I may be about to head off to Canberra, but I managed to find this morning to tag my lovely friend Rebecca Newman in out game of Poetry Tag.

How it works is I give Rebecca some random words, chosen from my magnetic poetry kit, and challenge her to use them all in a poem. It can be any form, length and topic, but she must include the words I’ve given her. The words I’ve given her today are:

I can’t wait to see what she comes up with. Then, when she’s posted her result, it will be her turn to give me a set of words to incorporate into a poem of my own. Last time she gave me:

 

The poem I wrote using these three words was this:

Sing

I sing

of a courageous tree

which struggles on

beside the sea

in spite of wind

and waves

and sand

perched

betwixt ocean and land.

 

I sing

of snail

that battles on

though winter’s rains

are so long gone

and shelters

waiting

in fragile shell.

How long

till rain

he cannot tell.

 

I sing

of you

embattled child

whose land

and life

have been defiled.

Who seeks new home

new hope

new place

Yet languish now

in no-man-s space.

 

I sing

to tell the world you’re there.

I sing

to let you know I care.

And like that tree

and like that snail

I sing in hopes

you will prevail.

 

I sing for you

young refugee

in hopes one day

you will be free.

 

I really enjoy this challenge – it’s a fun way to get writing and to share the poetry  journey with a friend.