Poet Profile: Darren Scanlon
Greg JacobyBURSTOUT CONTRIBUTOR
Darren is a published author, with many childrens' novels and his own crime/gangster thriller 'The Danny Roberts Series'. He is also an avid poet, with 4 volumes, 'Positively Poetic 1, 2, 3 and 4'.
Darren Scanlon was born in 1965 and still lives in the English Northwest with his wife and family. A typical 'northern lad', his 'tell it like it is', sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek humour and writing style have earned him 5 Star Ratings on Amazon. His poetry, which he has been writing since the age of 16, is published on many websites including Write Here and High On Poems.
BurstOut has chosen to feature Darren and his poem 'Three Wise Monkeys' as, although written over 2 years ago, the poem has become somewhat poignant in this time of increasing political crises, and widening cultural divide:
THREE WISE MONKEYS
If you close your eyes
to the world outside,
will the fighting suddenly cease?
Will brother and sister
hold hands together
and build a new life of peace?
Does a person, born blind,
not hear the teeth grind
as disaster, from greed, is grown?
That because he can't see,
thinks we are all living free
and reaping the seeds we have sown?
If you block your ears
with hands wrapped in fear,
will the threat to life dissipate?
Will the tyrants and haters
and evil dictators,
finally open their gates?
Does a person born deaf
never fear for the death
of their family, children and friends?
That because they can't hear
there is nothing to fear
and life will go on without end?
If you seal your lips
with cold finger-tips,
will the shouting suddenly fade?
Will the human divide,
like a wound gaping wide,
start healing, to live a new day?
Does the person born dumb
think the world has become
a paradise, lost overnight?
That because he cant speak
other people will seek
to live, instead of just fight?
You cannot deny
what you see with your eyes,
you cannot block out all the pain.
You cannot ignore
what is outside your door
or hiding in a jesters refrain.
You must listen close
to the schemes they propose
and act for the good of mankind.
Please listen and learn
how to make the wars turn
and leave all the suffering behind.
You have to speak out
and don't fear to shout,
if you know that your cause is just.
Speak out for the ones
who are cowed by the bombs,
before we are all turned to dust.
_____
Written by Darren Scanlon, 24th June 2014.
Revised by Darren Scanlon, 11th July 2015.
©2015 Darren Scanlon. All rights reserved.
His work to date includes:
THE BOOK OF LOOPS AND LAUGHTER. An illustrated collection of comical and educational poems for children and adults of all ages.
ALPHABET ZOO. An illustrated children's 'ABC' book.
A MOUSE'S TALE. An illustrated children's novel.
HEY UP, MATRON! His debut novel which is a laugh-out-loud, roller-coaster ride through a day in the life of a NHS hospital ward. Told from the point of view of the long-suffering patients, the book is based on his own real-life experiences.
BROKEN ANGEL and BROKEN WINGS. The first two books of his gritty crime/gangster thriller 'The Danny Roberts Series'.
POSITIVELY POETIC VOL'S 1, 2, 3 & 4. Four volumes into his on-going poetry collections.
For full details of his entire works, visit http://darrenscanlon.worpress.com
All books are available in paperback and Amazon Kindle here.
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