Tuesday Talk is currently taking a break until the New Year and will return in January. However, I thought to fill the void it might be an opportunity for some general posts on the blog. Last week it was all about early morning inspiration for writing. This week it’s poetry.
Being fully committed to writing romance I’ve very little time for poetry. However, back in the late 1980s when I was Admin Manager for the Community Health Unit in Bath one of my unofficial titles was Departmental Bard. Milestone birthdays, leaving dos or any other reason for celebration would require me to compose something relevant for the individual involved. Pulling together the elements of a person’s life into an amusing few lines was fairly easy, but something I could switch on and off from. Writing a novel, for me, was my main goal.
Back in the late nineties, I enrolled for a Creative Writing Class at the local College. Among the the sessions we had was one putting our rhyming talents to good use. Our lecturer presented us with a table of photos and cut outs from magazines. She asked us to choose one and write a poem about it. The picture which had a real pull for me was the one below ‘Wearing the Christmas Dinner‘.
which resulted in this poem:
Behold I stand a culinary vision
Of Yuletide cheer, no inhibitions
Roast turkey pinned against my chest
While carrots and sprouts hang from my waist
A south sea island lay of roast
Adorns my neck and feels most…
Uncomfortable – and earrings are a pain
While on my head the pudding’s aflame
With brandy poured quite liberally
From the bottle given to me
A Christmas gift from the one I love
Who as we speak is still at the pub
With all his friends – a quick drink I was told
That was hours ago, the food’s now cold
So I’ve had my own little party here
Filled myself with Christmas cheer
And now decked out with care and taste
Wait for the key in the door and the look on his face
I have dipped in and out of poetry over the years and usually keep anything I’ve written on file. So now in the run up to Christmas I thought it would be appropriate bring it out and share . Enjoy!
JO LAMBERT 