An influx of information
Bombards us at every location,
But what is actually worth consideration
Amongst acres of inane confabulation
And miles of baseless speculation?
It journeys with us to all destinations,
Wi-fi at every airport and station,
To go without induces petty frustration,
Our first worry when on vacation,
We can’t unplug for too long a duration!
It informs our social preparations
And provides handy highlights and summation
Of our circle’s leisure and libations,
But can equally cause emotional deflation
When you realise your non-existent invitation.
Fear not! There is plentiful distraction
From your friends’ cold ostracization,
There are quizzes of questionable calculation
To tell you your ideal vocation
Or a soulmate plucked from randomisation.
These precious droplets of information
Fuel our fixation
And claim our concentration
Until one day, we look up
And escape this digital stagnation.
Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!
(I submitted this poem for a competition where it was required to write a poem around the theme of ‘hope’ – unfortunately I did not win, but thought I would present my work on the blog anyway – ‘hope’ (groan) you enjoy)
Forest of Fading Years
I think back to tender days
When time was a thousand trees
In a forest filled with mystery,
Free from the throes of supposed maturity.
I recall the nights of nothing to fear
Only dreams of chimerical cheer,
And when the elusive angel of sleep
Could sooth me far more easily.
Now, in this desert of muddled years
Dark and light thicken together
Into sands of confounding grey;
These memories are the thirst, my hope
That my bitter and tired tongue
Shall taste a drop of innocence again.
Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!
They always say it’s the rain
That makes for lonely days
And long melancholy nights,
But the sun too can cause strain
On fragile and fretful brains.
Minds wrapped with guilt
As light enters the window
Bodies frozen under a quilt,
Dreading a need to move,
But aching to go outside
And embrace the summer warmth.
That is the wretched paradox
Which the weather can cause
In the heads and hearts of those
Now long weary and worn
From battling their own inner storm.
Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!
So I have previously posted a selection of my favourite songs that I would put within my ‘Feel Good/Writing’ playlist, (see Vol. 1 here and Vol. 2 here) as I find having music to listen to while writing really helps get my creative juices flowing, and the songs are also ones I like to listen to when I need a bit of cheering up after a rough day – basically, they give me positive and/or creative vibes all round. While working on the next post on this subject, which concerned songs released in the period of 2004-2007, I instantly found myself taken back in time to those years, which for me was when I had just finished sixth form (college) and then went on to study at university. This was a time of a lot of change and transition for me, given that I would also be moving away from my hometown (only an hour away, but still), and also that I turned 18 in 2005 – I was becoming an adult, my childhood slowly slipping away from me, both mentally and geographically. Therefore they were quite uncertain times; on top of that, while at uni I was still figuring out my sexuality – coming to a head in my second year when I finally realised and accepted that I was gay. In short, I was really figuring out who I was at the time, which has obviously shaped the person that I am now, some 12 to 13 years later. As I said, the songs that I have in my Media Player library from this time instantly transported me back there, to simpler (yet somehow complicated) times, and I became very wistful and contemplative about everything. Just goes to show the power that music can have, and how it frames certain periods of your life!
At any rate; the first of these tracks was ‘Breakaway’ by Kelly Clarkson. Now, a singer like her, an American Idol winner, is not someone who would usually be to my taste (not to sound snobby or anything), but I was drawn to her music for some reason, and one of my favourite tracks ended up becoming ‘Breakaway’ – and again, given that it was recorded specifically to be part of the soundtrack for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (shudder), I guess that this song would count as a guilty pleasure of mine. But it really did speak to me at the time, being a song about change and getting away and moving on – from the mention of ‘growing up in a small town’ to the regret suggested in ‘wanting to belong here’; this was something I struggled a lot with in my school years, sincerely valuing the few friends that I did have. At the time I was hopeful that university would bring a positive change in my life and with it, new friends, and I suppose this song was a comfort to me at the time, while I waited to see if this would come to fruition. Apologies if this comes off as overly sappy and sickening, but this really is what this song does to me! Quite brave of me to admit to over the internet, you may well argue…
Continuing the theme of talented female artists, another song I listened to a lot at the time was KT Tunstall’s ‘Another Place to Fall’. A bit different from Clarkson’s offering, this one has quite a relentless angry energy to it (‘Are you blind? Blind to me trying to be kind?’) . I think at the time it was my outlet and (private) release of aggression about the more negative people in my life, just one of those great ‘fuck you’ songs that is always satisfying to listen to.
