
The 10th Muse.
By David Milligan-Croft.
.
A dusting of morning snow,
Covers my car.
I trace a love heart
In the passenger window,
And imagine you smiling
On the other side of the glass.
.
By David Milligan-Croft.
.
A dusting of morning snow,
Covers my car.
I trace a love heart
In the passenger window,
And imagine you smiling
On the other side of the glass.
.
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That’s Greek for goodbye, if you didn’t know.
At least, that’s what Google translate tells me. It could say ‘f*ck you’ for all I know. Which would work just as well.
Saying farewell to the year in a foreign tongue has become a bit of a custom for reasons I shan’t go into right now.
Greek mythology and the divine muses have been pretty prominent for me in 2022, so it seems quite appropriate.
This year, I’ve managed to paint lots of pictures, visit lots of the Peak District and write lots of poetry. So much so, I’m hoping to publish my second collection of poetry, “Go tell the bees” some time in 2023. (I’ve even been dabbling with a book cover design for it.)
To see out the year, I thought I’d leave you with a few samples of abstract doodling which I’ve been doing quite a bit of lately. It’s a very cathartic and mindful exercise if you want to give it a go. I’ve even tried it with patients on the ward and it went down really well. (Remember, it’s about the process of doing art rather than the end result.)
It just remains for me to say, thank you for visiting my blog, your support is very much appreciated. I hope you have a very happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2023.
Keep being creative and tell those closest to you that you love them.
In the words of the great poet, Philip Larkin:
“…we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.”
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Friday is Library Day for patients on Arden Ward at Stepping Hill Hospital.
And, if you didn’t know already, reading is very good for your mental health. (Probably not if it’s by Piers Morgan or the Tory party manifesto, mind.)
Reading quality literature and poetry, however, is proven to alleviate stress and anxiety.
Quite serendipitously, I came across this collection of poetry by Mary Dickins entitled Happiness FM. I thought her poem, ‘How to administer a poem in an emergency’ was perfectly apt for the group. So, I thought I’d share it with you.
And here is the poem from whence the collection takes its name.
Of course, our visits to the library aren’t just about reading. They’re about social interaction and doing other mindful activities.
Night, night.
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Well, hello there.
It’s been a while.
Just thought I’d share a few haiku with the class.
Languid river flows
past weeping willows and pink
cherry blossom trees.
_________________________
Vapour trails scratch the
deep, blue sky – a pair of larks
glide without a trace.
_________________________
Was it a petal
or a butterfly, caught on
a summer zephyr?
_________________________
Then, there’s this…
I tried to flesh it out into a haiku. But the more words I added, the less powerful they became. So, I’ll leave it alone.
Suffering is written in the runes of scars.
__________________________
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You don’t see chalk on the pavement much anymore.
My daughters used to do it outside our house and up the street with the neighbours’ children.
I was walking to school the other day to pick my daughters up when I saw some lovely pastel chalk drawings on the pavement and it took me back to when I was a kid.
So I wrote a haiku about it.
As you do.
Hopscotch in the rain.
Chalk on the pavement;
Hopscotch memories fade, in
Fine summer drizzle.
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Today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Emily Bronte.
Haworth, where the Brontes lived, holds a special place in my, (and my children’s), hearts.
We visit the place as often as we can.
Here’s a little haiku I penned after a walk on the Moors with my daughters a couple of years back.
This is the room where, Emily, Anne and Charlotte did most of their writing. And that is the actual sofa in the background that Emily died on aged just 30. (I didn’t pass that information on to my children.)
If you haven’t read Wuthering Heights yet, I urge you to do so. I promise you, it’s like nothing you have ever read before. It’s a complex and staggeringly passionate tale of unrequited love and dastardly deeds, set amidst the bleak and rugged Yorkshire Moors.
And, if you get the chance, watch the recent film adaptation by Andrea Arnold. It’s a pretty radical take on the book and one of the best interpretations I’ve seen to date. (See trailer below.)
It’s not just the collective brilliance of the Brontë siblings that I find inspiring, but the whole beautifully barren backdrop of the moors. That, coupled with the picturesque cobbled streets of Haworth itself, makes perfect for a day out.
Haworth
“Top Withens” Emily’s inspiration for Wuthering Heights. (Now a ruin.)
“Top Withens” as it would’ve looked back in Emily’s day.
P.S. It’d be positively churlish of me not to also include this classic by Kate Bush… whose 60th birthday it also is today. Bit of a spooky coincidence, don’t you think?
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