[Poem] The Closing Chapter

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedThe story's at its ending. The hero,
More inspirational than most I meet
On each ashen street, there within the heat
Of life—it is time to leave that hero.
But close this book—abandon my hero?!
No, let me rebel! I will not be beat
By the printed words that lay on each sheet!
The dread sets in—don't leave me at zero...

But what if this is exactly what's meant
By the book as a "living word" of man?
Perhaps it is my duty to present
All his ideas in the best way I can.
In how I live and breathe, I'll be unbent:
This is just the start of a long lifespan.

The Closing Chapter ~ A Poem by Tom Shaw

Firstly, I give a big thank-you to all of those who have been reading my poems over the past weeks, months, and years. My only goal in mind when I began writing poetry was to create something that helped me make sense of the world. It has been a pleasure to discover that many other people enjoy reading my efforts too, and I have been blessed to travel the world—physically and online—to share some of those pieces.

Since the humble beginnings of a flat-share in Newcastle, England, I’ve noticed my goal has begun to shift. It’s not solely about me any more: it’s about you. I speak to so many people who have found value in my poetry, and I think part of this is due to how I’m providing a way of making sense of the world that isn’t purely informational journalism or fact-filled podcasts. With so many great people now writing about the nitty-gritty of what’s happening in the world, the next step is to find ways to integrate this knowledge into our everyday lives.

It’s about asking questions like:

• Where do I see the impact of false narratives in my personal life?
• When I experience something that stirs an emotion in me, what am I being encouraged to address?
• What can I do in the here and now to begin making the world free of coercive control?

Poetry is a vehicle that can translate that knowledge into much deeper reason and motivation to do something. This is what I’m becoming more cognisant of as I continue to write, and my future efforts will focus on inspiring change on more specific, tangible elements of living. I may well do this in collaboration or support of the various initiatives that are being that change already, or narrow-in on specific topics where feeding a cultural momentum may be useful in creating change (like etheric technology, perhaps?)

There will still be poetry. I will still share personal stories and insights. Some of the things I have recently announced are still in the works. But they will all be in service of a mission: to help communication and sense-making.

That's where we are going. At the same time, we can’t get there without properly acknowledging the journey to get to this point. So, to celebrate how far we’ve come, I’ve created a new poetry book to mark the occasion.

This is Rewritten Rules.

This project started from a place of purely personal desire. I didn’t want to have four different poetry books—and printouts from this Substack and from my unpublished archive—to carry with me whenever I do live readings. I wanted all my best pieces in one place. So I made this book, and then I realised: this is the best way to enjoy the best work I’ve done thus far—and everyone should have the opportunity to read that.

If you’ve been looking for a place to start with my poetry: this is the book you should get.

If you’ve been reading every week and want to show your gratitude for the words you’ve received: this is the book you should get.

If you know someone who would be inspired by my words: this is the book you should get.

My previous poetry books will remain available. I know some people really enjoy the small form factor (so do I!) They are books that work well in their own right. Rewritten Rules is the ultimate companion to those books, providing an even deeper experience that is different from my mini-collections of the past.

To complete the experience, I then had the excellent Ulysses XYZ provide the cover design, completing the package in a way that fully celebrates human creativity—no AI-generated material to be found.

For the richest experience of my poetry: this is the book you should get.

It will only be available physically as a hardback - the only written form that can deliver the most profound experience—and I will ship to as many countries as I can to ensure you get to read it.

You can find it on Amazon for £21.99… however, don’t buy it from Amazon. At that pricepoint, I only keep £0.52 from each sale—the rest goes to a company that is buying rare books and destroying them for the sake of AI. My own website is currently under reconstruction, but you can still buy it direct from my distributor, Lulu for the same price—and I keep a much larger cut, which goes straight back into my website, printing costs, and maybe a cup of tea if there’s some left over. Use the button below to head straight there:

And now that we’ve rewritten the rules, we can play a better game. It’s possible I may never make another poetry book like this. I foresee that any future words, poems and collections will be created with a specific theme, topic or cause in mind. There will be plenty more exciting things to come, even if they don’t look fully the same as what has come before.

Thank you for making the time to read this piece. I look forward to bringing you more soon.

With gratitude,

Tom