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Sunday 29 October 2017

Creative Sprint Days 26, 27, 28

Day 26 - Recipe For Happiness




Day 27- What's in Your Head
Getting ready for In The Jungle performance with Croydon Composers



Day 28 - Do something you've never done before
I visited Sydenham Wells Park for the first time

Thursday 26 October 2017

CreativeSprint Day 25 - Homage to Another Sprinter - Plant A Door

CreativeSprint Day 25 - Homage to Another Sprinter

I honour Kate McGee who first told me about Creative Sprint last year - this poem is inspired by her Plant a Door post

Plant a Door

Door - a place that hinges on the boundary 
Between one place and another
And opening and a closure
Protecting and welcoming
Those who pass through 
From one side to the other

A door is planted and we immediately
Imagine what could be behind it -
Do elves live behind this moss green door 
Nestled in the knarled face of tree bark?
How many letters cluster behind
The postbox door, awaiting delivery?

When a door appears we wonder
How we might approach it
Is Open Sesame the magic code
To conjure it open - or do we
Knock, call or ring the bell?
Or will it simply open with a push?

When a door is closed, we become
Outlaws, roaming free beyond
It's bounds, rebellious and wild. 
So we may plant an open door
Which makes wide the way to
Spaces of creative discovery.


Kate's Artwork and Post


Hello Sprinters. Open invitation from UK for you: doors of the world 🌍.
I’ve really enjoyed the last couple of days prompts and would like to morph them into a collaboration, if anyone is willing. I’ve made a blank plain doorframe that anyone can copy, customise and plant somewhere.
I’ve posted my last couple of prompt outputs to give you an idea of what I’ve been up to...










Tuesday 24 October 2017

CreativeSprint Day 24 - #UnitedNationsDay

CreativeSprint Day 24  - UnitedNationsDay
I am always inspired by singing songs from South Africa 

aeee--- 
I hear them -
Songs of another world 
In this world -
Floating on the breeze.

I hear them 
And I try to go meet them
To dance with them
To harmonise gently 
And ululate joyfully.

I imagine the warmth of their
Patch of warmer earth
Under their warmed feet
And I feel our shared earth
Under mine.

I want to honour them
To sing friendship to them
To meet them in the otherworld
Of song where we are no longer
Other to one another.





CreativeSprint Day 23 - Listen Up

CreativeSprint Day 23 - Listen Up 
The sound that inspired me today and many other days in my life - the sound of people singing together in choir

I hear the sound of hearts stirring
Rising on waves of breath to touch each other
I hear the sound of minds meeting
Merging their thoughts in lines of lyrics
I hear the sound of bodies moving
As feet, hands, bellies fall into shared time
I hear the sound of the moment passing
As we mark the beats of our precious life in music




Sunday 22 October 2017

#CreativeSprint Day 22 - The Spam Box

In the Spam Box
Lives a multitude of fatty toxicity
Porky pies live here and multiply
And pinky pigs with curly tails fly
Across the virtual internet skies
With pumped up promises
Of immediate cash donations,
Death-defying beauty
And never-failing hard-ons.

Here in the Spam box
Forever friends come with
A Western Union pricetag,
Sexy chat can be yours for
A dollar a minute 
And casino wheels spin
To the racket of rampant
Consumer dreams coming
To a sticky, happy end.

We keep this grotesque parade
Safely tinned and filtered,
But just one crack in the box
And K-Y jellied innards
Start oozing slippery seduction -
Emoticons wink, stars flash, 
Hashtags blare the slogans 
Of an insane shopping world 
Fat on the belief that 
Anyone and anything 
Can be bought, bargained 
And boxed into Spam.






CreativeSprint Day 21 - Inspiring Story - Compassionate Neighbours

#CreativeSprint Day 21 - Inspiring Story - Compassionate Neighbours

I spent the day at the launch of Compassionate Neighbours in South East London which involved hearing people's stories of what a good neighbour is and how it feels to be compassionate.

An open hand
A naked hello
A warm heart 
Reaching across social divides
Crossing the lines demarcating
A lonely world

From behind closed doors,
Amidst the crowded bus
Or across the fence
A friendly face appears
With warmth, understanding
Food to share.

