Paul A. FreemaN - chaucerian inspirations - New Page

World War One Remembrance Day Poem (NEW)

11/10/2019

Wooed by War

by

Paul A. Freeman

Brigades of pals march out like ardent grooms
to nuptial beds dug deeply in a trench;
a duckboard mattress sprung with mud, and booms
of serenading guns can’t dull the stench
of rot and human wastage, while the sludge
conceals assassinating germs that steal
the glimmer of those youths who deathward trudge.
Where thy rose-cheeked bride? Where the bell-tower peal?
Now rifle-wed; now uniformed in serge;
the sky’s marquee rains down upon them shells.
Shrapnel, in confetti bursts, sounds its dirge,
augmented by the gas-alerting bells.
Those men who make it home and take a bride,
what horrors in their wives could they confide?

END

(This poem is in particular a tribute to the memory of Wilfred Owen, war poet, who died bravely just before the War to End All Wars came to an end.)

Below are links to my Global Short Story Competition winning story, my short-listed story for the National newspaper (Abu Dhabi's annual short story competition) and a story that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment:

http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

https://everydayfiction.com/respecting-the-dead-by-paul-a-freeman/

Happy Writing!

Respecting the Dead

10/27/2019

Skull and Crossbones Gravestone

My Halloween short story, Respecting the Dead, has been published on the Everyday Fiction site.

The MC is a rather unpleasant sexton at a village church who has little respect for those people buried in the churchyard, and suffers for her disrespect, accordingly.

A link to my short story is below:

https://everydayfiction.com/respecting-the-dead-by-paul-a-freeman/

Below are links to my Global Short Story Competition winning story, my short-listed story for the National newspaper (Abu Dhabi's annual short story competition) and a story that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment:

http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-d-day-diorama-by-paul-a-freeman/#comments

Happy Writing!

Rebels on a Train Limerick

10/18/2019

Rebels on a Train

Rebels on a Train Limerick

Before the commuters had blinked,
men mounted the train with arms linked.
Then the transport delay
caused a violent affray
and the guys almost wound up extinct.

Making the public aware of the growing environmental crises around the world is of the utmost importance. So the last thing we want to do is alienate the lay person.

Extinction Rebellion's attempts to shut down the Underground system will have nothing but a negative impact. Protest, yes. Hand out leaflets (on recyclable paper), yes. Preventing the free movement of commuters and school children - a big NO!

Below are links to my Global Short Story Competition winning story, my short-listed story for the National newspaper (Abu Dhabi's annual short story competition) and a story that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment:

http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-d-day-diorama-by-paul-a-freeman/#comments

Happy Writing!

Black Face Limerick

9/30/2019

Justin's Makeup Causes a Stir

Black-Face Limerick

His black-painted face was inciting;
the media backlash quite biting.
And so in the end
he chose to defend
the photos by blaming poor lighting.

Well, what can I say but it was an unwise costume the Canadian prime minister wore.

Below are links to my Global Short Story Competition winning story, my short-listed story for the National newspaper (Abu Dhabi's annual short story competition) and a story that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment:

http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-d-day-diorama-by-paul-a-freeman/#comments

Happy Writing!

Boris Legs It Limerick

9/16/2019

Où est Boris?

Boris Legs it Limerick

In Luxembourg, Boris's smile,
lasted only a very short while.
At the sound of, "No Brexit",
he made for the exit
and ran a proverbial mile.

It's hardly the Dunkirk Spirit, Mr Prime Minister.

Below are links to my Global Short Story Competition winning story, my short-listed story for the National newspaper (Abu Dhabi's annual short story competition) and a story that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment:

http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-d-day-diorama-by-paul-a-freeman/#comments

Happy Writing!

Winding Down - A Sonnet

9/16/2019

Red Giant

It seems like an eternity since I last posted here. For some reason I was unable to post, gave up, and on a whim clicked on the site today. Et, voila!

