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Showing posts from 2015

June poetry days - 15, 16, 17.

Glue  Experiment Your colour palette glues me to you Experiment with me and find my truth My meaning is yours so tangle me In your hands and catch my glitter Statuesque Politicise these curves Drag me screaming Your cause is not mine  Go create your storm That teacup is calling you

June days 12, 13 and 14!

Boxes Knife Ineptitude Ineptitude hides me, boxing me in Hauls me by my scruff and shakes hard Stifles my breath and grinds my teeth Plucks at my skin and leaves a burn Ruins my hair and makes my face a joke But the knife slices me free and the box lies empty.

June poetry days 10, 11 and 12.

Joy Forest Boxes The box lies on the mat, fat and waiting It sits, ambivalent and pleased with itself While you circle it and wonder why Nothing has been ordered you think And that suspicion creeps fast towards you A joke perhaps or something more Something worthwhile that a forest fell And is still falling to bring mysterious treats To a doorstep far away In the hope of joy awakening

June days 8 and 9

There's a haiku here, a sure sign of playing poetry catch up! Solitude Solitude wraps me in a blanket and offers a broad shoulder to cry on Newt A scaled foot in weed, The eye, watching you looking. Blinks and disappears.

June poetry days 6 and 7 - Sunburn and Sea

The sea carries its sunburn lightly tonight Dipping beneath the waves to sail the sky For the waking of the other side of the world

June poetry days 4 and 5 - behind already!! Indecision and Mindful

Indecision The indecision is mine The consequence yours I fight my troubled mind While you argue with yours If I turn away it is not in hate I have released you Accept it Mindful Thinking about Creator God The planet The seas People all over the world Everyone in my community Everyone not in my community Just everyone Keep some room for me. Be kind Thoughtful Remember others Try hard Do your best Accept the reality of your situation Strive Be brave Love Live.

Poetry day 3 - Kettle

Kettle Polly puts the kettle on when she is fed up.   This is a mistake because as she slams the dented red metal down on the kitchen table, hot water takes its cue and leaps out.   She watches as the scalding stream hisses towards her arm, bare to the elbow and waits for the bite.   She could have moved but she chose not to.   She could have screamed but she chose not to.   The mistress looked on fast movements and loud noises with little enthusiasm although she was four floors up.   When you least expected it, she would make a comment about the running of the house and you would lose your monthly afternoon off.   Polly spends the rest of the morning with a sore arm and worsening temper.   She needs that afternoon off this week. I decided to try prose today.  It might lead to something.  Or not.

June poetry day 2 - studio

 I've never been a dancer but this is how I imagine it might feel. Studio the studio is hot and dark there but light right here on go the lamps - bang - and the scene is real feet scratch the surface padding powder puffs trailing damp as a sign that we are at work music pounds a beat within though there is silence without movement is swift, contorted, full of painful lust the twists, the curves and stretch more and give more and keep giving more breathe now and smile.   you live this. show them.

June poetry day 1 Heartburn

Heartburn My heart burns for you, A twisting thing of sweetness. But bitter tendrils lash at the edges Of my dreams and nightmares, While you look away And away, Before that pretty acknowledgement With the knowing nod and squeeze, Leaving fleshy seeds scattered Like the split pomegranate lying beneath its tree. This is the first of a month of writing exercises to get the flow starting...

Long time coming...

So I don't appear to have posted in a long while.  So much has happened!  Okay, well the new Star Wars film has its second trailer and a name.  Counting down to December the 18th when The Force Awakens.  Please don't let me down, J.J!!  Maria and I ( http://mgoodson.blogspot.co.uk ) have had sort of fun writing a two handed short story where we had to write 100 words each per day and keep it coherent.  It almost worked!  It was fun though.  Collaborative stuff always is.  I didn't post any of that up here, not sure why.  I've got some inspiration to write something, anything once a week - just to round up what I have been doing and give myself an aerial view of my life.  In the meantime though, there is a holiday to take, an assignment to finish and a new job to find.  I will get on that soon.

Poetry - the final day

This January's series of poetry writing tasks has been fun.  I managed to work on a few new forms which I haven't been able to in the past and kept to one subject throughout; dementia.  Again, this is something I haven't done before.  As always, I should spend more time revising and editing my ideas but as usual, the time has just slipped away.  Next time... Airbourne Soar high, up so high Run free forever, Choose your path – you can travel them all Travel them all, take your time All time is yours now Breathe deeply, throw leaves in the air Crisp leaves are airbourne, breathe the world in Where will you go? Meet friends, embrace your family Your family is waiting for you Go towards them, you are safe Be at peace now, all confusion is gone.

