So, 20 minutes ago, I began the process of attempting my 7th 24-hour The Poetry Marathon.
It’s an annual event which attracts foolish or brave or whacky or focused or whatever poets from all over the world who commit to writing a poem an hour, one an hour, for 24 hours.
This, as I said, will be my 7th time doing this. Why subject myself? Because previous incarnations have produced some wonderful wonderful poems (several of which made it into my full length poetry collection published by Friendly Street Poets last year). Others have been published elsewhere & yet others from previous marathons are ready to go for the next potential collection.
That is my goal for today — to crank out another dozen or so good poems, 1 or 2 great ones & a few that could be improved with work to flesh out my next idea.
You’d think I’d be getting better at it, but, no. I feel the least prepared of any year so far. Sure I have some snacks, some healthy food, lots of coffee, a rough idea of the poems that I might like to write … but I’ve had a long long day today & no mid-afternoon nap & I’m worried I may not make it all the way through as previously.
This is just a wee note to remind myself that, it’s okay to call quits if I do not feel like I’ll make it. It’s JAG. Just. A. Game. A very fun challenging game, but still, just a game.
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As with previous years I’m only going to post excerpts of poems here so I can use them/submit them to those competitions/journals that count even personal webpages as PUBLISHED.
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(Hour 01) 10.30-11.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: Write a poem about a dream you had without ever indicating that it was a dream in the poem or title.
the last : endless : beach
the sun is setting : endlessly : i know it’s a setting sun : not a rising one : the same way i know : my soul : is slowly : drifting : into this mist : with every step : one drop : one step
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(Hour 02) 11.30-12.30am. TEXT PROMPT, Write a poem set in the past, that still incorporates modern technology in some capacity. For example you could write a poem set in Victorian times but with dating apps.
time travelling while sitting still, scared
Rueben, the kids, the dog & I
huddlecrowd in the corner
of an old slowtumbling down cottage
(it could almost be a cave)
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(Hour 03) 12.30-01.30am. TEXT PROMPT, write a poem that starts and ends with something someone else said, real or imagined.
creed
we’ve still : got to live : capital L life : not merely survive : life is to be spent : not to be saved : no good trying to hide : amongst our own aloneness : we’ve got to stick to it : stick it up : them : us : ourselves :
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(Hour 04) 01.30-02.30am. TEXT PROMPT Write a poem using a one or two regional or personal references that only someone from your region or from your family might fully understand. Do not explain the reference within the poem.
my hat, it has three corners
when Rueben started
very quietly, first humming,
then outright singing
doing the actions as well
Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken,
drei Ecken hat mein Hut.
Und hätt er nicht drei Ecken,
so wär’s auch nicht mein Hut.
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(Hour 05) 02.30-03.30am. COMBINED Image Prompts: [Hour 4: Bench covered in snow; Hour 5: Japanese auto-repair artwork]
dust-breaths
want them out of there : straightaway : tell them : swallowing the dust : could be : really bad for their breathing : without telling them : what i think the dust : actually is
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(Hour 06) 03.30-04.30am. TEXT PROMPT, What if you reflections were real and you could enter them? Write a poem exploring some aspect of that idea.
beneath the reflection
how they’ve turned
from inveterate squealers
to silent film stars
testimony both to
their terror of discovery
& will to survive
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(Hour 07) 04.30-05.30am. MUSIC PROMPT: Listen to this clip of The Swan performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott and then write a poem. If you are not connecting to the music you could try writing a poem about a swan.
swan song
a sickly black swan
races across the water
in terrible slow motion
gradually gaining grace
with each tiptoed tap
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(Hour 08) 05.30-06.30am. TEXT PROMPT: Every year involves at least one prompt that encourages poets to try to use a specific poetic form. This year write an acrostic poem.
Bonus: poem presented in all its full-scale glory
DROPPED THE SKY
Days pass
Relentless
Overwhelming
Paranoia
Pricks
Everyone’s
Dreams
Technically
Humanity
Exists still
So we
Keep on
Yanking chains
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(Hour 09) 06.30-07.30am. TEXT PROMPT: Think of a word you use a lot. Write a poem where at the very least every stanza begins with this word. There should be at least three stanzas, ideally more.
in water
water : tumblergrumbler : death ray deflector : magic marker : wonderdrug of the new millennium
water : breathe of life : liquor of living : succour of nature : paramour of the planet : queen of quintessence
water : bane of bugs : enemy of invaders : preventer of pyschosis
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(Hour 10) 07.30-08.30am. TEXT PROMPT: Write a poem that contains fantasy elements.
Bonus: poem presented in all its full-scale glory
Rueben’s Big Plan
Stella has asked me if
— partly to distract me I think
partly cos she’s deeply concerned
at how little I’ve spoken since
Ryan & her rescued me —
I’ve had any good dreams lately.
