Black & White Worlds

The theme this week was black & white. Firstly writers were asked to respond to the question "What if the world was black and white?" After writing we realised that a black and white world would actually be mostly grey! Next they were asked to think of a black and white film they had seen and bring one of the characters to life. Surprisingly one person in the group had never seen a black and white film, others used television characters. We had the option of writing poetry or prose and not surprisingly some went somewhere in between - 'prose poetry' - the debate about which it is continues and will likely never be resolved!



WHITE HOT

Earth is white and all around is darkness
Shapes of buildings rise, blocking in the dark
and down the road a traffic beacon
flashes grey to grey and grey
A white tree rises ghostly in the park, where
white grass glistens with the dark dew of morning

From Earth's core a fiery glow sustains
heat for growth and life
While a dark sun follows Earth's dark moon
across a daytime-black sky
filled with twinkling lights

Homes painted in many shades of grey
Line cheerless suburban streets
Inside the hearth is warm, heated from Earth's core
glowing white-hot. Our Earth, giving life

- Kate Jenkins

FEAR IS PRETTY BLACK AND WHITE

PART 1

The wind howls wild like a dog in the night. I feel my fingers shake. Each step, I crawl closer. Could this be a mistake? It’s only something small yet it looms aggressively in my eyes. I am climbing the mountain, most foul and most high. My feet collide with the crumbling dirt, agonising shards of winter rip through my shirt but on I walk up the slope to a place they call hope.

There is a legend I am chasing, one whispered long ago about a differentiation, a bright gap amidst the snow. I remember reading the thought stashed at the back of my mind. Sketched so clearly on paper in black and white. The legend temps me towards the light, so up the mountain I must climb.

My boots are heavy and my breath ragged, scaling up these perilous daggers yet climb I must. I thrust the next foot forward, feeling my heart pound like a drum. All though the journeys not always fair there's always room to run.

I am chasing a rumour called colour, it sits at the very top and even through the snow I feel the streaks of tiny colour blots and up there I ponder, a new way to see. Up the mountain high is where I want to be. Living in colour, that is my objective and dream.

PART 2

His face was covered in lines as he walked with stony steps. His mood reflected in the way he walked. Along the garden path he would frown to all the flowers then carry on his way to the store. Cane in hand, he was an older man who had lived his life well before. His eye brows could sweep the street, posture impossibly unique and every day he walked, creased faced to the park to pass the gate. One day he was traveling, his stony steps routine and he happened past a shop window, freshly cleaned and gleaming. A woman stood there smiling as she wiped the window down, he’d never felt his face in any shape other than a frown. His brow began to lift like a hat removed gracefully from a head. His eyebrows arched upwards and pushed the lines towards his forehead. His nose rose steadily and his cheeks were crimson red, rows of sparking teeth stretched under his happy smile. An experience he soon wouldn’t forget. The man continued down the path feeling brighter in his step. Seeing things beyond the frame he always found himself drawn in, his world began to change and with every single step he felt a little better with every day he kept.

- Nellie Toubon

WHAT IF?

What if the world is only black and white?

For some things, that would be alright

Pandas would still be super-cuddly

Zebras could still make a good buddy

Black labs, white sheep

Snow drifts so deep

That empty, blank canvas

That so enjoys to taunt us

But the blue of the sky

And the birds that fly high

Would be grey and boring

Would we even see them soaring?

At least if I dress

And try to impress

Everything would go together

Whether lace, wool or leather!

- Christine Philp