Tuesday, March 22, 2016

WHISPERS’ MARCH SPECIAL ACTIVITY—FROM LONDON AIRPORT

This Month's activity was to read the poem 'London Airport' and compose a poem, of no more than six lines, that you would put into the 'literature bin'!

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London Airport

Last night in London airport
I saw a wooden bin
labelled UNWANTED LITERATURE
IS TO BE PLACED HEREIN.
So I wrote a poem
and popped it in.

The poem was written by Christoper Logue, born 1926, and appeared in the POEMS OF THE UNDERGROUND, first published in 1991. The underground system for London, started publishing a whole variety of works, in the small advertising spaces in the carriages.

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Dear Whispers’ Friends,

Our talented, Ralph Stott, did an amazing job putting this activity column together.  His thoughts and grouping of poems enhance this reading experience.  Thank you, Ralph!!  I would also like to thank all of our contributors for sharing their creative experiences.  If you missed the deadline, or would like to add another poem, please share them in the comments section. I hope you enjoy this column as much as I did.  
                                                 --Karen O’Leary, Whispers’ Editor

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The Big Bellied Bird
(In a new Light)

(haiku)

grounded
straight line winds possible tornados
maybe

By Barbara Tate

We Are Experiencing a Little Turbulence . . .

The plane rattled and
bounced as if it was
being battered by
a jackhammer
on steroids.

By Robert P. Hansen

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Waiting

We sat on the runway awhile
had us lined up single file
I read War & Peace
will miracles cease
not moving, not even a mile.

By Barbara Tate

Time

I never
have time enough
to get started
on all that I want to do ...
my idling time
is what I'm best at

By Anne Curran

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Take-off

The wheels of this plane
Have but changed my fate
A thousand miles from home
Travelling back to the dome
The sun shines a topaz hope
On the sky's upward slope

By Sheikha A.

Seashells and spiders

cockle shells fall
from a cobweb-shrouded
wind chime hanging
from her washing line
letting go of memories
of summer romance at the beach

By Anne Curran

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Big Bellied Bird

The big bellied bird
lowered her tongue,
swallowed us whole,
screeched in satisfaction.
Powerful wings lifted her into the sky.
Five hours until we land.

By Lenora Rain-Lee Good

a poem from Ken…

Nocturne of shadow
rising with a Flamingo
into a reddish haze
a flight from Gibraltar
now drifting on down
London! here we are!

By Ken Allan Dronsfield

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Flight to Irian Jaya

An old Piper plane
holes in the bottom
best view to the jungle
a one life experience

By Gert W. Knop

Terra firma, where are you?

One hand on my stomach,
one clamped over my mouth,
and too many people belted into
this bucking propeller plane––

By Marjorie Rommel

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The Bus Depot

Grey Hound
Waits for no one
A rented box contains
Smart phone, credit cards, love poem
Transport

By Sara Kendrick

The Note

Compost
Bin held the note
Written in poetic form
Love poured out upon the blank page
Decayed

By Sara Kendrick

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From Caracas and Back Again

we ascend to explosive bursts
circle, fuel flowing over the wings
praying to avoid a closer walk--
emergency vehicles await our return
we kneel, kissing the ground
café con leche brings us around

By Elizabeth Howard

From São Paulo to Atlanta

the elderly Brazilian across the aisle
raises her forefinger and smiles
a nine hour night, cold and cramped--
disembarking, her in a wheelchair
she grasps my hand, a kiss on the cheek
an embrace, all the words we cannot speak

By Elizabeth Howard

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The Vicissitudes of Modern Air Travel

I relax and sip my martini cruising at 40000 feet.
If only my bags arrive with me, all will be complete!
I arrive in Tokyo and watch the carousel go 'round and 'round.
Although it made many circuits, my luggage could not be found.
Here I sit forlorn in the terminal in Tokyo, Japan.
Alas, my shirts and drawers ended up in Kyrgyzstan!

By Robert L. Hinshaw

Finding Light

To travel light
I cast burdens off
They deny our flight till night
We find darkness stretch
As sleep delivers us to arrive
Dawn's edge with peace and smiles.

By Su'eddie Vershima Agema

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Every Second

Heathrow
Airshow!

By Brian Strand

Crowded Skies

Can't hear
I fear!

By Brian Strand

Third Runway?

No Way
We say!

By Brian Strand

cup of juice
free bag of peanuts
airline treat.

By David Fox

Airline Seats

Now can it be true, or just a whim.
"Did I hear the middle seat cry, SLIM."

