Repeat it if it's good

Inspiration for this week came from a song by Bob Dylan called 'Shelter from the Storm' which includes a repeated line similar to the title - 'Come in she said, I'll give you shelter from the storm'. The line is repeated at the end of each verse and creates a powerful structure. Repetition can be a useful device in poetry so the task was to use a repeating line. Thanks Bob!

THIS NEEDS TO BE HELD... NOT QUICKLY SPENT

This needs to be held

Not quickly spent...

 

The warmth as I enter 

My new home

 

The shaft of sunlight

Widening

As the sun glides around

The "other building"

 

The green, tenderly painted

Cast-iron ends of my

grandmother's seat

Standing guard

Offering rest

 

My mother's

Carefully chosen birdbath

Standing to the south

Reflecting sky

And shells

thoughtfully placed

 

All this

Needs to be held...

 

not quickly

spent.

- Pauline

If I was a Unicorn...

A chance meeting with a unicorn led to today's topic - unicorns! Okay it wasn't a real unicorn but what if? The challenge set for our writers was firstly to write a poem with the title "If I was a unicorn..." The poet could become the unicorn or look from the outside in a more detached way. And how does a unicorn move, think and feel anyway? So we had a bit of fun with that and then doubled down on the unicorn theme with a second poem that had to feature not only a unicorn, but a fluffy cloud, a sheep and a snowflake. These ideas were inspired by a lantern installation in Dunedin in the month of June at the Meridian Mall as part of the 2021 Dunedin Midwinter Carnival.

CLOUD SHAPES

From grassy bank, sky clear blue

in whose fluffy clouds imagination sees

a sheep jumping over a snowflake

a crystal tearing off, becoming a horn

ovine legs grow strongly long

now bouncing tail flows long and free

a fast and running unicorn, until

fluffy clouds reform, and all are gone

- Kate Jenkins

IF I WAS A UNICORN

Unique horn

Pointed

Sharp

Piercing eyes

Inward

To the heart

Lit from within

Shedding light outwards into

The dark and cold

Blackness of

night

- Pauline

IF I WAS A UNICORN

If I was a unicorn.

I would talk to animals.

Gallop along a field of grass.

I would jump over fences to explore the rest of the world.

I would feel free as my mane blows in the wind.

I would see animals in a different light.

I would meet people brave enough to meet a unicorn.

If I was a unicorn.

I would be happy forever.

Living in this fantasy world.

 

- Julia Godfrey

 

IF UNICORNS DIED OUT

Clamped in sediments am I

Old bones still strong and tight

Once in a forest I laid down

caught by storms of disbelief and doubt.

Historic?  Mythical?  Gone.

This life did not exist

But words held my pulse, and

Art kept my being light

A nursery tale, wandering, sought

Stories wished into open thought

I wait the day when scraping trowel

reveals my bones to show the 'now'

that I exist, I have not gone

Your dreams, your hopes

will trot my song

- Kate Jenkins

Micro Fiction

This week we were inspired by the national Flash Fiction competition which we didn't enter but at least it prompted us to write! We limited ourselves to 100 words and had four topics to choose from. Below are three using 'Night creature' and one for 'A letter in the wall'. The aim was to tell a dramatic short story in as few words as possible and to brush up on our editing skills as we often had to cut the story back to fit the required word length. We also focussed on ensuring our first and last lines were compelling as this is especially important when using so few words. Well done all!

THE NIGHT CREATURE

Her eyes were lost in a cloud of darkness. She blindly felt for switches. Scrabbling silence like a muted thriller.

All she could hear was a creaking floor board. Her creaking?

She was alone surely. Torch, she’d found a torch. It flickered like a dying candle.

Creak!

She desperately pressed the button on and off.

A giant shadow moved torward her. She screamed as someone grabbed her around the body.
She pulled an arm free and shined her stuttering torch at a maniacal laughing face.

“How dare you,” she shouted in frustration as her husband hugged her tighter.

By Julia Godfrey

NIGHT CREATURE

He woke, afraid, black silence slicing dark holes in his mind.  Intruders?  Earthquake?  Flood?  Rain drummed heavily on the cast-iron roof, pulsed by incoming wind gusts, poured along the channels, cascading where the down-pipe wasn't.

