I wrote some haikus for the Hot Poets Climate project:
underfoot forest
supports all your treehouses
leaf blower owners
bring back the blacksmiths
reshaping broken systems
takes sparks and mettle
oily money out!
donut economics in
comes fresh tasty fair
The last one features in this Hot Poets haiku futures video shown at the COP Climate Conference last year – 1.31 minutes in with a photo of a happy seal.
©tamingtheoctopus 2024
Once upon a time, before I had a brother
To manipulate to my own ends
My two-year-old mind managed to find me
Three imaginary friends
Linny and Dobby were pale and forgettable
Generic little children, liked to chat on my toy phone
But Robey Bison is a giant woolly mammoth
And since his incarnation I have never been alone
Robey Bison, Robey Bison
I look to you for comfort and for things I need advice on
Robey Bison, Robey Bison
Skills like proper listening you can’t put a price on
I was the kind of kid who always brushed her teeth
‘It’s even more important if you’ve had a midnight feast’
Robey Bison is the one who was just more fun
There’s a joy and a lightness and a beauty to this beast
Candyfloss and somersaults on the top bunk
Monster Munch and icepops; fill this wholesome home with junk!
Snorting icing sugar and collapsing like we’re drunk
Downing Coca-Cola til he snarfed it out his trunk
Oh Robey Bison, your fur is so enticing
Your legs are like four chocolate logs, vast swathes of swirling icing
Robey Bison, Robey Bison
You make me chilli … and I’ll put the rice on
A friend for life in this world of ice
Shelter from the storm
Reassuring big brown eyes
The relief of being warm
See him skewer injustice on his tusks and roar away your pain
Hide inside his conker coloured matted, patted mane
Robey Bison, Robey Bison
Manoeuvre like a Hoover with the power of a Dyson
Robey Bison, Robey Bison
Retro like a Eubank and a heavyweight like Tyson
Ancient and magnificent
Other, significant
Him and me shared history
Not confined to our Plasticine times
We’re weathering together whatever life slings
I’ve got a woolly mammoth waiting in the wings
©tamingtheoctopus 2023
My parents moved into their Chapeltown Cohousing project and I wrote this for the celebrations.
You have found your common ground
Common sense removed the fence
Transformed common muck into a common house
With a communal garden and a communal mouse!
(Or is that mouse a source of tension? Is it still ok to mention?)
There’s a Prunus Commonalis (pear tree) on your common land
Where common chamomile rewilds and sunflowers stand
It’s not so commonplace, actually it’s rare
To jointly plan a space to live and share
There’s nothing common about your domiciles
It’s common knowledge that you’ve got beautiful tiles
A community dream with common cause
Gets built into reality
after
an
uncommonly
long
pause
(13 years!)
Comment t’appelles tu? ChaCo. You!
It’s ‘The rainbow street’, somebody tell Deliveroo
Because it’s time to eat and drink and cheer
Celebrate that you’re all here
Through your groundbreaking story we’ve been taught
That we’ve all got more in common than we thought
C’mon!
©tamingtheoctopus 2023
I’m in touch with reality
Very very lightly
An astronaut outside the ship
I have to grip tightly
Panoramic perspective, awe
Some astronomic trip
‘Come in Space Cadet’
Mind you don’t slip
My tendonous tether
Could sever forever easily
I’d lose myself in headspace
Over all the world’s gravity
From the womb of the universe
I see the earth receding
All there is is
God
and the sound of me breathing
©tamingtheoctopus 2022
Do not be overwhelmed at Christmas
All you who are weary and feel you can’t cope
The present is about outsiders hanging out
With a little scrap of hope
©tamingtheoctopus 2021
I wrote this poem about ten years ago, after watching a programme called Empire of Cricket. I was reminded of it recently when I read about the racism at Yorkshire Cricket Club.
Let’s invent a game, said the men
To play in the Indian sun
Have a bat and a bowl and maybe a stroll
But no one should have to run
We’ll get them to bring us a meal or two
Stop and rest if it ever rains
And let’s wear something light
Must preserve our whites right
Wives and natives will deal with the stains
©tamingtheoctopus 2021
The grass has turned yellow
In the footprint where your tent was
A crow pecks a worm
It must have surfaced with your heat
Like the worm I’m unprotected
In the face of relocation
Like the crow I’m in an empty field
Staring at my feet
©tamingtheoctopus 2021
I don’t believe that death is the end. But life is intense and I have to confess that sometimes the thought of eternal nothingness is really appealing.
Stop fighting life and sleep
Like a knight
Cool and quiet
Stoned in a church
Lying on your back
Hands clasped in prayer
Having your head massaged for all eternity
©tamingtheoctopus 2021
Guest poem by my son Jonah who spotted this flower growing out of the pavement near Smyths Toys Superstore.
Defeat the concrete
Pushing through
Conquering humanity
That’s what plants do
©jonahwalsh 2021
