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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright

@mervynspoet.bsky.social

210 followers 170 following 200 posts

Mervyn Seivwright writes to balance social consciousness & #poetry craft for humane growth. 2021/2023 Pushcart Nom with #poems in 80 Journals in 13 countries & a new collection, Stick, Hook, & a Pile of Yarn. https://www.clippings.me/users/mervynseivwright

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Dec 6

Hello #Bluesky.
I am thankful for meeting my first 100 followers. The #poetrycommunity here had been a blessing.

The link is my #poetry collection 'Stick, Hook, and a Pile of Yarn,' through Broken Sleep Books.
#amwriting #poem #poetsonbluesky

www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page...

Mervyn Seivwright - Stick, Hook, and a Pile of Yarn | Broken Sleep Books

Stick, Hook, and a Pile of Yarn is a collection of poems centred around a coming-of-age nomad-story that was conceived and weaved into place far from the speaker’s family and the world he has previously known. Mervyn Seivwright shares his seasons of growth into adolescence navigating his new country and blended family from England to America in the 1980s, deftly presenting a tapestry of poems and scenes into a single narrative, and a rich journey.

www.brokensleepbooks.com

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Jun 15

I am thankful to the editors of Loud Coffee Press for publishing this poem, “If We Remember.”

Link: (Page 8)
www.loudcoffeepress.com/lcp-issue-20

#loudcoffeepress #brokensleepbooks #spaldingmfa #amwriting #poetrylife #poetry #poet #StickHookandaPileofYarn

If We Remember

In a South London elderly home, the residents had finished their midday
meal, now marionettes with strings unstressed, sunken into each puffed

red lazy chair around the room. Our uncle was wide-eyed, shifting
in his ninety-seventh loop around the sun. His now and memories

are dancing, fleeting memories selfish for attention in his mind.
Then, I shifted time selfishly, the marionettes latched me to a summer

between college years, working with my mum, watching her
with seasoned residents, a lead bee swiftly hopping within a hive,

bringing care, communicating, coaxing, carrying those with frail tree
branches, frames waving in the wind. The sound of the domino box

ting on the table, jolted me back with our uncle, his eyes shining as I
swirled the domino cards, as we Jamaicans called them. Touching

the dominoes, uncle was tethered to this instant, seventies Abba songs
filling the room from the television blending with domino card clacks,

the staccato coughs and moans from those in their time-locked slumber
around us, great-uncle, niece, great-nephew gathered around a serving table,

being present, taking videos to slow down the string of time racing
through fingers, holding on to the moment he said domino.

Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · May 29

@keithwilsonpoet.bsky.social Hello, respected Sir. I was at a school and met a young man who wants to get into game writing. Is there a way to point him towards finding a game manuscript to see what it looks like and the expectations? Thank you.

Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Apr 23

www.peepaltreepress.com/blog/inscrib...

#Poetry #Poet #amwriting #SpaldingMFA #poetrylife #writerslife #Blacktwitter #published #writer #poetryislife #poetlife #poetrycommunity #poetsofinstagram #spilledink #poetryisnotdead #poetsandwriters #poetscorner #poetscafe #voicesofpoets #writingcommunity

Inscribe: Submitting poetry to publications with Mervyn Seivwright | Peepal Tree Press

Inscribe: Submitting poetry to publications with Mervyn SeivwrightDate: Saturday 24 May, 11am–4pmVenue: OnlinePrice: £12 to £20Book online

www.peepaltreepress.com

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Apr 15

Inscribe: Submitting poetry to publications with Mervyn Seivwright www.peepaltreepress.com/blog/inscrib...

#poet #bluesky #poetry #poetryworkshop #poem #poetrysubmissions

Inscribe: Submitting poetry to publications with Mervyn Seivwright | Peepal Tree Press

Inscribe: Submitting poetry to publications with Mervyn SeivwrightDate: Saturday 24 May, 11am–4pmVenue: OnlinePrice: £12 to £20Book online

www.peepaltreepress.com

Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Apr 2

Thanks to the Editors, I cannot wait to see my words represented in The Hong Kong Review. #poem #poetry #writerslife #poetlife

The Hong Kong Review @thehongkongreview.bsky.social · Apr 1

We're thrilled to give you a sneak peek at the front and back covers of our upcoming special issue.

