I believe in ABCs

Today we challenged ourselves with two writing exercises. The first involved writing a narrative poem using the alphabet, with each line starting with the next letter from A-Z. Sounds tricky but people came up with some great results. The second exercise was to write a poem of 10 lines each starting with the words 'I believe...'. This generated some heartfelt and humorous results. 



MORNING LARK

Alarm
Briiiiiiiiing!!!!! Its morning
Crap
Dam
Every morning
Fling off the covers
Grrrrrrrrreat
Here we go
I know its for the best
Just its soooooooooo warm and snuggly in bed
Kick out my feet
Leap - ha!ha!
Move sloooooowly
Niggle in my back - ouch
Open my eyes - yes they were still closed
Peer out at the day
Quickly stand before I change my mind
Run to the shower - OK plod
Shower
Teeth
Undies whipped off the heated towel rail - broken - no heat
Very annoying
Walk to the door and
'Xit it
You would think by now I would remember to not let my niece play on my phone
Zzzzzzzzzzz back to sleep. It was a false alarm - she'd set the alarm for 3am!!!! Kidzzzzzzzzzz!!!

- Lucy



BUS DANCING

As I walked, breath came heavy, and the road sloped uphill
Bus sounds drifted down the road, I took a deeper steadying breath
Can I make it on time?  I thought anxiously
Doesn't really matter, I can take the car if I miss it
Eventually I reached the bus stop, and sat panting slightly
For a while the sun shone on me, weakly through cloud
Going up into the bus I greeted the driver
How much to Princes Street? I asked him
It seemed cheap, the same as going to the Octagon
Just a short time later we passed the Gardens, green and starting to flower
Keeping in lane we sailed down George Street
Long looks at my old workplace as we passed
Maybe one day I will work again
Not just yet though
Of those things I would like to do
Part-time work would suffice
Queer how things turn around
Reaching between memory and reality
Some doubts about the past dog my thoughts
Trust myself, my beliefs, or
Undermine confidence with disbelief
Very fragile the place I hold,  my
World can be beautiful, steady, but
X-ray sight opens it up to internal scrutiny
Yet, left alone it stays calm, as my bus
Zig zags thru the Octagon traffic

- Karen



A DAY IN A CASTLE

A long time ago
By a castle deep in the forest
Cute Cats lived with a pretty Girl
Daring to find a fun thing to do, she
Eat fish
Got to have some laughs
Joyfully sang
Kicked a soccer ball
Learned to read
Made friends
Needs hugs
Open the window to a nice view
Plant flowers in pots
Quickly paint the walls
Rinse the flowers
Sang to herself
Tickle the cats
Unlocked the doors
Very pretty hair
Works in the castle
X-ray
Yoddle all day
Zone to a dream

- Julia



LIFE IN THE SUBURBS

All the neighbourhood dogs
Barked loudly
Cos the kids
Down the street
Egged the cars
From the house
Giant it was!
House? More like a mansion
I saw them
Just take off
Kicking the cat
Legging it down the street
Mangling letterboxes
Nuisances all of them
Obstreperous little shits
Police, that's what we need
Quaint that idea
Really
Since they only work 9-5 out here
That's right
Unless it's a murder
Very little help
Will be available
Xerox police - that's what we need
Young handsome ones
Zipping around on skateboards

- Christine



NINE

I believe the moon will come up tonight, even if I can only see clouds
I believe spring will lighten my day, with morning flowers and late afternoon sun
I believe a friend on the other side of the world is still my friend
I believe doing nothing isn't a waste of time
I believe creating something is strength,even if someone else draws the pattern
I believe family is security, especially in old age
I believe hearing concordant sounds can soothe
I believe we must nurture ourselves to nurture the world
I believe a joke can be better than silence
I believe nine is as good as ten

- Karen



I BELIEVE

I believe in things I can't see
I believe in mystery
I believe something's in Loch Ness
I believe we should leave it alone
I believe there's life on other planets
I believe we're wasting money trying to find it
I believe there's lots more to know about our planet
I believe we have to do it quickly
I believe we have to look after each other, cos
I believe we are killing ourselves and our planet.

