tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-332822342024-03-14T00:59:51.941+00:00be the serpentpoetry and prosebe the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-7610857941242540322014-11-17T08:22:00.000+00:002015-12-08T15:08:30.606+00:00DrivingWe used to go for drives in his car.<br />
Driving for the sake of driving.<br />
Just me, him, and music.<br />
Miles and miles of full circles<br />
leading us back to the start.<br />
<br />
I remember the electricity of his hand on my leg.<br />
The shiver of my arm slipped through his.<br />
Nervous, comfortable, impatient.<br />
Neon arrows guided us.<br />
While sinking suns warmed our windows.<br />
Words were sparse.<br />
I was learning about his silence.<br />
<br />
These days his car is my car.<br />
We've traded speed for safety.<br />
These days we have two precious passengers.<br />
But sometimes, when it's dark inside,<br />
too dark to see their sleeping, silent, shapes.<br />
Sometimes, I look at the side of his face,<br />
quiet, intense,<br />
and we're us again.<br />
Just me, him, and music.be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-69140368021811523042014-11-17T08:21:00.001+00:002014-11-17T08:21:49.628+00:00Made of bricks<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I'll miss the trains, </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">the sprint to catch a glimpse </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">of steam and steel just yards away. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I'll miss the gnarly tree I see </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">each morning when I wake, </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">home to the crows. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I'll miss the rain,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">drumming on your roof light </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">in the dead of night. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I'll miss the birds in your bush,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">the bees in your shed,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">the two red trees. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But now our size has doubled. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We're bursting through your seams. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We've crammed your cupboards,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">filled your floors,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">and still there's more. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">You've heard us talk</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">and so you know,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">the time has come</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">to go. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It makes me sad to think</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">they won't remember you;</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">their first home made of bricks. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">They've slept in every room of yours </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">and laughed and cried. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Their eyes first widened to the light</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">you let inside. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And every night we carried them</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">up your creaky stairs to bed,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">then tried to creep back down. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">When they're grown</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">we'll show them pictures of you,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">the windows they first looked out,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">the garden where they touched the plants</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">and the tree their daddy painted on</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">your wall to shelter them. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It's hard to leave.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Each room a memory. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A place we rested, healed and grew. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">But we'll take our pictures down</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">and pack our objects up</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">and take them somewhere new. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">And we'll have bigger rooms</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">and walls and windows</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">and there'll still be trees and rain. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I'll miss the trains. </span></div>
be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-51423386248822708892014-11-17T08:17:00.002+00:002014-11-17T08:17:33.990+00:00Nap time<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">While the babies sleep. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tea, chocolate, notebook, pencil. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Birthing new babies. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>
be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-10486201379285533422012-08-25T19:41:00.001+01:002012-08-25T19:43:06.176+01:00FixerI found him in the garage<br />
on a Sunday afternoon,<br />