As you’ll have seen in my previous posts, I am a big fan of Coldplay – well, to be specific, what they were producing at this specific time; I am not the biggest fan of their latter works. At any rate, X&Y was, and still is, one of my favourite albums of theirs, in particular the tracks ‘White Shadows’ and ‘Fix You’. The former just has that haunting, yet exhilarating sound that characterised a lot of their early offerings. It’s a song I found (and still do) find reassuring, somehow – it emphasises how we are all ‘part of a system’ and a plan, that there is a bigger picture out there beyond our often petty human concerns (I’m sure we all have our moments of being ‘tired of the human race’). Also as I’m still in the process of figuring out my life and what I want, somewhat, I find the lyric ‘Maybe you’ll get what you wanted/Maybe you’ll stumble upon it’ both reassuring, but also perhaps dripping a little bit with sarcasm – given the title of the song I suppose it’s appropriate it has that contradictory feeling to it…
The song segues seamlessly into ‘Fix You’, obviously one of the band’s more famous tracks. Again it’s one of those songs that manages to evoke depression and reassurance at the same time, and I can very much relate to ‘feeling so tired but you can’t sleep’ and being ‘stuck in reverse’. We all have those moments where we feel stuck or on autopilot and desperately trying to figure things out, and this song assures us that this something that everyone goes through. After all, those ‘lights will guide you home’ eventually.
Finally, ‘Tender’ from Feeder, another band you will have seen me gush about in previous posts, was a song I’d often find myself listen to while I was daydreaming of one day finding ‘the one’, my true love (after I’d figured out that yes, I did indeed prefer men). It’s just so hopeful and eerily sad at the same time, all coming to a crescendo with the chorus line, ‘The loneliness has gone’. Again, call me a sentimental idiot if you must, but this song always gave me hope after each and every relationship or almost-relationship that didn’t work out, that one day I would find the right one. Happily I can now say with confidence, that I finally have, and will take those new roads together with him. Yeah, yeah I know, I’m sure even he will be reaching for the sick bag after reading that. At any rate, these are the songs that I feel characterise the wide-eyed, often naïve and foolish, but well-meaning, me that was beginning to enter adulthood. Even now at the ripe old age of 30, I still feel like I’m mostly pretending and ‘winging it’ with the whole adult-ing thing, but I’m sure experience and music will show me the way like it always has.
Anyone else have songs that take them back to certain times in their life, evoke memories good or bad? Let me know what makes up the soundtrack of your life 🙂
Check out my debut poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!
This week’s prompt: Take the phrase “I Am A (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem.
I Am a Whisper
I am a whisper
In a loud, impudent world
Where to stop and listen
Becomes increasingly alien
In times of fleeting concentration.
I may speak softly
But work harder to be heard
Above the shouts and bellows
Of bigger and bolder fellows,
Choosing calm and careful words
To play in the constant game
Of affixing meaning to my name.
Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!
By rippling waves
And under gleaming sun,
My other little home
Away from endless bustle
Of cold brick and mortar,
Built instead of calming sand
Beside serenity of water,
This is the place I go
To drown out modern noise
And hear the song of the sea.
Like this poem? Read more in my first poetry collection, ‘The Awakening’, avaliable NOW!
Just wanted to share this excellent analysis of the downfall of one of my favourite TV shows ever – I agree with most of the points and it explains excellently just how the show is now a shadow of its former self. As hardcore a fan as I am, I stopped watching regularly long ago and wish they’d let the damn thing die. Might even write my own thoughts on it on here at some point…
