Day 6: Morning

Today's prompt was to be inspired in some manner by mornings and I actually followed the brief! Short, simple and about the morning; enjoy. - Andy

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Morning

What does morning bring?
More often that not a list.
Do that. Do this
Make sure you do it by then!
So it usually brings a sigh
And a realisation
That I should probably already be at the train station
But before I submit to the rush and aggravation
I take a moment to notice the bed beneath my bum,
I watch the light thrown through the window by the sun,
Then I look back at the list
And say
"I'm gonna make this fun"

Day 5: Sirens

Today's prompt was to rework an Emily Dickinson poem. After an afternoon spent staring at various of her poems, including several about birds, no inspiration struck. They did make me think about birds though, and how much I miss seeing them when I'm in London. I'm at my parents in Hampshire for Easter, and so I wrote this overly sentimental, but earnestly felt cinquain. - Katie

***

Sirens

Shrill, earsplitting

Wailing down the high road

I miss the sound of Hampshire, miss

Birdsong

Day 4: Autobiography

I'm actually a little happy that this one is late, I was too busy last night to post it which is actually quite nice considering the poem. The prompt yesterday was an "epic tale" I didn't follow that too closely because I read a fun Ben Franklin quote about autobiographies, which I paraphrase in the opening lines....

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Autobiography

My autobiography,

I hope I’m always too busy to finish it.

Not that I've begun one,

No,I haven’t won a war and I’m not sixty

But one day

When I’m not too busy

I want to start one

Start to reminisce

And write a list,

Of places and things and faces.

Allow myself to drift back just a little,

But to stay there?

Spend the rest of my days compiling,

Organizing?

It’s a slippery slope.

Leading to nothing but regret

What did I miss?

What did they think?

Why did I let that slip?

This is a trait that I often stumble upon

I mean I haven’t lived particularly long

But already I spent way to much of my time

Casting back my mind.

I’m scared I’m going to miss it.

Wake up one day with a blank autobiography in front of me.

I’ll be eighty and quoting eighteen.

Questioning the same stupid motives I’m stuck on now.

So I’ll change.

In the writing of this line I’ll change.

Where better?

If I’m reading this out loud then hopefully it’s already happened!

I hope to one day stand in front of you,

Spewing words in the non committal way I usually do

But after a few, I’ll take a bow

Walk away,

But someone will come up and find me

Ask me “Did you change?”

Did I succeed in ripping the chain

That anchors me to the past,

Did I untie myself from the mast?

I hope so.

I hope I live a little better.

Who doesn't?

But most of all I hope that I look forward.

Act in a manner in which the moment presents.

Not stumbling, distracted with regret,

Until one day, when I’ll allow

Myself to sit down for an hour

And think.

Start a reminisce

Write a list

Of places and things and faces.

Allow myself to drift back just a little…

I’ll realize I've changed,

I’ll realize I've aged,

But before I get stuck

Someone will come tell me I've got

To get going.

Important stuff to do

Fun people to see.

One day I want an autobiography

But finish it?

I’ll be to busy.

Day 3: The Elephant's Dream

Today's prompt was to write a fourteener - a poem with fourteen syllables per line, following an iambic pattern (an unstressed syllable, followed by a stressed syllable). I think I've got the syllables down, less sure about the iambic pattern. This might well be a poem I come back to, but for now enjoy the dream of a foolish elephant. - Katie

***

The Elephant's Dream

It was a starry night the day the circus came to town

That shining big top tent held up with pegs stuck in the ground

The strange, inviting poster with a picture of a clown

When evening fell Tilly and Tim set out towards the field

Towards the lights, towards the tent whose contents so appealed

Their minds ablaze with thoughts of all the mysteries it might yield.

"Roll up! Roll up! Now don't be shy!" the man before them cried

At twelve foot tall he seemed as though his head was the sky

"There are strange sights to behold me dears, won't you come inside?"

They paid their fee and entered in and gasped at what they saw

Past cages of strange animals they wandered rapt with awe

They stopped before a dancing bear who gave a fearful roar

"He won't bite children, don't be scared" a voice behind them said,

They turned to see a lady, but she hadn't got a head!

