Category Archives: Poetry

General poetic ramblings of inspiration or poignancy

War Child

04 Monday Apr 2016

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

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This poem is available in my latest book, ‘Counting Magpies’ available either from Amazon or directly from me 🙂

counting magpies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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Where this is, that becomes

03 Sunday Apr 2016

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

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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.

 

© Where this is, that becomes  01.07.2013

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

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Poem in my Pocket

01 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Poetry

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I have a poem

in my pocket

one for each

day of the week

a syllable 

for every second

and a sonnet

for when

I sleep

Poem in my Pocket 

By Alexandra Carr-Malcolm 01 March 2016

Thank you to the 60 authors who participated in our SAME NAME Poetry and Prose Series

14 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by in Poetry

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silverbirchpress's avatarSilver Birch Press

elizabeths

We extend our gratitude to the 60 writers who participated in our SAME NAME Poetry & Prose Series, which ran from Jan. 16-Feb. 13, 2016. Many thanks to the following authors for a fun and engaging series!

Daisy Bala (Wisconsin)
Rose Mary Boehm (Peru)
Cathy Bore (England)
Cathy Bryant (England)
Jane Burn (England)
Abbie Burrow (Georgia)
Jacalyn Carley (Germany)
Alexandra Carr-Malcolm (England)
Tricia Marcella Cimera (Illinois)
Joan Colby (Illinois)
Crystal Cook (U.S.)
A.B. Cooper (England)
Isobel Cunningham (Canada)
Cullen Downey (Georgia)
Jennifer Finstrom (Illinois)
Vijaya Gowrisankar (India)
Torrin A. Greathouse (California)
Geosi Gyasi (Ghana)
Tina Hacker (Kansas)
Stephanie Barbé Hammer (Washington)
Patrick Cabello Hansel (Minnesota)
Françoise Harvey (England)
Jennifer Hernandez (Minnesota)
Veronica Hosking (Arizona)
Mark Hudson (Illinois)
Nina Johnson (Indiana)
Brent Jones (Japan)
Mary Kendall (North Carolina)
Sofia Kioroglou (Greece)
Jacqueline Kirkpatrick (New York)
Jennifer Lagier (California)
Joan Leotta (North Carolina)
Betsy Mars (California)
Patrick Lee Marshall (Texas)
Danielle Matthews…

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Night Star

12 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by in Poetry

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It has been an intense start to 2016 with the loss of many fine people. I wrote this poem for the 30th anniversary of the death of Phil Lynott. This poem is not only for the celebrities, let us not forget that everyday people are losing loved ones.

Roseberry Hare

When you left,

you took us all with you,

the old, the young,

the Saints and the Sinners.

A gaping chasm,

left in your wake.

Three decades of grief,

the tides of loss,

your fall from grace,

as you plummeted us all,

into oblivion.

Yet – you shine brighter,

and more fierce,

than any star,

I’ve ever seen.

 

© Night Star

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm 03.04.15

Picture Credit : This picture is by one of my favourite artists Janice Foley (click on her name to visit her page). She also has a facebook page The Roseberry Hare – (click on the link to visit the page where you can buy her beautiful artwork).

Alexandra David-Néel, poem by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm (SAME NAME Poetry and Prose Series)

01 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by in Poetry

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This is one of my poems. Thank you Silver Birch Press 🙂

silverbirchpress's avatarSilver Birch Press

Carr-MalcolmAlexandra David-Néel
by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

We walked the same walk, along the same path,
the middle one, showing the way.
Travelled beyond the stars, to a life without bars,
no run-of-the-mill protégée.

An affinity to trees, writing anarchist treatise,
both maternally shunned in our prime.
You travelled the world, whilst I stayed at home,
both women misplaced out of time.

Born ninety-seven years and one day before me,
we share more than a Scorpius sting.
Through our Buddhist eyes, we gazed on the world,
with opera and poetry we sing.