Reposted by Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright

Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Mar 14

Hi #BlueSky!
Sharing a #poem just #published about my way to move forward in this social #climate. “In the kaleidoscope of autumn leaves.”

thebrokenspine.co.uk/product/sele...

#thebrokenspine #brokensleepbooks #spaldingmfa #amwriting #poetrylife #poetry #poet #StickHookandaPileofYarn

In the kaleidoscope of autumn leaves

Mervyn Seivwright

I look for light, the harmonizing glow,
the fiery feeling, yet the leaves flash
to brittle browning more hastily

this year. I wish to greet each set of eyes
locked with my energy this day, the gift

of breath seems an embrace enough
with icons falling as age-old oak trees
once on fertile, now gritty frail ground.

I need to be the lighthouse, the fog thicker,
the rocks sharper, the sea, an unrestricted

unrest. I seek to be a space, listening,
tender bliss enough for that moment,
cheerfulness harvests a smile in return

and even when it’s too cold to snow
joyful tears can still warm cheeks to chin.

If I could crack the egg layers of anxiety
we hyper sow from the ones and zeroes

slinging our eyes across screen projecting
successive voices in an alley cat yard
peeling skin from each end of the compass,

I could be the sun, a torch for the heart
of shared accepted teddy bear hugs, forest

green moss breathing life in lungs, be the instant
when hope encompasses us. I would know

when the shadows compress with darkening
cracks, a pinhole of acute light would find a way.

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Mar 14

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Reposted by Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright

NEMO @nemoetry.bsky.social · Feb 25

here's hoping
#poem #poetry #imissfallallothertimesofyear

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Reposted by Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright

Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Feb 9

Blessings #Blueesky! Today, I share my first publication of the year from the editors of The Basilisk Tree, my poem, “My Echoed Instants.

#Basilisktree #brokensleepbooks #spaldingmfa #amwriting #poetrylife #poetry #poet #StickHookandaPileofYarn #poetrylife

basilisktree.com/-v3i1-mervyn...

---V3I1 Mervyn Seivwright

basilisktree.com

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Reposted by Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright

Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Feb 14

Hello #Bluesky!
I can finally share my poem, “Presently Me,” which was one of two finalists for the 2023 C.P. Cavafy Poetry Prize.

#poetryinternationalonline #poetryintl #brokensleepbooks #spaldingmfa #amwriting #poetrylife #poetry #poet

@followers
poetryinternationalonline.com/presently-me/

Presently Me - POETRY INTERNATIONAL

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIn19@

poetryinternationalonline.com

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Feb 14

Presently Me - POETRY INTERNATIONAL

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIn19@

poetryinternationalonline.com

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Feb 9

#Bluesky

Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Feb 9

---V3I1 Mervyn Seivwright

basilisktree.com

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Feb 8

Grand Rising #bluesky
This is a #poem #published from a future collection to share.

#poet #poetry #poetsofbluesky #blacksky #BlueskyPoets
#poetrycommunity #SpaldingMFA #amwriting #Skypoets #poetlife

Sunrising From the Mind - XVII

I bring the shadows to the river, wider

from spring showers, carving the banks deeper.
The moss has painted itself here. The path

of the valley, thinner to tread while my shadow plays
bounce and blend in breaks betwixt broken trunks,
stone stairs, tall sliding stones. My thoughts vanish,

feeling the river’s trickle and white bubble-womps.

My skin is sensitive to the air with quilted comfort.

Each thrush and blackbird are tweaking solos.
It is here I ground my feet in the soaked soil and fuse.

Reposted by Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright

Aubri Kaufman @aubrirose.bsky.social · Feb 5

idk who needs to hear this but you’re a writer. even if you’re not writing right now. your identity is not dependent on your production.

