Vines

Vines

I wrote this piece in South Western France, in the Aquitaine region near Bordeaux, in the heart of wine country, where we had a holiday home which was a wonderful converted mill, surrounded by vines and open farmland, and where the panoramic views over the countryside were spectacular.

La Belle France is always a source of great inspiration for me, and I love spending time there.

From: Secret Garden of the Soul 2006 

vinesVines

Row upon row
Of vines.
Perfectly planted
Meticulously tended
Vines.

Which
At first glance
Appear
As if marching
In unison
Across the landscape.

A procession
Of unerring precision
Determined
To carry their crop,
Opaque green jewels,
To ripe readiness
For their succulent,
Plump
Purple picking:
Then
Total transformation
Into rich
Ruby red wine
For
Our lips,
Dipping
And
Sipping.

Christine Miller 

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What to read at a wedding?

The wonderful, vivacious Lady Val Corbett, Director of the brilliant  ‘Hoxton Apprentice‘ social enterprise, and networker extraordinaire, sent me this reading which was part of the service at  her daughter’s recent wedding…such beautiful words, truly moving and apposite.

I have been a long time fan of Robert Fulghum’s  “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” which I regularly display on the wall in my seminars and workshops, and had not realised his writing is so powerful, lyrical and wide ranging. There’s a link to his site in his name below, check out the delicious ‘Winter Count’.

Union

‘You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of “yes”, to this moment of “yes”, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way.

All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart.

All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed? Well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time.

Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world –

“This is my husband.”

“This is my wife.”‘

by Robert Fulghum


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Magical effects of sunlight

In my garden one evening in early summer we noticed and loved this amazing effect of golden reflections of the setting sun on the leaves of a Eucalyptus tree, so, inspired, I captured the scene.

It was a beautiful dry evening, no rain or moisture on the tree, purely the effects of the sunset rays transforming the tree so it looks as if it is full of dancing, glimmering golden lights against the evening sky, like fairy lights or miniature jewelled  orbs  – the ultimate natural resource.

Magical, entrancing,  I couldn’t stop gazing at its delightful, delicious splendour of light.

magical light at sunset

magical light at sunset

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Poetry triumphs

Christopher Reid’s Costa Book Awards winning collection of poems arrived today – ‘A Scattering’.

Costa Book Award Winning Poetry "A Scattering"

 

The surprise winner of the important £30,000 literary prize, and only the fourth poet to achieve the accolade, Reid joins the ranks of Ted Hughes, Douglas Dunn and Seamus Heaney. The choice was supported by ‘a substantial majority’ of the judges, according to novelist Josephine Hart, chair of the judging panel. It seems a fitting further tribute to Christopher Reid’s stunningly beautiful tribute to his wife Lucinda Gane, who died in October 2005.

Christopher Reid has described this poetry as his way of surviving Lucinda’s final illness and his widower-hood. When I read a couple of extracts their intensity and emotion, delivered in a sparely evocative fashion,  brought me to tears. You can see them here: Scribd.   I found ‘Late’ especially powerful.

It’s a real joy that poetry triumphed – hopefully indicative of the more general recognition which is starting to build of the power of poems to eloquently express our inner and outer worlds.

I notice there is also a poetry event taking place in London this weekend at Central Hall Westminster,  in support of Haiti, organised by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and Poetry Live – details here.

http://www.poetryliveforhaiti.org/

A a rare treat for the soul for £10 and all for a good cause. See you there?

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What Do You Want to Write About……………?

What Do You Want to Write About……………?

I’ve had a lot of messages from people telling me they haven’t written anything for many years, or that they dry up when they pick up a pen, or that the blank paper/screen stares back at them like a mean teacher as if to say ‘who do you think you are, writing poetry, writing prose – writing anything!’

If you’ve ever had that feeling, here are a couple of  ideas for getting started. Remember that writing words can easily be about play and enjoy yourself.

NUMBER ONE:

Pick a topic – any topic, the first thing that comes into your mind, everything is a possibility …..simply say to yourself “I want to write about…(in the instance of writing a Valentine’s verse, then Love rather naturally springs to mind) and start. It’s the same with most things in life – just begin. Getting started is (I know it sounds ridiculously simplistic) the key. Don’t edit your thoughts or words, let them spill out – you can come back and refine them later….

