inspiration

Question, or Nominate?

/ Al Lane / 34 Comments

I attended a friend’s poetry book launch last night, and on the bus home I read of the passing of William G Stewart, a former TV producer and presenter in the UK. He hosted a quiz show, 15-to-1, for many years, in a famously unfussy, non-demonstrative style. I found myself strangely moved by his death, and compelled to write a poem about it, perhaps because of how television – and quiz shows in particular – have changed in the last few years. To me, he is a lost link to a different time.

William Gladstone Stewart,
Or to me just William G;
A remnant from a bygone age
Of simpler TV.

No flannel between questions,
No inconsequential padding.
Just quizzing for the purist
Within a geography teacher’s cladding.

No cheesy catchphrase churned out,
No tearing people down.
A host with quiet dignity,
No need to play the clown.

You reached the final round
Scored the maximum throughout.
From fifteen, to one, your time is done;
Your lights have all gone out.

RIP William G xxx

 

williamg

Haiku – Shift

/ Al Lane / 29 Comments

For this week’s Haiku Horizons challenge, the prompt was “shift”… I thought I’d approach it in a slightly different way…

Things that you should shift:
Mindset, perspective, gear;
Your ass and do it!

This seems a fairly appropriate way to announce that I’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo – the National Novel Writing Month challenge. It runs throughout November, with the aim being to write 50,000 words for your novel over that time. Yep. Fifty thousand. That’s only about 45,000 more than I’ve ever written on any one thing, ever, in my whole life. No problem, right?

I know Meg’s in as well… anyone else dumb brave enough to join us??

 

4261060942_5b6956fc00_z

 

Picture credit: flickr.com/photos/slackpics/4261060942

Cliff Edge

/ Al Lane / 57 Comments

Standing on the cliff edge
Scales fall from my eyes
Day’s mist recedes
With loosening of ties

A foot extends forward
Dares the earth to meet it
Bring its fury to me
Rising up to greet it

A moment’s hesitation…
The whole truth crashes in
The things that matter most
What I’d lose, and win

I recoil in horror
Heart pounding through my chest
With the certainty of knowing
What needs to be addressed

So if you’re struggling to see
The heart’s wants on your face
Step up to that edge
But take not another pace

 

15897915815_657ffd4e49_z

Picture credit: flickr.com/photos/abhishek047/15897915815

TGBOL – Dinner Party!

/ Al Lane / 35 Comments

For this week’s Great Book of Lists prompt, we’ve been asked to host a dinner party, and invite anyone we like, alive or dead.

Where to even begin with this one? Well, as seems increasingly to be the case, my first thought was for writers… then musicians… then people who generally inspire me… plus a few who would liven up any party (who wouldn’t want to dance the macarena with Einstein on the dance floor after a few sherries??). I have left out those who I would like to have met one-on-one, but am not sure about inviting to a party situation (Van Gogh, Roald Dahl, Queen Elizabeth I, Marie Curie…)

So, in no particular order, I would invite:

Neil Gaiman
Stephen Fry
Nelson Mandela
Albert Einstein
Shakespeare
Maya Angelou
Nick Cave
David Bowie
Frank Turner
Muhammad Ali
Shel Silverstein
JK Rowling
Joss Whedon
Amelia Earhart
Bill Hicks
The Dalai Lama (these last two to sit next to each other)

My co-host for this party would be Dorothy Parker. I am also tempted to invite Brian Blessed, the actor/ explorer, although I’m not sure my ears would take it… perhaps we could lock him in the next room?

 

2407103934_c3ec2e4c20_z

Picture credit: flickr.com/photos/dramzy/2407103934

Words That Matter (TGBOL)

/ Al Lane / 34 Comments

This week’s prompt for The Great Book of Lists is “words that matter”.

“Words, as simple as they may seem, possess power. Once spoken, you cannot take them back. Once said, it’ll be either white or black.

“So today, let’s make a list of those words that has pushed you forward, to do good, to be glad. Words that kept you standing. Words that encouraged you to keep moving. Words that picked you up. Words that lit you up. Words that introduced you to an unknown world. Words that explained you the meaning of life, even beyond earth.

Those words deserve to be shared, so let’s share them today.”

Here is my list of words that matter:

“I will”
The promise made on my wedding day. Not the “I do” that you tend to see in films and stories, but the forward-looking “I will”. And I will.

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
This is a quote from Yoda in Empire Strikes Back, back when his lines actually carried some deeper meaning rather than just being backwards-spoken gibberish (yes, this is another moan about the prequels). If you set out to “try”, you are already accepting the possibility of failure. Set out to “do”, and let your positivity carry you forward.

“Try this at home”
Frank Turner is a particular inspiration to me. His folk-punk music, and “try it yourself” attitude, directly led me to take up the electronic pen and try poeting on my own. I could quote so many of his lyrics, but the following two are particularly important to me:

And I won’t sit down
And I won’t shut up
And most of all I will not grow up
“Photosynthesis”

Because we write love songs in C, we do politics in G,
we sing songs about our friends in E minor.
So tear down the stars now and take up your guitars:
come on folks and try this at home.
“Try This At Home”

“Love you, Daddy”
Yes, it’s cheesy, but I could hear this all day long, from either of my boys. They light me up, every single time.

“More money, more doughnuts”
I wanted to end on something different… this phrase is one my six-year old came up with recently. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more succinct summary of capitalism 🙂

So, these are the words that matter to me. What words matter to you?

 

2638831430_afc0b9108f_z

Picture credit: flickr.com/photos/_sk/2638831430