VOICE & VISION

My internal clock wakes me five minutes before the alarm’s set time

I leap from my warm cocoon, eager to greet the day

Is it sunny? Yes. Switch the washing machine on? Yes.

First though, is the body stretching routine.

Next, is the journal writing, the soul searching, eager scribbling time

that sets me up well for a brand new day of work and play

Then it’s time for breakfast in the sun and for soaking up the peace

and joy of this warm quiet place.

The washing machine is purring gently.

The pussy cat is meowing insistently.

The neighbour’s car rolls down their drive quietly.

It’s time for the news while I’m munching the muesli

The announcer splinters my reverie with a shock horror tone

…”the massacre of eight thousand Muslims”

Eight thousand husbands, fathers, sons

and the rape of forty thousand wives, mothers and daughters.

My body constricts and my brain numbs.

What unimaginable anguish for them – what horror.

What is the way to respond to such atrocity I wonder.

My friends tell me that I must stop tormenting myself

“You just have to stop caring so much about others

and think more about yourself

and stay normal!”

What’s normal?  Normal me? Normal reaction? Normal world?

The washing machine cheeps at me to hang the washing out.

The clock tells me that it’s time to get going.

Pretending to be normal

to not let your body and mind

react to the madness of our world

is enough to drive anyone crazy.

Mel

27 May 2011

I locate my love, in

your body,

your spirit,

your talk,

your laugh;

I locate my love, in

how you move,

how you cook,

how you sit;

I locate my love, in

my dreams—where we make love:

let’s revive the physical passion

we’ve lost somewhere, somehow, sometime.

Anne Ho

13 May 2011

Artist James King in the Toi Ora studio

Click on the picture for the Herald article.

Ruby Black‘s A Summer Memory, posted 2 May, has been removed at Ruby’s request.

Ruby looks forward – as do we – to posting some other writing in the near future.

Toi Ora is closed until Monday 2 May whence upon the Autumn Term for 2011 commences.

Take it easy.

Today’s class required members to write a piece explaining, Why I write.

Examples were kindly provided by Amit Tripuraneni and Sean Molloy without prior permission. I hope they forgive my impudence but if it’s any consolation, I shared mine, too – but I do facilitate the class.

Of today’s class of 10, 2 opted to share their writing.

Again, welcome.

Welcome to the Toi Ora blog.

My name’s David – I’ll be one of your guides.

The categories (or tags for those who know their tek) are largely self-explanatory but because I like to tell people how to suck eggs:

• Creative Writing – Toi Ora provides two creative writing classes which encourage writing and sharing amongst participants.  Work published in this blog is from participants of either of these classes.

• First Draft – all posts tagged as this indicate that the work was created within a class.  Minimal editing.  Even less finessing.  This is writing straight from the head/heart-to-hand-to-paper.

Categories will be added to.  They might even be explained in another post like this.  Meantime, enjoy, and if you have time or are so inclined, please comment.