More poetic efforts.

Just thought that I'd share my latest poetic attempts which I produced for my latest Open University assignment. This one was quite a challenge for me as we had to write 2-3 poems, totaling 40 lines, using different techniques. I found it quite hard to write in this almost calculated way, but I'm sure that it's been good for me. This course is definitely stretching me and is more difficult than I anticipated. But with my new motto courtesy of Bitstrips and Maya Angelou I'll get there. 

I hope you enjoy my efforts. 

Christmas cheer!

When Christmas comes we the hit the shops once more,

To find the perfect gift that will enthrall.

We trudge our weary way from store to store,

We blindly weave our way through every mall.

We walk past people sleeping on the streets

Ignoring outstretched hands and rattling tins.

Our minds intent on bringing Christmas treats

To those already blessed with everything.

And hospices where people go to rest!

Their families distraught, hearts full of pain.

A lonely man decides it’s for the best

If, tomorrow he does not wake up again.

And so the season of good will transcends

The peace on earth and goodwill towards men. (14 lines)

Isabel Johnstone 2014 ©

Secret self

No one really knows me!

Not the real me, the secret me.

Hidden deep within, in a safe

and only I have the key.

I have a doppelganger

who, turns up every day,

wears my clothes, walks in my shoes,

drives my car.

My friends all think it’s me,

the real me, but if I dared

to let the real me out,

would they stay?

A Pandora’s Box full of

my deepest, darkest secrets

that, must not be allowed

to break free.

It’s a heavy burden!

I think I’d rather

have a picture,

hidden in the attic. (20 lines)

Isabel Johnstone 2014 ©

A Silent Place

The mist swirls silently around me seeping into my bones.

I stop and listen, but silence surrounds me like an invisible cloak.

I shudder as the seclusion and solitude sinks in.

I have never wanted to be alone, adrift in the sea of my own thoughts,

with time to think on things that I’d rather forget.

Yet, here I am in this silent place, unsure of how I arrived. (6 lines).

Isabel Johnstone 2014 ©

I'm in the poetry zone!

Hi guys,

My latest assignment for my OU course has been a poetry assignment. As part of the course I've had to write some poems. Here are a couple. The first one was my attempt at writing about an animal, real or mythical. Of course I wrote about the Invisible Dragon! The second was a result of an online tutorial where we had to write a poem after listening to a piece of music. I listened to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1.

The invisible dragon

She penned her wish upon a page

A candle lit to cast the spell

She slept, she dreamed and she awoke

On her invisible dragon.

A longing deep within her soul

For life’s adventure to begin

Now sprang to life before her eyes

On her invisible dragon.

She dreamt of love and far flung climes

As life it’self just passed her by

Was she at last upon the way

On her invisible dragon?

All through the night she swooped and swirled

The cold night air upon her face

She laughed and shouted at the sky

On her invisible dragon.

Then morning came and cold, wet dew,

Or so she thought, was on her cheeks.

But tears were all that she had left

Of her invisible dragon.

Isabel Johnstone © 2014.

http://isabelj327.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/my-invisible-dragon-adventures-part-5.html

Flow!

I dreamed of children playing:

Kiss chase around trees,

pretending to be

a flotilla of sailing ships, or

a pair of swans gliding along a river

their wings outstretched, ready

to soar high above a waterfall

that boils and bubbles before dropping

into the rapids below. Then,

bored now, they break into a sword fight.

Isabel Johnstone © 2014

More to come when I've had my assignment marked, we can't publish them online until then.

I hope you enjoy this snippet! 

Poetry photo courtesy of :-http://blogs.thenews.com.pk/blogs/2012/03/interrupted-by-poetry/

Conspiracy of silence

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Edmund Burke

For the past few months I've been going through a situation in which I've had to make the sentiments of this picture my daily mantra. Without going into the details, I have been in a situation where I stood up to a bully who, as a result, lost his position. I found it a really difficult thing to do, but things had become so bad that he was making a lot of people very unhappy. Things came to a head when I was sent a bullying message by him through Facebook which left me feeling shaken up and sick to my stomach. It was at this point I felt that I had to speak up. I later found out that this wasn't the first time he'd been guilty of bullying. My friends and family tell me that I've done the right thing and that I've been 'very brave' by speaking up. So why do I feel so bad?

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.

Winston Churchill 

Like all bullies he is a coward. Recently he passed me in the street and deliberately bumped into me before walking off without a word of apology. I expect he thought that I would find it intimidating, but it just made me laugh. It's not a very good feeling knowing that there's someone out there who probably hates me, but I can understand why. In his book, I'm the reason that he lost his job, but technically it was his own actions that brought this about.

It's not always easy doing the right thing. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it. When I was in younger I was bullied by a work colleague but I was young and naive and didn't do anything about it. I used to dread going to work and left the job as soon as I could. That was one of the reasons I decided to speak up on this occasion. Bullies get away with it because they make people feel intimidated and scared. They make them feel that they'll be the ones who'll get in trouble if they say anything. But this leads to a 'conspiracy of silence' which enables the bullies to flourish. 

There have been a number of incidents over the years where young people have actually committed suicide because they were being bullied. Thankfully the schools and authorities are trying to do something about it. But I believe that we have our part to play in this. Children need to be taught by their parents that bullying is wrong. It's not just 'kids being kids'. It won't stop some people becoming bullies as adults; but it's a start. 

As adults we need to show them the way. If you are aware of a situation where there is a bully, be brave; speak up. Nobody likes a bully, so why should we allow our lives to be blighted by one for longer than necessary. Yes you might make an enemy, but would you want to be friends with someone capable of this type of behaviour anyway? As Winston Churchill said you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you've; 'Stood up for something, sometime in your lifetime,' and that can't be a bad thing, can it?. 

Lessons in life photo courtesy of:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.phpfbid=623774294360947&set=a.109979089073806.15189.109759299095785&type=1&theater