THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Tom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied with in seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not? why not indeed!!" (The wondrous poetpic is by Jack McCabe, who I hope forgives me for scribbling all over it with Photoshop)

VOICE!

Began when hearing Samuel Taylor Coleridge

reciting"BREAK!BREAK! BREAK!"on a wax cylinder

tinny and remote in thin time's corridor.Then Dylan Thomas on LP

UNDER MILK WOOD(better performed via Richard Burton's version

and BBC poets on radio.ABC poets ditto.Then movies of poets(Canadian Film Board)

reciting their word works to posthumous audiences.

Then hearing a cassette of Sylvia Plath-bright bell shining voice!

Given a double LP of International Poets/Dutch Poets (in English)

Hearing the sound of Russian poet Yevtushenko LIVE in performance

seeing how he made words dance-DA! and NYET!

Small thimble soundcloud of Virginia Woolf

transcribed from a BBC tape-thin as a tapeworm

when all she was saying is"words belong to each other"

And they do.So they are.Married to symbol and sound

Far better to hear each one while they are alive

than to suffer the historical error of believing

words on paper are all Shakespeare had to offer...