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Sally Murphy, Australian author

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Poetry Saturday?

February 6, 2021 by Sally

I don’t usually post poems on a Saturday,  but yesterday as I did the Poetry Friday rounds, I came across Laura Shovan’s  February Poetry Project prompts and  decided that it was time I had a go at some.

The project offers a different prompt each day for the month, and the idea is to try to create a daily writing habit, even if only for the month, and of course to be inspired or challenged by the prompts.

The prompt for February First was ‘Bodies Dance’ and included three youtube dance clips.  I was especially inspired by the third of these, a scene from the movie White Nights. What I noticed was the way the two characters start to dance, a bit out of synch and then, gradually, their timing comes together.  That led to this poem:

Partners

I move this way

You do too

I do me

and you do you

and as we dance

and our eyes link

our movements meld

till they’re in synch.

We dance in tune

we dance in time

like a song we’re singing

like a poem we rhyme.

No one here

to stop and see

as you do you

and I do me.

(Poem copyright Sally Murphy 2021)

 

The February 2 prompt, provided by Tricia Stohr Hunt was ‘Hands’ and, almost without having to stop and think, I started writing about my mum’s hands. I hope she doesn’t mind.

Hands

My mother’s hands

show signs of age

as if the years

of care

of toil

of wisdom

are written

on skin folds

and spots

and scars.

My granddaughter’s hands

show no such signs

instead

smooth

and plump

and kissable

but I hope

that they, too,

will one day

show signs

of a life well lived.

(Poem copyright Sally Murphy 2021)

Thanks Laura for the prompts. If you want to have a go, you can head to Laura’s blog, and you’ll see the other prompts added each day over the month.  I’m off to see if I can catch up on the other prompts.

Poetry Friday: How to be Happy

January 22, 2021 by Sally

Happy Poetry Friday. This week I have been reading Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to Happiness. A gift from my big sister, this is just the right kind of book to read in January, especially in a January in the midst of a global pandemic.  As you might guess, the book is about happiness, but if you don’t know Bill Bailey’s other work,  you might not know what to expect.  Through a series of vignettes and reflections, Bailey gives his take on moments of happiness in his own life, exploring both what he feels happiness and contentment actually are, and how we might find them. It is funny, but it is also clever, and, more than once, I found myself heading off to follow up on research he mentions.

As I finished the book yesterday, I looked back at the contents page and was struck that it was a list of things he does that make him happy:

Crazy Golf

A Clear-out

Wild Swimming

and so on. Which led me to feel inspired to write a list of my won which led, as you might imagine if you know me, to a list poem.

So, with thanks to Bill Bailey, here is my list:

 

How To Be Happy

Breathe

Bug

 

Eat

Laugh

Love

Sleep

(soundly)

 

Walk on the beach

or through the trees

or swim

 

and swim some more.

Read a good book

(or a bad one

then discard it

half way through

and read another good one).

Write a book

or a poem

or even just a sentence

Be brave

Be bold

Be still

or just BE.

(Poem copyright Sally Murphy, 2021)

Another thing that makes me happy is reading the poetry posts of the Poetry Friday community. Laura Shovan is hosting the roundup this week. Head to her blog to find links to lost more poetry goodness.

Happy Days!

Copyright Sally Murphy © 2021