hands calloused, covered with oil,<br />
copper grease, dirt.<br />
He was hunched over an engine,<br />
staring intently at valves, pistons,<br />
assessing which part had gone wrong,<br />
made it stop.<br />
<br />
He's a fixer,<br />
always repairing the broken things<br />
that surround him,<br />
trying to make them work.<br />
<br />
I lay my head on his chest<br />
and listen.<br />
Deep inside, the clock ticks,<br />
slow and strong.<br />
I hear each second disappear<br />
as we lie in the half-light<br />
of another rainy day.<br />
It never rains but it pours,<br />
hits the windows,<br />
floods the garden,<br />
wets us through.<br />
<br />
There are parts inside me<br />
he cannot fix.<br />
So he holds my hand<br />
and he tells me<br />
I'm not really broken.<br />
<br />be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-17299135784994014202012-08-25T19:17:00.003+01:002012-08-25T19:28:29.135+01:00Sacred Spirit'I know a song that stops the rain'<br />
she told him.<br />
He smiled.<br />
But she played it anyway,<br />
stared into the water as it fell<br />
in pools of grey that puddled round the door.<br />
<br />
As the drums beat down<br />
the deluge waned,<br />
the birds and blue appeared again.<br />
And the rain ended<br />
before the song.be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-82840023280355548352012-02-10T16:57:00.000+00:002012-06-20T11:31:50.582+01:00Make do and mend<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those were the darkest days. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When love so long rationed, was coldly cast off, thrown away. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But she found him, falling apart,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and she loved his broken pieces,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and he saw her unravelling heart,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and he told her it was perfect. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And they wondered if two friends,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">could make do and mend,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">stitch back together, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">make new again,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">their worn out old lives. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So he caught her, coming undone,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">tried to fix her fraying edges. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And she scrubbed his threadbare eyes, wiped the stains away,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">made them bright enough to light their darkest days. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And they make do and mend,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">stitch back together, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">make new again,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">their worn out old lives.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-38854520465388326852011-08-11T12:53:00.001+01:002011-08-11T12:54:25.965+01:00There’s something in the treesThere’s something in the trees,<br />
that makes us whole again,<br />
that makes us one again,<br />
that makes us,<br />
stop.<br />
<br />
There’s something in the trees,<br />
that moves my soul again,<br />
that wakes the words inside<br />
I thought I’d lost.<br />
<br />
For I must cease my chatter<br />
in the hush of ancient woods.<br />
There’s no place here for noisy minds.<br />
And as he holds my hand and<br />
leads me further in,<br />
I feel it fall,<br />
I leave it all behind.<br />
<br />
We pick our path through twisted roots<br />
in shade that shelters us from more than sun.<br />
And something in the breeze, the leaves, the fragrant air,<br />
dispels the heaviness we carried here,<br />
our chains undone.<br />
<br />
There's something in the trees,<br />
that makes things right again,<br />
that makes me write again.<br />
<br />
I trail my branches through the soil.<br />
I carve my heart in moss.be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-57729585189876642582011-08-11T12:46:00.000+01:002011-08-11T12:46:41.179+01:00RipperHe brings me wild things, <br />
wild things with wings.<br />
He leaps into the still and silent sky,<br />
to murder my metaphors.<br />
<br />
He holds them in his mouth a while,<br />
then lays them out before me on the floor.<br />
Death is his gift.<br />
<br />
Yet still I hope for the things with feathers.<br />
Still I cradle them. Their tiny hearts beat rhythms in my hand.<br />
Still I carry them outside, and stroke their heads and place them on the ground.<br />
<br />
With whispered apologies I retreat, <br />
to watch them from the window,<br />
to pray they'll fly away.<br />
Sometimes they do.<br />
<br />
Sometimes we bury them.<br />
As cold and stiff as cardboard boxes.<br />
Crosses made from twigs pushed into soil<br />
beneath the bushes they were born in.<br />
<br />
And I scream at him and scold him,<br />
lock him in and shut him out,<br />
no longer welcome on my knee, my bed, his head pushed in my palm.<br />
And I hate him but I love him though I hate what he has done.<br />
And before too long he's back beside me, his face against my own.<br />
And I forgive and he forgets<br />
and balance is restored.<br />
<br />
Then he brings me things,<br />
wild things with wings,<br />
and lays them on the floor.<br />
<br />
be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-27733948152108232272011-08-11T12:43:00.000+01:002011-08-11T12:47:24.462+01:00Flight of BirdsShe suffers in sibilance, always thinking out loud.<br />
