Tag Archives: poetry

Day 08 – why read + empathy

Today’s poem is an attempt at answering a question I get asked often (or variations thereof) — why do you read so much?  It’s a tough one because it seems pretty self-evident to me … but over the years I’ve jotted down various reasons & this poem attempts to pull them together into a cohesive form. It’s possibly still too long & requires an edit. I’ll see how it looks/feels in a couple of weeks’ time.

The Factoid concerns the correlation between empathy & reading fiction …

*****

why READ : an inexhaustive list

why do I breath : I mean : seriously 

cos I can’t not : compulsion

it’s : escape & refuge : adventureland & safe space : idyllic pasts & dystopian futures : a chance to ignore the dumpster fire that the world constantly seems like it wants to become : just for a few hours 

to get lost : lose time : time travel : to walk a mile : or warp the space time continuum : cause the real world to cease to exist : lose myself : in the wash & flow : of well told tale 

to let this : always overworked brain : go off leash
to glean answers for questions : I didn’t even know : I needed to ask
to explore the beauty : & darkness of humanity : to share a sacred indulgence
to understand myself : others : the world : to heal the wounds : to fill the lonely void of the universe’s vastness with a brief flicker of light

to experience : sustenance : catharsis : terror : joy : sadness : triumphs : heartbreaks : tears & sorrows

to share minds with : philosophers two thousand years dead : Caesars : physicists capable of explaining the universe : poets who explain the human heart : saints & sinners : & tanner’s sons from small market towns who change the world

because I can’t live every life I want to
because I can live lives I wouldn’t want to actually experience but enjoy experiencing 
because it’s fun being thrown into other universes : other time periods : other countries : other cities : other world views : other consciousnesses : other POVs : hell it’s even fun just to be thrown across the street : things look rather different from behind their curtains than mine

relax : after long tiring days
rejuvenate : on days when I have to do : nothing 

I love words
I love stories

I like who I am when I read
I like looking through mirrors & into windows 

I’m a loner who enjoys  solitude  silence  stillness : dreaming while awake

because the alternative : isn’t an option

*****

Day 08 Factoid – Reading fiction increases empathy

walking a mile in someone’s book

countless studies have shown:

folks who read fiction often
     have greater social cognition (work out what people think & feel)
     are better at measuring interpersonal sensitivity
     are more likely to help 
     can identify, understand, & share in someone else’s feelings
     behave more altruistically
     result in better doctors

so, to repeat 
     reading fiction is empathy-building
     so stop farking about here 
     go read a goddamn novel 
     & become a better person
     you numpty
                             (or words to that effect)

Day 07 – following your bliss + buying happiness

I have a bucket load of ideas I’d like to get to this month when it comes to books & reading. (Hmm, odd that.) Sometimes it’s hard to choose. Not today. This one grabbed me ideas brain & away we went. So, presenting one of the many ideas which explore the various dream/idyll lives I would live if I could.

The Factoid Poem addresses the very real & pressing question: does buying books make you happy?

*****

bliss following, version 1

If you follow your bliss you put yourself on a track that has been there all the while, waiting for you.
— Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

the bliss dream : or the first iteration of it at least : is to purchase a second hand : double decker bus : paint it Anne of the Gable green : ensure it is equipped with titanium grade shock-absorbers : & a highly powerful yet surprisingly fuel efficient engine : fit out the upstairs with comfortable living quarters : while downstairs : as many empty bespoke bookcases as can logically & logistically be arranged : then to spend a year : driving round Great Britain : (pleasant companion/co-driver optional) : visiting key literary hotspots : i’ve always wanted to experience : & : more importantly : slowly filling up those bookshelves : by popping in to every second-hand bookstore : i can get to : along the way : ending up in Hay-on-Wye : at the end of May : for their magnificent festival : by which time : my exhausted & overworked bus : will probably be so weighed down : with wonderful new acquisitions : i’ll need to park it in a field somewhere nearby : & proceed to read my way : through the lot