Anyhow, one of the bigger hits I've had since last July was featuring as a winner in the prestigious Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest. Mine, Winding Down, is a reverse sonnet, describing what would happen with a contracting universe cosmic model. It was in Group 1 of the competition's Laureate's Choice. Click on the link below:

http://sonnetcontest.org/2019-winners/2019-laureates-choice-group-one/

Below are links to my Global Short Story Competition winning story, my short-listed story for the National newspaper (Abu Dhabi's annual short story competition) and a story that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment:

http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-d-day-diorama-by-paul-a-freeman/#comments

Happy Writing!

Putin Meets Trump Limerick

7/17/2018

When Putin Met Trump

Said Donald, “My dear, darling Poots,
Perhaps we could wear matching suits;
and then, with my tongue,
once your praises I’ve sung,
I’ll happily lick clean your boots.”

Below are links to my Global Short Story Competition winning story, my short-listed story for the National newspaper (Abu Dhabi's annual short story competition) and a story that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment:

http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-d-day-diorama-by-paul-a-freeman/#comments

Happy Writing!

Royal Birth Limerick

4/23/2018

Town Crier Announces Royal Birth

Royal Birth Limerick

"How thrilled and excited are we!"
said the Queen over afternoon tea.
"For Will's wife, Duchess Kate,
has concluded the wait
and delivered up sprog number three."

Well, I haven't posted in a while, what with having to edit three novels, so I thought I'd post something written today.

The Tower awaits me!

Below are links to my Global Short Story Competition winning story, my short-listed story for the National newspaper (Abu Dhabi's annual short story competition) and a story that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment:

http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-d-day-diorama-by-paul-a-freeman/#comments

Happy Writing!

'The Perfect Girl' Published in Australia

12/11/2017

The Perfect Girl

My daughter wrote a story titled The Perfect Girl, which in a way resembled the story line of the Tom Hanks film, Big. It concerned a girl who was over-aware of her physical appearance and wanted to be 'perfect'. At a tent on a seaside pier she tells a mysterious clairvoyant her wish and the woman grants it. Suffice to say all doesn't go well.

I helped Kimberly edit the story, then reworded areas of it until it was of a publishable standard and submitted it to Fast Fiction magazine where it was published in the Australian magazine's winter (summer in the northern hemisphere) issue.

What a proud moment for me, considering I did not get my first paid publishing credit until I was 36!

Below are links to my Global Short Story Competition winning story, my short-listed story for the National newspaper (Abu Dhabi's annual short story competition) and a story that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment:

http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-d-day-diorama-by-paul-a-freeman/#comments

Happy Writing!

October 24th, 2017

10/24/2017

New Toothbrush

I placed second in the Inter-Board Poetry Community competition for August with my humerous poem Ill-Used (about a new toothbrush), though a friend of mine found the later part of the poem a difficult read.

Anyhow, below is the link, followed by the poem (not for the feint-hearted), followed by the judge, Tim Mayo's assessment of my poem:

ibpc.webdelsol.com/2017/08

Ill-Used

I’ve been ill-used, no other word will do;
pristinely packaged, sanitised and new
a month ago I stood upon display
till someone paid to carry me away.

Once home, he placed me in a cup whose rim
was chipped and whose interior was grim.
Upon a shelf, inside his smallest room,
I stayed, alone, to contemplate my doom.

Next morning he adorned my head with gel –
my bristles had a fresh and minty smell.
But then he raised me up into his mouth
and brushed from east to west, from north to south.

I rubbed against decaying slabs of brown,
deep cavities, raw gums, a tarnished crown,
till finally he scrubbed his furry tongue,
an organ as malodorous as dung.

Each morning since, I’ve gagged upon his breath,
that rancid cavern’s stench is worse than Death,
with plaque and gummed up lips that dribble goo –
I’ve been ill-used, no other word will do.

(I love the conceit in this poem. It is well thought out and well executed. The rhyming couplets accentuate and underline the comedy of the poem. --Tim Mayo)

Below are links to my Global Short Story Competition winning story, my short-listed story for the National newspaper (Abu Dhabi's annual short story competition) and a story that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment:

http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/assets/october-ebook.pdf

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-d-day-diorama-by-paul-a-freeman/#comments

Happy Writing!