Poetry

Sunday 4 December 2011

Do you write or read poetry?  I really like the way occasionally a poem will come out of the blue.  Sometimes I wake up with a phrase in my head that feels like a poem phrase.  It's like it's this little compact world that with a bit of tinkering I can tease out.

I have never really written any poetry until several years ago.  It's something I'm glad to have discovered.  It tends to feel very different than any other form of writing.  Fun.

I have never written poetry in any regular way, but I do remember what I think is the very first poem I ever wrote.  I suppose I was about eight or nine when I wrote this amazing piece of ethereal beauty:

Mel Brown went to town
in his mother's dressing gown.

On his way he went to church
in a little town called Murch*.

Inside a man called Sheep Shanks gave a cough
because he said Mel popped off**.

*Murchison, in country Victoria.  My grandmother came from them thar parts.
**Farted.

I find it interesting that Sheep Shanks was so terribly rude that he would cough and also mention, in the middle of a church service, Mel's unfortunate flatulence.  What an unfortunate sort of a fellow.  Must be the burden he's carrying, having a name like Sheep Shanks.

I can remember my mum laughing at this poem.  I think it definitely boded well for a glittering literary career in the distant future.

15 comments

  1. wow - so cool that you have a copy of that, or even more amazing if its simply from memory

    i used to write stories, books of them, as a child
    don't know what happened to them, would be fun to read one now

    poetry and prose are fun to write
    and i'm all for creative stuff that's fun :-)

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  2. I used to be able to remember the first poem I wrote, but it's lost to the ages now. I started when I was about 8 years old. Haven't written much in a long time, now...don't know why except it seemed to always require of me time for romantic ponderings....haven't had time for that in awhile. :)

    I love your poem...very rich for an 8 year old!

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  3. It was written down luckily, otherwise I would never have remembered it :)  

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  4. Yeah, poems and romantic ponderings.  The ones that I would have the most chance of curling your toes if you could read them now :)

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  5. I've had seasons of poetry writing, Sue, always as a means of 'solidifying' an intense emotional experience - avoiding me going nuts, in other words;) Started in my early teens, with 2 or 3 other episodes since. I still have some of the original manuscripts somewhere. I was very mystically inclined even then, if I remember. btw, your background's suddenly gone mildly cosmic - is this an expression of Where You're At now?:)

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  6. What a great poem!! Yes, I've written sporadically and read less sporadically. I think poetry will always be part of my life.
    Have been really interested (and sympathetic), by the way, in your last couple of posts about copper toxicity.

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  7. Ooh I like the purple. Not to overkill the run on googling, but I've been reading a bit about chakras lately, and purple is the colour of the crown chakra at the top of the head and it's to do with, among other things, (ready?) "Release of old patterns", "renewed compassionate awareness", "the right to aspire" (I like that one), "trusting the universe", "spirituality". So there you go. For what it's worth.

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  8. Nice, Emma :)  The chakras are really fascinating, aren't they?  Thanks for that - I knew about purple being associated with the crown but not about it also being about "release of old patterns" - nice :)  Here's to big giant bouts of purple :)

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  9. I'm not sure what you mean when you say my background's gone mildly cosmic :)

    Isn't it funny, this need to go to poetry to write out the intensity.  It's a good way of doing it, much better than a therapist.  That's cool (and unsurprising) that you were mystically inclined as a teenager :)

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  10. I have received notification of a comment that's not showing up here.  Not sure what that's all about???

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  11. Or maybe it's Maybelling :)

    Unfortunately, although your version of events would be much more fascinating, my email notification actually says it's from Tess Giles Marshall.  Who is pretty cool from what I can see, but she's not God.

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  12. holy cow
    i lurve the purple :)

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  13. Yeah, purple rocks, doesn't it.  Are you gear up to wear purple hats in your elderly years?  :)

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  14. It's the purple chakras and mildly fractals:)
     
    Poetry releases pent up emotional energy, which would otherwise wreak havoc. It's a safety valve, in a sense. I wouldn't have called it 'mystical' then, of course, just very confused about this Existence Thing. I know nothing still, but I don't really bother too much about it now. Existence is Interesting;)

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