But I Smile Anyway…

Today I am thrilled to be able to host my dear blogging pal, His Geoffleship, aka Geoff Le Pard, on my blog, as he introduces his amazing new poetry collection, The Sincerest Form of Poetry.

And here’s the Blurb:

All of life in one easy couplet

To write poetry I need inspiration. Often that comes from my appreciation of the craftsmanship of other, better poets, whose skills I aspire to emulate. For this anthology, I have chosen two such sources: in part one, the search for Britain’s favourite poem led to the publication of the top 100 and I have used a number of these to craft my own take on those beautiful and inspirational works; in part two, my love of the sonnet form, fostered by
reading Shakespeare’s gems has provided a selection covering many topics and themes. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed creating them.

If you know of our dear Geoffles, already, you’ll be aware of his writing talent, having released several novels, and short story anthologies, already, and who can forget his short stories and flash fiction pieces on his blog? (I wonder where his mind wanders, sometimes…) Check it all out on his blog, here!

Anywho… I asked Geoff to choose a particularly poignant poem from his new anthology, along with a reason for why he selected that particular verse, and this is what he came up with.

Over to you, His Geoffleship!

The Hand That Guides
Your consoling hand sits light on my sleeve,
A confident tap to release me on four;
We set sail, in step, gliding with ease
Past blind spots and missteps strewn on the floor.
I fumble to catch that elusive toe-tap
Which, if I could, would allow me my head.
You remind me, by way of a quick finger snap,
Of the dangers where taking that path might lead.
I continually try to do it my way,
To give into weakness of flesh and of soul
But you hold my love tight; I cannot stray
And we remain linked; two parts of one whole.
May it always be thus as we gib and we tack;
Both looking forward, your hand at my back.

I wanted to write a poem to my fabulous wife, a thank you really for being in the right placeat the right time for us to meet and to give in (a bit too easily maybe) to my blandishments.
And because it was to be a love poem, it just had to be a sonnet.
But then again the sonnet is just 14 lines; how do you capture that essence?
When I wrote this we had been married 30 years and together for nearer 40. We had many pleasures we enjoyed together (stop sniggering at the back, this is serious) and many which were our own. One that was ours and not really anyone else’s was our love of dancing.
Weekly we’d take a lesson and gradually improve our waltz or cha cha cha, laughing, learning, loving. It’s both an intimate thing and a selfish skill that must be employed to gain the most enjoyment. And maybe more than any other it is a team exercise. Of course, we work as a team, in harness emotionally and familially, but this is a physical team at work and
possibly unique for all that in our relationship. So using our dancing experiences as the kernel for the metaphor of what makes us work as a team in all situations became the base for my poem.
When we dance there are two very specific parts of the process where each of us brings an extra skill to the party. I’ve never found it difficult to learn the steps, to understand the dynamics of the turns, the angles we need to achieve, the moments of longeur and the times when speed is essential; she understands the music, the rhythms and pacing, knowing if my
inclination to focus on the mechanics is taking us away from the music. And as a metaphor for our marriage that’s true too. I’m the obviously dynamic one, the one up front loud and excited. And she allows me my head until… until my enthusiasm and need to get things done, to get on with things begins to challenge the overall plan. Ironically, because in a car we
undertake the opposite roles often, but in life I tend to drive and she to map read.
And together we make the steps, keep on the beat and move forward, two gliding as one.

Perhaps the one essential I didn’t capture here is our shared laughter; the critical piece, the glue, the cheese in the sarnie, the oil in the dressing. But then again, I rather hope some of the imagery will make the reader smile and that will do nicely.

Thank you, so much for that heartfelt piece, His Geoffleship!

Now, I was lucky enough to read the book in advance, and let me tell you, it’s a great little read! I giggled at his ‘amendments’ to ssome classics, in Part One, and ‘Please, Mrs Patterson’, really resonated with me, as a teacher! ‘We’re All Santas Now’, had me laughing out loud, garnering some funny looks from my son! Part two is filled with sonnets that are truly Geoffled, as in, his own, not some tweaked versions, ranging from covering some serious issues, to humorous, as well as cricket, for which I know His Geoffleship has a special love! A wonderful read which can be devoured in one sitting, or savoured at pleasure, picking up the book to read snippets of rhyme and cadence at your will. Loved it!

More about Geoff LePard

Geoff Le Pard started writing to entertain in 2006. He hasn’t left his keyboard since. When he’s not churning out novels he writes some maudlin self-indulgent poetry, short fiction and blogs at geofflepard.com. He walks the dog for mutual inspiration and most of his best ideas come out of these strolls. He also cooks with passion if not precision.

My Father and Other Liars is a thriller set in the near future and takes its heroes, Maurice and Lori-Ann on a helter-skelter chase across continents.

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Dead Flies and Sherry Trifle is a coming of age story. Set in 1976 the hero Harry Spittle is home from university for the holidays. He has three goals: to keep away from his family, earn money and hopefully have sex. Inevitably his summer turns out to be very different to that anticipated.

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In this, the second book in the Harry Spittle Sagas, it’s 1981 and Harry is training to be a solicitor. His private life is a bit of a mess and he’s far from convinced the law is for him. Then an old acquaintance from his hotel days appears demanding Harry write his will. When he dies somewhat mysteriously a few days later and leaves Harry in charge of sorting out his affairs, Harry soon realises this will be no ordinary piece of work. After all, his now deceased client inherited a criminal empire and several people are very interested in what is to become of it.

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The third instalment of the Harry Spittle Sagas moves on the 1987. Harry is now a senior lawyer with a well-regarded City of London firm, aspiring to a partnership. However, one evening Harry finds the head of the Private Client department dead over his desk, in a very compromising situation. The senior partner offers to sort things out, to avoid Harry embarrassment but soon matters take a sinister turn and Harry is fighting for his career, his freedom and eventually his life as he wrestles with dilemma on dilemma. Will Harry save the day? Will he save himself? 

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Life in a Grain of Sand is a 30 story anthology covering many genres: fantasy, romance, humour, thriller, espionage, conspiracy theories, MG and indeed something for everyone. All the stories were written during Nano 2015.

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Salisbury Square is a dark thriller set in present day London where a homeless woman and a Polish man, escaping the police at home, form an unlikely alliance to save themselves. 

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Buster & Moo is about about two couples and the dog whose ownership passes from one to the other. When the couples meet, via the dog, the previously hidden cracks in their relationships surface and events begin to spiral out of control. If the relationships are to survive there is room for only one hero but who will that be?

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Life in a Flash is a set of super short fiction, flash and micro fiction that should keep you engaged and amused for age.

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Apprenticed To My Mother describes the period after my father died when I thought I was to play the role of dutiful son, while Mum wanted a new, improved version of her husband – a sort of Desmond 2.0. We both had a lot to learn in those five years, with a lot of laughs and a few tears as we went.

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Life in a Conversation is an anthology of short and super short fiction that explores connections through humour, speech and everything besides. If you enjoy the funny, the weird and the heart-rending then you’ll be sure to find something here.

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When Martin suggests to Pete and Chris that they spend a week walking, the Cotswolds Way, ostensibly it’s to help Chris overcome the loss of his wife, Diane. Each of them, though, has their own agenda and, as the week progresses, cracks in their friendship widen with unseen and horrifying consequences.

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Famous poets reimagined, sonnets of all kinds, this poerty selection has something for all tastes, from the funny, to the poignant to the thought-provoking and always written with love and passion.

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Find Geoff Le Pard at these places:

Website/blog: https://geofflepard.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/geoff.lepard

Amazon: Amazon Author Page