He just wants to share a silence.<br />
She flaps and she falls,<br />
in a downward spiral to shame the flight of birds.<br />
She's always longing to be heard.<br />
Her words pour once more into the air,<br />
unnoticed. 'Sometimes the world is a deaf machine'.<br />
<br />
She sings in her car as she drives to work,<br />
'I wish I knew how, it would feel, to be free,<br />
I wish I could break, all the chains holding me'.<br />
<br />
She stares at the sky in a momentary daze,<br />
her head filled with aviary conversations.<br />
<br />
Then she switches off<br />
the engine and the music<br />
stops.<br />
<br />
be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-27215564001904653472011-05-09T12:25:00.002+01:002011-08-11T12:47:06.232+01:00Tanka for Japan (partially inspired by Paper Beginnings, an installation at the University of York)Silent corridor, <br />
one thousand birds suspended,<br />
paper beginnings<br />
like ours, I write my secret<br />
wish on the wings of a crane.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0hSfKVlNohVEMQzUhrUMFBaG_wec-f_-oHM91y90oCzC8zod5Vr-uWNjyxhspTcD-Wlaz8sYm69FHgEr6C9_7Ovjl3mwfKSZQbRusqIR3l5y_dZ9VBni_uvWimWkjEC4QfazkhQ/s1600/228781_2064982427519_1333513075_32473201_5453930_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0hSfKVlNohVEMQzUhrUMFBaG_wec-f_-oHM91y90oCzC8zod5Vr-uWNjyxhspTcD-Wlaz8sYm69FHgEr6C9_7Ovjl3mwfKSZQbRusqIR3l5y_dZ9VBni_uvWimWkjEC4QfazkhQ/s320/228781_2064982427519_1333513075_32473201_5453930_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-73921212024641690272011-05-09T12:23:00.001+01:002011-08-11T12:47:06.232+01:00Tanka for Japan (partially inspired by Flood, an installation at St Marys by Susan Stockwell)It pours through the roof,<br />
raging river of remnants,<br />
cascading currents<br />
of metal and mud, this flood<br />
drowns all sounds, but the earth’s roar.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANkdt9esXSt3nxd5PACbusUBVIFbmy4-b_PoCqBpfSB2UWSS9ShNmob0JGwGTPq24NrAeo6wQhP5OK298RDTpFKhwPBe2m7ekNMtTAourR_Jhqw_JWuvASlgVFTrWxDqf_-lyfw/s1600/flood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; height: 237px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 247px;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANkdt9esXSt3nxd5PACbusUBVIFbmy4-b_PoCqBpfSB2UWSS9ShNmob0JGwGTPq24NrAeo6wQhP5OK298RDTpFKhwPBe2m7ekNMtTAourR_Jhqw_JWuvASlgVFTrWxDqf_-lyfw/s320/flood.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-13464022275827051732011-02-15T15:46:00.000+00:002011-08-11T12:47:06.233+01:00HOME<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home is a mug of tea warming my hands</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and a radiator burning my legs, as I stare </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">into the black square behind the curtain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home is your arms around me after another long day.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home is you and me, talking about everything and nothing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as we flick through a thousand channels on the wall</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and squash up on the small, tired sofa.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home is a cat on a windowsill.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home is the sound of you in the kitchen, cursing and laughing,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and me in a hot bath, soaking in the sound of Nina Simone.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home is all the things we love, wrapped up safe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home is not a cage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home is a nest.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home is you and me, cosy, cuddling, in our comfy bed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and the silence of words that don’t need to be said,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for they’re known.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You and me,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that’s home.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-67704600113602505062011-01-10T14:26:00.000+00:002011-08-11T12:47:06.233+01:00Christmas SpiritI pluck the baubles from the tree that's living in our room.<br />
I strip away the lights and watch the gloom creep back into the corner.<br />
I'll miss the flickering glow that lit our winter afternoons.<br />
<br />
I wish the light could linger longer, make the magic last.<br />
But on the sixth, tradition says, the season ends, the spirit fades,<br />
We pack the holiday away and put it in the loft. <br />
<br />
And under the weight of a January sky<br />
we carry our wilted tree outside.<br />
