Tuesday Poem - a list poem...

The following poem was written from an exercise I set sometimes when I visit schools as a poet-in-residence. We've just had Children's Book Week here, in Australia, so it seemed appropriate. 

Ten Things to Do When You're Lonely

Draw a map of your heart, colouring each street light violet.

Write a love song to your future.

SMS knock knock jokes to everyone in your phone book.

Stand in the butterfly house of the zoo

and wait.

Invent a cocktail, drink it, then sing your favourite songs

loudly out of tune. 

Watch Buffy repeats and eat fairy bread
Learn how to say you're a groovy boy
in fifteen different languages

Design a break-his-heart party dress.
Send this poem as a chain email to all your friends
asking for a $5.00 reading fee

to be urgently deposited into your bank account.

With all your new money going shopping
for rainbow tights, a mood ring
and the perfect Sunday.

It's Tuesday - time to head over to the Tuesday Poem Blog where there is an absolute cracker of a poem, 'candle' by Hinemoana Baker, curated this week by Mary McCallum. It's a fabulous poem so, please, take the time to go and read it. And, of course, don't forget to scroll down the blogroll for other poems that might take your fancy on this blustery Tuesday. 

What's your favourite poetry exercise? 

Tuesday Poem - 'Without You' by Adrian Henri

At some stage the Poetry Circle was discussing - more or less in passing - the work of poets like Roger McGough and Adrian Henri. I can remember where I was sitting in Ipswich Girl's Grammar School library when I first discovered Henri's poem, 'Without You'. What did I love about it? It was both real and surreal.  The language and imagery changed from jokey 'Without you there'd be no colour in Magic colouring books' to melodramatic, 'Without you Mahler's 8th would only be performed by street musicians in derelict houses' to poignant, 'Without you blind men would sell unlucky heather'. I was twelve and had a crush on boy, a young man, really, well out of my reach. I had only been kissed inexpertly, but the fear and yearning behind the wit, and something else, too - a vitality - in the lines sang out to me.

I don't want to break copyright but click here to hear Adrian Henri's 'Without You' read by James Haddow. You have to scroll down a little and be patient.

In other poetic news? The Poetry Circle explored a number of poems at our last, sadly triangular, meeting. With only three of us present we zoomed through the following:

'Earth Hour' by David Malouf
'Aquarius' by David Malouf

'The Ikons' by J K Baxter
'Olduvai Gorge Thorn Tree' by Sarah Lindsay
'Evaluation of an Unwritten Poem' Wislawa Szymborska
'No Title Required' by Wislawa Szymborska
'Taliesin and the Spring of Vision' by Vernon Watkins
'Music of Colours: White Blossom' by Vernon Watkins
'Solomon Grundy' by Alice Oswald
'Dart' by Alice Oswald

I loved the Alice Oswald poems - and I hadn't struck her work before. They had a lovely energy and unexpected twists and turns of imagery. 

More poetry on the Tuesday Poem page and from there you are only a click away from many other poems brought to you each Tuesday.

Tuesday Poem

It's been a day of minor computer frustrations, culminating apparently, with this blog which doesn't want to accept a poem of Robert Louis Stevenson talking about winter. That may be due to the real temperature outside, which has hit 40 degrees celsius once again this summer. Thinking poems about snow might be antidotes to the heat, I did some research and was all prepared with a wintery Stevenson poem when everything failed me.

So, instead, I bring you three summer haiku:

Mid-life sports car

his bald spot

burns.

One goth at the bus stop

mascara weeping –

heat wave.

At the outdoor cinema

mosquito slaps

punctuate  dialogue.

When you've poured yourself a tall glass of something cool, head over to the Tuesday poem blog where you can read 'Eastbourne' by Helen Jacobs, full of lovely cool imagery. This week's Tuesday Poem has been guest edited by Mary McCallum. 

From the hub, check out poems from other Tuesday poem bloggers.  Come back here next week when I'm featuring a guest poet, Dennis Woodley.

It's bISummer fading, winter comes— Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs Window robins, winter rooks, And the picture story-books. Water now is turned to stone Nurse and I can walk upon; Still we find the flowing brooks In the picture story-books. All the pretty things put by, Wait upon the children's eye, Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks, In the picture story-books. We may see how all things are, Seas and cities, near and far, And the flying fairies' looks, In the pictyure story-books. How am I to sing your praise, Happy chimney-corner days, Sitting safe in nursery nooks, Reading picture story-books? - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/21243#sthash.DGBFcuW9.dpuf

Picture-books in Winter

  by Robert Louis Stevenson

Summer fading, winter comes—   
Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs   
Window robins, winter rooks,   
And the picture story-books.   
   
Water now is turned to stone
Nurse and I can walk upon;   
Still we find the flowing brooks   
In the picture story-books.   
   
All the pretty things put by,   
Wait upon the children's eye,
Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks,   
In the picture story-books.   
   
We may see how all things are,   
Seas and cities, near and far,   
And the flying fairies' looks,
In the pictyure story-books.   
   
How am I to sing your praise,   
Happy chimney-corner days,   
Sitting safe in nursery nooks,   
Reading picture story-books?

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/21243#sthash.RBnaCrFX.dpuf

Picture-books in Winter

  by Robert Louis Stevenson

Summer fading, winter comes—   
Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs   
Window robins, winter rooks,   
And the picture story-books.   
   
Water now is turned to stone
Nurse and I can walk upon;   
Still we find the flowing brooks   
In the picture story-books.   
   
All the pretty things put by,   
Wait upon the children's eye,
Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks,   
In the picture story-books.   
   
We may see how all things are,   
Seas and cities, near and far,   
And the flying fairies' looks,
In the pictyure story-books.   
   
How am I to sing your praise,   
Happy chimney-corner days,   
Sitting safe in nursery nooks,   
Reading picture story-books?

- See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/21243#sthash.RBnaCrFX.dpuf