Poetry and Stuff
Back in the late 90's I had a bit of a dabble in poetry. I really had no idea what I was seeking when I wrote them, it was just a way to express how I was feeling about things. I had just about completed teachers college and I was hungry to write. I had written a few short stories, mainly to satisfy a far too literate toddlers hunger for more a sophisticated Thomas the tank engine story so I put pen to paper and on the odd occasion I wrote something people liked. As mentioned on my home page, feel free to view, copy or print however please recognise the source.
The first poem is an ode to the elderly and realises their importance in our lives. It came about from a discussion with one of my students about losing a grandparent.
| tell_me_a_story.docx |
| agent_x.doc |
Agent X shows the frustrations I felt whilst at teachers college and funny enough shows a current frustration I have with educational 'experts' who just seek to confuse things and make themselves seem important by remaking the wheel under yet another guise. If it aint broke...
The next poem shows a little of my childhood. My dad showed the movies at the Orpheus picture theatre in South Auckland, New Zealand. The poor old theatre was named after one of our biggest shipping disasters and survived two arson attacks. As far as I know it is now used for live productions. I called the poem 'The August School Holidays' because I used to spend the whole of the holidays watching Bruce Lee, Jimmy Wang Yu and Clint Eastwood movies. The Dam Busters, Guns of Navarone and especially Operation Crossbow were some of the favourites.
| august_school_holidays.wps.doc |
The poem "Burden" below came to me during a course I was attending as part of teaching at a Catholic School. The course was to help me be a better... teacher. I just love the picture of Jesus in the Welsh country side. That of course was the inspiration.
| burden.wps.doc |
I miss was written at a time when I realised what was really important to me.
| i_miss.doc |
Some years ago, I went to a confrence called "Breakthroughs". I got a free ticket through the teachers college student association and little did I know how much it would change my life. I listened to Edward De Bono, Hubbard of Hubbard Cereals and one of my favourites ex-prime minister, David Lange, however the people who had most of an impact were not the headliners. They were the 'average that had achieved the extraordinary'.
John Pule, the artist spoke of the poverty striken lives in council housing in South Auckland. I quickly realised that we could have been neighbours so I scratched this poem (The House) on the back of the programme. The other poem I wrote called 'My own envy' was based upon a talk by acclaimed dancer Michael Parmenter. I was amazed at his confidence, strength and desire to create. I was riveted and then I was almost well jealous. How many of us, love the things we do?
| the_house.doc |
| my_own_envy.doc |
| stones.doc |
The poem 'Stones' above although one of my favourites suited me at the time it was written. I was sick of some of those 5 minute friends who abandoned me at a real time of need.
The Glass marble was a strange poem that oddly describes one of the three times I nearly drowned. The 'glass marble' was the image above me as I looked up from my almost watery grave. An odd one but fun to write.
| the_glass_marble.doc |