The ghost of Christmas, passed.be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-10055198178128722402010-10-20T19:21:00.000+01:002011-08-11T12:47:06.233+01:00Resistance<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The trees that line the twisting road, <br style="line-height: 17px;" />lean in to drop their words in bright red flurries.<br style="line-height: 17px;" />Silent sentences, unheard by speeding cars.<br style="line-height: 17px;" /> <br style="line-height: 17px;" />I watch one almost curtsey to me,<br style="line-height: 17px;" />slender limbs in silhouette.<br style="line-height: 17px;" />And I forget the fifty things that filled my head,<br style="line-height: 17px;" />that chased me from my Sunday bed.<br style="line-height: 17px;" /> <br style="line-height: 17px;" />I need this distance.<br style="line-height: 17px;" />Miles of asphalt moving me away from Monday.<br style="line-height: 17px;" />Driving far enough to hide me from the glare<br style="line-height: 17px;" />of screens and stares and acronyms.<br style="line-height: 17px;" />Out here I can resist the grip of blackest boredom<br style="line-height: 17px;" />burrowing through my brain to leave me numb.<br style="line-height: 17px;" /> <br style="line-height: 17px;" />I photograph each precious moment,<br style="line-height: 17px;" />trees and sea and sky and him.<br style="line-height: 17px;" />And when I must return to that dark shadow of existence,<br style="line-height: 17px;" />I keep the pictures near enough to glimpse,<br style="line-height: 17px;" />my bliss, my hope, my small resistance.<br style="line-height: 17px;" /> </span>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-46295793214062982032010-10-20T19:17:00.000+01:002011-08-11T12:47:06.233+01:00Look at me (Stockton Stigma Stories-Mind Me Project)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_VhgPeQ9O4EuqQyLjrXJtr-DAQcP1u2Zd6i4WiKmfoRM21VktrCv985QzqlfoFlwDRSPFDqolG99or0TJ0jLT8FLY6q4ikEU6c5LECXpfu7Jh29Xm4r1IWkgBRoIngZwCFgP5w/s1600/stockton_103lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_VhgPeQ9O4EuqQyLjrXJtr-DAQcP1u2Zd6i4WiKmfoRM21VktrCv985QzqlfoFlwDRSPFDqolG99or0TJ0jLT8FLY6q4ikEU6c5LECXpfu7Jh29Xm4r1IWkgBRoIngZwCFgP5w/s320/stockton_103lo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look at him.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He sings in the street like the world is his stage and</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">his life is an opera. Arms outstretched, head held high,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pavarotti of the pedestrians.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s summertime and the living is easy.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does he notice them laughing and shaking their heads?</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does her hear their cruel whispers? She does.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She clings to him, guiding him forward.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He turns to her. Have I told you lately that I love you?</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They walk together through the ruins,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">peering into rooms they cannot reach.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Touchstones crumble as they reminisce</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in this, the house of the cosmic joker</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">who changed the rules and left him with</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a thousand books he cannot read,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a million words he cannot write.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He paints instead, the colours of his mind,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the memories left behind,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and shouts across the vast North Sea,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">look at me.</span></span></span></div>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-24085802438908019682010-10-20T19:15:00.000+01:002011-08-11T12:47:06.234+01:00Sometimes it's hard to be a woman (Stockton Stigma Stories-Mind Me project)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLhV2RIIGagESpYsolr0iVxW0Hkd4N4j4u4E8ChIenHAM8i0S3Ku_2cPb8EdV4ffHb5AkOvAlNxTHCcxloT7VIs7yWimJ3sH4_XEB2D7BuqJclEl8MMo3gblbtm64SIUNcFQwcg/s1600/stockton_211lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLhV2RIIGagESpYsolr0iVxW0Hkd4N4j4u4E8ChIenHAM8i0S3Ku_2cPb8EdV4ffHb5AkOvAlNxTHCcxloT7VIs7yWimJ3sH4_XEB2D7BuqJclEl8MMo3gblbtm64SIUNcFQwcg/s320/stockton_211lo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She sings the song as she scatters the flour</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and traces the name her family gave her.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Words in white dust,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">misery guts.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She kneads this therapy.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She bakes, and takes her gifts</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to those who understand,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">her group, her new-found family.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s here she laughs, and shares her stories</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">paints the pain away.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But when the door and curtains close,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">she’s locked with loneliness inside,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">abandoned with her memories.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She passes time with poetry</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and picnics knitted just for bears.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She turns her music up and sings,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sometimes it’s hard to be a woman.