeds my hunger,
The darkness calls, I cannot resist.........
Instinct protests but will cannot resist.

Her photograph's changing expression,
(foreknowledge clouds bright, laughing eyes.)
Brushes shifted on her dresser,
curtains moving without a breeze.
A spot of blood staining my pillow
trackmarks, bruising purple on my neck.
These dark ringed eyes say I must follow,
discover some way to bring her back.
Is love beyond death a transgression?

The months of yearning have fatigued me,
I grow more pale, my soul is weak.
I cannot turn from her completely
One embrace is all I seek.
In darkest hours she waxes stronger,
her compelling pleas never desist.
Every night she feeds my hunger,
The darkness calls, I cannot resist....
Instinct protests but will cannot resist.


Copyright (c) Ian Thorpe, 2004


Beloved Succubus
To hear audio version CLICK HERE

The Boggart Wades In To The Abortion Debate

Equitiquas by h R Geiger. Geigers nightmarish images at time convey perfectly the conveyor belt womb of poor women down the ages as they fell pregnant every year, most of their pregnancies not going to full term, and of those that did the new life ended in infant death as many times as the child survived to adulthood. Herbal contraceptives, not as efficient as modern methods, but much better than nothing, were always available to those wealthy enough to buy indulgences against the strictures of the church.

Expect a headbutt of an article when you visit Abortion - Pro Life equals Pro Death . Boggart Blogger Ian does not mince words in his attack on moves in the US to make all abortion illegal.
Strong stuff here, arguing for an enlightened approach to the difficult question of abortion and steering a course between the extreme views of both the pro - life and the pro - choice factions.

While the position of no terminations at all, even in the case of medical emergencies is clearly untenable, those advocation that termination of a pregnancy should be available on demand right up until the mother goes into labour is just insane but even that does not go far enough for some liberals who have campaigned for post - birth abortions.

While parents of teenagers might be tempted sometimes to say that terminations should be available up to 974 weeks after conception [work it out :-) ] I think most resonable people would agree terminations should only be available in the case of medical emergency after the point at which the foetus would normally become viable.



A Brief History Of Contraception And Abortion (Part 1)

A Brief History Of Contraception And Abortion (Part 2)

A Brief History Of Contraception And Abortion (Part 3)

A Brief History Of Contraception And Abortion (Part 4)

Father's Away Day

Should the father be present at the birth of a child or should we go back to the traditional approach of dispatching him to the pub where he can't get in the way. Get a new perspective at Boggart Blog

Return of the Boggart

Wow, is it really that long since I was here.

Been having a lot of fun working on audio poems for a CD release, its very time consuming sitting around in a studio for days.

Take a look at what we have been doing by checking out Beloved Succubus and watch this blog for more audio coming online.

And visit Boggart Blog my regularly updated blog site full of whacky British humour

 Back Soon - meanwhile here's a scene that expresses a mood of tranquillity