Poetry penultimate day!

Morning Dawn breaks Announcing itself proudly While sweeping away the dark Birds trumpet the arrival The air snaps with possibility Colours spread across the sky The energy of a new day crackles

Poetry day 28

Stagger Once you staggered towards me with a milk bottle in your hand,   determined to close the space between us that shoved you further from me with each passing second.   I thought of milk at school, passed round at break times – glass bottles and thin striped straw stuck through the gleaming silver top. I thought of mother’s milk, nurturing and necessary to grow that tiny baby into a real person with thoughts, dreams, desires of their own. I could never know what you were thinking right then, I imagine you could not have told me either, as you stared through me, hated me and tried to glass me. Dementia is cruel.

Poetry day 28

Fly Dreams and promises set free to roam, Pick their way carefully through confusion, Treachery stalks that kind intention, When it was simple, it was unadorned, Gazing clearly out from excited eyes, All was possible and you knew it, Set yourself free to fly while you can.

Poetry day 27

Time P eople thought they could control me They fought hard to contain me I bit harder and won You do not stop what is not yours I am here, there and everywhere Before you, above you and behind you I lead you.   Remember that.

Poetry day day 25 - two poems to catch up!

 Okay, so it is one poem with the two words combined.  Cheating! Immaculate Universe I could hold that immacuate universe of yours in my hand if I chose.  Keep everything special held tight where nothing falls out.  I would feel that shifting weight of knowledge bursting against my fingers but I would not let go.  Rainbows would form and galaxies collide.  I might be begged to give up all the secrets I held close.  I would resist.  Keeping guard of perfection is tiring but it would be an honor.  If you gave me the chance to be it all.

Poetry day 23

Teapot The Mad Hatter dances circles Coming closer, moving away He makes you laugh Whispering in your ear sweet secrets that make you glad You know everything They know nothing Stay silent and keep the truth inside.

Day 22

Mistakes Mistakes will be made The results may fade She is told She feels old It should be understood They know you never would Want to hurt and pain Unravel like a train Twisting on the line

Poetry day 21

Museum Take a walk around the museum, why don’t you? Look over there, that’s your first holiday in Spain, Remember the photograph? Short bobbed hair, shorter skirt - but it was the sixties, There’s a drink in your hand, And you’re sat on a boy’s lap whose name you couldn’t recall, You are young and happy. Look this way, it’s snowing in the back garden, Your daughter is there in a white fluffy coat, She looks like a tiny snowball, You are a mother. And just over here, You’re in Thailand, And there, at a party sat looking bored at a table, You came home with an orchid trapped in a plastic case, On a beach wrapped in a towel with two freezing children, Playing with the kittens; dragging a piece of string for them, Sat in the garden with a cup of tea and a biscuit, You are you.

Facebook and I are on a break...

I love Facebook.  It took me a while to get into it but since 2007 it has been a part of my daily life.  Recently though, I began to realise that I was spending a lot of time just wandering around my news feed, randomly liking things that friends had posted and generally not using my time very productively. Facebook has enabled me to reconnect with people I haven't seen in thirty years (I can't believe I am old enough to not have seen someone for thirty years.  That's shocking, especially when I still don't feel any different to when I was thirteen).  It has allowed me to share information and keep in touch with friends and family who, for whatever reason, I don't get to see that often nowadays.  It has also given me the opportunity to share everyday stuff with people who, if I didn't post status updates about what I'm doing or put photos up, would miss out on what we as a family are busy doing. There are two reasons that I have fallen a little out of love

Poetry day 19

  As always happens with these poetry months, I'm getting behind so cheating by writing shorter poems and putting more of the key words in each one.  Still enjoyable though and a great way to look at the heft a particular word brings with it. Misery, bridge, collector Your dream collector Sees you on the bridge and sends Misery your way

Poetry day 20

Wig Your personality changes And you are in disguise An unwelcome coat hangs by the door That nasty wig hides your hair Who is this? Get out now.

Poetry day 16

Keepsakes I keep, for your sake, the things that mattered That scarf, the little black hat for cold days The heavy, wide coat that swirled when you turned And a dress that is too narrow for me But you loved it which means it matters now.

