Posts Tagged "free poetry guide"

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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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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