Invisible spaces 
Become neighbourly places
Full of gentle eyes
Observing both privacy
And connection between
Our intersecting worlds.








CreativeSprint Day 20 - The Space In Between

The space in between
.... you and I 
May collapse or widen
Depending on the wander
Of these words

You may draw closer or retreat
According to the warp and weft
Of word play 
That spins in the space
Between us

We may warm this space
With a connecting word,
Shatter it with a cold insult
Or both become cool castaways
Unmoved, unstirred in any way.

This is the space
A word can reach across
The space in which
You and I
Could become Us




Image Source - http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Caydeb/Space

#CreativeSprint Day 18 & 19 - Everyday Object & Light Source

A tissue becomes a rose...

 

Paper Lantern

Tuesday 17 October 2017

#CreativeSprint Day 16 - World Dictionary Day - Polychaete

#CreativeSprint Day 16 - World Dictionary Day - Polychaete

I opened the dictionary 
And there it was 
Bristling amongst the poly- section
With many other multiple friends
Poly-carpellary, Poly-chroite
But it was definitely a Poly-chaete
I spotted wriggling it's way
Out of my granny's dictionary.
Luminescent rings glowing
Through bristly parapodia extensions,
This annelid anomaly has introduced 
Me to an underwater world of words
I never knew existed.






Sunday 15 October 2017

#CreativeSprint 15 - Nature Walk

#CreativeSprint 15 Nature Walk
Collage from Wandsworth Common

#CreativeSprint 14 - Superhero



#CreativeSprint 14 - Superhero

This is Super Gong - flying around the planet gonging people into peace :)






Friday 13 October 2017

#CreativeSprint Day 13 - Spooky Friday 13th

Eek!! 3 headed scary Katie Monster


 

#CreativeSprint Day 12 - Childhood Toy

#CreativeSprint Day 12 - Childhood Toy

Everybody needs a bear
A snuggly bear
A cuddly bear
To hold tight
Through young nights

Everybody needs a bear

A loving bear
Who is always there
With a silent embrace
When nightmares chase

Everybody needs a bear
Who can handle the wear
And toddler tear
Of being a comforter
And stand in mother 

Everybody needs a bear
A lovely bear
A caring bear
Who can administer faithful cuddles
When the world is a muddle




Thanks to Pooh Bear for companionship from early to later days :)

Thursday 12 October 2017

#CreativeSprint - Day 11 - Collaborative Poem for #DayofTheGirl

#CreativeSprint - Day 11 - Collaborative Poem for #DayofTheGirl
I invited everyone in the  Creative Sprint Facebook Group to collaborate a line to a poem 

To all the girls everywhere, this is your day - Katie Rose
From the North, West and South, East and all places between - KL McGhee
...to shine! - Yvonne Kettner
Your beauty, wisdom, tenderness, courage is embraced by those you share with along the way - Denise Doyle Esmeraldo
You have the power to change the world with what you do and what you say - Rose Richey
As Clouds gather and rain may fall, stand your ground every day - Mc Hugh Sally
Speak up! - Kristen Ann
The power you have within must be expressed, not suppressed, for your value is immense.... - Neita Sudberry
You shine like the brightest star - Lynne Parker Hivick
Never doubt that you are enough - Mia Moreland Mitchell
Again and again you will feel small. You are not. - Jensin Eddins
May you always hear the supportive voices, especially your own; believe in yourself and be kind to yourself. - Joanne Hurt
Stand up for yourself, you have the power to make your mark in this world x - Emma Evans
You are unique.
You are an original - Meera Rao

You are our future! - Dawn Payne
You were perfectly formed to be you. Always cherish that fact and celebrate all that you are. - Ronda King Petillo
The day of the girl beckons all that is within you to manifest itself in the world - Hollee Freeman
Girl, you are strong! 
Girl, you are smart!
Girl, you are! - Mim Golub Scalin