</span></span></span></div>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-84927361137531795072010-10-20T19:09:00.000+01:002011-08-11T12:47:06.234+01:00If all the world's a stage (Stockton Stigma Stories - Mind Me Project)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0RIGQQtQ56F-j9xnB3BWxTvyaz7dqPeU1jwadNzmVxel0Mdr6HTgJcTlX6iA_V4n_aVjVHpqozJGK2ZtB1iOdKeHhJFfPKCy16FHuWlQRBNqjyVMq8V5pjgq3EAmskv5jwt7Ww/s1600/_MG_8151v2lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn0RIGQQtQ56F-j9xnB3BWxTvyaz7dqPeU1jwadNzmVxel0Mdr6HTgJcTlX6iA_V4n_aVjVHpqozJGK2ZtB1iOdKeHhJFfPKCy16FHuWlQRBNqjyVMq8V5pjgq3EAmskv5jwt7Ww/s200/_MG_8151v2lo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">If all the world's a stage,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">she'd rather stay behind the scenes.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She'd paint the sky with birds</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and prompt the actors with</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the words she dare not speak.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She'd rather watch from velvet seats</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with chocolate treats,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">all cosy in the dark,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">invisible to eyes too blinded by the lights.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And at the end, the final act,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">she'd hurry back to friends,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and tell them of the drama, romance, songs,</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">somewhere that's safe, and she belongs.</span></span></span></div>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-27785232103816572522010-09-17T17:50:00.004+01:002010-09-17T17:54:52.669+01:00Stockton Stigma Stories<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;">I was lucky enough to work with some truly inspiring people last week. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;">Here's a link to the work I did with them. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"><a href="http://stocktonmindme.blogspot.com/">http://stocktonmindme.blogspot.com/</a></span></span>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-19242726884034138632010-09-15T16:54:00.000+01:002010-09-16T06:37:24.238+01:00Snakes and Ladders<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I trip,</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and slip down secret snakes,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that wait for me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to miss a step,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to fall.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I lose my grip,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">on scales as smooth as silver tongues,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that spit me out,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">undone,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">square one.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But when in hell, as Winston says,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you keep on going,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">never knowing where each fateful step will lead.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so I carry on, across the board,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ignored by ladder climbers, clutching, grabbing,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">pushing, to the top.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I quietly endure the little boxes,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">fingers crossed for lucky numbers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to release me from this trap.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as I wait my turn,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I scrawl my words on empty spaces,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">trying hard to find the meaning</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in this place of fate and chance.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I wander, wondering why and when,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hear the serpents hiss again and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">soon I’m sliding,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">right back to the start.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It always ends with this beginning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not quite losing, not quite winning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being a good girl makes no difference</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in a game where chaos rules.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guess I’ll face it with a grin, never giving in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I close my eyes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and shake it twice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I roll the dice.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uOq387_8a_49vaINOAHc6tWzdvfgKMHXm23V0vbpd0E6e2f1T6YVH5HXsf8YRXpwqvZEU97esad5BAK305mNkwv53uIPlHrP5iT7N27QI6s0jEEGU8JDNJT2xOm6dEXRkmXabg/s1600/tfai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; height: 198px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 296px;"><img border="0" height="235" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uOq387_8a_49vaINOAHc6tWzdvfgKMHXm23V0vbpd0E6e2f1T6YVH5HXsf8YRXpwqvZEU97esad5BAK305mNkwv53uIPlHrP5iT7N27QI6s0jEEGU8JDNJT2xOm6dEXRkmXabg/s320/tfai.