I recorded this poem for the International Poetry Circle on Twitter the other day (hashtag #InternationalPoetryCircle) and wanted to share it with you here too. You can turn on the captions in the YouTube video by using the dot menu at the top right of the screen. You can also read the text of the poem here if you prefer.
This is the spoken word video version of my poem No April Fool. For the text of the poem, switch on captions in the settings on the YouTube video above, or read the text version of this poem in the post immediately below this one. If you’re interested in spoken word and poetry readings in general, check out the hashtag #InternationalPoetryCircle on Twitter. Started by poet Tara Skurtu, the circle encourages poets and poetry lovers to share their own poems, or their favourite poems, through video or print. It’s a way to positively connect through words and creativity during this immensely stressful and trying time of isolation.
To my Granny
Born April one
But no April Fool
The obstetrician
Changed the date to April two
So you’d never get teased
Or bullied at school
And Christ how it is
That I miss you
You held my hand
And tried to reach
Right through my walls
And you did so well but
I’m not sure I ever thanked you
For ensuring my heart
Felt always good and always full
For helping me feel warm and loved
Oh Christ how it is that I miss you
I’ve tried to fill the hole you left
So many times and over again
And I’m just now able to realise
There is no hole
For the love you showed me
Helped me see
Myself through how you saw me
And I am here
And I see me through the lens of you
Which means that you are still here too
And Christ how it is that I love you
I’m so grateful for the gift of you
Born April two
No April Fool
Oh Granny, how I love you
Click here for a link to the text version of When God Was a Woman.
By extension was recorded as part of my participation in the #InternationalPoetryCircle on Twitter, started by poet Tara Skurtu to help allay anxiety and to create a creative community during the COVID19 pandemic.
The full text of By extension can be read here.
Have you heard of the International Poetry Circle on Twitter yet? If not, click on the following tag and check it out: #InternationalPoetryCircle. The circle is the brainchild of poet and writer Tara Skurtu. She started the circle as a way for people around the world to connect during quarantine due to COVID-19. Poets from around the world are sending in videos of their work, and written versions/links to poems are encouraged also so that full accessibility and inclusivity is achieved. I’ve contributed a couple of poems that I’ve been meaning to record for a while now, and I’ll continue to record more videos over the coming days and weeks. If you’re a poetry enthusiast, but don’t actually write yourself, you can also participate by taking a video of yourself reading your favourite poems. Enjoy this marvellous poetry circle; it’s such a meaningful and real way for people to connect and a wonderful, positive outcome of the current terrifying and distancing situation. Stay safe, stay healthy, read poetry.
Above is a spoken word poetry reading of my poem Eggshells. If you’d like to read the poem instead or as well, please check out this link.
Have you heard of the International Poetry Circle on Twitter yet? If not, click on the following tag and check it out: #InternationalPoetryCircle. The circle is the brainchild of poet and writer Tara Skurtu. She started the circle as a way for people around the world to connect during quarantine due to COVID-19. Poets from around the world are sending in videos of their work, and written versions/links to poems are encouraged also so that full accessibility and inclusivity is achieved. I’ve contributed a couple of poems that I’ve been meaning to record for a while now, and I’ll continue to record more videos over the coming days and weeks. If you’re a poetry enthusiast, but don’t actually write yourself, you can also participate by taking a video of yourself reading your favourite poems. Enjoy this marvellous poetry circle; it’s such a meaningful and real way for people to connect and a wonderful, positive outcome of the current terrifying and distancing situation. Stay safe, stay healthy, read poetry.
Above is a spoken word poetry reading of my poem unusually calm in a crisis. If you’d like to read the poem instead/as well, please check out the post below this one.
I am
unusually calm
in a crisis
A crisis is normal
to me —
danger my oxygen
detachment my friend
we hold hands
and freeze at the centre
blank, numb
and hopefully not too stupid
This day
like every other
is just another to survive
and I have weathered worse
I am an expert
in crisis
I know what I need to do
I’ve lived my life
being one step ahead
outrunning death
while she slashes at my heels
inflicting wounds
but never taking me
My life is at risk
and this is just normal
A crisis is normal
to me —
I know it will pass
as it always has
as it always does
for me
Have you heard of the International Poetry Circle on Twitter yet? If not, click on the following tag and check it out: #InternationalPoetryCircle. The circle is the brainchild of poet and writer Tara Skurtu. She started the circle as a way for people around the world to connect during quarantine due to COVID-19. Poets from around the world are sending in videos of their work, and written versions/links to poems are encouraged also so that full accessibility and inclusivity is achieved. I’ve contributed a couple of poems that I’ve been meaning to record for a while now, and I’ll continue to record more videos over the coming days and weeks. If you’re a poetry enthusiast, but don’t actually write yourself, you can also participate by taking a video of yourself reading your favourite poems. Enjoy this marvellous poetry circle; it’s such a meaningful and real way for people to connect and a wonderful, positive outcome of the current terrifying and distancing situation. Stay safe, stay healthy, read poetry.
Above is a spoken word poetry reading of my erotic poem Eve’s apple. As a musician and composer, I always conceive of my poems sonically and rhythmically, as well as linguistically. They are meant to read aloud and heard. If you’d like to read this poem instead (or as well!) please follow this link. I will try to make all of my other poem videos more accessible over the coming days and weeks as time permits, by linking to the written versions of them.
Have you heard of the International Poetry Circle on Twitter yet? If not, click on the following tag and check it out: #InternationalPoetryCircle. The circle is the brainchild of poet and writer Tara Skurtu. She started the circle as a way for people around the world to connect during quarantine due to COVID-19. Poets from around the world are sending in videos of their work, and written versions/links to poems are encouraged also so that full accessibility and inclusivity is achieved. I’ve contributed a couple of poems that I’ve been meaning to record for a while now, and I’ll continue to record more videos over the coming days and weeks. If you’re a poetry enthusiast, but don’t actually write yourself, you can also participate by taking a video of yourself reading your favourite poems. Enjoy this marvellous poetry circle; it’s such a meaningful and real way for people to connect and a wonderful, positive outcome of the current terrifying and distancing situation. Stay safe, stay healthy, read poetry.
Above is a spoken word poetry reading of my sestina Mirror repeats night. As a musician and composer, I always conceive of my poems sonically and rhythmically, as well as linguistically. They are meant to be read aloud and heard as well as read. If you’d like to read this poem instead (or as well!) please follow this link. I will try to make all of my other poem videos more accessible over the coming days and weeks as time permits, by linking to the written versions of these poems.