Detected again; a scratchy snuffling, wheezing, below the overlaying rain and wind.  He sat up, feet on the blanket, stretching for his shotgun.  Blast!  He flicked the bed lamp;  only darkness.  Bollocks!  He leaped, and stamped his feet heavily, drumming the floor; books from the untidy shelf cascaded into a literary mound.  Silence grew between the sounds of wind and rain.

- Kate Jenkins

NIGHT CREATURE

It was dark and the path was steep. The gradient climbing upwards, hugging the predator-free fence that wound around the eco-sanctuary - a ribbon draped on the rounded hills of Orokonui.

My breathing was becoming increasingly laboured. I needed a rest but was afraid of stopping. It was late and a warm hearth beckoned. Although the short-cut home had seemed like a good idea at the time, doubts were now creeping in.

From the quiet of dusk, night noises were beginning. A rustle here, a snuffle there. The crunching of gravel underneath my feet. The thumping of my own heart and then came that noise, the one that chilled my blood...

- Pauline

POSTE PAST

Chisel and crowbar worked around the chimney; mortar blew powdery onto face and arms; bricks crashed down.  David wiped dust from his eyes.  Among the bricks, a paper corner showed.  He drew it to the light.

"My Dearest Joe,

I heard today of the passing of your dear Mother.  A lovely lady; so kind to me, particularly at that dreadful time. 

I do wish we might have stayed together.  

My thoughts are with your family.  Please convey my sympathy to dear cousin Elsie.

                                                                                    Yours faithfully,

                                                                                           Florence  "

David slid the letter back into the envelope and, opening the wood burner, threw it in.

- Kate Jenkins

Creative Keys Part 2

This is the second session we have focussed on our old upright piano and its impending fate to be transformed into a multitude of artworks. The aim was to describe the piano in detail and then attempt to tell its story.  

LA GONDA    (we'll stop here for a break)

Honeycomb interior peeks out from 

dark varnish, its smooth polish shining

Soft hammers, creamy above the dirty ivory keys 

Strings like a harp, their spine curving, metallic, 

clamped, restrained, restricted by many solid screws

Holes behind the strings let sound cascade,

less like honey oozing, into the sound box

- Kate Jenkins

[75385]

Naked strings exposed to eye

  and dust

Felted hammers waiting

  Promises unfulfilled floating in the air

Your skin, much absent

  otherwise beaten, battered

    abused

Tattooed with identity

  patronym

    and slave trader

Exposed organs

  dusty

But no, not an organ

  no pipes

Just heartstrings taut, quivering in the air

  as you await execution

 

- MJR

END NOTE:  75385

When your screws yield to the electric drill

your nails and glue will give to hammer blow

tinkling ivories will clasp to ebonies, and a

melee of tangling strings knit a new design.

The pressure bar that binds LaGonda strings

will twist and warp;  dissonance new  

and the four, six, twelve large bolts will fall

peeling pin block from warm wood

into cold sound-shimmering air

        don't sit on that stool, 

        its legs will succumb to weight

and metal pedals will walk to another's tune

where octaves run no more

- Kate Jenkins

UNTITLED

Once in a forest

     and a mine or three

          the back of a sheep

               the face of a great beast

 

Gestated by active hands

     in New Castle, Indiana

          in a nation with no true castles

 

And cast out, over the sea

     a servant to strange fingers

          in strange lands

               making strange cacophony

 

Old torments to new torments

Assemblies disassembled

 

Never again to be a forest

     or mine

          or creature

 

But perhaps something

     gestated anew

          by new active hands.

 

- MJR

PIECES POETICO

Fragments of a tune scatter

beneath the tunemaker's resting components

fractured, stretched, aniente-to nothing

disassembled, sognando-dreaming

Timbre, that unique character, resonating now

as light and colour and shape

Turned up words

Design abstracted

Textures once pounded, rest

Work done. Score Al fine, ends

CAMOFLAGE

Hidden rocket launchers

beneath a shield of green

fire with purpose another time

Once these worked their blast

Within the bowls of The Piano

Deep resonance

Ear startling volume

Danger! watch out

Creative Complaints

Complaining is seen as negative but with a little creativity it can be very amusing and somewhat satisfying. We started today's writing session with a letter to the editor with a minor concern that probably doesn't warrant writing a letter to the editor about. We then moved on to a letter of complaint to a company about a product or service we have experienced that was too successful or had some unintended consequence. Finally we wrote a letter of complaint to world leaders - so much to say and so little time!