At least not on her shoulders, but under her arm instead.

They hurried on towards the tent along a stall-lined street

Past fortune tellers, sideshows, rows of toffee apple treats

They hurried through the canvas flap and quickly took their seats

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Children of every size!

Tonight, within this very ring, before your very eyes!

You'll see a show magnificent! Remarkable! Sublime!

There'll be acrobats in coloured hats who fly above your head

Teams of tigers, loads of lions, and elephant called Fred

A man who swallows swords, a man who walks along a thread!

But first, of course, the clowns! We hope you'll find them diverting!"

They ran in throwing cream pies, pratfalls and water squirting

Tim and Tilly laughed and laughed until their sides were hurting

The show went on without a pause, with not a single gap

They saw tigers leap through rings of fire, lions behave like cats

They marveled at the acrobats and at their coloured hats

And then the ringmaster bade them to cheer and yell and whoop

And entered Fred the Elephant wearing a hula-hoop

When Fred began to shake his hips the hoop began to loop!

The crowd went mad! The crowd went nuts! They went absolutely wild!

And Fred the Hooping Elephant looked up and gave a sigh

For Fred's dream was not to hula-hoop: Fred's dream was to fly

But unbeknownst to anyone the elephant was firm

That night a subtle change had swept across the pachyderm

And now his moment had arrived and he began to squirm

He dropped the hoop and ran for it, across to the trapeze

"I'll show them!" thought the elephant, "I'll glide and float with ease!"

He climbed and jumped aboard the swing, though it was quite a squeeze

Alas, alack, poor elephant! He should have realised!

A simple circus tent trapeze can't take someone his size!

A snap! A crack! A creak! A groan! The sound of cries below!

And downward crashed the circus tent pulled by the weight of Fred

It really was a miracle that nobody was dead

Tim and Tilly scrambled out from beneath the canvas spread

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children large and small

It seems as though I must owe apologies to you all

I hope that nobody was really injured in the fall?

There's certainly a lesson here we must learn in our plight

And you can all be sure that the next time I'll get it right

When hiring elephants make sure that they're afraid of heights!

The circus left town that very night, never to return

Along with Fred the Elephant, who still for flight did yearn

But he has learnt and now remains a grounded pachyderm.

Day 2: Traffic Fight

A lot of nonsense about two traffic lights arguing. Italics and Bold show which traffic light is talking at each time and normal font is some form of omnipotent narrator. A poem for performance more than reading. - Andy

***

Traffic Fight

Tall Technicolor traffic stopping triptychs
(Traffic Lights)
Stand on either sides of the road.
Both, old and metal, a little chipped in paint,
Showing green and then red and then gold.

Two silent wardens on a midnight street,
Patiently moving through their programmed motions
Of sequential colour, one after the other.
To avoid automotive commotion.

"Green.
Amber.
Red.
Green.
Amber.
Red."

“It’s a little bit boring”

One of them said
As he absent mindedly turned back to green.

“What do you mean?”

Said the second, seething with Amber

“We’re here to survey the scene!
To watch over roads
To protect zebra crossers,
To vigilantly keep to our pattern.”

“Yeah but it’s midnight
So what if I skip a light?
Do you think anyone will really notice?”


“We have a job to do! You can’t be serious?
You’re making me turn red with fury.”

“You want to turn red but you’re stuck on green instead,
It sort of undermines your authority.
I’m going to do it”

“Do what?”

“I’m finally going to do it”

“Damn it I demand an answer!”

“I’m going to choose what I’m forbidden to do..
I’m going to skip amber!

Green
Amber
Red
Green
Amber
Red.
Green.
Red.”

“Ah! We’re dead!”

“Don’t over react!
No-one saw!
We won’t be in trouble!

Don’t be reckless
You may cause a wreck
Just imagine all the crashes and rubble

We haven’t seen a car in hours
Watch this, the powers
At be will have no clue,
When I decide to go
Green
Red
Blue. “

“Blue!
BLUE?!
How did you?!”

“Amber and green mate.
Mixed em up,
You should try to create
Sometimes. You’d feel less stuck.”

