october 2016
Introduction to writing poetry - Hella Bauer
after Billy Collins
I ask them to share
the fragrance of the day
or to describe the man
by his socks
I say extract the eyelash
from the face and show me
its wink
I want to find the soul
of the yellow T-Shirt
the moment
in the black curls
bobbing away
All they want to do is
extract and collate
from ‘how to’ guides
They torture rhyme
into empty lines.
Word Song - Hella Bauer
Words with little brown shoes march
from behind my brow
they reach my teeth
they slide down my tongue and leave
in cadence in 30-inch steps
the words with brown shoes
are nice and tidy they belong
to a correct world
they make sense and follow the rules.
From the back of my head
other words dance
on tippy toes
they flit
like fantails
they run zig zag through my brain
they visit the left ear and the right
they rest for hours
behind each eye
when they are ready
they pause
and somersault
out of my mouth.
Contributor's Note
Hella Bauer reads and writes incessantly. She writes poetry and creative non-fiction to revisit and express the joys and challenges of being alive. For a living she creates web content, manuals and much else.