DEAR EDITOR

I am distraught after recently riding a bus into town and failing to swipe on.  A gasp of fear was followed by nervous laughter, then hysterical cheering.  The Bee Card sensor was missing.  I scanned of course but instead of relaxing and checking out people's backyards, I had to spend my ride editing QR notes - times, bus stops, number of persons getting on, number of persons getting off, their gender, proximity to each passenger, and to the driver.  I didn't have enough time to sanitize!  

I cannot stress enough that a free trip is not worth the trauma, the devastation, of a ride without swiping on and off.  Come on ORC, you must have some spares sensors you can swap in!

Yours Kate Jenkins

DEAR MAINLAND

    Your cheese it is creamy and quick to delight

   but your TV adverts have caused quite a fright

    Two hoary old men with their corer in hand

    testing a block 'til there's naught left but sand

    I cannot report I enjoy eating cheese crumbs

    as I see each fine block consumed by the bums

    You sell only dregs while they eat up the best

    Come on Mainland, don't just give us the rest

    Your ads I observe are both scenic and lovely

    Just be sure you sell us good cheese in entirety

- Kate Jenkins

DEAR EDITOR

Just the other day I was happily strolling along ' Is it just me? ' street when my eyes were assaulted by a mural - a busy, virtually colourless, unbeautiful "painting" of gigantic proportions that was exceedingly hurtful to mine eyes.

This monstrosity seemed to serve no purpose but to irritate. And it did.

Where was the braided river...? the stretching plain...? the wood pigeon in her maroon/green waistcoat...?

Where were the flowers, the rata etc etc ?

I sign myself your most offended citizen/reader.

- Lucy Anne

DEAR DONALD

As a non-poetic president

Do you know what you've missed?

Justice and peace

are high on the list

Your light 

hidden by shadow

falling heavily 

upon the nation

you lead

astray.

- Lucy Anne

DEEPLY CONCERNED

I note in your article titled `Missing man found' (printed on 26/1/2021), that your first sentence did not end in a satisfactory manner, ie there was no full stop.  Now, while some may view this as a minor concern, I see it as an example of the decline in journalism, and the lack of care given to the work produced.  Surely even a simple grammar check would have picked this up!

- Christine

DEAR SIR/MADAM

Please find attached one large screw.  I found this in a can of your `Chunky Tomato Soup' - a very unexpected chunk as you can imagine!  I hope you can find where it goes, as I would hate for your machinery to fall apart due to this missing screw.

Yours

Christine

The Secret Life of ...

Today we wrote in the vein of Steve Braunias' column 'The Secret Diary of...' and chose a politician to make fun of - going through each day with a short diary entry. This formulaic approach is a great way to put yourself in someone else's shoes and have some fun with creative writing.

THE SECRET DIARY OF... JACKIE A

Monday:  53 reports down and four hours in the House.  Definitely not giving any money to those wankers from the Southern DHB

Tuesday:  Must have coffee with Judith sometime.  We need a strategy for livening things up in the House - it's soo boring

Wednesday:  I thought I was getting a quiet meal out with Clark but the restaurant insisted on social distancing us, and everybody else - such a nuisance

Thursday:  I should have put my hand up for Government Whip instead of PM.  I'd like to give those National boys a good whipping, they're so noisy in class, in Parliament

Friday:  Still got heaps of fans,  I think I nearly outrank Jodie Whittaker.     Three schools to visit.  At least small children ask sensible questions - the ones I know the answer to

Saturday:  Just another working day.  45 reports read, three to go.  The one on the Dunedin waterfront Cockleshell is a bit bizarre.  Where do they think they are living?  Wellington?      Fat wallets down there, they can fund it themselves

Sunday:  Neve's got the runs again, I wonder what Clark's been feeding her.  Must go for a run myself later - good thing I spotted that foldaway treadmill on the infomercials, no need to go out with actual people

Monday:  Damn I looked good on that Facebook page!  Better than the original clip when I had to be so straight-faced.  But the money!  I must get the SIS to find out who ripped off my video and make the lawyers sting them, or send the DPS to lean on them

- Kate Jenkins

THE SECRET DIARY OF... LEE

Monday: I parked on the 5 min outside Council. I wasn't expecting to be there long - Council meetings are pretty short these days - before I leave in disgust or get kicked out. Five hours later I got back to the car and headed for home. I had to turn the wipers on to get rid of the confetti - must have been a street party. No doubt the contractors forgot to clean up - just wait till tomorrow boyo.