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-70130306848868854872010-08-17T20:26:00.031+01:002010-09-16T06:51:15.151+01:00It was a slow day down by the river<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJ65-Qp9Pb_rJ6anKarPq_tK9j2s6021r6tgYreSD2FcsCk-v9AiHaFnmm2k6cjq9URIr0i2-uaCKgffA9jvCl1-E6PivAWpSQHkfDAAYwHpMzU3o8Xl1u78gSuNOfWoY6PUsGw/s1600/32212_1469091090608_1333513075_31270723_126476_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506465857695799970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRJ65-Qp9Pb_rJ6anKarPq_tK9j2s6021r6tgYreSD2FcsCk-v9AiHaFnmm2k6cjq9URIr0i2-uaCKgffA9jvCl1-E6PivAWpSQHkfDAAYwHpMzU3o8Xl1u78gSuNOfWoY6PUsGw/s400/32212_1469091090608_1333513075_31270723_126476_n.jpg" style="cursor: hand; height: 400px; width: 300px;" /></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a slow day,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">down by the river.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Slow was her only pace.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The sun warmed her face</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and the top of her head</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as she read back old poems</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and hoped the words might tempt her muse.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She listened to birds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and watched wind blow through trees</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as mothers rushed ducklings downstream.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dog walkers passed her</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and insects encroached</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and old people stood on the bridge</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">staring silently, down.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She'd never stood still here before,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">never paused to watch everything else move instead,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the shaking of jade blades,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the swaying of nettles,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the kaleidoscope rippling beside her,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and the rustling of white paper pages</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that urged her to write something wonderful,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">now.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>and another attempt...</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a slow day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Down by the river he walked with his dog and his anger unleashed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two black beasts surged ahead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His eyes didn't see the sun slowly setting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His ears didn't hear the silence of dusk.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His skin didn't feel the stillness surround him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet somehow they soothed him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the river's edge, he turned back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One shadow rushed to his side,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the other dissolved in the dark.</span></div></div>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-33990326163856357272010-06-02T12:00:00.012+01:002010-08-18T20:43:31.385+01:00Loose lips sink ships<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUN78xxmsO-zO22d0e3L_QtMSCy9prmSJrq4Y8snYfmazmzarMo9vbSViSAMmT3fR6-CSpmHbQlBBxk7mhydAO5VoljlotcbhJdzU73OR2X24iUrZ2bZdAC_ncriEGQLwsBcyiEQ/s1600/loose-lips-sink-ships-posters.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506468954572962882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUN78xxmsO-zO22d0e3L_QtMSCy9prmSJrq4Y8snYfmazmzarMo9vbSViSAMmT3fR6-CSpmHbQlBBxk7mhydAO5VoljlotcbhJdzU73OR2X24iUrZ2bZdAC_ncriEGQLwsBcyiEQ/s200/loose-lips-sink-ships-posters.jpg" style="cursor: hand; height: 200px; width: 131px;" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Loose lips sink ships, he says,<br />
and she sees from the swell of blue in his eyes,<br />
he's going under.<br />
<br />
Each explanation she offers, it ruptures him.<br />
Every apology, a breach in his bow.<br />
She's shunned into silence, too late.<br />
<br />
She'd tried to refrain, to contain what she knew,<br />
but her heart had escaped through her mouth once again,<br />
and she sang like a siren.<br />
<br />
Now she swims to him through screaming squalls<br />
and pulls him to the shore.<br />
<br />
Loose lips sink ships, she says,<br />
but a kiss can save our souls.</span> </div>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-70503400662923073162010-05-06T09:56:00.023+01:002010-08-18T20:42:32.663+01:00Letting the weather in<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The light changes.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gravewalker goosebumps shiver on skin.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For one, slow, second,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sky stands still.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it hits the windows.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All around, grey ghosts surround the house.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rap, rap, rapping,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">bony knuckles on double-glazed glass.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Urgent voices moan and murmur,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">whispering through broken brick.