Getting Back on Track

Today I heard from Ray Tyndale, my mentor for writing my memoir in verse, about my new life living with MS (multiple sclerosis). Ray's been travelling to Darwin and back home to Semaphore, driving! A big trip for a lady who's not a young as she used to be. I'm looking forward to hearing all about Ray and her partner's story, next time I see her.

Fortunately, next time I see Ray will be quite soon. Our next get together/feedback session is happening on Wednesday next week. I've forwarded some more of my memoir to Ray via email, and I'm looking forward to hear what she says about it.

This week I haven't been writing too much for my memoir, but I'm getting ideas and scribbling a few notes, to catch up with very soon. I'm thinking tomorrow may involve doing that, if I get custody of the computer, and if I don't spend/waste my time on Facebook!

Today I had an interesting meeting up with a young man who is studying Film&Television at Uni. He needed someone to interview, and his father suggested he interview me. When he got in touch with me about it the other week, I was more than happy to help out.

So this morning, we met up at the Mallala Hotel to do the interview. There were two other students as well helping out in various ways. They all did a great job, and I'm looking forward to seeing the result!

We talked about my poetry - in particular, my first poetry collection, damaged children Precious Gems', and then we talked about my current work in progress, my memoir about my new life with MS (multiple sclerosis). This memoir is being written in verse, with poems added. I'm hoping this memoir will be useful to others diagnosed with MS.

Sneak Preview of My Memoir in Verse

This project is moving along nicely, and I feel it's time to share a little bit of it. This memoir is about my new life, living with MS (Multiple Sclerosis).

My thoughts are about the importance of getting this written, and written well. I've got a deadline of November/December for the first draft, with a release date of around the middle of 2013. I'm feeling confident it will work out that way!

Mick the Sick, Jane the Cane and Me

I was at home one day, sitting around and wondering

about this whole MS thing, coming up with phrases

beginning with the letters MS, until I came up

with ones I liked. I thought about the ones

I didn’t like first though, More Strife, Mega Stressful

and so on. It didn’t feel like a good way to spend my time though,

focussing on the new things that were bad in my life.

So I thought about the good things, and came up with this poem,

full of the good things in my new life.

This poem took a little bit of re–thinking to produce, 

but I'm happy enough with how it shows my thoughts.

My Special friend –  Multiple Sclerosis

I have a new friend

who is going to be with me

for the rest of my life.

My Special friend

can get me things, good things

like special car parking

really close to the shops

and maybe even money

from the government.

But like any friendship,

there’s a downside.

My Special friend slows

me down, hanging off

my arm and my leg

so I can’t walk fast and I can’t

carry heavy things. My Special

friend makes life harder

so I get too tired, too often.

But My Special friend is teaching

me things, things about myself,

about life, my friends, my health,

about not taking things for granted.

The good, the bad, the indifferent –

life hands it all to you,

it's up to each person to deal

with what they're given.

My Special friend will show me

a brand new life.

******************************************

In case you haven’t already realised it, I’m an optimist,

not a pessimist. If it turns out I was wrong,

and something terrible does happen, well, so be it,

at least I was enjoying myself in the meantime!

Learning

People say I’m looking well,

I smile and say thanks

I could talk about the shakes

the weakness and muscles

that won’t work like they should

I guess looking well, though

being positive looking

to the future, with hope

all help to walk, it’s enough

or should be anyway.

If I looked like I feel some days

if I looked that sick

and frail, no– one

not even me, would want

to be my friend.

Now I’m wondering

should I be angry or sad

or happy that no– one really

wants to know, what they can’t see,

the things I live with?

********************

I'm not doing this alone though. I have a wonderful mentor helping me, Ray Tyndale, and money from the Richard Llewellyn Arts and Disability Trust, to help finance the writing  of it. Having Ray as a mentor is working well for me, and keeping focussed on keeping on writing. Thanks Ray!

So there you go, the first fragment of my memoir in verse out there for the public to read! Let me know what you think about what I've written, and about the project I've taken on. I feel like I've begun a noble task.

On the occasion of my second print run

http://damagedchildrenpreciousgems.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/damaged-children-precious-gems-second-print-run-now-out/

When I self published my first print run of my first poetry collection, I could only hope I'd be able to find new homes for the 100 copies of the book that I ordered. That was a year ago, and I'm happy to be able to say I've found new homes for almost all of the books.

I'd budgeted for giving some copies away, as well as selling some copies for cost price, but I was able to easily sell enough copies at a good price. Because of this, I'm able to afford another print run, which I ordered a month ago, and which is now ready to pick up and begin the book selling road again.

This book is very up close and personal, dealing as it does with my own story of sexual abuse suffered. I'm not embarrassed about it, although I certainly wish it hadn't happened to me. It did though and I've found peace in the telling of my story.

I've also seen and heard stories of other people who have found things in my poetry collection that bring them ease. Knowing this tells me that printing this collection was a wonderful thing for many. I'm proud of what I've done and I hope many more people will find peace with my words.

More Vegetable Victory

Well, the Community Foodies in my area, ie, Jill and I, have taken Vegetable Victory to the Owen Primary School. We conducted the first session with the years 5, 6 and 7 class, talking to them about vegetables, and why they're so good for them to eat. We also talked a little about poetry and some poetry was read to them.


The students all drew a vegetable and coloured it in. In further sessions the students will be writing their own poem about vegetables, or more particularly about their chosen vegetable. By the end of the program, it is expected a collection of the poems, together with images of vegetables, will be published.


I didn't know what to expect from the students, never having been in their classroom before, or knowing anything about the students. I was pleasantly surprised though at how many vegetables they already knew. All of the students had to write a list of vegetables, and then they shared some of the vegetables on their list with everyone else.


The Owen Primary School has a fine vegetable garden, and during the class the students all had the chance to tuck into some vegetables that had been prepared for them. There was lettuce, cabbage from the garden, and also some sweet potato and carrot from the supermarket, chopped up and served. on platters. Colourful and fresh, nice!


I'm looking forward to the next session, and hope to find some students getting excited about writing poetry!