After a month’s break, Write a Note poetry evening returned in full force in September. Twelves poets read their words to a very attentive engaging audience.
It was a busy dynamic evening with splendid spoken word and music. Meet two of the regular poets who attended the event and kindly agreed to share some of their work.
Bobby Looga
“Hatched under laboratory conditions, for the purpose of testing eye-liner and cigars; I was discarded when my fontanelle closed up,” says Bobby.
“Having snuck unnoticed into a baby factory, I was named onomatopoetically after the sound of my yellow plastic trumpet. I developed a condition where words fell out of my face, some of which I fling around to this day.”
The final tock of
the doomsday clock groans nearer
Fireworks at midnight
by cloudy mushroom
gaslight; brown shirt renaissance
sewn by the unfit
Callused fingertips
making shitty christmas gifts
for some other kid
(until they float off
or sink. Detritus. Flotsam
dropped in remapped seas)
Causing a shortage
of what you always wanted
to bin off by Spring
But loss is covered
unnatural disasters
count as acts of god
___________________________
A comedian
kisses a dancer, the most
horrid of horrors
while the minister’s
mistress noshes him off in
the Foreign Office
That’s their own business
just “Boris being Boris”
– bare faced dishonest
Get back in the fridge.
[insert snowflake emoji]
silly
little
boy
____________________________
A shiny red mould
for impressing sand starfish
part of a mosaic
of driftwood and shells
of iPhones, doll parts, johnnies
Crocs™, bucket and spade,
beached children. You heard
what happened on Love Island?
Sam is such a mug
Phillip Schofield, eh?
and that Holly Willoughby
The queue jumping scum
X drops his shorts at
a charity kickabout
a sickening sight
or was it Y, caught
getting his tackle out for
the public to judge?
seething quacks’ backstreet
epidemiology,
and Oxford commas.
scat views on the news
of the screws, clutched pearls and straws,
the next Dr Who,
who knocked up who, who
got cucked, lager louts, dark ops
#FAcup
Let me add that to
the list of things to give a
flying fuck about
Jo Fisher
Jo Fisher
is a writer, editor, poet, artist and general culture lover who has lived in Southampton for more than a decade. She first took to the mic to share her words at Write A Note in early 2018; since then, she has enjoyed performing at various events in Southampton and around Hampshire. Her proudest moment so far was appearing at the Royal Albert Hall for the 2019 Hammer & Tongue National Slam Finals, having won the Solent regional finals in December 2018.
A professional copywriter and editor by day, Jo also enjoys working on non-fiction essays, reviews and freelance projects in her spare time, alongside her poetry. When she’s not wrangling with words, she loves dabbling in art, reading, eating good food and engaging with all Southampton has to offer. You’ll usually find her in one of the city’s galleries, museums, theatres or cafes.
Twitter: @jo_fisher_
Instagram: @jo_fisher_
Facebook: Jo Fisher Writes
Website: jofisherwrites.com/
Number 21
Fill this space with the little moments
that come upon a Sunday morning
when the light is not yet full of warmth
but emerging and climbing upon the rungs of the potential of the day.
Make an average cup of tea and feel the cheapness of the carpet under your feet
as you would cut grass. Leave a wake of once-worn laundry and
well-worn shoes behind you.
This is sacred space, but it is no shrine.
Do not fear the day you grow too large for these little rooms.
You will cry, but you cannot truly live
when you are bent double, arms sprouting from windows,
cheeks pushed against glass having gorged on life like Eat Me cake.
Cast it off, like a shell, a home ready for the next,
and move on and do the same to somewhere else
just as special.
Jake Dale & Bastien Terraz
Duo Jack Dale and Bastien Terraz (pictured top) delighted us with their music. It was amazing and humbling to see how the crowd was hypnotised and how much loved they showed the musicians.
Jack and Bas started working on their EP, The Youngest Son, over the first lockdown by exchanging tunes and lyrics and they ended up making a whole album. They have been playing in various local venues, as well as festivals over the summer, and their country-blues sound is truly magnificent. So make sure you don’t miss their coming events.
Facebook: Facebook.com/jackdalemusic
Youtube: YouTube.com/jackdalemusic
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