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One loose latch is rattling somewhere.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One small gap, one lock unlocked.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Quickly run before it comes.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fumbling fingers must be fast.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And throw the window open wide</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and call the cold to come inside. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now watch the rain wet windowsills</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and stain the paper on the walls</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and hear the heavens howling through the decorated hall.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each gust adjusts the curtains neatly tied</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and blasts the dust, that hides on every shiny surface.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Such stagnant air so suddenly alive, possessed by pressure,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">woken by the chill of this ill-wind.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each silent corner deafened by the din</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of outside elements within. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The light changes.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now throw the window open wide</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and let the weather in.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-29530132238895402082010-04-21T21:59:00.003+01:002010-08-19T16:42:30.621+01:00Nashalim (or Happy Birthday Steve)The Nashalim has lost his wings.<br />
<div>They fell into a river, black as hell</div><div>in darkest Prague. The scars</div><div>still sear his back.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Through centuries of misery,</div><div>his halo slipped and sank</div><div>into his fragile skull.</div><div>Its heat ignites his ancient mind.</div><div>It sparks and scorches every cell,</div><div>shoots lightening through his eyes.</div><div><br />
</div><div>But still he sings his sacred hymns.</div><div>His lips locked in eternal song.</div><div>And place a pen in his shaking palm</div><div>to see the psalms flow from his fingers.</div><div><br />
</div><div>And if you find yourself alone,</div><div>a broken bird or lost for words,</div><div>he'll send you a sign, a symbol, a sentence,</div><div>a prayer prepared for you.</div><div>Something so simple and absurd,</div><div>that you'd always known</div><div>just had never heard.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The Nashalim has lost his wings,</div><div>but still he soars,</div><div>with ravens on his shoulders.</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-34457922359640538622010-02-11T12:34:00.005+00:002010-06-02T12:11:13.301+01:00Snowflake Man (dedicated to Wilson 'Snowflake' Bentley)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKqIaOwRwnf6Xselv0bZYFxuE3CXizAdU3fSG3KMK-S1fULAwll3IEB_JdEbDNL9_-UujZxhFNEDe2l5llKfALDgSLRvhxiL8Tx1fU2gPuRcZSWqb5jJdLjjG72a1dSaOLnK2IQ/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img style="WIDTH: 219px; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436964011625025906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKqIaOwRwnf6Xselv0bZYFxuE3CXizAdU3fSG3KMK-S1fULAwll3IEB_JdEbDNL9_-UujZxhFNEDe2l5llKfALDgSLRvhxiL8Tx1fU2gPuRcZSWqb5jJdLjjG72a1dSaOLnK2IQ/s400/untitled.bmp" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">You were born an original, don’t die a copy. John Mason</span></div><br /><div>Sudden and silent,<br />a hushed rush of white,<br />falling from heaviest heaven.<br /><br />Chaotic crystals of luminous light.<br />The day holds its breath,<br />lifts its head.<br /><br />Frozen but fragile,<br />so softly they bite,<br />as Jericho’s snowflake man<br />rescues his jewels.<br />He hurries through flurries,<br />to capture, to save,<br />then watches each masterpiece melt.<br /><br />And deep in December,<br />he dies for his art,<br />braves one blizzard too far<br />with his battered log books.<br />What he saw in the snowflakes,<br />he showed to a world<br />who just had no patience to look.</div><div></div>be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33282234.post-84494097461251566092010-02-11T11:52:00.001+00:002010-06-02T12:11:13.301+01:00RunawaysRun away with me.<br /><br />We’ll drive down roads<br />with old stone walls.<br />We’ll close our eyes<br />by waterfalls,<br />and listen.<br /><br />You’ll show me how to skim a stone<br />and how to pick the perfect one.<br />I’ll catch the icy river ripples,<br />frozen like February in my phone.<br /><br />We’ll walk through woods<br />with secret seats,<br />that whisper words<br />like poetry.<br /><br />And then we’ll climb through crumbling castles,<br />on stairs that wind through distant times,<br />to watch the world from a stony view,<br />to see anew with ancient eyes.<br /><br />And at the end of our adventure,<br />when reality returns in shivery slivers,<br />we’ll hide in the shadow of the unicorn without a horn<br />and rest our winter-sun scorched eyes.<br />And as his colour fades<br />so will the light from our secret day.<br /><br />In darkness we’ll drive back<br />To cul-de-sacs and damp and debt,<br />We’ll crawl into our bed<br />And dream of freedom.be the serpenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00741238317853342892noreply@blogger.com1