I haven’t — but I tell her a fantasy
that’s been playing in my head:
Where I ride a pod like Ryan did
right back to the bug’s mother ship
work my way inside & figure out
how to reprogram every craft & send
them all back to their home system.
I’d follow on my star-powered sailing ship
right back down the warp tunnel
or multidimensional worm hole
that brought them so unwelcome here.
Before addressing their hive queens
or whatever & convince never to attack
another civilisation ever again.
Only when I finished my tall tale
did I realise I hadn’t mentioned
bringing mum (or any of the other
billions of sentient earth beings)
back to life & now I’m worried
Stella’s going to worry about just
what that says about me …
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(Hour 11) 08.30-09.30am. TEXT PROMPT: “Do you remember the first poem you ever wrote? Rewrite it with the knowledge, skills and perspective you have now.”
Konking two tasks with one stone here as every day for the past 2 months I’ve been creating a haiku-esque snapshot of the land around me. Today this tiny poem is gonna serve double duty.
16 June, haiku
rusty metal gate, leaning
morning mist veils the vineyard
— i drift beyond
Inspired by 2 lines of one of the earliest poems I remember writing.
“As I lean upon this gate
My mind sees things
Both small & great
Into mist disappearing”
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(Hour 12) 09.30-10.30am. TEXT PROMPT: Write a poem that uses at least five of the following ten words. You can choose all ten if you’d like: Wave : Sneakers : Yell : Stew : Linger : Ginkgo : Soft : Math : Sliver : Magazine
another argument i cannot hope to win
i.
Stella waves me over : what are you doing : this isn’t a safe place : to linger : we gotta go : shhh she tells me : even though : i was far from : yelling : we’ve got to take Ginkgo : what’s a ginkgo : she holds up : a silver name tag : GINKGO
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(Hour 13) 10.30-11.30am. TEXT PROMPT: “Write a poem that makes generous use of any one of the following figures of speech: Hyperbole, Onomatopoeia or Oxymoron.”
Bonus: poem presented in all its full-scale glory
Address of the Bugs
Stella’s question from the other day
About dreams has had me wondering
Why did the bugs never address us
Like they always do in Hollywood movies
To keep my mind occupied as we walktrudge
I’ve begun writing my own
Address of the Bugs
Although this might surprise you
The silence of the universe is deafening
One variable however is constant
Our chaos is controlled
Our kindness, cruel
We do not arrive accidentally on purpose
It is fairly obvious, an open secret
Your species is going nowhere
Your only alternative
Only choice, only option
Is pretty ugly
You must disappear in a quiet roar
Your screams must be silent
You are as dead walking
Your absence from the galaxy
Will not be conspicuous
But a bittersweet loud whisper
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(Hour 14) 11.30am-12.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: Write a poem about dancing.
lessons in dance
we promenade : circle left : then circle right : do-si-do again : we shoot the star : slip the clutch : box the gnat : spin the top : walk & dodge : slide thru : tag the line : scoot up & scoot back : making up silly little moves : until we’re all : just kinda standing still : in a group hug : which lasts a long time
til Jake says : I’m hungry : & we all laugh : & move on
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(Hour 15) 12.30pm-13.30pm. BOTH PROMPTS: Write a poem about satisfaction – it could be about the concept as a whole or a memory of that feeling + bare trees & silver skies
Bonus: poem presented in all its full-scale glory
success
silently we sail : at what feels like : supersonic speed : compared to our previous plodding pace : along the silverblack : highway : the only sound : the soft shiffle : of six soft tyres : shushing swiftly
at the moment : all five of us : are currently cycling : the ground is flat : the work easy : we feel free : fast : like birds on the breeze : beneath skeletal trees : devoid of leaves
& me : contentment : seeping from me : like honey
i don’t look at Stella : there : is : no : need
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(Hour 16) 13.30pm-14.30pm. VISUAL PROMPT: the prompts for Hour 16 pr do not really suit my project so I have gone back to the image from Hour 13. Stone circles.
claw circles
approaching : the creek : feels like invading : next door neighbour’s bedroom : see what seem to be : 3 foot prints : hoof prints : impressions
…
it takes a moment to process : but then : understanding
i might well be : the first human alive : to see the claw prints : of our intergalactic bug : exterminators
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(Hour 17) 14.30pm-15.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: Write a poem about a long walk.