*****

Day 07 Factoid – Psychological Studies concerning buying books analysed in depth & detail

Can Buying Books Make You Happy? 
Psychology Says, Well, Duh!

this poem explores the psychology 
behind buying books 
                                    … & being happy

it’s well known that if you buy experiences 
not material objects the happiness 
hangs around lots longer

books are material objects
yet in opening them up & reading them
experiences are being experienced

Ipso facto sum — which is good

psychology also praises personality-guided-spending
that is: spend your money in accordance 
with your personality & you’ll be happy

ergo an introvert buys books = happy
avid reader buys some sort of icky old experience 
where they don’t have any time to read = not happy

Quid pro quo — which is also good

so what’s the conclusion 
of all this comprehensive analysis? 
yes. buying books does make you happy!

[i get that’s how this whole poem started 
but we had to do some rigorous sciencey things
to shut up all the negative nellie naysayers out there]

of course i must conclude with the caveat
too much of anything can be bad
// hang on, wait, what’s that? 

new research now claims
no such thing as too many books
(OMFG! what a relief!)

Dona eis requiem — which is all very good

Day 06 — collecting books + obsessions

Collecting is a strange thing. It’s sometimes hard to explain why one does it. For example, I like things to do with chickens. So I have prints, statues, sculptures, plates, even a pair of bookends featuring chooks.

So too with books. I have many diverse interests (more specific than just big genre-size categories: fantasy, science-fiction, historical, crime, or non-fiction like science [itself having many subcategories I collect: physics, the universe/astronomy, nature/biology, the elements, etc], history [WW1&2, British/Australian, Palestine/Israel, etc], politics, travel writing, & so on) or the work of specific favourite writers that I must own everything of theirs they write.

Sometimes I acquire small collections about topics I think I might one day write about. Thus I have numerous books about Gold, Winemaking, Christmas, Lighthouses, Chocolate, & so on.

But then there’s sets of books I’m simply compelled to buy. No matter how awful they might be. Even if I’ll never read them. Simply because they fall into one of my Pet Loves categories. They make up the matter for this poem.

The first quote that I saw upon googling for my Poetic Factoid broke me. I knew I couldn’t improve on it. Thus what you get today is pretty brief … but I hope I’ve been a little creative with its form.

*****

collectabilia: pet loves

Foxes, Wolves, Owls, Crows, Ravens
any book with these words
in the title must become mine 
   (several, several times)

Cornwall
sirensong, family ancestry, Famous Fivery
long ago looking at Land’s End in an atlas 
& wanting to watch the sun set over the sea there

Venice
love affair with a magical city
began long before i ever travelled there
spent more time in fictional Venice than La Serenissima herself

Heron
less common to come across these 
but treasure every quirky title concerning
my gangly soul spirit animal

Hare
love their wild solo madness 
many of these titles are delightfully illustrated
children’s books — which is okay by me

Booker winners
an ever growing bookcase 
chronologically filled with annual shortlistees
& winners — I’ve even read some of them

still there’s many more: Dogs, Dandelions, Bees, 
books on Eden Valley (not the one I live in
but the English one I’d like to live in)

to be honest — the list probably never ends 
just diverges into smaller 
& smaller subsets

of one

*****

Day 06 Factoid — Is book collecting is an obsession?

Jeanette Winterson wrote “Book collecting is an obsession, an occupation, a disease, an addiction, a fascination, an absurdity, a fate. It is not a hobby. Those who do it must do it.” Discuss. 

Ummm, 

what
               Jeannette
                                         said!

Day 05 – fierce creatures — in fiction & feathers

Today’s poem follows on from Lawrence’s maxim from a couple of days ago that it’s better to reread one book six times than six books once. Part of this month’s plan is I’d like to try & get a set of (at least 6) seminal books that’ve played an influential part in my reading journey. This is the first I’ve written (this month at least; drafts of others have been begun previously).

