Day 6: Poems & Pubs

Yesterday's evening session we did something cool.  To help us experiment with words and language, and so I would have to read out loud, Laurie asked us to note down ten things that, had we'd carried a polaroid camera around with us during the day, we would have take pictures of.

She the had us form and manipulate sentences and around these pictures until we had seven different versions of the same ten starting points.  I discovered first how lazy my normal sentence writing is and how there are more interesting ways of saying the same thing, also how clever some sentences can make you sound, and how stupid trying to formulate the sentence can make you feel when given certain parameters :)

In the end we had to take eight of our favourite sounding sentences which then Laurie had us write in a specific order to form a poem called a Pantoum (think thats spelt right)

Apparently you can tell a lot about a person from this sort of poem, as the final result is out of there hands.  I wonder what the following says about me?

...
The day quietly burns off the mist over the pool
I am a vulture in flight
I am the mist over the pool burning off quietly during the day
I am a quail on the road escaping unwanted attention

I am a vulture in flight
I am the bedroom in shadow bringing comfort to my guest
I am a quail on the road escaping unwanted attention
I am the tractor on the hill

I am the bedroom in shadow bringing comfort to my guest
I am the fields being circled silently by vultures
I am the tractor on the hill
I am the comfort bringing shadow for my guest

I am the fields being circles silently by vultures
I am a vulture in flight
I am the comfort bringing shadow for my guest
The day quietly burns off the mist over the pool
...

I'm writing this blog earlier today then normal as I have an assignment to write which is not optional (little private joke incase any of my fellow retreat writers are reading this).  It also means I'm going to be reading to the group tonight, which I find terrifying.  Eeek!

But before I sign off, here's two things which I hope make you smile.  This morning I went down to the pool for a swim, and after 10 lengths I took a deep breath and dropped to the bottom of the pool.  Held my breath for a few seconds and then burst to the surface shattering the silent morning with rapturous songs of Hallelujah!  As my welsh brother from a different mother would say, "True story!"

There is also a large boys choir staying at the Ranch this week, and they are awoken each morning by two loud speakers by the side of the pool blasting out choir music.  I tried ducking under the water again to see if it would stop, but nope.  Apparently my swimming pool antics have the power to create music, but not to shut it off.

I also came across a book which the folks back home might find amusing.  It called The English Pub, and filled with... well somethings I'm like "Nah, that doesn't happen" and others I'm all "er... yeah done that"

Here are two pictures for you.  The first had a title that made me laugh, the second... well lets see if Colin and Julia can place the second :)  I hope so because I think we spent most of my time in Tewkesbury there.

o/