Here’s the one perfecting the eight-liner
Though some things must be said in twelve
Only enjoying writing the rhymer
And philosophy is the place to delve

Sometimes perfection is found in four
The idea sublimely surmised
Yet feeling obliged to write some more
Until the eight lines are realised

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Submitted as a task for AllPoetry’s ‘An Expression of Yourself’ course.

Don’t be Ordinary

This assignment is going to take you beyond your reaches. I want something that you can’t even fathom writing. Go beyond what you think is normal.

Write to be remembered. Don’t write like anyone else… Don’t blend in! It’s okay to be original and shocking. To stir the pot and to poke the balloon and deflate it. Shake things up. Make a name for yourself.

Write a poem that you would want to define your ability. A poem that is read and the person is like… that is “your name here”.

Don’t write a poem where it could be stirred into water and blended in with everyone else.

This was an interesting task. I can look at a couple of other poets who follow their own rules and can be identified by their poetry.

As I’ve been writing for 40 years or so I don’t feel that I have a particularly identifiable style, though now I’m thinking more about it.

I do have a preference of style for my own writing though so I submit the following for now.

I could break my preference (and do sometimes force myself with different forms) but not sure that I could ever reach writing something that I can’t myself fathom…..

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Today I’m feeling:

A little sleep-in this morning was good, setting me up for the day.

After a simple yet delicious lunch, I dropped Amy off at the airport as she goes off to Bangkok for a couple of days to meet Fern and Pim.

I decided to take Baipad to practice driving a car, rather than a motorbike, as it’s too hot in the afternoon and she called Fahmai to come too.

We drove around near her house and then up at the Uni and they both did well for never having done it before.

Health:

Physical: 7
Mental: 8

Today I’m grateful for:

Finding old reviews of 2000AD issues that I’m reading now, which help me to understand some of the weirder stories. Excellent!

The best thing about today was:

Teaching the kids a little driving, because I could see the confidence in them both growing as they were learning.

Something I learned today?

The CIA posted on Twitter and Facebook, asking for Chinese citizens to become their spies. This was met with a lot of laughter on Chinese social media platforms.

Review your acts, Good and bad.

I messaged Baipad to ask how she felt after she did so well with driving and she replied, ‘I feel proud, I think.’ It’s a good start.