A longer poem (or not)

It is a time of year when a working man such as myself finds the luxury of a few hours in which to play. This year I also had the unexpected surprise of youtube advising me that I was now privileged to be able to upload videos lasting longer than 15 minutes in length. The result is a recording of poetry written earlier in the year whilst I was working on secondment in Devon, returning home to Lincolnshire only at weekends. I specifically didn't title any of the poems at the time of writing with the intention that they would be at some time in the future be connected together. It is not a seamless integration but I hope it does move some way towards that longer poem that my tutor Mahendra Solanki said I ought to try and write.

Devon Revisited

The 729th Re-evaluation

Laughter, yes I remember laughter
& certainly vivacious
I could have taken her, there and then
& many, many times after
Even now
The sap occasionally rises

One wonders
With matters such as this
Whether time ought to be counted
In seconds and minutes
Or in days and weeks
Months and years

Whether events
Ought to be recollected
As full on factual truth
Or laid out, made more favourable
As a fictional representation

No doubt we are at a distance
Which may cloud objectivity
Yet I peruse, as darkness falls
Surely it is worthwhile to probe
The sources of our dreams
The meanings of our deviations

Happy Christmas

Only later did I read of his love of YKB

Instead I wrapped presents
Read a poem by Derek Jarman
…fucking, fucking, fucking

I came with nothing
I was given nothing;
given nothing, but
the tongue-tied gift of love

A clear September night
on a quiet hilltop
sat, counting the stars
with tear filled eyes
blurring the darkness

I go with nothing
I gave everything;
gave everything, except
the tongue-tied gift of love

…fucking, fucking, fucking
a poem from myself the poet –
she unwrapped presents instead

Christopher’s booklist from Alford Manor Workshop

Yukio Mishima: Spring Snow (The sea of fertility) …I told Kri about this dream…dreams, memories, the sacred – they are all alike in that they are beyond our grasp
Chris Drury: Silent Spaces - An artist who works in the wilderness areas of the world building shelters
Poems for Shelter - The house that Jack Built – Alan Brownjohn – In this City
Jay Parinini: Why poetry matters – Place is crucial for Eliot
Gaston Bachelard: The poetics of space – A wonderful book that teaches you exactly what it says on the tin
John Lane: The spirit of silence – A tough and gentle book by an author who has sought out silence…silence brings us into touch with the inner depths which elude us in the hurly burly of our everyday lives
Carlos Domingoes: The paper house…the wall were crammed with enormous glass bookcases that stretched from floor to ceiling…a fable about the power of literature to steer our destinies
Paul Mathews: Sing me the Creation... Statement: Question: Exclamation: Command…everything that we say or write is bound to be one of these The best source book for creative writing exercises that I have come across by far…loads of leads
Bell & Magris: The creative writing coursebook…from the MA at UAE…a very workmanlike item for self study support

Alford Manor House Full Day Poetry Workshop

Following on from the success of Woody's Top Residential Lincolnshire Poets Paul Sutherland and Christopher Sanderson are hosting a full day way workshop in the inspirational setting of Alford Manor House. On Sunday December 6th from Ten while Four!