professor

Member since January 25, 2008

Member for 18 years, 4 months

member

91 Poems

1,278 Comments

4 Followers

Most recent

Patches

Posted Sep 4, 2014 · 49 lines · 7 critiques

It started when
the coat was almost new,
caught on rust-streaked spikes
of a school-ground prison…..
Patches!
Invisible at first,
an extra pocket
or designer label;
no one suspected
hidden damage.
But the scar remained,
quickly joined by
brothers, sisters,
uncles, cousins.

Read the rest of the poem Show less

Then strangers
drove their opinions,
and other more physical
appendages,
through its crumpled fabric;
patches and coat
indistinguishable,
buttoned up tight
to keep everything out.
Razor drawn thighs
in clenched relief
as the dark-coated men
emerged from
the hidden recesses
of your tattered Psyche,
threatening with fingers
and twisted mouths
into huddled corners.
Terror patched
by white coats,
needles and
thought numbing pills.

But still the coat remains,
resisting the cold
of endless winter nights.
The patches have held,
and somehow sanity
of a kind has emerged
to convince those who
see beneath the fabric,
stitched and laddered
beyond any kind of
outlandish fashion,
that there is always
a way to foster hope.

professor’s timeline

July 2025
27 Sun

New follower
@Candlewitch
January 2023
24 Tue

Anniversary
15 years of membership
January 2018
24 Wed

Anniversary
10 years of membership
September 2014
05 Fri

Received a critique
on Patches from @Janice Pearce
"Simplicity vs complexity, Great poem all the way around Professor"
05 Fri

Received a critique
on Patches from @emeka ozurumba
"this is wonderful prose poetry"
04 Thu

Received a critique
on Patches from @Seren
"I'll come back when I'm more composed, just brought me to tears So sadly beautiful, it shatters my heart Love you BB xxxxx"
04 Thu

Received a critique
on Patches from @emeka ozurumba
"good dais like in ascension of thought, i like the progression, and most of all the semantics is gravitational, not frictional"
04 Thu

Posted a poem
Patches
"It started when"
Open thread 49 lines
April 2014
12 Sat

Critiqued
"Reflections On A Song By Simon and Garfunkel" by @Lonnie
"and I have always loved their lyrics as well as music. I liked your poem as well Lonnie although perhaps you might consider exchanging "ere" for "yet" in verse 3 and I found the rhythm in verse 5 suffered a little due t…"
07 Mon

Received a critique
on Reflections on a shooting star from @weirdelf
"'Star crossed' Is much worse, almost plagiarism. There is a word that appeared in your subconscious, which sounds like 'wrecked', I can't quite place it."
07 Mon

Received a critique
on Reflections on a shooting star from @Ian.T
"The write is grand, the lady who is something to behold , there yet out of reach, sounds like a love story from a distance, held as I have to, a memory of a touch and closeness of minds that never fades as time here pas…"
07 Mon

Received a critique
on Reflections on a shooting star from @raj
"This is a wonderful ovation for a loved one, honest and straightforward as scripted in many a beutiful emoting line. Thanks for posting. Regards,"
06 Sun

Critiqued
"Shadow Valley" by @raj
"I really like your use of imagery, especially in the first half of the poem. In the second half you shift to describe your thoughts and feelings of emptiness and I feel perhaps you have included too much repetition of w…"
06 Sun

Received a critique
on Reflections on a shooting star from @weirdelf
"You have been missed. A beautifully written and authentic piece. Authentic might seem a strange word to use here until one considers that most love poetry sounds phoney through cliche and sentimentality. The line She is…"
06 Sun

New follower
@Seren
06 Sun

New follower
@loved
06 Sun

Critiqued
"At Your Side" by @Ian.T
"Well I'm back for a while at least. This is a very heartfelt expression of support made more poignant for me since I know who it concerns. This is therefore not a poem I want to critique, only applaud. Sometimes words a…"
05 Sat

Posted a poem
Reflections on a shooting star
"Ephemeral and bright, piercing through"
Open thread 20 lines
05 Sat

Critiqued
"transcendence" by @Seren
"Since I heard nothing back from you recently I thought I had better come back and check out what you were writing about :-). Looking down from up there surely does offer a new perspective on life, on death, and I am gla…"
January 2013
24 Thu