PHOTO: (Left) Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, aged 19; (right) Alexandra David-Néel, 19th Century.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Alexandra David-Néel was a colourful character who was born on 24th October 1868. She was a Belgian-French explorer, opera singer, anarchist, spiritualist, Buddhist, and writer. Not only did she meet the 13th Dalai-Lama, but she also managed to visit Tibet when entry to Tibet…

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Call for Submissions: LEARNING TO DRIVE Poetry & Prose Series

31 Sunday Jan 2016

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silverbirchpress's avatarSilver Birch Press

Retro woman behind steering wheel
Most of us have a story (or stories) about how/when/where/why we learned to drive. We want to hear about your experiences as a neophyte driver in a poem or story (fiction or nonfiction), and invite you to submit your work to our LEARNING TO DRIVE Poetry and Prose Series. (Non-drivers can also participate by explaining why they’ve never learned to operate a vehicle.)

PROMPT: Tell us about learning to drive in a poem (any reasonable length) or prose piece (300 words or fewer). If you’ve never learned to drive, tell us why in poetry or prose.

WHAT: Submissions can be original or previously published poems or prose. You retain all rights to your work and give Silver Birch Press permission to publish the piece on social media and in a potential print edition.

WHEN: We’ll feature the poems and prose in the Silver Birch Press LEARNING TO DRIVE Poetry and…

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Black and White Barb

20 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Poetry, Publications

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March 69 Mum and me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black and White Barb is about my mum and dedicated to my mum on what would have been her birthday today. Always in our hearts.

 

This is available in my latest anthology – Counting Magpies. There are a few copies of the limited edition anthology left at £10 plus postage. The limited edition has three bonus poems, is signed by my own fair hand, and will also include a handwritten poem 🙂 Please contact me if you would like a copy.

 

Black and White Barb

 

Unkindly they called you

black and white Barb,

and made you sound –

like a magpie.

One for sorrow,

(and there was) pain.

It wasn’t true –

What’s in a name?

Your deepest depths

you were so strong,

a monochrome bird

with a nightingale’s song.

 

© Black and White Barb 2015

By Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

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Limited Edition – Counting Magpies

03 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by in Poetry

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I’ve been delighted by the response to the  Counting Magpies Limited Edition. In just three days over a third of the books have been ordered and are ready to go to the post office on Monday morning. There is even one bound for Wisconsin, USA! 

The limited edition comes complete with signature, three bonus poems, and each book is numbered. I have also included a handwritten poem, either in the front or the back of the anthology – you can choose the poem, or have a lucky dip surprise! 

The limited edition is £10 and £2.50p&p for the UK. If you are outside the UK the postage will vary – I will inform you of the cost to make sure you are happy 🙂

If you would like a copy please let me know. 

   
   

Call for writing, art, and photography submissions: NANCY DREW ANTHOLOGY

03 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by in Poetry

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silverbirchpress's avatarSilver Birch Press

Nancy Drew Antho Cover

Since her 1930 appearance in The Secret of the Old Clock, amateur sleuth Nancy Drew has inspired generations of girls — including this one — with her moxie, intelligence, determination, but most of all independence. After 86 years, Nancy Drew is as popular as ever — with avid fans around the world.

Let’s celebrate this female icon and role model with the NANCY DREW ANTHOLOGY: A Collection of Poetry, Prose, Art & Photography Featuring Everyone’s Favorite Female Sleuth. 

WHAT: Poetry, prose, paintings, drawings, photographs, and other work inspired by Nancy Drew.

TYPES OF WRITTEN MATERIAL: 

  • Poems (up to three — either original work or found/erasure poetry based on a Nancy Drew book)
  • Short stories (up to 2,000 words)
  • Essays (up to 1,500 words)
  • Creative nonfiction (up to 2,000 words)
  • Short plays or screenplays (approximately five typed pages)
  • Other literary forms (up to 2,000 words)

TYPES OF VISUAL MATERIAL(send…

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