The legacy of this book is I love reading (now) mostly non-fiction/memoir style books of the natural world. A year in the fens, the life cycle of a wood, birdwatchingwatching, etc etc. Those type of books. Note: I’ve played with the layout so you’ll need to click on the image to enlarge the get the full effect.

Today’s poetic factoid was learnt when typing in the term “Australia’s fiercest animal”

Day 5 Factoid – fierce Australian animals

Swooper-dooper

when asked : our fiercest creature
most Aussies would say : it’s neither
crocodile nor shark : koala nor cassowary 

rather the common magpie who transforms :
from harmless hippie collective : singing hymns
round your house : to rabid riots of rage

to be fair : during spring’s
hormonal madness : male magpie’s
testicles enlarge up to 300%

so perhaps we should cut them some slack 

Day 04 – libraries II: mine + others

This is the idea I started (or rather) thought I was going to develop yesterday but that rapidly roared off into the Library of Alexandria. So I’ve come back to it today. And my oh my. If it isn’t a cracker. I’m very pleased with it.

Today’s Poetic Factoid was one I didn’t not have to google. It comes from the truthiness of my own life. Ignore it at your peril.

*****

The Once & Future Library

while i like : the idea : of libraries : there is only : one library : i’m really interested in : my own : my chaotic : sprawling across : 5 rooms, a hallway, a hut & multiple boxes in the shed : piles skyscraper stacked : replica forests upon tabletops : boxes under desks : beneath beds : double layered shelves : bookcases hiding behind bookcases : gloriously chaotic : idiosyncratic : once & future library : for what is the good : to me : of a book : in someone else’s collection : answer : there is none : of course : now some (mean-spirited : niggardly : unpleasantly nit-picky some) might counter : what is the good : of a book : in your collection : if you cannot find it : & while this argument : has merit : minute traces only : there are many wonderful acts : that can happen : while the search : for the holy tale : is undertaken : a book read many years ago : may be rediscovered : & rereading commenced : right there : where you stand : & time & place & purpose : is for a few moments : forgotten : superseded even : while you comprehend : transcend : ascend : a book : you forgot you ever bought : may come to light : exciting you : with your foresight : a book : you don’t remember : ever even seeing : before : may pop out to delight you : or frighten you : & sometimes : on those rare occasions : the actual book sought : may itself : be unearthed : & then : the satisfaction : of having your own : over-the-top : ridiculous : you’ll-never-read-all-those-books-if-you-live-to-be-a-1000 : one of a kind : here&now : once&future : libraries : suddenly makes : utter : perfect : sense

*****

Factoid Day 04 – borrowing books

Nor a lender be

Heads up.
If you lend me a book.
Chances are.
I will not.
Give it back to you.
I might say I will.
Often.
Repeatedly promising.
But. Listen up.
I. Will. Not.
You had your chance.
But you gave it up.

Except you Mike. Of course I’m bringing yours back.*





(*But I’m not. I’m really not. I appreciate the donation though.)

Day 03 – libraries: Alexandria + Congress

Poem about one of my very favourite things to daydream about…

*****

the Great Library

there’s a meme I love
you know you’re a book geek 
when you still get upset thinking about
the Library of Alexandria
& many are the times i’ve considered 
buying a t-shirt stating similar sentiments

there was another viral trend
first flagged a year or so ago
about how often men allegedly
thought about The Roman Empire 
(several times a week apparently)
but while i definitely enjoy daydreaming 
about both Ancient Rome & Athens
Alexandria remains my go-to contemplatory place

the Great Library of Alexandria 
shrouded in mystery, from its founding 
to its destruction a thousand years later
some say the massive, ancient library was
the single greatest accumulation 
perhaps 400,000 papyrus scrolls 
of human knowledge in history
up until that point

it burnt three times rather than 
one single conflagration
i) Caesar accidentally set fire to part of it
during his tête-à-tête with Pompey 
ii) several hundred years later a Christian 
Patriarch turned the Temple of Serapis 
into a church & repeated skirmishes
destroyed parts piecemeal   iii) & finally
Caliph Omar asserted the contents 
“either contradict the Koran, so they’re heresy, 
or they agree, so are superfluous” 
& thus the scrolls were used as tinder 
in the city’s bathhouses — supposedly taking 
six months for everything to burn away

it is this religious arrogance / ignorance
which most angers my bookdragon
for we’ll never know now what wisdom
we lost … what science was undone …
what stories forgotten … simply because 
zealots were too insecure in their own words
to allow contradictory ones to exist