Are you kidding me? My entire project is about a long walk. Hahaha. I’ll tweak it a little.
double trouble
i’m tired of walking, Katie complains
we’ve walked for weeks, Jake adds
it’s been about 3 hours
& we’ve carried you
for most of that
but i’ll ask Ryan & see
his response is : predictable
the more often we stop
the less fast we’ll get there
nevertheless we stopp
& almost immediately
those previously boneweary brats
begin a rather surreal game
of silent cat & mouse
which shouldn’t be possible
with just the two of them
yet somehow is & leaves me
confused whether to
laugh scream cry or join in
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(Hour 18) 15.30pm-16.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: Every year I challenge poets to write a poem about a subject most poets don’t write about. This year I’m asking for poems about kitchens.
quiet time
the little ones : are outside : running endless circles : after complaining of being tired : we’ve stopped : so they can rest : i almost shouted at them : to sit down : be still : & shut up : but managed to : get a grip on my crazy : before it escaped : the best way to control damage : is before anything : is broken
instead i said : gonna go see if i can scrounge some food : so : no kids in the kitchen : but can already tell : there’s nothing much here : to cook : which is fine : really : just need some quiet time : to think : perhaps to cry
when i notice : the calendar on the fridge : photo of a clown bike : 3 kooky clowns : all riding this dodgy bike : all facing different ways : which reminds me : of seeing a circus : once : where the whole troupe : piled on top : (well piled with precision) : onto one big bloke : acting as the bike-riding base : upon a super-strengthened bicycle : & suddenly : i am cooking something : even if we won’t be able to eat it
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(Hour 19) 16.30pm-17.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: Choose the title of a book you haven’t read (yet) as the title for a poem.
the motion of the body through space
i’m not a big believer : in fate : or at least : i didn’t think i was : until : part way through my pondering : & mental sketches : Stella bursts in : fit for a fight
says : we should stay here a few days : my look asks why : i think this place used to be a b’n’b : i’ve found a storage room : with lots of/ : sounds great : i say : cutting her off
before she can react to my rudeness : jump up : bustle outside : for while she was talking : i notice : on the floor : in the adjoining wet room : at least a dozen : boots & shoes : of very differing sizes
the kids don’t like walking : not even so much : don’t : as they’re small : little legged : they can’t : they tire : we can carry them : but then : we tire
their bodies don’t move : as easily as mine : through the space that surrounds them : even as mine : moves swiftly towards : a huge shed : with three large sliding doors
this is going to be a problem : given how far : we are supposed to be trying : to go
all doors are locked : but if this owner : was anything like my father : gaze around : there : in that seemingly : discarded rubber boo
keys : unlock : look in
maybe fate & i : are at last : becoming acquainted
title borrowed from Lionel Shriver
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(Hour 20) 17.30pm-18.30pm. VISUAL PROMPT: Write a poem about home, metaphorically, actually, or spiritually.
lights on
i.
this once rich earth
home to bustling
lifeforms of all kinds
big small ugly & us
long gone…
ii.
no longer have one
just empty buildings
where once we lived
all that made it home
long gone…
iii.
an idea of afterwards
a potential safeplace
on a hidden corner
of an unknown map
still there?
[just a quick simple one to enable me 40 minutes respite]
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(Hour 21) 18.30pm-19.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: Write a poem about love that is not romantic.
twinge
after 2 days : solid soldering : alone in the shed : mostly alone : (Rueben popped his head in unexpectedly once : & is now pledged to secrecy) : i return : knowing tomorrow : will be the day : of my great reveal : to see Jake : asleep like a lizard : on Stella’s lap : Rueben reading Katie a storybook : found in one of the many : upstairs bedrooms : the multiple pairs of boots : definitely : revelatory : & i feel a twinge : & a tingle : deep in my chest : i never thought i’d know again : after dad’s death
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(Hour 22) 19.30pm-20.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: Write a poem about fighting sleep.
lights off
far too many hours
spent fighting sleep
after Ryan revealed
his many-wheeled contraption
after all — why was i angry
it was indeed a clever fix
something we could all
play a part operating
able to carry food, supplies
tired kids, creature comforts
fast, non-mechanical
essentially silent & so
virtually undetectable
to the bugs’ sensor systems
decided far better to stop
fighting sleep now
so i have the energy
to fight Ryan tomorrow
— at least, for a little while
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(Hour 23) 20.30pm-21.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: Write a poem titled Tender, Tender.
Tender, ten der (vishes)
Softly my German godmother
whispers gently to me that
she will grant me twice-five wishes
Either that or a greek unit of soft religious
beggars will soon pay a visit to me
neither makes that much sense
& to be honest …i’m kinda too tired to care 🤩
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(Hour 24) 21.30pm-22.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: Write a poem about wishes.
the wish trap
right now — don’t want
to wish for anything
too much rides on it
too much — heartache
wishes are for softer times
when minds can — wander
ours need to be
— steel trap strong
just to — survive
Was gonna just write a soft little wishy washy wish poem (easy to do at the end of an exhausting day, but glad I didn’t). Finding the opposite way in [using one of my 2 main characters] created a darker more interesting poem I’m quite happy with as a starting point for future tweaking.
gareth roi poet boi 