Go on have a Mini Break

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We were out and about in Ambleside this weekend, when this little gem caught our eye.

Halloween Post

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"I will kill the despot in my head,
let my body riot for independence..."

(from State of Emergency by Vik Bennett - see below for full poem)

Inspired by a poem by Vik, this is a short extract from an experimental piece done in 2004. Shot with a very basic digital still camera, the images were then manipulated by photoshop software. Happy mischief making this All Hallow's Eve!

State of Emergency

For this
I will risk
everything.

I will kill the despot in my head,
let my body riot for independence,
throw tear gas into the squares of my eyes,
send my limbs scattering down cobbled streets.
Before long my blood will break from its cells
and storm the walls of my heart.

Lights flash behind my eyes, warning ships
away from the needle-cliffs of my bones.
Wreckers strip these shores. They've looted
the stores, snatched words from silk pouches,
stolen the eyes of memory and left
the sweet smell of narcissi in the air.

People are frightened,
hiding behind closed doors, whispering my name.
They want to take charge, send in the police
before it becomes dangerous.

All those men and women, busy
watching from their window-boxes,
terrified of civil unrest.

I will do my best
to give them
what they expect.

c. Vik Bennett
(first appeared in Orbis Magazine, No. 130, Autumn 2004)

Wild Women at Glastonbury

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To kick the summer off, 4 of the crew (Vik, Gill, Sarah and Adam) packed up the air-conditioned hire car and headed south to Glastonbury, complete with fairy wings, poetry books and rosewater. Like all poetry gatherings, it was a fine community of souls that kept smiling, even though the heavens opened and flooded the site ‘til it resembled the slime pits of hell. Well, you know the rest from the various broadcasts – flooded tents, rivers of mud, smiling happy people, and more than a few trashed lost boys and girls wandering around, but the poetry kept flowing along with the mud and the beer. This is a photo montage diary of our trip we hope you enjoy it - and if you like it, come visit us at the Wild Women Press site. Cheers!

Here are a few poems composed in the mud by our very own Wild Woman Gill Hands (far left on picture)...

Dirty Mud Slut

I am the element I sleep on,
under my nails,
the tip of my toes,
welding pink rosebuds to my head.

Let Kate Moss boast skanky chic;
I did it bigger and dirtier.


Fairy Wings

Everyone wears them
with glittery dresses
and wellies,
all day,
even men.
I wave my wand and wish for someone’s
hair to put bunches in.


Wishes Come True

A pixie boy falls from an oak tree
into my lap.
His pinpoint pupils widen
in soft full moon.

I’m tempted to twine his hair through my fingers
but let him escape to play djembe.



Glamour…

on stage.
In wellies.

We all wear wellies,
even Mango in his glittery dress and curls.

Except Rachel Pantechnicon
who arrives pristine,
Venus on a half shell,
tights, court shoes,
full librarian’s outfit.

I hang around his tent
waiting for signs of transformation.



Making Coffee for Carol Ann Duffy

with Dreadlock Alien
in a tent.
Life may not get any stranger than this
but I hope it does.

Getting started

Hello Vik and I were thinking about starting a poetry blog and creating some video poetry blogs as well. This is just a test post to make sure it is all working come back for more soon.