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Feb 5

Thank you. I am not producing as much, but holding myself to one new poem per week, and if, if it uses my voice, then I insert hope in some way, somehow, even if, a pinhole of light.

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Reposted by Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright

Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Feb 1

Hello #bluesky
Sharing a new #poem previously published by Poetry.Onl in 2022.

#poet #poetry #poetsofbluesky #blacksky #BlueskyPoets
#poetrycommunity #SpaldingMFA #amwriting #Skypoets #poetlife

Manifest Predestinate Man

Society inculcates us to chase
our goals never surrender
mining through mountains

what makes a man
a shepherd the long
warmth of arms—embracing

what makes a man
a shepherd the long
crooked stick—swinging

an acorn crushed
in a man’s hands
will breed no generations

acreages of land
claimed when it is tilled
by one man’s order

possessing a populace
grains of DNA
in a rat’s jolting-labyrinth

disloyal blood grated
irrigating the grime
is a required tribute

infinite seeds slip
through fingers
of small town folks

adolescent breathless bones
the mortar of tenement tower
rubble a restraining cage of souls

human festering fertilization
stench does not stain
clinical high-rise-arched palaces

if vocal cords can be severed
unable to vibrate erupt
trade winds will sputter voices hiss

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Reposted by Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright

Holly Jahangiri @jahangiri.us · Jan 30

Good morning! Here's a #poem for today. First time writing a #contrapuntal poem. Neither as hard (nor quite as easy) as it looked. Thanks for introducing me to the form, @mervynspoet.bsky.social

#Blueskypoetry #poetrycommunity #formalverse #thestaffordchallenge

A poem:

Progress, They Call It (a Contrapuntal Poem - every other line comprises a standalone poem, then the two are woven together)

progress, they call it: slashing, burning, progress—
can’t stop the forward motion of a nation!
encroaching, elbowing, uprooting the living
who would want to thwart the people’s will, or kill the
canopy of verdant sunlit trees that once breathed
sweet aroma of crisply minted bills enrobed in leather with
our exhalations. we breathed theirs until they gasped
the faintest whiff of manliness, invoking will,
their last, until they fell to saw and ax, bulldozed
determination. ancestors’ words forgotten as new money’s
burned to make a way for strip malls and
wealth, unfettered by past sense, decorum, grows,
power lines—such progress don’t go well with pines—
it goes to feed the engines of industry that only thrive
incinerating cedar selves in swirling smoke
coal-fired on the backs of miners, steelworkers, “little people”—
their ashes drifting heavenwards and carried
those dispensable, extra mouths to feed until
on the santa ana winds to add a colored layer
the robots shove them off a cliff
to the cliffs of palo duro choking out the summer sun.

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Feb 1

Hello #bluesky
Sharing a new #poem previously published by Poetry.Onl in 2022.

#poet #poetry #poetsofbluesky #blacksky #BlueskyPoets
#poetrycommunity #SpaldingMFA #amwriting #Skypoets #poetlife

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Feb 1

There is an interesting form in play. You take each phrase from the first stanza and they become the corresponding first lines for the other stanzas in the poem.

Reposted by Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright

Rob Miles @robmilespoetry.bsky.social · Jan 12

Emerging from the obligatory seasonal head cold right in the gap before work of course, I see the news and would quite like a rewind button. I can confirm, however, that this @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social volume is really very good - and healing.

www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page...

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Reposted by Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright

Nikki Dudley @nikkidudleywriter.bsky.social · Jan 31

My pamphlet, Erode with Me, came out with Broken Sleep Books, one year ago!

Happy book birthday to me 🥳

If you want to check it out, it's available on their site!

#PoetsOfBluesky #PoetryCommunity #PoetryBooks

@brokensleepbooks.bsky.social

Orange book cover with red swirls on it. The title is Erode with Me by Nikki Dudley

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Jan 31

#brokensleepbooksauthors samesies.

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Mervyn "Deep Cobra" Seivwright @mervynspoet.bsky.social · Jan 31

It was way too greasy. I had a friend who went for the chicken gizzards. I know now it was a targeted ill health food place to black communities.