By Mary A. Couch

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Third Runway?

No Way
We say!

By Brian Strand

Haiku

birds with silver wings
soar across the azure sky
land on concrete lake

By Mary A. Couch

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~Tarmac~

Morning mist
hazy, lazy sun
taxi on down
tarmac dance
takeoff done.

By Ken Allan Dronsfield

Twin Towers (twister)

Through the clear towering sky.
Through their fall, the clear, deep-blue, towering sky remained.

By Ralph Stott

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Last Rejection at London Airport

ink smears with tears…stinging
remarks about my poetry awards
from a father who never cared
~~no more~~sliding my poem
for Father’s Day into the unwanted
bin, I buy a one-way ticket home

By Karen O'Leary

               *****

is it time
for branded literature, arranged,
to be traded only
and those pure from heart and soul
to be thrown into the waste bin of time?

By Aju Mukhopadhyay

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Landing

The wings of Icarus are real
Stiff on the white body of steel
Shuffle, hustle, voices rustle
Bags, cases and bodies bustle
The eagle lands on summer land
Paper fans held in dainty hands

By Sheikha A.

        ******

last minute raise
through deep drifting clouds
pale faces of passengers

By Gert Knop

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Waiting for a seat—
passenger in front of me
crams cymbals in the overhead bin.

By Kelley J. White

Crowded Skies

Can't hear
I fear!

By Brian Strand

Pediatrician:
I always choose the aisle with
a crying baby.

By Kelley J. White

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ETA:  Two Hours

This poem is silly.
This poem is bland.
It’s just time I’m killing
 while waiting to land.

By Robert P. Hansen

            ****
Flying
Into Kowloon
Past skyscrapers
Tall narrow streets
Man in top hat

By Ralph Stott

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First and Last Flight

as Icarus was falling fast,
he landed on a jet:
but then he tried a para jump-
they haven’t found him yet.

By Jack Horne

What if the Wright brothers had developed Aviophobia?
France to England: *Bleriot-rowed……………….Voila!

By Jack Horne/Ralph Stott

*Louis Bleriot, first person to fly the English Channel.

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Notes on arrangements:

All the poems work really well on their own. I’ve paired up authors and poems, in the edit: as each work complemented, each gave extra substance to the other author.

Barbara Tate/Robert  P. Hansen--I loved the contrast here of a similar experience. You can imagine them sitting next to each other on the plane!

Barbara Tate/Anne Curran--I liked putting together the frustration of ‘idling’ and the acceptance of this ‘idle time’, whilst the plane idles along!

Sheikha a. /Anne Curran--Something from Sheikha’s flight, changed the author’s fate? I put this together with Anne’s memory of a ‘beach romance’ with the uplifting tone and positivity of Sheikha’s soar!

Lenora Rain-Lee Good/Ken Allen Dronsfield--The imagination of Lenora’s bird was picked up on, by Ken’s parallel flamingo. Brilliant!

Gert Knop/Marjorie Rommel--Were they on the same flight! Great fun putting these poems together.

Sara Kendrick--Sara’s work worked with the link of the love poems in a steel box (rented)/decayed in a bin.

Elizabeth Howard--A stillness, in the heart of this activity poem: ‘all the words we cannot speak’.

Robert L. Hinshaw/ Su'eddie Vershima Agema--A ying-yang combination of talent here. Enjoyed the pairing of the two emotive responses to travel.

Brian Strand/David Fox/Mary A. Couch--This is a new form of short verse, as a trilogy, from Brian. There is some comfort: I have paired with David’s meagre reward! Meagre treats, followed by ‘slim seats’ from Mary’s poem.

Brian Strand/ Mary A. Couch--I have taken Brian’s march of protest and on its passage through the poem, linked arms with Mary’s haiku. The reference to the concrete lake is formidable for both works.

Ken Allen Dronsfield/Ralph Stott--I’ve paired Ken’s trust of flight with a horror; but hope and trust will never die.

Karen O'Leary/ Aju Mukhopadhyay--These two poems, speak volumes, a ‘branded’ and ‘personal’ juxtaposition?

Sheikha A. Gert Knop--I enjoyed Gert’s trepidation of clouds and pale faces with the noise and bustle of Sheikha’s ‘eagle’….ending with such a good final image of ‘dainty hands’.

Kelley J. White/Brian Strand/Kelley J. White--I’ve sandwiched ‘Crowded Skies’ with cymbals and crying babies.

