Tuesday 26 March 2013

M is for... Music

For those of you who know me well, know that I cannot live without music, of any kind. I often put a CD on before I go to bed and regularly fall asleep listening to one, or two, or three...

You'll also know that I love to buy CDs, to the point that I often go into HMV and buy random CDs that I like the look of. And I have to say, that to date, I've not bought a bum CD yet. Still time I guess!

Anyway, while I was pondering what I should do for M, it came to me, no idea why it took me so long, but I finally decided my M would be for Music. It's one of the most important things in my life!!!

Anyway, here's a shot of just a few of the CDs in my collection, my rather vast and still growing collection. There are some guilty pleasures revealed in this shot and I make no excuses!!! P.S. Zoe, I make no excuses for the fact they're not filed in alphabetical order either ;D

Enjoy!!

Sunday 24 March 2013

M is for... Mermaids


Not all mermaids can have a starring role
In the fairytale. This watery court
Shaped like book pages tells chlorine-scented
Stories of the others.
                                Mermaid mothers –
Where did you think they came from? - Thick-middled,
Past the clam shell bikini days, maybe,
Steel-willed on the hope of a holiday
Until dry. Time for tea and cake. A chat.
The underwater office temp swims slow,
Keeping pace with a colleague from accounts,
Turning over news they already knew –
The tangled seaweed of the day.
  Angry,
Poseidon thrashes in a narrow lane,
Fast and frustrated with the endless churn
Of challengers, too regal to measure
His stroke against another.
      And too sure,
Just like those sirens who keep to the side,
Gym-slim, just a quick dip – they may sing
Briefly, but they aim to keep those rocks
Hurled at them by fishing men.
                                               A page turns.
Strapped in sports-supportive Lycra, follow
The tile, not the rope. I am Ariel
Invisible. I’ve mastered the art of
Laughing underwater. Oh. Crying too.

Thursday 21 March 2013

L is for... Low Tide

I've had the last couple of weeks off and intended to catch up on household tasks, photography and a number of other things. All of which went mostly out of the window!

I went to Bosham Harbour on Wednesday for a spot of afternoon tea and a walk around the harbour. Decided to take my camera on the off chance, kind of lost my mojo a bit of late...

Anyway, before we went for a cream tea and some toasted sarnies (baked potato and chilli for the man) I took a couple of shots, this being the best of them. Hoping for some decent weather the next few days before I head back to work as I have a spot in Eastney I want to get some shots of. Fingers crossed!

Sunday 17 March 2013

L is for... Lost



I can’t be off the map – these fankled folds
Can’t lie. Promised sights are sirens of stone,
Circled thrice and walked past. Each x-marked place
Waits patient.
                                There are no bearings to get,
I can’t read the sky telling West from East,
No sense to be found in these pinstriped streets.
Museums, galleries giggle off-stage
And whisper down flustered lanes; in pursuit.
Stop here.
                   Nothing is lost, neither am I.
The last trace of sunshine drops like sugar
In a steaming paper cup – a beacon
Which slips behind missed monuments, winking.

Friday 1 March 2013

I is for... Instinct

OK, I may be a few weeks behind with this post, but here's the alternative - I could have cheated the system here as I could have shoved it under K for Kubler-Ross model. But I haven't, as I only decided to hang the poem around that after trying to do my first draft weeks ago. So here is a new first draft (it really is - I can't look at it anymore and I've just finished the last line I was struggling with) and it needs tons of work if it is ever to be a finished poem. But it is a poem, and maybe a few more like this and I'll get my mojo back. I'm even working on a K too...



Instinct:

Drives you, propels you, makes you stop and go;
It throws up your hands before you hit the floor.
Tells you in whispers, you know it you know.

Rejects picked up pieces, stifles your growth,
Shoves facts in your face when you long for detours -
Drives you, propels you, makes you stop and go.

Has a cold stark reminder: here’s what you sowed.
Stops you in place when you crash through the door;
Tells you in whispers, you know it you know.

Gives keys to your secrets to those in the know;
Offers a friend when your heart screams adore
Drives you, propels you, makes you stop and go.

Helps you think without thinking, put on a show,
Lets you sink without sinking, buoying your core;
Tells you in whispers, you know it you know.

Is a life-ring; helps you go with the flow
Holds your heart back while you survey the score
Drives you, propels you, makes you stop and go;
Tells you in whispers, you know it you know.


The Kettle

Howdy everyone!
OK so I realise my last poem was pretty heavy and sad, and unfortunately this one seems to be too! It's just something I started working on about knife crime and gang violence. Only very much in the early stages!

The Kettle

The kettle starts to boil and I’ve come unstuck.
The clock goes tick-tock, more like a slow click….click….click….
Of his pen as he notes down my name.
I’m going insane
And all I can do is to fiddle and to fuss
Would you like some tea? Sugar’s a must!

Your voice is too shrill,
I think to myself.
It’s not helping matters,
When all’s said and done.
You and your mates were just “having a laugh”, just “having fun”.

Tap…tap…tap as he opens his case.
Like a nail in a wheel on a bike.
Not like the BANG when she fell.
My right hand swinging thud…thud…thud

It’s amazing how cold you can be in July.

The kettle squeals, just like she did
When I dug in my shoe,
Not sure of the right thing to do.
The mob it makes noises,
Like a snake in the grass.
No. More like an elephant thundering past.

The Policeman is kind.
He must have a pet.
And maybe a wife at home with a young son.
He’s talking about how they caught this young girl in question,
Those “awful thugs” that is… not his young child.

What did she do to you?
What have you done?
Whispers and pangs folding into my head as one.
It hurts.
But she hurt when out came the knife.
Like a diamond shining bright.
Like a fish in the water of murky dark hoodies.
Like a penny.
Like a wand.
Like a …

Like a….

The kettle goes pop.
So does my head.
I did it.
It was me.
She’s dead.
I ran and I ran.
Not daring to breathe.
The wind it chased me,
Death on a breeze.

Now he’s clicking his biro and writing it down.
The scratch of the pen makes my head pound.
The gang has fallen, the tea is poured.
My fingers are twisting, my heart's like ice.
She’s beside me forever now.

It’s amazing how cold you can be in July.