My Very Own Sestina

Well, it took longer to create than a haiku would have taken, and it covers more ground, with many more words. 


A fortnight of my life went into the writing of this complex poetic form. The sestina certainly isn't for cowards! It's a good way to play with words though, and I enjoyed it all immensely. I'm using poetry to keep my brain ticking over and making connections, and so warding off dementia. I hope it's working, and continues to work!


This poem has been through a short critiquing period, and I now feel ready to share it with the larger world.  January has been an amazing month of poetry for me, with at least one poem written every single day of the month.


I've met some lovely poets and great people, and I've taken my critiquing skills, and poetry writing skills to a higher level. And the best thing is, I did it! I met the challenge of writing a new poem every single day!


So here is the sestina I wrote and posted for Month of Poetry 2012 :

A Way To Get By

Every day I think, I’ll make a list,

but it doesn’t happen again, I forget things.

Everyone forgets, I shouldn’t worry,

as I look for what’s forgotten this time, and search

for what I need, hoping the rest will follow.

I’m struggling with my disease, that’s the truth,

struggling to find a way to live, a truth

that’s truer than any half-forgotten list.

There’s methods to try, ways to slavishly follow

so I can relax and not stress about things.

It would be pleasant not to have to search,

if I could spend more time on fun, not worry,

and with what I’ve got I feel that endless worry

may try to become my new, unwanted, truth.

I’ll deal with it myself, and hope the search

by others for help, ends up on government’s list

of the many needed items, medical things

that can lead to a cure and better times to follow.

   

There are diets and exercise regimes to follow,

healthy food and working out end worry,

to some extent, when you’re busy doing things

and trying your best to locate an inner truth.

Worries about living can go lower down your list

of things to do to live your life. The search

for bad things can move on and become the search

for better ones. There’s many paths to follow,

and when the one you’re on turns bad, list

the benefits, if any, and the things that worry

you, look with care and thought and find the truth

that comes when you bring mindfulness to things.

If you can take a broader view of things,

you might be able to get over the painful search,

the daily mess of stuff obscuring the truth.

Find a life that works, with rules to follow

that leaves you free but means you needn’t worry

about what’s on or isn’t on your list.

               

Work on all the things that matter, follow

the rules that ease the search and stop the worry,

but understand that Truth’s what counts, not List.

© 2012 Carolyn Cordon

Death Comes As The End For Us All

The poem below had its beginning is a blog comment I made to a friend's post. His words spoke directly to something inside of me, and I immediately felt what I had to write. 

The same friend left a comment on his blog, which challenged me to take my initial poem further.

The poem below is the result, and it comes straight from my heart and mind. I encourage you to go to John Malone's blog post and read the words that started it all.

Life’s end…

To the dead man down by the sea,

thank you, for the sad tale of your lonely

ending in life brings my own family even

closer to my heart. And it makes me glad

my father’s life ended as he was cared for

by workers who truly did care. The

differences between the two deaths

are stark, one a family man who ended

his life, loved and mourned by many,

the other, mourned perhaps, by none.

I mourn the passing though, of this

unknown and possibly unloved man.

For me, he will stand in for the universal

unknown poor man, one who struggles

through life in his lonely way. They cope,

or fail to cope, these people, and are

ignored by the multitude. In his passing

though, this one man stands in the place

of the many. I pay tribute to them all,

the people, unloved and unmissed, those

we try to forget. They each lived their life,

and played their part, in society’s

everlasting drama.

Celebrating 26 Years of Happy Marriage!

I write poems for various reasons, this poem came about this morning after I read a Facebook comment. The person offered congratulations for my wedding anniversary, I immediately knew I wanted to write this poem.

The commenter is a fellow Month of Poetry 2012 poet, and I'm thrilled to have been prompted to write this. This is a happy, happy, joy, bliss poem, and there should be more of them in the world!

Thanks for 26 good years, here’s to the next 26!

Twenty six years of wedded bliss,

fights may be there, but sealed with a kiss -

arguments not lasting more than a day,

it’s worked for us, it’s our marriage way.

Others might do ‘married’ differently,

but last night we toasted our anniversary.

Our bond is working, far as I can see -

life’s mostly sweet, for Graham and me!

Writing Better Poetry

Do you think you're incapable of writing poetry? I don't agree. I think you're just looking at it the wrong way.

When people begin to learn how to do something, they don't expect to be experts straight away. They might have lessons first, then practice it, and they will slowly get better at it.

If they're really keen to improve, they might get further lessons, masterclass lessons perhaps, with a person who is acclaimed in the particular thing. I'm thinking here of a broad range of things - tennis, running, painting or cooking. It might take a while, but learning your particular thing with an expert can begin to make you an expert too.

Most sensible people don't think they're going to be expert at their thing right from the beginning. So why do so many people write off their ability to write poetry before they've even really begun to write it.

Well known poets worked for many years before they were accepted as being great. Some of them were never really acclaimed until after their death, after years of writing poetry.

So if you think you can't write poetry, why not give yourself a chance, and find someone who may be able to help you. You don't need an expert, sometimes just having a poetry partner, someone who perhaps is also trying to learn, can be enough. You can share your poetry and think about what works well and what doesn't work so well.

If you do it this way, you may eventually begin to see ways to write poems you feel proud of. It truly can be that simple. In most towns there are courses or writing groups, where like minded people meet to think about poetry and write it. If you can find such a group, you'll probably surprise yourself, and find you can in fact write poetry.

What a fine thing that would be!

Playing the Pokies Game

I have conflicting thoughts about the current political argument going on regarding pokie machines. I'm certainly away of the fact that there are people who have huge problems with losing too much money gambling on the pokies. I'm sorry for these people and their families. I hope they find help to cure them of their addiction.

But I like playing the pokies, I find it enjoyable. Every now and then, if I'm at the local hotel and I have some spare cash, I might take a drink and sit and play the pokies until the money runs out. I always use up only the spare change I have, or get five or so dollar coins in my change. Once that money's gone, that's it.

Sometimes I take home more than I arrived with, sometimes I don't. Either way, I enjoy myself. I might have a chat with any other gamblers there, or chat with my hubby if we're gone there together. I feel connected with my community when I'm there. Most of the time, I already know the other gamblers there, because we're all members of the same community.

If may be different if I was somewhere different, somewhere away from my other life. I've never felt like gambling more than my spare change, and certainly never more than ten dollars. I don't go very often either, never more than once a week, and it's not unusual for many weeks to go past without a session on the pokies.

Gambling was part of my early life. My father was a harness horse trainer, my older brother his reinsman. Once I was 18 I sometimes bet on a horse. My father's gone now, but my younger brother maintains the racing connection, as an owner. Sometimes I'll place a bet on one of his horses, sometimes they win, sometimes they lose, it's all part of the gamble.

So, that's my gambling story, I'm prepared to spend some money to possibly win some more. But the way I look at it, it's spending money to go to a concert, or a sporting match. You pay the money to have the fun. If you can't afford it, you don't do it. It may be I'm missing something there, but I don't see dangers in gambling as such. Properly regulated, gambling can be a fun for of entertainment.

I've written a poem about the pokies, read it if you wish, and please, leave you comments on this vexing issue.

Pro Pokie Poem

Husband and I at the pub

a drink each and five one dollar coins.

Put the coins in then press the button,

enjoying ourselves, no need to rush.

The lights and music come on, I forget

the pollie’s arguments and we just sip,

chat and push buttons, win or lose,

it doesn’t matter, we’re having fun.