*****

Factoid 3 – biggest modern library 

juxtaposition of red & blue

the Library of Congress 
in Washington, D.C.
is the world’s largest library

there are numerous interesting 
facts one could share about
this iconic institution 

— yet the thing I’m entertained by 
is the current irony involved in 
the juxtaposition of the words 

Library — & — Congress 

Day 2 – rereading + most read

Quite probably a topic I shall return to again & again …

five repeat offenders: re-reading

It is far, far better to read one book six times, at intervals, than to read six several books.
— D.H. Lawrence, Apocalypse

going back into the depths of time
Blyton survives despite mild dating dilemmas 
her Five will always be Famous

Anne of All the Different Idyllic 
19th Century Canadian Places*
glorious masterpieces all

for twenty years Tolkien was Christmas
holidays to me with repeated rereads
giving as much delight as presents under the tree

gosh, it’s getting hard down this end of the list
why did I set myself only 5 when 8 or a dozen 
would’ve enabled far more faves 

there’s newcomers like The Princess Bride
quirky Thursday Next, & Pullman’s Dark Materials
but I guess I must really mention oft-reread big guns

Austen outshines the Brontes; & Shakespeare, Dickens; 
earthy Lawrence over elegant F. Scott, & the Greek 
playwrights are repeatedly visited but all here are intimates

we are today overwhelmed with such quantities of books
but these are valuable as jewels, or a lovely picture, 
into which I can look deeper & deeper 

— & yet still have a profound experience every time

*****

Factoid 2 – best selling books

best sellers

several sites agree
on the three best-selling 
books in the world

the Holy Bible
the Harry Potter series 
Quotations from Chairman Mao

one i’ve read a couple of times
one at least seven
& one never

as Meatloaf semisang
two outta three ain’t bad

*yes I know they were written in the 20th century
but the first ones were set at the end of the 19th which sounds better so,
poetic license

Day 01 – firsts: reading + writing

April. Again. Therefore Na/GloPoWriMo 2025. It felt like it arrived with a rush. Today has been a week packed into a day already. But I’m looking forward to this year because … 

As in previous years I’m adopting a themes-based approach to Na/GloPoWriMo. And this year it’s something I should, by all rights, love doing since I’ve picked a theme I love, well, doing. My task is to write a reading or book-inspired poem every day. Happy is the man who makes his vocation his vacation & all that. Well, there we go. I’ve already written over a dozen reading/book inspired poems at intermittent stages in my life. So let’s make it official & see if we can get a chapbook out of it.

So the grist for this year’s mill will include: books, book memories, stories about books, lists of books, face books, book is revist often & some I’ve ben too scared too), fave reading quotes & fave book quotes (yes I keep a file of such things), book facts & reading stats, book covers, libraries, lending books, dream house plans which is basically any house with enough rooms to use 40 of them as libraries, book collecting, shopping for books, buying books, quirky topics I collect books on, disputes with parents on the number I books I own, and so on.

As previously II, since the project I have in mind may depend on the poems not being made public prior to their appearance I won’t necessarily be posting the entirety of each poem on my blog, but sometimes a [hopefully] tantalising snippet (many journals/comps/etc refuse to accept poems even if they’ve only been on personal Facebook pages or blogs with minimal subscribers). 

As a wonderful compensation for skimpy serious verse, I’ll be repeating my daily Poetic Factoid poem assignment from previous years — which if I’m honest — can produce better poems than the main event. Hahaha!

