Daffodils

05 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by Worldly Winds in NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry, Poetry readings / Events

Tags

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.

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 🙂

War Child

04 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by Worldly Winds in NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry, Poetry readings / Events

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

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.

By Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

Where this is, that becomes

03 Sunday Apr 2016

Posted by Worldly Winds in NaPoWriMo 2016, Poetry, Poetry readings / Events

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Alex Carr-Malcolm poet, Alex Carr-Malcolm poetry, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, napowrimo, NaPoWriMo 2016, Poem-a-thon Sheffield, poetry, where this is that becomes, Yorkshire poet

Today’s poem was part of the Sheffield Poem-a-thon that took place yesterday. 50 poets read in succession from 10am to 6pm. We were all sponsored and in total managed to raise £12,000 for Assist Sheffield, a charity who help destitute refugees and asylum in Sheffield. It was an uplifting and successful event with standing room only. A big thank you to all my sponsors who raised £162 – yay! Also a big thank you to my husband who kindly filmed me 🙂

Where this is, that becomes

When faced with the woven richness

of each slipping second,

I am confounded by its

mystery, absurdity, improbability,

each a miraculously stitched detail

in varying shades of the same thread.

When meditating

upon physiology of this being,

I can see how the headbone’s

connected to the backbone,

but asking how the heartbone’s

connected to the rainbow,

is a phenomenally fleeting fancy.

Where is the now of this very moment?

An ephemeral essence,

lingering upon the mind’s eye,

to be lost and witnessed,

more subtle than the breath of a bee,

more fragile than the heart of a butterfly

beating the odds – a winding down clock.

This is beyond a sense that is common,

and beyond the grasp of a humble hand;

it is the faint fragrance of a primal memory,

nurtured in the nursery,

played out by the quixotic,

protagonists in the playground of quotidian,

an egotistic boomerang.

So what is mine and mind?

where do I end and you begin?

To see the conundrum, the continuous koan

of life and death, of mind and breath;

do I want to be me or an Oak tree,

aren’t we the same? A branch of humanity,

seasoned with bittersweet reality.

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

Poem-A-Thon Sheffield

30 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by Worldly Winds in Poetry readings / Events

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Alex Carr-Malcolm poet, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Assist Sheffield, Poem-a-thon Sheffield, Sheffield poem-a-thon, Yorkshire poet

Hello dear friends and readers 🙂

This Saturday, 2nd of April, I will be one of the fifty poets taking part in a day of poetry readings. Fifty poets will read throughout the day to raise money for a worthy charity Assist. Assist help destitute refugees and asylum seekers. (There is full information on the link below.)

I know for some, this is an emotive subject at the moment. I am delighted and thrilled to have exceeded my target and have so far raised £145 for the charity. Overall the team has raised in the region of £9000 to help some of the most vulnerable people in Sheffield.

Regardless of who we are, I think we all want to love and be loved, and to feel safe. There are no boundaries in unconditional love.

Now – time for me to start choosing which poems to read on the day. If you are in the vicinity you are welcome to drop in and watch. We start at 10am and finish at 6pm. My slot is 11.10am. It promises to be a day of excellent live poetry, refreshments and the opportunity to purchase poetry books.

If you would like to sponsor me, or want more details click the link below. Thank you 🙂

https://www.justgiving.com/Alex-Carr-Malcolm-Poet

Poem-a-thon Sheffield

21 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by Worldly Winds in Poetry readings / Events

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Alex Carr-Malcolm poet, Alex Carr-Malcolm poetry, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Assist Sheffield, Poem-a-thon Sheffield, poetry, UK poet, Yorkshire poet

Today is an auspicious day indeed; my blog is 4 years old 🙂

I have just signed up to the Sheffield Poem-a-thon which is taking place in Sheffield on 2nd April. Local poets are reading in relay, each taking 8 minute time slots, to read poems of their choice. The money raised will go towards Assist Sheffield, a fabulous charity working with refugees and asylum seekers in Sheffield.

ASSIST who support refused asylum seekers here in the city of Sheffield. These asylum seekers are not allowed to work, to register themselves as homeless or to be placed in local authority night shelters. Many become destitute, struggling daily for food, accommodation and clothing. ASSIST says that:

£5 could cover expenses for a weekend’s hospitality for an asylum seeker in need of somewhere to sleep
£17 could cover travel expenses to enable an asylum seeker to get to medical and legal appointments
£20 could give a vulnerable asylum seeker a week’s ASSISTgrant to enable them to buy some food

If you feel you could help by making a donation, please click the link below to take you to my, Just Giving Page, to see further details or to make a donation. Thank you 🙂

https://www.justgiving.com/Alex-Carr-Malcolm-Poet

Poetry Stanza Sheffield

04 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by Worldly Winds in Poetry readings / Events

≈ 4 Comments

What an exciting week. This week I went to the first meet of the Sheffield Poetry Stanza group. I met some very inspirational poets and look forward to future meetings.