Poetry day 15

Flourish The bare earth shelters those fragile seeds She pats them in, waters them, keeps them safe Warm sun, fresh rain and long days of magic Turn those brown dots into determined shoots Pushing their way towards a bigger world Beneath her tender care, life has flourished.

Poetry day 14

Skin Paper thin wrinkles Pale, freckles in sun Keeping you inside

Poetry day 13 - and the poems get shorter!

Heart Heart swiftly departs My fingers outstretched in vain It’s gone in a blink

Poetry day 12 - 2 poems!

Bones – a villanelle Grass blankets your bones lying still Where is the peace in this new sight? But bright sun shines upon the hill I wonder why this is His will Is this the result of some might? Grass blankets your bones lying still Your leaving is a bitter pill Though you left for a greater light But bright sun shines upon the hill Air grows cold but for you no chill You wait in peace for stalking night Grass blankets your bones lying still Of life you never had your fill You did not know you had to fight But bright sun shines upon the hill My thoughts of you survive the kill It is not fair, it is not right Grass blankets your bones lying still But bright sun shines upon the hill   Careen You move in a wave Destruction follows You delight in it  

Poetry day 10

Impress Are you here to impress me with your words? Do you seek to lie to me once again? I do not know who you are any more, Although your voice is one I think I know, There is a familiarity there, I cannot explain but it makes me safe I think, to have you near me when I fail. Your voice tells me you love me.   I believe On those days my mind does not trick me, But those days are less now and you stranger I know, look at me with fear and sadness For what must come next.   For what must come next.

Poetry day 9

Smart Ordinary Intelligent Thoughtful Caring Fun Understanding Wishful Envious Frustrated Scared Furious Thoughtless Disappearing Gone.

Poetry day 8

Light bulb Once a shimmer gleamed And you laughed at your choices Over time they froze And you had no choices left The shimmer tarnished and died

Poetry day 7

Today it is time to try the cinquain form, while still following the theme of dementia. I think the simplicity and repetition work quite well. Fallen That word That word, that word On the tip of your tongue Chasing it, trying to know it That word.

Poetry day 6

After playing around with the sestet form yesterday, which i very much enjoyed and was quite pleased with the first result, here I am experimenting with the terza rima form.  I am less pleased with this although on paper, the structure looks 'easier' to work with.  I think this rhyme scheme diminishes what I was trying to do as it is clunky and appears forced.  However, this is all about trying and learning through failing and for that reason it stays! Engineer An engineer created your mind He tinkered with your soul But then it all began to unwind You were once whole Until fate or genes called the shots And you were handed a new role That wonderful mind turned to knots Easier to bear once you ceased to know And stopped worrying about everyone’s plots That life force used to glow And I missed it when it was gone Your laughter stopped its flow When you had forgotten where you were from While your memory imploded like

Poetry day 5

Trying a haiku...   Pigeon I thought I heard a pigeon flapping, but it was just your mind leaving.

Poetry day 4

This is the sestina! I haven't written many of these and I'm quite pleased with bits of this although it isn't nearly as clever as the examples I read before trying my own.  Definitely something that needs more practice. Tricky Watch him, he’s quick That thought there, hiding out Behind your memory, Something that you can’t quite remember, You grasp but then he’s gone Fast and slippery, into the dark. Look steadily into the dark, And if your mind is quick You might catch that one before he’s gone, Wait for him and catch him out While you can still remember, Before he reshakes your memory You never admired that memory Until it began to creep into the dark And then you couldn’t remember, It all went so unfairly quick, You tried for a while to figure it out But by then it had already gone Your thoughts had packed up and gone, It played a cruel trick, that memory Not letting you know in advance that it wa

Poetry day 3

I'm keeping with the cheerful theme of dementia still and writing in blank verse to try and keep a sense of regularity while the words suggest dissonance.  At least that's the idea! Straw Autumn brings straw and with it ends summer Gold spears cut down leaving their jewels behind Waiting for collection, wanting harvest Those jewels seeping slowly run through fingers Life giving bright sunshine contained within The grains bounce onto the floor with a swish She stands and watches, looks but doesn’t see Her harvest gone, cold winter comes grasping Fast and unkind tendrils stripping her soul Her light fades as she becomes hollowed out.