Day 1 – reading: act I

first memory reading 
hand written words 
on pieces of paper 
kept in toy box 
at grandparents’ house
sitting beneath 
dining room table 
under which 
we’d eat Christmas 
dinners for decades 
shuffling words 
into simple sentences 

— both acts forever imbued 
with everlasting magic 

*****

Factoid 1 – first known author

not Gilgamesh again

google tricked me today 
by answering who wrote the first book
not with the anticipated response  
the unknown author of Gilgamesh
but Enheduanna 
                             — a Mesopotamian 
high priestess of the moon (of course she is)
her name means “Ornament of Heaven”
author of 42 temple hymns, the myth
of Inanna & Ebih & 2 hymns to the love goddess
all composed three centuries prior to the Epic
& her name is known 
                                    — despite the anonymity 
of her contemporary poets’ works 
all of which pleases me greatly 
(aside from being forgotten today)
but nothing more than when 
                                                 — at the end of one hymn
she bitches about how difficult the creative process is

yep, writer’s block was a thing even back then

20,000 Days

At 6.55am this morning I started my 20,000th day on the planet as moi. Now almost 16 hours later it’s drawing to a close & I’ve spent much of it working on an idea to celebrate / commiserate

This is a poem in numbers. It’s not yet perfect. Nor I think complete. But parts of it are fun.

*formatting was a hellfire tonight but I learnt a little about coding (enough to bodge an almost fix at least)

*or so I thought, it turns out a dog’s breakfast on mobile devices. So please take the extra second & click on the PDF image which I’ve now attached which displays it perfectly & is zoomable*

*****

20,000 DaysDownload

20,000 days

~5000     days          asleep*
                                       [6 hours/night average]
833                            napping
219                             taking a pee 
                                        (200 of them in the last 
                                        5 years, so it feels)
15,618                        since entering Middlearth
15,319                        since the War began
12,134                        of Achtung Baby, baby
4329                          of blessed doggy healing

13,155     days           since the first date
12,716                        since that bloody Easter Sunday
1134                            with my soul mate
733                             engaged 
3                                  where life misc
                                            -arried
3                                where life veered off 
                                       in the saddest direction
100                             of official fatherhoodom (approximate)
12,650                       as de spiritus father

1584     days            with the beautiful Bee
~1000                        with the pixielike Gee
~the same                lost in the whirlwind of Eee
~another G               with all the other maybees
1030                            since the last (& final) heartbreak

~14,000                     single 
∞                                    over, then just, whelmed
                                        by grief 
too many days          in which i hurt someone
too many                  i made mistakes
                                      where i was an utter prat
at least half               where i tried to be better
at least half+1           where I did more good than harm (i hope)

10957      days         of Gunyah living / home base
7860                         of the Blue Wren Manor
110                               overseas
11,158                        living in rAdelaide
2342                         since i moved into Murray
100s                          in transition (that’s the theme)

1430        days         Artistic Director of a youth theatre
1155                          General Manager of a circus
50                             of opening nights 
3                                of book launches 
1                                 since my last gnt 

13975     days          blessed with all 4 grandparents alive
255                              since the last one died
45,874                       cursed on committees

~18,250 days          on which i read
~500                         where I read
                                           AND did not speak to another human
~872                          when i’ve been told
                                          i have too many books
maybe 3 or 4           times when this has been true
                                            these were packing & unpacking related
31                                most in row (since becoming an adult) 
                                            without buying a book
0                                  where i’ve held a book
                                             & it’s not brought me joy

20,000                   of always being a country boy

The 2024 24-hour Poetry Marathon

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.

*****

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.

*****

(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

*****

(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)

*****

(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 :

*****

(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.

*****

(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

*****

(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 

*****

(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

*****

(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

*****

(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

*****

(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 …

*****

(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”

*****

(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 

*****

(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

*****

(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

*****

(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

*****

(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

*****

(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

*****

(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

*****

(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

*****

(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]

*****

(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

*****

(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

*****

(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 🤩

*****

(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.