Robert P. Hansen/Ralph Stott--I’ve match Robert’s ‘sillyness’ with the image of the topped hatted man. A good way to finish, without taking ourselves too seriously!

Jack Horne/Ralph Stott--Optional ending on a nonsense-collaborative!

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The edit, also follows loosely: the ground poems, before take-off, then up in the air, landing and back to earth!

I hope you like the work I have done, and agree with the format? My review notes are purely my opinions and trust they exemplify the huge talent, that the good people of Whispers have trusted me with.

Kind regards,

Ralph Stott
Whispers’ March Activity Editor 

24 comments:

  1. Dear Ralph,
    How extraordinary. The way you have arranged the poems, the quality itself of the poetry, and your fine idea. Congratulations to all of you, and especially Ralph for master-minding the fun you've all seemingly had. I enjoyed this very much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Mary Jo,

      I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this poetry collection. I agree with you, Ralph did an amazing job with this. Kudos Ralph and all the contributors!!

      Blessings,
      Karen

      Delete
  2. Folk here my like my trilogy above is a sequence variation on my footle form that I originally createdin 2009,Other variations that folk have made to my popular form may seen at my blog thereof footle-ichthys.blogspot.com .rgs Brian

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Brian,

      I will have to look in my files. I hope to find something that might interest you for your site. Thank you for being a part of Ralph's amazing column! He did a wonderful job with this.

      Blessings,
      Karen

      Delete
  3. The topic of my footle sequence is the very controversial ( in England)consideration by politicians to add another runaway at Heathrow instead of developing other London airports.rgds Brian

    ReplyDelete
  4. If you know of a unique variation to my footle form created since 2009 that I may have missed please contact me , I will be happy to consider adding it to my aforementioned footle blog.rgds Brian

    ReplyDelete
  5. Replies
    1. Dear John,

      Thank you for your kind words. Ralph put together an artistic experience in many levels. Thanks for stopping by to let him know you appreciated his efforts.

      Blessings,
      Karen

      Delete
  6. How much fun was that!!!! I enjoyed this very much and want to thank Ralph for including me. It would be fun for all of us to be on a 'poetry plane' to somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Barbara,

      I totally agree!! I really enjoyed this from start to finish. Thank you for being a part of this ride. Amazing job, Ralph!

      Blessings,
      Karen

      Delete
  7. Enjoyed this thoroughly! And so pleased to be a part of the poem thread!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Sheikha,

      Thank you for sharing your poems for this delightful adventure. Ralph did such a wonderful job putting this all together.

      Blessings,
      Karen

      Delete
  8. A great concept and gutted I missed the poetry flight! Just got so many things on aaaaaaaaarghhhh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Don,

      This was a lot of fun with our talented activity editor, Ralph. If you want to add a poem in this comments, section, please do.

      Blessings,
      Karen

      Delete
  9. I was meant to be doing some deadline writing but chanced on this and I had to read to the last word. Was it a worthwhile experience? I enjoyed the mash-ups... Great job here Ralph.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Su'eddie,

      Thank you for sharing your wonderful poems for this flight together. Yes, Ralph did a great job with this.

      Blessings,
      Karen

      Delete
  10. Thank you, Angelee, for sharing this poem--

    The Blues

    Was it from Gatwick or Heathrow?
    I cannot begin
    to describe the chaos
    at Paddington,
    so I just add a haiku
    to that Orphan Lit bin.

    By Angelee Deodhar

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Angelee,

      You poem is so creative. Yes, this world is in chaos. So many people are dealing with the havoc of terrorism and other acts of violence. It is heartbreaking that in the history of mankind that we haven't learned how to solve things peacefully.

      Grateful for your words,
      Karen

      Delete
  11. Thankyou dear Karen best wishes,angelee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Angelee,

      Thank you for all you do for Whispers! Keep on being the light that you are in the writing commumnity.

      Blessings,
      Karen

      Delete
  12. Wonderful activity, talented poets and well coordinated Ralph. I really enjoyed the read. Sorry I missed this challenge.
    Charlene

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Charlene,

      Yes, Ralph did an amazing job with this column. Like you, I really enjoyed reading it. Thank you for your kind words, my friend.

      Blessings,
      Karen

      Delete
  13. Reading this selection was a great lot of fun! It's my loss I missed it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dear Raamesh,

    Thank you for your kind words. Hopefully, we'll be able to keep on having these activities. I hope you are enjoying your writing journey.

    Blessings,
    Karen

    ReplyDelete