Poetry, Beginning To Write Again Many Years

If you have read some of my previous posts here or my poetry-basedSquidoo lenses, you will be aware that the poetry I have been posting on the internet was almost all writtten many years ago in my youth. I have mentioned that my interest in writing has been reawakened by the postings. However, I have not been active in this endeavour.

In order to kick-start myself into action I am going to try and write a poem everyday. I am not sure if I can carry this off but if I do it will lead to a number of short, probably poorly written and an eclectic range of subjects. All to the good perhaps, especially the latter. Also, looking on the bright side, I should be able to edit the better ones into something to be proud of. The hope is that the action of writing will have three major affects:-

• Writing more will encourage more writing
• Writing more will encourage creativivty in my writing
• Writing more will improve my consistency and skills in writing

If I seem to be repeating myself it is because I have great expectations of writing more. So everyday I will be making notes and putting a couple of stanzas down on paper. I will be editing as I go of course which is of course a standard part of the writing process. However I hope that by frequently posting  some of the "best" on this blog, more editing of course, I will get back into the business of writing poetry again.

Here are three which I have writen on the first two days of this project. Nothing came on the third day but I do feel good about them.

 

20^th June (My thanks and apologies to William Shakespeare for the inspiration.)

Rush Hour

Hustle, bustle, toil and ruffle

Clothes protecting from the weather.

Rushing through the snow and rain

To their place of work ordained, 

Commuting colleagues all together.

Every morning it’s the same.

In the evening, repeat procedure

But carry out in reverse order.

Buses, trains and cars a-honking

Stressful signs of people waiting

To get home a little quicker;

Lord, O Lord, please heed their praying.

Played around with many rhyming schemes but settled on this one. Not usual for me - but after reading lots of free and non-rhyming poetry I wanted to be different. The first stanza came together and I worked on it for sometime using ABCCBC.

The original second line was, “Clothes worn keeping out the weather”. I may still keep it yet. Actually on second thoughts, to go back to the rhyming scheme, I am stayin with the original. Leaving, “Clothes worn to keep us warm” as second reserve.

The last two lines in stanza 2, after failing originally to maintain the rhyme scheme were,

“For the next stage of their journey

To get home, Lord heed their praying.”

NB. I moved the word “procedure” from line to line three times during the writing of this poem.

Shopping

Spending money, joining queues;

Oh boy, what joy

I can think of better things

To occupy my mind.

And if it should come to it,

I rather spend my time

Doing almost anything else,

Than shopping

I get no satisfaction

From brash new fashion.

I don’t need or get along

With must-have toys for boys.

Why are they so needed?

It really is a mystery,

A waste of world resources.

That’s shopping!

Wow, I thought I had finished this but have made several minor and a couple of major revisions to it whilst typing.  These were mostly to improve the metre and rhythm of the lines in the poem.

Apologies to Messers Jagger and Richards, but I declined their original line to improve the metre here.

21^st June

Rain

It’s raining again, oh goody!

They told us we were short of water

And to use a hose was out of order.

In case of use a fine would follow

But now that’s sounding rather hollow.

It’s raining again, oh goody!

The shortest yet! Written during a few minutes waiting for a colleague at work.

I will of course keep you up to date with this project, hopefylly more posts (and poems) will follow rapidly.