Pages

Saturday 18 January 2020

New year, new beginnings

The first colour in the garden
This year I intend to do things differently and that means writing will be taking a back seat. It's been coming for a while, the winding down process, but I have to admit that right now the passion for writing is not as strong.

Having said that, I did write a Christmas ghost story. I think this was inspired by reading some in Jeanette Winterson's book about Christmas. That was a jolly good book, by the way. I wrote my story in one go and edited it over the next two days. It now sits on my laptop waiting for the right place to send it.

My poetry challenge moves on and I'm now in week 37. I had a period where I was stuck and asked my Facebook friends for some random words. Two friends came through and I've ended up with a love story poem involving a tandem and a poem about the Australian bush fires, the latter I share with you at the end of this post.

On the climate subject I am reading Extinction Rebellion's Handbook. I knew they were organised just from being around them in London last year, but I never realised just how much thought and planning goes into everything. I bet not many know that at their safe zones they feed anyone who needs food - commuters, homeless, even the police. There is a lot of sympathy from those who have to intervene due to their job. I think before people slag them off for being a nuisance they should read this book. I think they will be surprised.

I have no courses booked this year, which has come as a great shock to my friends! I aim to walk more, visit places, read lots and experience new things. Last year was a particularly tense one and I'm looking to see which way the wind blows this year, go with what seems right and be a bit more impulsive. I feel I might be on a new path, or maybe its just a break from the usual I need. I am, as they say, going with the flow!

The Design Museum, Kensington High Street.
Went to see Moving to Mars exhibition here with my techie son
who made it more interesting because he could answer my questions!

Tip of the Iceberg

And still there were doubters and deniers
as the inferno licked at walls of houses,
destroying everything before it.
Some said it was normal, just a blip
in the season. This was Australia, after all.

And as the fires raged through the bush,
smoke could be seen from space
edging towards New Zealand,
while masked people walked the city
of toxic fumes, praying for rain.

Fires swept people towards the coast
where they waited for boats
to take them to safety,
while ninety-five per cent of Koalas
perished. Bodies of Australia’s
wildlife lay scattered by roadsides,
charred and scarred.

And unbelievers still deny
as the world carries on
imploding around them
in floods and wildfires.

The tip of the iceberg
is melting.

No comments: