stepping out

stepping out this is it! promised myself I’d tell them now my first weekend back after starting uni we’ve had a lovely meal here we are sitting round the fire the cosy home where they brought me up they are so proud of me in a moment everything will be changed they will never look […]

Day 27

  Xenophobia:  Fear of the unknown. Perhaps a revisit to Day 2? Here is Albert Goldbarth’s take on intolerance of the unfamiliar: www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/146682 Write about not conforming.      

Only a winter’s tale

Only a winter’s tale On stage, waiting for his cue he knew he wouldn’t sound like David Essex but stood there anyway. Kids whispered in the wings. Mums and dads sucked Polos beyond the lights. He knew these things too even though his eyes were fixed on the twitch of the conductor’s baton. He stopped […]

A pre-CHildhood

A pre-CHildhood Overnight ghostly white fingers have been creeping across my bedroom windowpane. Those icy digits have penetrated the room. I can touch them with my finger on this side of the glass. In the grip of the evil Snow Queen rather than that jolly Snowman, I snuggle back under my eiderdown.

Day 26

  Winter:  The warmth of a house, relationships, etc are all part of winter when it’s cold outside. Jane Duran recalls her childhood: www.poetryarchive.org/poem/coat Write about winter comforts at any time of your life.    

Who threw the first stone?

Who threw the first stone? A usually respectable fellow staggering home from a pub crawl. Not aiming at that building but at his pals down the street. At the sound of breaking glass they all ran off chortling. The second and third by a youth who made a habit of that sort of thing. Broken […]

Day 25

  Vandalism:  Vandals can operate on many levels. Bernadette Mayer uses lists to comment on the state of America: www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/243704 Use the list form to write/rant about vandalism that irks you particularly.    

The Life of Insects

The Life Of  Insects Episode 9: The Great Horde Narrated by David Atterboy It’s one of Nature’s greatest migrations. No-one knows for sure what drives these ants. Is it drought conditions in their natural habitat? An increase in predators? Mass hysteria? Here they are, marching across the desert. First hundreds, then thousands, now millions. Many […]

Day 24

  Unrest :   There’s a lot of it about.  Helen Mort writes about it as if it were a film. www.poetryarchive.org/poem/pit-closure-tarantino-short Write cinematographically about a conflict situation today.    

Dry wit

Dry wit You couldn’t help liking Mr Jones our PE teacher, his deadpan quips legendary. Even ploughing up and down that unheated outdoor pool was made bearable by the ironic commentary of Jonesy, standing there in his tracksuit. He never ventured into the water. Could he swim? We doubted it. But he still somehow managed […]