Tuesday 10 October 2017

#CreativeSprint Day 10 - Public Art



#CreativeSprint Day 10 - Public Art - An Oak Leaf Wreath left for anyone to find

Creative Sprint #Day 9 World Post Day

Creative Sprint #Day 9 World Post Day

A Tribute to the Postal Service In Lyrics

Hey Mr Postman

Please read the letter I wrote in my sleep
With help and consultation from the angels of the deep

Dear darlin' please excuse my writing, 
I can't stop my hands from shaking

This is my rock and roll love letter to you
I'm gonna sign it, I'm gonna send it
I'm gonna mail it right away

Remember I'll always be true and then while I'm away
I'll write home everyday and I'll send all my loving to you

Like a bird that's flying homewards
It's that Air Mail Special on the fly

Oh wait, please wait Mr Postman
Is there a letter in your bag for me?

I'm gonna smile and say 'I hope you're feeling better'
And sign with love, the way you do
I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter
And make believe it came from you

And darling then I read again, right from the start
Love letters straight from your heart

Signed, sealed delivered I'm yours

PS I love you, you you you
As I write this letter send my love to you




Songs
Please read the letter - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Dear Darlin - Olly Murs
This is my rock n roll love letter to you - Bay City Rollers
Air Mail Special - David Grisman, John Hartford, Mike Seeger
All My Loving - The Beatles
Mr Postman - The Marvelettes
I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter - Fats Waller
Love Letters - Ketty Lester
Signed Sealed Delivered I'm yours - Stevie Wonder
PS I Love You - the Beatles

Creative Sprint #Days 7 & 8




Day 7 - Sincerest form of flattery - a hasty but sincere homage to Monet's Lilies



Day 8 - Mirror Mirror - artwork from the bathroom cabinet - in nail varnish :)

Saturday 7 October 2017

#CreativeSprint Day 6 - Palindromes

Palindromes

These palindromes are causing pandemonium
Words are reversing backwards
And rotating forwards 
Gulping their tails like endless serpents
As meanings revolve back and forth 

Dammit I’m mad!
Goddam mad dog
Gods a dog!
Go deliver a dare, mad dog!

Mirror mirror in the scrawl
I can’t make sense of you at all! 



Thursday 5 October 2017

#CreativeSprint Day 5 - Homage to Teachers

Homage to Teachers

Blessed are the dream catchers
The people who stop dreams 
Slipping through uncertain fingertips
Or dissolving in a tide of ‘I can’ts’

Blessed are the 
​w​
hispers that ride
The crest of waves and the tickle
Of breezes with their intuitive promptings 
To remember and act upon our dreams

Blessed are the teachers in this kaleidoscopic life 
Found in everything and every being -
From the mad wisdom of a crazed sage
To the gurgle of a newborn baby

Blessed are the reminders we can learn to read - 
The moment to moment signals and pointers 
That teach us to stay still long enough
To listen to the call of our dreams



Wednesday 4 October 2017

#CreativeSprint Day 4 - Plastic Fantastic

#CreativeSprint Day 3 - Odd Bedfellows

Odd Bedfellows

At the end of each extreme
There is a melting meeting point -
Evaporating Water in hot places  
Makes firey mist of elemental division.

So how would it be to de-polarise
The dualistically trained Western mind
And get out of the boxes and boundaries
Into a wider sense of being?

Not simply morse code marking 1-0
Mathematics would explode in multiple connections 
Humanity would welcome its vibrant diversity
In mesmerising spectrums of infinite capacity 

And then we two odd bedfellows
And so many like us 
Might better understand our interface
As love rather than warfare 


Monday 2 October 2017

#CreativeSprint Day 2 - What's in a name? - Katherine


Katherine

She broke the wheel
And spun her way through
The debates of cruel men.
Her eloquence turned heads
Rotating the minds of scholars,
Royalty and pilgrims alike.
She commanded hearts
From her faith’s centre
And lost her head for love.
She broke the wheel,
Spokes of silence became
Spirals of singing light at her touch.
She broke the mould
And breaks cold November nights
With a crackle of sparkling lights.





#CreativeSprint1 - In the Palm of My Hand