NUMBER TWO:

Pick some random words: for example, I’ve got a piece of paper near me which says ‘Identity Card’ and the words that catch my eye on the computer screen are ‘Save Draft’…. What could I do with those?

Here goes:

My identity as occasional  bard
Is sending you a Valentine’s card.
I thought of you and sweetly drafted,
So cherish and save  these words I crafted.

It doesn’t have to be a  rhyme, it can be anything – just get started. You could  say something like:

What do I think about identity Cards? Will they really make us more secure, and save us from possible terrorists attacks, stop illegal immigrants, will they help prevent extremist cells from drafting in new, impressionable recruits?

See if this gets your creative juices flowing – look at what’s around you and start writing about it  – you may be surprised how easy it can be to get into the flow!

FOR YOUR FREE GUIDE TO WRITING SHORT POEMS, LEAVE A MESSAGE HERE OR EMAIL ME ON POETRYGUIDE AT GOOGLEMAIL.COM

Sharpen up your writing tools

Sharpen up your writing tools


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Guide to Writing Short Poems

Guide to Writing Short Poems

Following on from yesterday’s post about my judging  the Twitter Valentine’s poetry competition hosted by Hallmark, I’m delighted to announce that my special 6 page guide to writing short poems is now ready – it’s packed with great tips and will tell you how some famous poets (including the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy) compose their works!  This guide is valued at £7.50, but it’s yours for free as a Valentine’s Special.

pot-cover1

Leave a message here requesting a copy or send an email to poetryguide@googlemail.com giving me your full name and the email to which you want the guide sent.

When you’ve written your Tweet poem, post it at Hallmark and be sure to let us know and come back to post it here too!

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Valentine’s Poetry Twitter Competition

Valentine’s Poetry Twitter Competition
A Valentine's Message

A Valentine's Message

Valentine’s Fun & Romance on Twitter

Hallmark Cards are running a great competition, of which I’m really delighted to be a judge,  where you can win a £500 holiday – simply by composing a 140 character Valentine’s message your verse can be any style you like – funny,witty,  romantic, serious, light-hearted….whatever best captures the thoughts and sentiments you want to express to your Valentine. You can find out more here:  Hallmark

Get your entry in by January 29th for a chance to win a £500 holiday for two in a romantic cottage…..

Shortly, I’ll be posting some tips on writing poetry to help you be inspired.

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Video – Life Blessings for You

Come and meditate and relax for a while….

 

Nourishment for Your Soul

words, pictures and music

to inspire, soothe and delight

 

 

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The robin who thinks he’s a humming bird

 

…..and other acrobatic antics in the garden

spring-garden

Picture the scene – it’s late spring, and outside my window, hanging on the end of a cane attached to the roof of the conservatory is a bird feeder.  It’s that type of solid pudding or cake, meant for small birds such a great tits and blue tits, who have been feeding there since winter.

The rather Heath Robinson means of suspension is somewhat complex in order to deter the ever present voracious squirrels who were so desperate to reach it they even attempted to scale the slippery glazing bars surrounding the windows. Lacking crampons or suitably formed claws, they failed – and their surprised look as they slid down the outside of the window was highly amusing. Observing those squirrels as they circled, pondered, made vain attempts and kept on trying and devising new routes was a valuable lesson in persistence.

It also reminded me of a wonderful TV programme some years ago when even the most complicated methods of keeping squirrels away from food failed, and the acrobatic audacity of the creatures was portrayed with hilariously entertaining results.

We’ve added deterrents to keep off starlings and blackbirds, and this little food supply is nourishing several families of birds. The tits themselves are no mean acrobats; their aeronautic feats are really quite breathtaking. They fly in at breakneck speed, stop suddenly – just short of splattering themselves onto the glass; at the same time they turn themselves upside down and hang onto the feeder with their feet, whilst staying ever alert to potential threats from predators – truly impressive stuff.

We have had some wonderful entertainment and inspiration watching the to-ing and fro-ing, and pondered on the sheer physical effort required to nurture a nest of chicks to fledgling status.

Recently, there have been territorial wars and thrilling examples of adaptability and determination. Enter our common garden friend, the Robin. Ever present whenever we are out in the garden raking leaves or turning over earth, they grab grubs in their inimitable opportunistic way, bold, alert and happy to sing for their supper.

