09/10/2014 Poetry Dave Cryer 2 http://www.davecryer.co.uk

[WP Central]

Touchstones

I remember a stone.
It was the size of a small hand
And it rolled down into the sea,
Beating the larger stone.

I remember a plant.
It was a strange thing,
Like a creature with a face -
It begged to be spoken to.

I remember a bench
Where the three of us sat down
And unpacked our lunch
On that cloudy, rainless day.

Writing tips from Dave – follow the rules or break the rules – you’ll have a poem either way:

• This opener is written in free verse, so you don’t have to worry too much about the line length or rhythm and rhyme
• What I’ve suggested in the opener is ordinary objects are touchstones for memories. The objects in the poem so far are drawn from nature or the outside and it is a mystery at the moment who the three people are. You could follow the repetition of ‘I remember …’, introduce more natural or ordinary objects and perhaps keep the mystery going of who the three people are. Have 
  fun!

[Charlotte de Gruchy]

I remember a bench
Where the three of us sat down
And unpacked our lunch
On that cloudy, rainless day.

I remember a mountain
Standing in the wind
As if an ant was pushing him
And the eagle flew past

I remember a leopard.
Sneaking up and pouncing on its prey
Showing no mercy
One option only... to run.

I remember something that does not exist
something only I can think
Up there far away
In a land of peace

I remember two savage beasts
Clashing together like those two stones

Merlin and Aidan, International School of Cape Town

[Charlotte de Gruchy]

I remember the splash of the sea

The salty air and the roaring waves against the cliff

Crashing endlessly

Khelan and Josh, ISCT

[Nicola Gowing]

I remember the glistening snow,

Falling gently to the ground,

Like autumn leaves,

Both crunching between my boots.

 

I remember the sunlight,

Beaming through the waving trees,

Like a joyous fellow with a beaming smile

 Painted upon his face.

 

I remember the freshly mowed grass,

The natural aroma lingering through my senses,

Like every breath I take,

The summer takes a step closer.

 

I remember the robins whistling their tune,

Their rounded red bellies,

Like the glossy red apples on the apple tree-

Falling into the masses of cherry blossom.

 

I remember the tulips,

Their lilac petals kissing the wind as it flurries past them,

Like a young man who kisses his true love,

 Passionately in harmony.

Phoebe Harvey, Keeley Roe and Dulcie Read- 

Great Yarmouth High School

England

[Debbie Baird]

I remember the sky,
It's subtle blue a WONDER to behold,
the cloud-laced threat of endless rain.

I remember those clouds,
Not fluffy, but sharp and cruel,
grey, black, more gray and gray.

But I remember those eyes,
A blue not pool-like,
nor a well of sapphire,
but eyes to drown in, realized too late.

Robert and Tai (kinda), West Kirby Residential School. West Kirby, West England, Western Europe, Western Hemisphere.

[Paula ward]

I remember the rain,

Tumbling rapidly downwards,

Like bullets pounding the earth,

The familiar smell lingering in the air.

 

I remember the autumn landscape,

A bed of sunset orange leaves

Lay at the foot of an exposed tree,

It’s gnarled branches reaching to the sapphire sky.

 

I remember the laughter,

The three of us exchanging a joke,

As we unpacked our lunch,

On that cloudy, quiet day.

 

Now all that’s left of these memories,

Is that stone, plant and bench,

Mountain, sea and snow,

The robin perched on the tree,

And the empty feeling of loss.

Juliette and Phoebe, Robert May's School