- Christine

Hope is in the air

Today we focussed on hope. We started with a brainstorm of what hope means to us. We then took one idea and developed a poem based on that. For our second poem we tried to incorporate as many ideas of hope into it as we could. Can you guess which is which?


SPRING

Spring has sprung again
Slowly
Delightfully
Showing her colours
Surprising the long cold
Winter
With new life.

- Pauline



HOPE

Hope springs eternal
Laughter blossoms
Birdsong
Trills musically
Announcing a new day
Flowers
Create sunshine from within
Wood
Fires the immagination
Turning the tide
Toward love
Proffering healing
An invitation
To friendship with
God.

- Pauline



LAUGHTER & BABIES

When you hear a baby laugh
it is just like hearing and seeing hope
for the first time for the baby
and yourself because it makes you feel
safe and believe that the baby will live
a sweet, peaceful and happy life
full of laughter.

- Julia



FRIENDSHIP & LOVE

A strong friendship can
eventually blossom into love
when you hang and get to know
your friend more than you ever
know you can gather feelings
for that someone and that
makes you hope that soon
your friendship will soon blossom
into love and spend more time together
and begin a life of friendship, love
and happiness.

- Julia



HOPE WORDS

New ideas for Spring form like babies, a work of God.
In the woodstack small animals play
as I exercise my creativity, not in art or film as others do,
but with pen, trying something new.
I achieve my own art, as imagination,
grasping blossoms and flowers, sunshine and birdsong
links these images with healing and love.
Later, at the beach, the music of waves and laughter of
 friendship brings a new day.

-Karen



HOPEFUL

Sunshine is hotter now
no clouds thin the rays of heat and light
                       landing and resting on my face.
Trees have buds, some bursting into flowers of
                       white, deep red, pink, and yellow,
                       small, tiny even, and large;
no rules, just what worked in their original place.

Pigeon balances on a tiny branch, the thinnest twig,
pecking at kowhai buds with an eager beak.
The Winter is passing into hopeful Spring.

- Karen



HOPE IN BIRDSONG

Duck quacks (don't echo), calling louder, colours brighter
pairing up in the long grass by the gutter, blindly following
across roads and grass, not noticing fences or boundaries,
     oblivious of traffic,      seeking something;
                    dreams of eggs
                                 of chicks
                  the hope of ducks.

-Karen



HOPE - BABIES

A new born baby brings hope,
As they loving touch your hand,
They look into their mum's eyes.
Before they can see,
They look towards their mum's voice,
They recognise their mum and dad's voices.
Nine months journey, this bonding
has been happening.

Babies are so intricately made.
Their tiny wee hands and feet,
Their hair, some with none.

That hew born cry, that could
only come from a newborn.
As those wee chubby tiny hands
learn to hold your fingers.

What a delight they are.
Their dimples, their smiles,
Their cooing and gahing,
That eventually become words.

Precious gifts from God above,
Babies and their joy bring hope!

- Nola



A NEW DAY

Spring is here!
Blossom on the trees
Sunshine glistening on the water,

Baby animals,
Calves and lambs skipping in the fields

Bring hope of a new day birthed!

- Nola



GOD

Never fails
Always prevails
Never defeated
Always the same
Never changes
Always available
Never in a hurry
Always loves
Never hates
Omnipotent
Omnisent
Ever present.

Made the sun shine
Teaches the birds to sing
Makes the flowers blossom in Spring
Exercising authority with love
Fires up the imagination
Gives visions in the night
Gives health to new born babies
Encourages creativity
Heals the sick
Creates friendships
God today, yesterday and forever.

- Haki Davis


UP

I have an idea!
It sounds like birdsong.
Music to my ears
As I run along the beach.
Sunshine filling me with love and laughter.
A new day.
A new way.
My goal within reach.
An educated life, from the natural world, informing my every step
As my feet pound down with health and dreams of wealth.
A meal and friendship awaiting my return.
Imagining the warmth of the fire.
Full of life in my heart.
Today I am reborn.

- Lucy