The robins observed that the tits were very messy eaters – they left behind lots of scraps, probably at least half of what they peck off drops onto the ground beneath the feeder. Initially, the robins simply cleaned up the scraps on the floor. Then they became dissatisfied and wanted to control the food supply.

Slight problem – their spindly legs and larger body weight do not naturally lend themselves to performing the feats of inversion and gripping at which the tits are so expert. A fly-past peck doesn’t do the trick of dislodging the food.

What to do?

New approach – the robins attack the tits whenever they alight on the feeder – but only after they have filled their beaks – causing the tits to disgorge the food onto the floor and enabling the wily robins to clean up the spoils.

Next, the robins decide that they are spending too much time waiting for the tits to turn up and serve dinner.

What to do now?

It appears that robins have very strong wings. So they ingeniously decide to adopt the hovering method. Expending huge amounts of energy, they flap their wings, humming-bird fashion, at great speed, maintaining themselves in position to be able to devour the food directly from source.  It is a remarkable sight, the wings a blur as they flap furiously – and they return time after time, fiercely defending the feeder, so the tits are having to dive in at the moments when the robins are back at the nest feeding their young. Other birds have got wise – pigeons, blackbirds and starlings congregate underneath and pick up the scraps, and the odd crazy blackbird seems to want to emulate the robin, and also pretends to be a humming bird.

Now the scenario outside my window is more peaceful again, and the Robin has reverted to waiting on the ground whilst the tits congregate on the feeder and scatter the food. The fledged blue tits accompany their parents, and though perfectly capable of feeding themselves, still willingly accept the thrusting beak inserting food into their throats.

 

It’s said evolution takes a long time, many generations; in this rapidly-moving world I’m beginning to think that adaptation is a much faster-paced affair, with enterprising creatures observing effective behaviours in other species, and adopting them quickly.

The Robin

  1. observed,
  2. experimented,
  3. acted,
  4. regrouped,
  5. strategised,
  6. repeated,
  7. refined,
  8. persevered and ultimately
  9. triumphed.

 

He gained control of the food supply for his family, in that intense period of requiring huge quantities to feed the growing chicks.

Hopefully we have begun a sustainable cycle which will see many families of birds return each year to rear their young, and provide us with ongoing lessons in flexibility and adaptation.

We can all learn a great deal from observing how nature adapts to ensure nurture.

Now how can YOU take these lessons in natural persistence, flexibility and  adaptation and make the most of the opportunities in your life at this time?

© Christine Miller 

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Enjoying Rapture

Carol Ann Duffy

With  Scottish poet  Carol Ann Duffy appointed the first female Poet Laureate, it’s a step forward for beautiful, accessible, understandable poetry that appeals to a wide audience.  That doesn’t mean Duffy’s poems are not exquisite, well constructed, masterly – simply that they are identifiable as expressions of universal experiences.


Duffy wrote poems from a very early age, and attributes some of her success to the support she had from her mother who was herself a compelling storyteller, and teachers who encouraged her work to the point of typing up her early poems and posting them on the classroom wall.

One test of whether a poem ‘worked’ was if her mother could understand it – if she had to ask for explanations, Duffy knew more clarity was required; she also puts the obscurity of so much poetry down to the fact that in many cases it was important that the poet’s wife couldn’t understand what was being said!


Duffy has won many prizes for her poetry, and her most recent collection, ‘Rapture’, which charts a love affair in the life she describes as ‘complicated’ , carried off the T.S. Eliot Prize in 2005 .

I believe that her prize to our world will be to make poetry more accessible in schools, (her work is already on the GCSE syllabus) and in general. In many ways, like art and music, poetic writing is the closest we can get to expressing the essence of the soul, and it’s a therapeutic way of bringing our deepest thoughts and feelings forward into consciousness.

The power of poetic expression is undeniable, and universal, witnessed by the longevity and pervasive influence of such writing, ranging through many styles from for example Rumi, Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Eliot to Betjeman, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Adrian Henri… (I could go on…and on)  and the disciplined minimalism of Haiku.

Here’s a snippet from Carol Ann Duffy’s Rapture, a poem called ‘You’.

“Falling in love

is glamorous hell; the crouched, parched heart

like a tiger ready to kill; a flame’s fierce licks under the skin.

Into my life, larger than life, beautiful, you strolled in.”

Rapture, Carol Ann Duffy, 2005, Picador

You can buy the book here

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