Poetry Challenge - Create 'Hidden' Poetry!
Find a page in an old book, magazine or newspaper... take out a permanent marker or pen and either strike through all but a selected few words on the sheet or create your own pattern until you are left with a short poem. Just glance at the text without trying to read the original too much - either consider each word you leave carefully or just try a random approach and see what emerges. Watch an example being created here...
'And Still I Rise'
"You may write me down in history/With your bitter, twisted lies,/You may trod me in the very dirt/But still, like dust, I'll rise....' - the opening words of Maya Angelou's iconic poem 'Still I Rise'. Read the full version here or use the link below to see a dramatised version read by the author.
"Still Breathing - 100 Black Voices on Racism
"We cannot change the past but we can change the consequences of the past for the better by means of education. This book is part of that education." A cast of 100 voices reveal both hopes and frustrations but each adds to a colourful tapestry of optimism so future generations can pause, take stock and 'keep breathing'.
Caleb Femi - Poet and Director
Nigerian born Caleb Femi came to London age 7, settling in Peckham - an experience he explores in ‘Children of the ’Narm’. He's a renowned poet and director who shapes youth culture through film, photography and music. As Young People’s Laureate for London (2016-18), Caleb aimed to "re-engage young people, who have long been disenfranchised, through poetry... Poetry is the one of the purest forms of conversation there is."
'One Breath' a poem by Mark Arthur
Take a moment to watch the inspiring Mark Arthur, a Black author and meditator, reading his powerful poem One Breath 'a prayer for all beings' at a virtual 'Satsang' (Q&A) with Tara Brach. The video is reproduced here (link below) with kind permission of both Mark and Tara, available with other inspiring talks and meditations at the Tara Brach You Tube Channel.
Grace Nicholls - Poetry
Listen to the poet Grace Nichols reading some of her poetry here recorded for the Poetry Archive. Born in Guyana in the Caribbean before moving to live in England her imaginative poems span the everyday to the wider universe.
A Poem about Hope - Nicholas Mazza
Hope
Hope
is the belief
that one hand
reaching to another
can eventually
touch the moon,
allowing the light to guide us
through the night
Poems of Protest, Resistance and Empowerment
Speaking 'truth to power remains a crucial role of the poet in the face of political & media rhetoric' so the Poetry Foundation have brought together a selection of poems that 'call out and talk back to the inhumane forces... expose grim truths, raise consciousness, and build united fronts".
The Important Things In Life Animation
By opening our minds and hearts to new experiences, beginning to treat ourselves with kindness, compassion and gratitude, we can build connection, boost wellbeing and increase happiness. This lovely little animation really helps us to remember the important things.... take a few minutes to watch.
Poem on Learning and Change by Portia Nelson
An inspiring poem that shows us how we can learn and grow from mis-steps, habits and holes in the road along the way!
Mark Nepo - Poetry
Poet, philosopher, spiritual writer... Mark Nepo's touching and soulful work touches on themes with which we can all identify, such as our struggle to 'inhabit the soul through a messy human life, and how underneath our differences, we can be who we are everywhere and create a path to what matters". Check out his website here or his You Tube channel (use link below) to enjoy weekly readings and discussion of his work.
'And the people stayed home' - a poem by Kitty O'Meara
This beautiful poem, written after the Irish famine seems really appropriate to current times - listen here and watch the video.
Never too Late by Nkoko Mpho
Never too late to succeed,
to glow in the dark and turn dust to gold.
Never too late to change yourself to a better person. To become the independent one.
To be different from the past.
It is never too late, it was never, it will never be too late to change
because no future is determined by the present.
I wish you to be happy - Hamein Sunim
I wish you to be happy
But do not wait for someone to make you happy.
Make the decision to be happy for yourself and act on it.
Do not surrender to someone else the power to make you happy.
(Extract from the book by Hamein Sunim 'Love for Imperfect Things')
Hope by Emily Dickinson
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
And sweetest in the Gale is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet never in extremity
It asked a crumb of me.
Today by Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings
Today, I'm flying low and I'm
not saying a word
I'm letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.
The world goes on as it must,
The bees in the garden, rumbling a little,
The fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten
And so forth.
But I'm taking the day off.
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move though I'm really travelling
a terrific distance.
Stillness. One of the doors
into the temple.
You Are A Champion - Marcus Rashford
An inspiring book by England footballer Marcus Rashford MBE about being comfortable with who you are, navigating adversity, leaving your comfort zone and finding your voice to stand up for yourself and others. Aimed at 10 - 15 year olds.