Flying Free

Flying free would be such a glorious sensation! Feeling the air currents lift us, seeing the earth below nolonger constraining us with vast distances we cannot cover.
Much of my poetry over the years comes back to this theme of flying. There must be something deep in me that longs to soar, that doesn't fear heights, or speed, but revels in freedom. There must be something in me that strains to be rid of constraint.

But I always also tend to write about relationship because it is our dealings with one another that connect us, that give us joy or sadness, purpose or pain. Creativity and Relationship, in my opinion, are the key things that set us apart from the animals. (And memories, reasoning, planning, imagination...)
But I feel myself digressing onto another topic, so lets's pull back...

My poetry is most frequently about relationship and flying is a theme I keep coming back to. The combination of these two more often than not reveal a desire to escape, to leave relationships behind and be free.
Ironically this is not something I am quick to advocate. In my life I tend to do the exact opposite: constrain myself within the bounds of a relationship.Yet my poetry keeps pushing the theme. Plenty here for the psychologists out there I'm sure, so before you or I get too analytical and start uncovering my secrets how about I just share the latest poem with you...

Flying Free

Raise your eye to the sky
And see me there, winging where
The clouds pass by.

Know I have escaped your heart
And watch as I race free,
Against falcon, goshawk, eagle, kite.

Do not call for me. The wind
Flutes your voice into a song
That no more sings for me.

Louise

Pink Sunrise

I looked out my bedroom window this morning and met beauty in the clouds. There have been some magnificent skies lately. It was sheer glory one day last week sitting in my car waiting for my daughter after school - the clouds were strips of gold. I so wanted to capture the moment, but I didn't have my camera. This morning, though, I took these snaps:

Of course they must inspire a couple more "droplet poems" (skies are becoming a theme: see droplets-from-sky).

Pink Dreams

Rising sleep-laden still from bed
pink comfort beckons me back
to dream-land in the sky.

And the one, being camera-less, that I can show you only in words:

Strips Of Gold

If I were a giantess I would
reach to the sparkling skies and rip
each strip of gold away
and sew them into a scarf
of light to warm my neck.

Louise

Droplets from the Sky

The sky is an endless source of fascination and beauty, always changing, whether blue, cloud-heavy or red with the sunset. Here are two droplet poems fallen from incredible skies:

Masterpiece

Crazy sky scribbled
into abstract art
by the hand of God
and the setting sun.

After the Storm

Stormclouds ruptured by Silver
Sun-rays - like a Second Coming
Without the Trumpet Call -
Rapturous.

Why don't you try capturing a sky in a few words? Aren't we human beings amazing? We can hold the entire expanse above us on our tongues (sorry, that last bit might be a little weird :) ).

Louise

Poems and Pictures

I've missed a few days, but have not been idle! So below are 4 offerings from ADEM days 6-9.
Day 6 brought a droplet poem:

Stormclouds

The slate tiles that we generally call clouds
roof in the sky, but provide
no shelter from the storm they herald.

Day 7, a face:

Day 8, another poem written on the train on my way home from work in London. Due to disruptions I spent longer travelling than I did working yesterday. Glad I had a poem to write!

Train Home

As the cramped carriage hurtles homeward
how can you tell
if the man whose knees mirror yours
has a tender tongue or a harsh hand?

How can you tell
if the woman whose eyes hide behind dark orbs
nurses open wounds, carries secrets
or basks in a moment of serenity?

Today, day 9, I have painted a tulip with watercolour crayons:

Hope you like these. X