What labours must we endure to get there? What effort of muscle and will to arrive? What pains must we suffer under its whip? What concentration of thought and mind? What dust and blood were we forced to swallow? In what dirt and mud must we struggle? As we walk to the horizon What depths … Continue reading Lost Horizon
Author: Simon Elmer
The Unclimbed Mountain
Fate is the force that pushes the water Down the valley, out of the glacier; Life the contingency of the path it takes, Now meandering through an alpine lake Where many streams converge and divide, Now carving channels steep as water slides, Hurling themselves, contemptuous of safety, With the roar of a lifetime’s worth of … Continue reading The Unclimbed Mountain
No Man’s Land
Till over us we heard the waters close. xxxxxxxxxxxxxx— Dante, Inferno 1. England Welcome aboard South Western Railway’s Service to Dorking. Calling at Earlsfield, Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Worcester Park, Stoneleigh, Ewell West, Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead, Boxhill & Westhumble, And Dorking. Inside my head I count the seconds Before the voice begins again. Please ensure you … Continue reading No Man’s Land
The More Deceived
When your local branch of Stand Up To Racism Contacted you through the WhatsApp smartphone tree, You cancelled your holiday in the Ukraine (Where you’d planned to feed the starving refugees) And went to the demonstration in Walthamstow In your orange bib, keffiyeh and Palestine flag. How you cheered, whistled, clapped your hands and waved … Continue reading The More Deceived
The Wave
Till over us we heard the waters close. xxxxxxxxxxxxxx— Dante, Inferno The wave that gathered off our eastern shore, Rose on the horizon, blotted out the sun, Engulfed in darkness the lighthouse towers That might have warned us of its swift approach, Drained the springs that flowed from our hills So that all in its … Continue reading The Wave
The End
The name over the bar was ‘Mood For Love’, Drinking in which, we hoped, would put us In the same mood as Wong Kar-wai’s film, Which we’d failed to see in two years of searching In Hong Kong’s commercial cinemas. But, in memory of Douglas Adams, We christened it ‘The Bar in the Hotel At … Continue reading The End
Top 50 British Films
While in London this summer I met two young filmmakers during a night out in Soho. She was from the Ukraine; he, I think, from Italy, and we discussed cinema and our favourite films, mine being largely Russian, Swedish, Italian, French and Japanese, with also, more recently, Iranian and Chinese. When the lamentable state of … Continue reading Top 50 British Films
Rutting Season
The toxic masculinity Of rutting stags in Richmond Park Is not an accusation That could be levelled at this hart Who whiles away these autumn days (My fallen antlers nests for birds) Reading about English hinds Being mounted by foreign herds. — September 2025 • • • • • Richmond Park is a royal park … Continue reading Rutting Season
England
Welcome aboard South Western Railway’s Service to Dorking. Calling at Earlsfield, Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Worcester Park, Stoneleigh, Ewell West, Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead, Boxhill & Westhumble, And Dorking. Inside my head I count the seconds Before the voice begins again. Please ensure you have a valid ticket. Anyone without a valid ticket Or payment method, will … Continue reading England
God is Greater
The beast we bred in Brussels has broken out of prison And squats today on Europa’s breast. It was not made To keep us safe from harm but locked in indecision. And now he crawls the unlit kerbs of every street at night, Preying on the victims they’ve assigned for sacrifice, And every park and … Continue reading God is Greater
Simon Elmer 