JanineToday is National Poetry Day and we are celebrating with a collection of poems written by our talented East Side Story residents, plus we want to hear from you!
Whether you’re a seasoned poet or just up for having a go, we’re always keen to feature more poetry, verses, lyrics, Haiku’s limericks, sonnets or odes!
Established in 1994, National Poetry day is a great way to showcase the limitless types of poetry from around the globe. This year’s theme is Refuge- what does this mean to you? Where do you find or offer refuge? Here’s what some talented East Leeds poets have sent in this month
REFUGEE
You call me a refugee,
Shall I tell you my story.
Maybe I can’t change your mind,
Of my need to stay,
But I hope I inform.
My country is torn apart,
By humans with weapons
They call it war.
Weapons provided by your hands.
When I flee, you call me a refugee.
Still, on reflection
Would you have stayed?
I traversed wasteland, ragged terrains ,
Crossing raging rivers
Sleeping were I could, always with one eye open.
I carried my bundle on my back,
My clothes became my second skin
Not washed for days/weeks/ months!
My skin itches for safety.
At night my dry tears
Follows my dreams
Hopes fading,
But I put one foot forward.
Y.Wilson
Pet Refuge:
Beneath the warm blanket or warming your feet,
Out in the park chasing the squirrels I meet;
Barking at cats or the strangers at our door,
I will listen intently as you tell me everything and more.
Chasing my tail around in those spins,
Playing tug o’ war until you are tired and I win.
For I am your pet and always will be,
That furry dog refuge you call family.
Be My Refuge:
Be my refuge from crowded city noise, here in the woods with songbirds.
Be my refuge from blinding blue screens, a book with its stories, cryptic words.
Be my refuge from confusions, share that wisdom you’ve learned.
Be my respite on a stressful day, that ice tea well-earned.
Be my comfort among the hate, a warm hug for which I yearn.
Be my only refuge, for when all is gone and burned.”
Jaimes Lewis Moran.
Imagine by C.J. Ojukwu
Imagine Caesar on his knees:
Head and heart
Bowed in meekness;
Wealth and might,
Fully Surrendered
To a perfect love that
Makes Kings wash the feet
Of Strangers,
And even enemies.
Imagine Rome
Without a Colosseum
And a royal complex:
Without lepers littered on the streets.
Like sores:
Loved just ‘enough’.
From a distance
To appease a bloated ego
That joins charity with contempt.
Imagine Leeds as a city on a hill
Where Justice is
Not bed ridden.
Or crippled by a
Whitewashed culture
And public indifference:
Imagine a city bursting with life and
Colour
A melting pot of a thousand tongues,
Tongue tied by love
and humour:
imagine Leeds
A city more reconciled:
And less divided by wealth.
More in touch with the
beauty of the earth
Than a colour line
That meanders through the cracks
And corridors of power
To the cry of Harehills and Burmantofts:
Where winter comes
Twice as early
without Santa,
hot water
And heating:
Imagine a city
Without the ghost of
Jim crow
Where schools and Housing agents
Exchange signs of
“No DSS and “roma”
For a piece of bitter Kola..
Refuge
Too many voices.
Too many demands.
I hide behind the sheath of my own hair.
But they see me.
They want things.
My ideas,
My opinions,
My time,
My mind,
My sanity.
I retreat further.
Into silence.
Into the solitude of my own thoughts.
If I don’t look at them,
If I don’t talk to them,
If I don’t acknowledge them,
They aren’t really there.
And the voices quieten.
Emmy
The Storm
A lonely wind keeps howling
across a storm lashed plain
Hailstones keep on battering down
against a broken window pane
A displaced bird falls to the grounds
from a broken branch on high
As angry clouds keep scudding
across a darkening gloomy sky
Aggressive waves keep crashing
on a deserted wind swept shore
Discarded debris dragged out to sea
is dashed back to land once more
Restless seabirds swoop screeching
over breakers that rise and fall
Waves pound against wet rocks
leaving white foam covering all
And the wailing sound
of the wind at play
Sounds worse at night
than it does by day
Causing chaos everywhere
nothing we can do
but look on in despair
Annie O’Donnell
Refuge
The noise of creaking stairs
A soft thud from a car door being slammed
The noise of running water through pipes in the wall
The silence, blissful silence
that accompanies me every time I stay
Home.
*The place of refuge is my family home
By Danny W
The Jacobite
The Jacobite was the name of train we were on,
the wheels on the track creating its own song
As the plumes of smoke lifted across the valley, people stood up on the train going
across the Glenfinnan viaduct looking out for a wizard called Harry
At the back of the train there is a clickety clack while the train is moving
it is very therapeutic making it’s own kind of music
The mountains in the distance surrounding the train
such beautiful and scenic terrain on the way to a place called Mallaig
At the front of the train going back to from where we came the sound of the train
was not the same, chugga chugga was the sound that it made
along with the hissing and the tooting of the horn from the steam train
The pinky purple of the Heather and clover blend beautifully
with the yellow of the yarrow in the green mountainous scenery
The lochs of the highlands are fabulous to see
something that really resonates with me
from holidays I’ve been on previously
The rock formation is also an amazing sight,
looking at it from such an amazing height
what a beautiful sign of natures creation
as we make our way back to Fort William Station
Tam Ayres
Itinerary
Today I came across
a word I didn’t know.
Otherwhere.
I’d like to go.
It’s different, I’m sure,
from Elsewhere,
Perhaps I’m there
much more than I think.
My friend would say as much.
Writing this short poem
has taken me there.
It’s not so far.
Peter Spafford
Poetry prompt for November
Choose one of the national day themes and write your interpretation. Send in your verses by 30th October
- 2 November – National Stress Awareness Day. …
- 5 November – Guy Fawkes Day / Bonfire night.
- 8 November – World Town Planning Day.
- 10 November – Remembrance Sunday.
- 11 November – Armistice Day.