“Less stuck?
I have no legs.
Just one long metal rustic peg.
I have stood on this spot
For years
A sense of duty keeping me silent company
Not this dread and fear.
Which I have felt since you’ve woken,
And another thing!
You’ve been there as long as I,
So why haven’t we spoken?
Throw me a frickin bone here man
I could have used a hand
On some of the cold winter eves,
All traffic stuck at home
Snowed in by a sudden quick freeze.
But you let me believe that I was alone,
The only one
To have been given the gift of tongue,
You could have given me a clue
You could have said”

“Oh look a car!”

“RED.”

Day 1: Stuck

One of the resources posted for the Stars prompt was this website, and I was interested in polar constellations, and the fact that they cannot move out of their hemisphere - a northern polar constellation can't be seen in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa. So this is a poem about Draco, the dragon constellation, who hangs out in the north. As with most of our poems, it was written to be performed more than read, and I've used bold and italics to identify the different characters speaking. - Katie

***

Stuck

Blerrrrrr...

Hmmmmm...

Pfff!

I'm so bored!

Said the dragon

Stuck, as he was, in the sky

There's nothing to do

And my tail's turning blue it's so cold

And so dull I could die!

I'm all twisted

My nose itches

And I'm getting a cramp in foot

And to make matters worse here comes that jerk Orion

To gloat that I have to stay put.

All of his stories of the Southern Hemisphere's glories

What's so great about...Australia anyway?

Hey Draco

Hi Orion

How's it going?

It's...fine.

It's nice to be back in the north again

I bet it is

Sorry?

Nothing.

...

So... how's Ayers Rock getting on?

Still there. They've gone back to calling it Uluru now.

Oh.

Are you ok? You seem a bit down

Oh no, I'm fine, just hanging around.

Here. As usual. Not going anywhere.

Are you sure - I'M FINE. WHAT DO YOU CARE?

I - YOU CAN GO STRIDING ABOUT IN THE AIR!

But - IT'S ME THAT'S STUCK UP HERE AND I HATE IT SO THERE!

Mr 'Ooh, Look At Everything I've Seen'!

'New Zealand is great, South America's a dream!'

Well I don't care about those things - not one.

Though I am jealous about penguins... they sound really fun.

...

Ok, I lied, I want to see it all!

I want to see water go the other way down the plughole!

I want to see reefs and volcanoes and rainforests that are rainy!

Everything here is all really samey!

How can you say that?

Have you looked down recently?

Why are you bored when there's so much to see?

Every time I come back here so much is strange

To me so much has changed, you see?

You've just got to look.

I mean, penguins are great

They're really great.

Ok, penguins are hilarious!

But you know what isn't?

Water.

And you know what the Southern Hemisphere is 90% made up of?

Water.

And you know where 90% of the world's people live?

Here.

And they're always changing, developing, making something new

They've always found themselves plenty to do

Really, I'm the one who is jealous of you.

There's so much happening and you've got a front row pew.

What about, Stonehenge, the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China?

Mount Rushmore, the Eiffel Tower, you are such a whiner!

Sure, Uluru's amazing, but what about the fjords?

And you hang above this and say that you're bored?!

I suppose you're right...

But what about penguins?

They have them here too.

May I suggest that you take a good look at a zoo?

The Underground Clown Club does NaPoWriMo 2015!

Ah! I'm so sorry! I completely lost track of time! My train was delayed! My dog ate my homework!

Welcome to The Underground Clown Club's National Poetry Writing Month 2015 blog! We're so sorry we're late! We have been catching up though! There'll be two poems posted tonight, so we'll be all up to speed for Day 3!

30 poems in the 30 days sounds like an excellent idea to us, and April is a particularly good month to do it in, as we will be performing our poetry show, Love & Rabbits, on the first weekend in May. Who knows, maybe some of these poems will make it into the show? If there are any you'd particularly like to see performed, let us know! We might even hold some sort of vote later in the month, we'll have to see.

Anyway, we promise not to go on about the show too much, but if you would like to see us perform, we will be at the marvelous Etcetera Theatre in Camden on the 2nd and 3rd May. You can find more information and buy your tickets here.

All that remains to be said is BRING ON THE POEMS!!