2nd Place!

22 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by Worldly Winds in Awards, Poetry, Poetry readings / Events, Publications

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

Alex Carr-Malcolm Homecoming, Alex Carr-Malcolm poet, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Geese, Homecoming, poetry, UK poet, Uk poetry, Yorkshire poet

I am so delighted to have won second place in Dagda Publishing’s Homecoming competition.

The write up is spot on too!

I wrote this poem whilst on retreat. Every morning, whilst meditating, the geese would fly off to a nearby lake, and in the evenings I would hear them returning back to their roost. The sight and sound of them was magical and primal.

Towards the end of the retreat I started to think about the journey home. Myself and friends heading back home to Yorkshire, (the North), full of hope, expectation and viewing the world with new eyes.

You can see the full poem by clicking the link below –

http://dagdapublishing.co.uk/2015/01/22/overcoming-obstacles-2nd-place-prize-winner-homecoming-alexandra-carr-malcolm/

Thank you very much to Dagda Publishing for awarding me second place, I am thrilled and giddy! Please take a moment to check out their page as they do showcase some great writers and poets regularly on their site.

http://dagdapublishing.co.uk/

Photo credit: Found on thevintaquarian.com Pinterest

Le Lièvre de La Lune

06 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by Worldly Winds in Children's poetry, Poetry, Poetry readings / Events

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Alex Carr-Malcolm, Alex Carr-Malcolm poetry, Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Le Lievre de la Lune, The Hare in the Moon, The Selfless Hare, Yorkshire poet, Yorkshire poetry

This was a poem I wrote in June 2014. It is based on the Jataka Tales – The Selfless Hare, or, The Hare in the Moon.

Le Lievre de la Lune

True Grit Poetry Cycle 2014

05 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by Worldly Winds in Poetry, Poetry readings / Events

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Anil Boury, Cora Greenhill, Davy Charles, Joe Kriss, Pheonix McAndrew, poetry, Rex Davies, True Grit 2014, True Grit Poetry Cycle, UK poet, Uk poetry, Yorkshire poet

We had a fabulous day despite the cold and rain. This is part of the True Grit Poetry Cycle, collaborative poetry to celebrate and welcome Le Tour Yorkshire – Grand Depart 2014.

I am the 6th poet if you were wondering 😉

Off The Shelf Festival – Sheffield

12 Saturday Oct 2013

Posted by Worldly Winds in Poetry, Poetry readings / Events

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Arts, Literature, poetry, Sheffield, Sheffield Winter Garden, South Yorkshire, UK poet, Uk poetry, writing, Yorkshire poet

Please feel free to come along to the event if you are in Sheffield. I will be reading some of my poetry towards the end of the day (2.45pm ish). So please come along and say hello! I have had a shower and I am wearing my lucky socks, so it should be a good day!!

This year Word Life and Now Then will be hosting the opening event of Off The Shelf Festival Of Words at the Winter Gardens. FREE ENTRY.
Featuring;

Open Mic as below.

There will be a handful of slots open to people who walk up on the day. First come, first served.

11.30– 12.15

Donna Jones
Julian Dobson
Jude Calvert-Toulmin
Dan Whitaker
James Giddings
Davy Charles
Ian Macgill

12.45-1.30

Imogen Cassels
Kieran Mathers
Vera Fibisian
Karl Riordan
Ben Dorey
Mark Doyle
Tim Plant
Liz Searle

2-2.45

Ian Macgill
Tony Goodwin
Addie Abbott
Kate Garrett
Gemma Perkins
Ben Taylor
Alexandra Carr-Malcolm
Adele Geraghty
David Turner

Poetry Films.

We’ve been happy to have commissioned the making of almost 30 short films of Sheffield based poets reading their work. From last year’s project ’21 poets for Sheffield’ to this years ‘Distant Lands – The Steel Trail’, we’ll be playing the work of some of our local poets and a few other favourites as well. If you’d like to suggest some please post suggestions on the wall.

Writing Games

We’re going to be running an open running workshop throughout the day which people are encouraged to contribute too. From the collective story (write a line, pass it on) to more specific exercises, there will be space for you to pick up a pen and start writing.

Featured Guests.

We’re also going to be featuring a few of the leading poets from the local scene and a few from further afield.

Also if anyone would like to sell books/leave flyers for other projects there will be a table manned

English: Sheffield Winter Gardens, Sheffield, England. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Worldly Winds

~ It's not easy being me!

Category Archives: Poetry readings / Events

Daffodils

War Child

Where this is, that becomes

Poem-A-Thon Sheffield

Poem-a-thon Sheffield

Poetry Stanza Sheffield

2nd Place!

Le Lièvre de La Lune

True Grit Poetry Cycle 2014

Off The Shelf Festival – Sheffield

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: