Cinnabar Wings
18 Monday Apr 2016
Posted NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry
in18 Monday Apr 2016
Posted NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry
in17 Sunday Apr 2016
Posted NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry
inTags
Alex Carr-Malcolm poet, Alex Carr-Malcolm poetry, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Circle Dance, napowrimo, NaPoWriMo 2016, NaPoWriMo16, poetry, writing, Yorkshire poet
Circle Dance
Tell me why we dance the round
fingertips touching
feet on the ground.
This sweet wine tastes
of bitter allows
mother’s ruin,
sloes and arrows.
We spin around
and you leave me reeling,
the Judas kiss
was still deceiving.
I pledged to you
a barbed ring oath,
life shot me down
and stole your troth.
© Circle Dance October 2014
By Alexandra Carr-Malcolm
16 Saturday Apr 2016
Posted Poetry
inThis is an awesome poem 🙂 For Liz
_____________
Some people speak in fairysong.
Dance widdershins, their heads thrown back.
Flap sequinwings but never fly.
All rainbowheaded, sparklyeyed
These flowerchildren: how they try,
They check the glass to see how high
They never fly. They’ll never fly.
But you were born with tinselwings,
With streetlamps shining in your eyes.
The magic found in common things
Ridiculous and warm and wise.
You shone so briefly, flew so high.
A supernovabutterfly.
I will not cry. I will not cry.
14 Thursday Apr 2016
Posted Poetry
inI’m so glad I got to meet Liz. She was a beautiful poet and will be missed by so many. Go well dear lady.
Out of Nowhere
Can’t be doing with a moody Donna
won’t sing a song a song
coz she doesn’t wanna
View original post 311 more words
12 Tuesday Apr 2016
Posted Humour, NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry
inTags
Alex Carr-Malcolm poet, Alex Carr-Malcolm poetry, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Buddhism, hula-hoop, humour, napowrimo, NaPoWriMo 2016, NaPoWriMo16, poetry, The hula-hoop of hindrance, Yorkshire poet
Hello dear friends – well it has been a testing couple of weeks – hefty car repair bill, washing machine repairs, cancelled appointments, a funeral, and now I think I am coming down with a lurgy!
This is an old poem, but it always makes me smile. I wrote it on retreat and it is a metaphor for being inhibited and restricted by our habits. I hope it makes you smile too 🙂
The Hula-Hoop of Hindrance
I saw it in the playground,
when I was only three,
the hula-hoop of hindrance,
resting by a tree.
It was pretty, pink, and sparkly,
with unicorns and glitter,
it even had, ‘go faster’ stripes,
so I could hula quicker.
I put it ‘round my tiny waist,
and hula’d round the yard,
little did I realise,
that it would make life hard.
I learned to love my hula-hoop,
though I was only four,
when I went to bed at night,
I’d leave it by the door.
I realised when I was five
(and also at aged six)
that I had been quite naïve
my hula habit fixed.
This went on – my dearest friends,
throughout my adult life,
attachment to my hula-hoop,
caused me so much strife.
When cooking in the kitchen,
and trying to eat my dinner,
my hula hoop got in the way,
and I just grew much thinner.
and when I met my boyfriend,
I’d hula-hoop for joy,
but holding hands whilst hula-ing,
well… the romance is destroyed.
Showering or getting dressed,
at work, at home, at play,
my pretty, sparkly hula-hoop,
was always in the way.
When I went upon retreat,
there was no problem there;
for there were many hula hoops,
that we could swap and share!
Then, Maitripala gave a talk,
about the hula habit,
if we can see the gateway….
the freedom’s there, so grab it!!
The moral of this story,
is not too clear to see,
but if you choose a skipping rope,
you can set yourself free.
One day I hope my hula-hoop,
will rest against that tree,
and if you choose to have a go,
it’s going, gratis, free!!
© The Hula-Hoop of Hindrance 17.06.2014
by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm
10 Sunday Apr 2016
Posted Buddhism, NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry
inTags
Alex Carr-Malcolm poet, Alex Carr-Malcolm poetry, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Buddhism, finding the silent ones, napowrimo, NaPoWriMo 2016, NaPoWriMo16, poetry, UK poet, writing, Yorkshire poet
I wrote the poem below whilst on a retreat called ‘The Mythic Context’. It is a metaphor for seeking – it could be seeking happiness, seeking wisdom or seeking where we fit into the universe. This is one of my favourite poems. The sequel is in my latest anthology ‘Counting Magpies – Limited Edition’ and is titled ‘No Bell’. If you would like a copy please contact me direct 🙂
Finding the Silent Ones
I will scour the darkest forest
and glide through mango groves
searching for the silent ones
who travel the same road
I will fight the fiercest oceans
and plunge to deepest depths
searching for the silent ones
who sing with silent breath
I will trek across the deserts
leaving no grain of sand unturned
searching for the silent ones
for whom my heart doeth yearn
I will scale the highest mountain
and dwell within dark caves
searching for the silent ones
whom I hope to find some day
I will raft the rabid rapids
and abseil from peak to floor
searching for the silent ones
whom they say exist no more
I will comb the Sunkist beaches
and skim the silvery surf
searching for the silent ones
rumoured to roam this earth
I will search the church and chapels
and cathedral spires and tombs
searching for the silent ones
whom dwell in catacombs
I will tiptoe to the shrine room
and bow with folded hands
and here I’ll find the silent ones
my kith, my kin, my clan.
© Finding the Silent Ones 16.06.2014
by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm
09 Saturday Apr 2016
Posted Acrostic, NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry
inTags
acrostic, Alex Carr-Malcolm poet, Alex Carr-Malcolm poetry, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, napowrimo, poetry, Spontaneous, Uk poetry, writing, Yorkshire poet
This acrostic came about from a conversation with a good friend. I went to visit her and upon arriving on her doorstep she suggested we drive to the seaside. I admired her spontaneity, and she responded that she could only be spontaneous with a lot of thought and planning 🙂
Spontaneous
Superbly
Planned
Obviously
Needing
Time
And
Nouse;
Executed,
Organised and,
Uniquely
Spontaneous.
Oh yes!
I can be spontaneous,
as long as I have
enough time
to plan!
© Spontaneous 2015
by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm
08 Friday Apr 2016
One of my poems, ‘The Barefoot Bride’ is in here 🙂
Our e-issue of the Beltane 2016 special is out now!
(Print to follow later today).
Featuring work by Clint Wastling, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Rachel Bower, Tim Dwyer, Maggie Mackay, Karen Jane Cannon, Gareth Writer-Davies, Rex Davies, Liz Ferrets, Amy Kinsman, Margaret Holbrook, Sarah L. Dixon, Carole Bromley, Ness Owen, Phoebe Nicholson, Linda Ann Suddarth, Vicki Morley, Mary Franklin, Seth Crook, Angi Holden, Joanne Key, Jane Røken, Oz Hardwick, Andie Berryman, Sally Spedding, Rebecca Gethin, Margaryta Golovchenko, Sue Kindon, Caroline Hardaker, Dennis Trujillo, Rose Cook, David J. Costello, Barbara O’Donnell, Rachel McGladdery, & Alison Stone.
05 Tuesday Apr 2016
Posted NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry, Poetry readings / Events
inTags
Alex Carr-Malcolm poet, Alex Carr-Malcolm poetry, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Counting Magpies, Counting Magpies Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Daffodils, daffodils poem, napowrimo, NaPoWriMo 2016, NaPoWriMo16, poetry, Yorkshire poet
Picture credit: enchanted home.com Pinterest https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/568438784198424931/
Sorry about the blurry focus on the youtube clip! I don’t know what happened, at least I didn’t break the camera.
My mum was diagnosed with cancer in March 2005. The seasonal flower around Easter is the daffodil, consequently in the hospital she received a lot of beautiful vibrant daffodils. Also very significant as it is the symbol for Marie Curie cancer care.
I wrote this poem a few weeks later whilst she was in the hospice.
It is true – if you put a vase of tightly closed daffodils on a warm and sunny window ledge, you can hear them creak and crinkle as they open 🙂 I noticed this whilst she was sleeping and I was sat by her side.
Daffodils
Those last few weeks
we spent watching the daffodils.
Like two mischievous schoolgirls
we laughed until we cried
we cried until we laughed.
You said daffodils were noisy,
that they crinkled when they opened.
I thought it was the morphine;
but you were right,
they are noisy –
crinkly daffodils!
I see them
and I laugh
and cry.
© Daffodils 18.08.2013
by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm
Daffodils is published in Counting Magpies by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, if you would like to purchase a copy, please contact me 🙂
04 Monday Apr 2016
Posted NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry, Poetry readings / Events
inTags
Alex Carr-Malcolm poet, Alex Carr-Malcolm poetry, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, napowrimo, NaPoWriMo 2016, poetry, UK poet, War Child, Yorkshire poet
This poem is available in my latest book, ‘Counting Magpies’ available either from Amazon or directly from me 🙂
War Child
War child, far child,
not in my back yard child,
foul flies, infesting eyes,
freely grief is advertised.
Blasé news, propaganda views,
stretchered to the blues and twos.
Feuding plans, dividing clans,
charity absolving man.
Splitting heads, landmines, legs,
rubberneck, the child who begs,
behind the eyes, traumatized,
rape and murder legitimized.
Arms and gear, year on year,
dealers, spreadsheets, profiteer,
bankers, warlords, politician,
making schisms, capitalism.
War child, far child,
not in my back yard child.
© War Child 2015
By Alexandra Carr-Malcolm