Tuesday: I spent two hours looking for a park this morning. It's outrageous! There's no parks in this town. Even my Council park ws taken by a car that looks similar to my other car - some sort of sick joke no doubt.

Wednesday: I calmly explained to the parking staff that I was legally parked. They must have had sore ears to be covering them so often. Quite a few people were getting in the way, stepping in between us so I had to point lots so they knew who I was talking to.

Thursday: I sat in the mayoral chair. It felt warm and I wondered if it was heated - more Council waste - the list goes on. The chair felt good. It felt right. I imagined my subjects eyes looking at me devotedly, hanging on every word, staff jumping to do my bidding. I heard a noice and noticed he cleaner vacuuming around my legs. Where does the time go?

Friday: Finally got back to my car. It was covered in tickets. Must have blown off some other cars. I drove off with a bump. I heard someone cry out but I only saw a parking warden lying on the ground behind me - lazy bugger. I turned around and gave him an earful out the window but he didn't move. Must have been asleep on the job. Just wait till I get to work on Monday.

- P.S.

New Year Resolutions

We all make resolutions and we all fail to keep them. So we decided to mix it up and write a poem that featured both real and imaginary resolutions, that way no-one will be able to hold us to account and it's a bit more fun!

 

THE RESOLUTION TO END ALL RESOLUTIONS

This year I resolve to speak feline
So when my cat verbalises I will be able to cater to his every whim

I resolve to walk more
If my newly understood cat follows me I will be very happy

I resolve to go vegetarian
Self explanatory - good for the pocket, good for the world

I resolve to read every day - oops already broke that one

I resolve to learn a new handicraft - no this time I really do

I resolve to give up smoking
By the way I have a smoke in my hand while I am writing this

I resolve to stop making resolutions I can't keep.

- M.F.

RESOLUTION

This year will be different

I'm going to be healthy

I'll give up smoking, booze, coffee and sugar

I'll eat five servings of fruit a day

I'll get the house organised

I'll wash all the blankets

I'll dust every day

and mop the floor twice a week

I'll clean the oven

I'll organise my wardrobe by colour

and take the clothes that no longer fit me

to the op shop

I'll save money

Seven thousand to paint the house

Ten thousand for a trip to Ireland

Twelve hundred for new washing machine

and fifteen thousand for a rainy day

Oh, I see it's raining now

I'll just put my feet up

and do a bit of knitting

until it's a better time to start

- Helen

EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES

Exploring the possibilities of collecting antiques sometimes has it's problems.

Exploring the possibilities of being a contemporary artist searching for found objects doesn't always pay off.

Exploring the possibilities of being a poet makes me cringe and I dont like it. Yet it maybe the right path to take

Considering that I may be a billion miles away from where I should be, I'll take my chances with one of these, but only if it can draw in a serious fee!

- Haki S Davis

I RESOLVE....

I resolve to never bitch

Or react to every itch

And every slight that I might hear

No matter how far or near.

I resolve to stand up tall

And not to crumble or to fall

When things go wrong, as they do

I will not cry "boo hoo".

I resolve to put away 

All the things with which I play

Creatively I put things down

Never again to be found.

I resolve to ignore

The dribble from a certain jaw

As he declares the vote's a farce

I will imagine him on his arse.

I resolve to not resolve

As annually they do revolve

And come back with sharp teeth to bite

New Year's resolutions - "yeah, right".

- Christine Philp

RESTART MY PAST RESOLUTIONS
 
Last year I nearly got through my New Year Resolutions
I nearly watched a full movie series
I had watched 5 of them but over and over again
Kept away from 2 of the other movies from the series
I had read 5 books from the same series
kept away from 2 of the other books from the series
My New Year Resolutions for This Year
I Hope to finish off what I started Last Year
To Read 2 books from the same series
To Watch 2 movies that are from the same movie series
Cause my biggest fear is reading and watching scary scenes
But once I watch and read the Movies and Books
My New Year Resolutions will be complete 
And My Fear of watching and reading scary scenes will be gone
 
By Julia Godfrey