Punk Site Poetry With Cherry B: Shopoween

Cherry B is our punked up pumped up performance poet, who has been described as the The Punk Pam Ayers and The Cockney Cooper Clarke, and given its Halloween we’ll add the Erudite Elsa Lanchester to the list! She has returned from the beyond the grave with Shopoween, a suitably spooky poem exclusivey for The Punk Site. Cherry B had this to say about her new poem: “I love the concept of Halloween, I love how USA goes overboard in its traditions, so to make it clear I love it. But consumerism is taking over pushing out creativity. I also notice how being beautifully weird and different and alternative has been able to lead in this but those people that would mock or bully are blending in for one night only”

Shopoween

It’s a holiday for goths and alternative types, 

who wear their black like army stripes.

Shops are bursting from ceiling to floor,

Celebrating tribes, they usually ignore.

The season of the witch, who’s welcomed along?

And guys and ghouls marching strong.

It’s the creep show critters making their mark.,

It’s the Poundland costumes that glow in the dark.

It’s a great excuse to dress up creative and weird.

But ready-made costumes are not too revered.

Be whoever you fear, detest or admire.

There’s no judgement on your attire.

More commercial ideas like a Pumpkin patch

probably went to Asda and bought a dud batch, 

laid in a field like a mock up stunt, 

It’s a lazy style of treasure hunt.

There’s money to be made and it results in greed,

It’s not only Dracula that’s trying to make you bleed.

Cos those weird looking kids that you ridicule.

Rise to the occasion of looking cool.

Author, writer, poet, psychotherapist, professional swearer, dyspraxic and opinionated, words that define and illuminate qualities that feature within the personality of Cherry B. Straddling the Shakespearean themes of comedy and tragedy, teasing with laughter, then taunting those undesirables in society. One half of the unique Cherry & Peesh, who have embellished the punk ‘n folk scene with melodical tales and catchy tunes for the past five years. The duo released their latest album, Bigot’s Banquet, earlier this year and Cherry B is also collating a new volume of poetry and a novel for publishing in the new year.

“I’m busy writing a novel at the moment hopefully to be published next year, also another book of poems. Keeping busy with solo gigs and compère duties. Cherry & Peesh play Born Lippy in Newcastle on Wednesday 8th and then in Stockton on 11th”

Cherry B‘s debut collection of poetry and lyrics, Job Lot Of Rhymes, is available via Flapjack Press. Job Lot Of Rhymes spans three decades of Cherry B’s performance work. Political, societal and inclusive, it is uncompromising and passionate punk ’n roll poetics firing from the belly of social conscience. Cherry B also appears on her monthly radio show on Louder Than War Radio, Poetry Is The New Rock ’N Roll, that offers an hour of lyric led, spoken versed, genre smashing, musical adventure into the exploration of hidden poetry, that is often camouflaged behind powerful rhythms and riffs.