Anniversary
5 years of membership
January 2011
18 Tue

New follower
@theladyblue
01 Sat

Critiqued
""Happy New Year" " by @shirley harrison
"Beautiful sentiments you have expressed here and hopefully at least some will be fulfilled. Love Keithy"
November 2010
02 Tue

Critiqued
"wind through wattle " by @judyanne
"Yes I think it works fine....and of course there is always poetic licence lol. Keith x"
October 2010
31 Sun

Critiqued
""How many great loves do i get in my lifetime" written in English and Italian!" by @shirley harrison
"Yes I realise that the Italian version is the same as the original Enlglish one, but the English one ended up undergoing a few revisions so they don't quite match each other any more. Not that it matters of course lol…"
31 Sun

Critiqued
""How many great loves do i get in my lifetime" written in English and Italian!" by @shirley harrison
"I have already seen this one of course and like it very much. However, just to be my regular pain in the backside, I wanted to say that I notice the Italian version is not exactly the same as the English one....most not…"
30 Sat

Posted a poem
Hands Across the Park
"The New York winter sun"
Open thread 38 lines
June 2010
25 Fri

Posted a poem
Illicit love
"I love you,"
Open thread 76 lines
19 Sat

Posted a poem
Bad poets' society!
"I once met a man who told me bad verse"
Open thread 34 lines
April 2010
04 Sun

Posted a poem
A Lover's Promise
"I’ll be your only fantasy,"
Open thread 15 lines
February 2010
13 Sat

Posted a poem
Tap..tap
"Tap, tap…breaks the weary dream"
Open thread 30 lines
05 Fri

Posted a poem
One last memory
"If only they had seen"
Open thread 42 lines
December 2009
05 Sat

Posted a poem
Vanity
" "
Open thread 38 lines
November 2009
28 Sat

Posted a poem
Second Sight
"Earth spins, miasmic"
Open thread 60 lines
13 Fri

Posted a poem
To a Mermaid
"My heart told me she loved me -"
Open thread 21 lines
October 2009
27 Tue

Posted a poem
Taste of real life, bagels and chocolate
"Another kitchen morning."
Open thread 54 lines
May 2009
24 Sun

Critique milestone
1,000 critiques given
January 2009
24 Sat

Anniversary
One year of membership
October 2008
15 Wed

Highest posting month
October 2008 — 6 poems
April 2008
06 Sun

Most-discussed work
Come play this old piano

61 critiques to date.
January 2008
26 Sat

First critique offered
on "Gemstones" by @poewriter58
26 Sat

First publication
Images of love
24 Thu

Joined Neopoet
Membership begins

First poem published 1 days later.

About Me

About me

I am a Professor in Neuroscience and Medicine (Psychiatry and Neurology) in the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and at Huaxi and Provincial Hospitals in Chengdu. I am from the UK (Cambridge) originally but have now decided to live and work for the rest of my life in China. I actually have an Arts rather than a Science background and have been writing poetry since I was a child.

Location: China/Sichuan/Chengdu, CHN

Favorite Poets

Yeats

Elliot

Auden

Keats

Shelley

Byron

Contest Wins

This member has not yet won any contests.

15 years of membership

10 years of membership

on Patches from @Janice Pearce

on Patches from @emeka ozurumba

on Patches from @Seren

on Patches from @emeka ozurumba

"Reflections On A Song By Simon and Garfunkel" by @Lonnie

on Reflections on a shooting star from @weirdelf

on Reflections on a shooting star from @Ian.T

on Reflections on a shooting star from @raj

"Shadow Valley" by @raj

on Reflections on a shooting star from @weirdelf

"At Your Side" by @Ian.T

"transcendence" by @Seren

5 years of membership

""Happy New Year" " by @shirley harrison

"wind through wattle " by @judyanne

""How many great loves do i get in my lifetime" written in English and Italian!" by @shirley harrison

""How many great loves do i get in my lifetime" written in English and Italian!" by @shirley harrison

1,000 critiques given

One year of membership

October 2008 — 6 poems

on "Gemstones" by @poewriter58

Membership begins

About Me

Recent Work

Contest Wins

Workshops

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