“Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.”
― Mary Oliver
Canada
Make Love Poems ~ Interactive Poem
Standard
Last night we gathered at heART School for our Make Love Poems ~ Live Poetry Show. Nygel, Emmy, Lolu and Lesley-Anne (me) served up our words with just a wee bit of passion to all the lovely folk who came. And they’re still talking about it…
“Embracing, love, of all types with wonderful people at heART school, says Sami,
“Saturated in love and poetry last night at the heART School,” says Gillian,
“The music and the majesty, the magic and the mystery,” say Lolu, Emmy, Nygel and me.
And then, at the invitation of our poets, the audience offered up their words of love to be lovingly crafted by Lesley-Anne (me) into a custom, spontaneous, interactive poem! Yes, you bravely creative and brimming over with profundity, folk, you! Proving all you do is make love poems, too! You can see your poetry cards posted up on the board behind us in the photo… and now you can read what you wrote (with a little more editing today) 🙂
Thank you all for a heart warming evening of welcome. Thank you so much.
Now. Presenting YOUR WORDS. Poetized!
Sweet. Digital. Stars.
Love like you had one hour left
on this blue planet. Disconnect to really connect.
Mutual longing for community connection,
our cognitive knowledge that we are connected
by much more than mere familiarity.
Be present, be in the moment.If I was twenty years younger
and twenty years bolder
I’d invite you to climb my Maple tree. You plague my life
like locusts, and I am the biggest bug lover.
Our palms harmonize the fractal lines
of our highs and lows with impermanent grasp.
If I could digest any part of you
it would be your warm, juicy, full-flesh heart.Love is encouragement.
Love is laughing until you don’t make a sound.
Love is the smell of freshly baked cookies.
Love is a pirouette on a Sunday
when there’s nothing to do but dance with abandon.Love is deaf, dumb and blind
and does not discriminate. Equal opportunity
for joy and pain, and I didn’t even realize
as I stretched to love myself
I would break his heart. He watches
the cardinals of her love fly heavenward. He feels
the coldness of his overwhelming empty nest. Perplexing
silent void until red birded ripening days return.Sweet. Digital. Stars. You and me,
a spec of dust on a seed in wind. You and me
as the world goes by like ants in a line.
Love is not blind.
Love me. You are
my favourite. Sweet
whispers. Take me
to your leader.
note: I forgot to write my own words on an index card last night, so I added mine to our poem today. 🙂
Go. Love. Be.
Leaves and pages
A sunny September weekend and what better activity for a poet left alone to her own devices than to share poetry. So I went over to Mission Sports Fields and clipped some pages to the branches of the amazing collection of trees in the Arboretum. (if you are interested in gardening, this is a wonderful resource of many tree varieties that thrive here in the Okanagan.) And pinned a few more poems to the fence at the soccer pitch.
My heart somewhat light and buoyant, I was heading back to the car when I spied a woman reading my words. So I asked if I might take her photograph and she said,
“Sure. Are these yours? I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s really neat and it made me smile to find them. They are good.”
I wonder if any soccer players found them?
Happy Autumn,
Lesley-Anne
A busking she will go …
Standard
English: A sax busker on the streets of the French Quarter, New Orleans. Photo by Gary Mark Smith. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It’s official. After an exciting half hour meeting with Festivals Kelowna Program Coordinator, Ryan Donn, I am licensed as a Poet Busker (street performer). The Kelowna Buskers Program has been around town for several years, and is managed by Festivals Kelowna who describe themselves as;
a non-profit society that produces community focused, family friendly festivals and events that enhances the lifestyle of our citizens and visitors.
Festivals Kelowna also do Parks Alive, Celebrate Canada Day and Arts Alive Programs… a huge focus of energy and passion involved in bringing fun, music and the arts to the very fortunate people of Kelowna. I love what they do.
Ryan tells me this is going to be one of the most exciting years for the Buskers Program yet, with new types of art being offered. Things like acrobatics, music, dance and spoken word poetry, to name a few. I’m thrilled to be on board.
Well then, it’s out I go. Be on the lookout for my “This is Pop-Up-Poetry” sign and me at one of fifteen different locations around the City of Kelowna, including several in the South Pandosy neighbourhood.
This is me hoping to see YOU out THERE!
Sunshine, summer, fresh air, people and poetry! I think I’m getting my happy on.
SDG,
Lesley-Anne
Wherein pop-up-poetry meets people
Standard
National Poetry Month continues, and PUP is still getting out there. Poetry is placed out and about in Kelowna every couple of days, and people read it (I’ve seen them) Some make contact online or mention it to me in person when they ‘find’ a poem. I get a giddy feeling every time I head out with new poems (in plastic sleeves because it won’t stop raining). I wonder where I will place them, who will find them, who will read them, what might the outcome be? I wonder, is this what it feels like to be eccentric? Nah, can’t be.
I’m reminded of a book I read a few years back, “Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast,” by Wendy Morton. About Wendy’s innate ability to share poetry without apology, and for money, which she did as West Jet’s Poet of the Skies, and Chrysler’s Poet of the Road. Wendy brought poetry to regular folks on a regular basis. Wendy began what has become a national week long celebration of literacy in Canada, “Random Acts of Poetry.” Wendy and her ideas inspire me.
And as all ‘new things’ have come in some shape or form previously, perhaps PUP is the result of this concept messing about in my mind over the years since I read her book. That and the pop-up-stores I saw in Vancouver. That and the desire of all poets to speak out what we write down, at some point.
Here are some PUP installations for this week;
pop-up-poetry 