Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 27 – Tarot

Wrap it in a cloth

Keep it in a box

Cleanse it with a crystal quartz

A woman with a lion

Stands as a great force

Ready to take any challenge

Keep her life on course

With a hardworking ethos

She’ll get the job done

With a clear head and vision

It won’t take her long

Pressure to burn out

She wants it all at once

Needs time to be fruitful

Or she’ll feel like a dunce

With the lion in her corner

The right attitude to her goals

She can achieve anything

But must remember to have a hols

Wrap it in a cloth

Keep it in a box

Cleanse it with a crystal quartz

*****

Day 27’s challenge

For Day 27 the prompt is ”we challenge you to pick a card (any card) from this online guide to the tarot, and then to write a poem inspired either by the card or by the images or ideas that are associated with it.”

A few years ago a work colleague gifted me a pack of Tarot cards and gave me a blue cloth to keep them safe. For this challenge, I decided to dig them out.

I then searched online to find out how to do a reading. I found this Basic 3 Card spread, gave it a go and used it as my inspiration for my poem today.

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Ally plus text

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 26 – Senses

Like a rain cloud that cannot be seen

You sense the threat of rain

Like energy in the air

Being sucked away from your being

You put on a brave face

To distract them from the shadows

Every breath is an effort

You feel like you’ve run a marathon

Living is like breaking nails

A tireless journey with no respite

Your desperate for the ending

To cut it short with a knife

Food tastes has no appeal

Like eating cotton wool

The weight on your shoulders

Feels like heavy boulders

Hearing others happy and laugh

You want to drown in a bath

Submerged under the watery bliss

Bubbles tickling your nose like a mother’s kiss

You can’t get out of bed

For the doctor to give you meds

Little pills to numb your feelings

Not really offering any healing

Don’t speak and lock your jaw

To others you slam your inner door

Like a fish in the desert

You don’t belong in this world

There’s something not coded right

Disconnected wires on a motherboard

*****

Day 26’s challenge

For Day 26 the prompt is to write a poem “that includes images that engage all five senses. Try to be as concrete and exact as possible with the “feel” of what the poem invites the reader to see, smell, touch, taste and hear.”

At first, I was excited to write something exploring the senses but when I saw the examples I was blown away and intimidated. This challenge is more technical than I expected and I have just a few hours (or minutes in my bust schedule) to get something written…

Sadly, I am making this entry a day late.  I decided to write about mental health as I think it is tricky concept for those that have not experienced it to understand.  When I was struggling with issues myself, I really got into poetry and I felt it was a way I could express myself more easily.  I decided to be brave last October (for Mental Health Awareness month) and shared a collection of these to Wattpad in a book titled “Inner Demons“.

I promise I am in a much stronger place now.  I hope anyone that is struggling with their own demons can find hope in that, it is a battle but you can win.

Inner Demons
Inner Demons

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Ally plus text

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 25 – Warning

If Ally is your bestie

You will find her loyal to a fault

Even if you’re in the wrong

She will back you in a revolt

Unless that wrong is against her

Then you will find she won’t forget

So, never cross your Ally

Or you will be filled with regret

To keep your Ally happy

She likes lots of food

Don’t feed her anything spicy

It can cause her to explode

She likes real butter

And vinegar on most things

She has a sweet tooth

But prefers savoury things

If she does not get enough sleep

She becomes a grizzly monster

She can be very trusting

Therefore hates all imposters

She’s got a wild imagination

You could lose her to another world

If she doesn’t get time to write

There will be trouble to be told

She doesn’t thrive in direct sunlight

Keep her safe in a shady spot

If she turns red she needs Aloe Vera

You must not let her get too hot

If she gets a headache

It’s best to vacate the house

She will snap at any sound

Even the scurry of a mouse

She can be a little messy

But don’t call her out on that

She excels in other areas

So, Ally will make up for that

Ally is far from perfect

But looks for the silver lining

If you take good care of your Ally

You need not heed this warning

*****

Day 25’s challenge

For Day 25 the prompt is to write a poem “that takes the form of a warning label . . . for yourself! (Mine definitely includes the statement: “Do Not Feed More Than Four Cookies Per Hour.””

Oh, this prompt sounds like fun. My hubby knows that I can be mean if I’m tired, hungry or have a headache. I also love vinegar and I’m very passionate about real food and don’t like impersonators (margarine, quorn and chocolate bars that are really biscuits).

Natalie Anne Collins (@NeoTheArtist)

The images in this article of me were taken by photographer Natalie Anne Collins and retains the copyright. She works in partnership with Neil Anthony Mason. To learn more about their work, click here.

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 24 – Elegy

Sparkling blue, Crystal clear

Pure water sustained us all

Poisoned by chemicals, Choked by plastic

We took nature for granted

What if we thought to change

Questioned what goes down our drain

Cut down on waste and switched to eco

If we start now we could undo

Reduce your waste

Find green alternatives

Bring back our ocean

Of health, vitality and life

*****

Day 24’s challenge

For Day 24 the prompt is “an elegy – a poem typically written in honor or memory of someone dead. But we’d like to challenge you to write an elegy that has a hopefulness to it. Need inspiration? You might look at W.H. Auden’s elegy for Yeats, which ends on a note suggesting that the great poet’s work will live on, inspiring others in years to come. Or perhaps this elegy by Mary Jo Bang, where the sadness is shot through with a sense of forgiveness on both sides.”

It felt strange to write a elegy for someone still here. With Earth Day recently taking place, my impact on the planet is at the forefront of my mind. The images of our seas plastic pollution is very disturbing and that is where I drew my inspiration for today’s poem.

If we carry on as we are then our beautiful oceans will be ruined. There is still time for us to change and turn the situation around. It’s not just for us but also the creatures we share our planet with. Water is vital to all our existence and it is beautiful.

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 23 – Avicii

“My hands are tied but not tight enough

You’re the high that I can’t give up

Oh Lord, here we go”

Like a drug pumping through my veins

Here I am back again

Begging for you to take me there

Although we’re going nowhere

I know you are no good for me

Afterwards only pain will be

For this addiction I will bleed

Here to do the dirty deed

Do to me whatever you will

Make our sinful juices spill

Overdose my senses on you

Hit the spot the way do

Push me over the edge

Being with you is dangerous

Here for you to destroy me

Never will I be free

“My hands are tied but not tight enough

You’re the high that I can’t give up

Oh Lord, here we go”

*****

Day 23’s challenge

For Day 23 the prompt is “And now for today’s (optional) prompt! Kate Greenstreet’s poetry is spare, but gives a very palpable sense of being spoken aloud – it reads like spoken language sounds. In our interview with her, she underscores this, stating that “when you hear it, you write it down.” Today, we challenge you to honor this idea with a poem based in sound. The poem, for example, could incorporate overheard language. Perhaps it could incorporate a song lyric in some way, or language from something often heard spoken aloud (a prayer, a pledge, the Girl Scout motto). Or you could use a regional or local phrase from your hometown that you don’t hear elsewhere, e.g. “that boy won’t amount to a pinch.”

I’ve always loved Avicii’s music and I was sad to hear he had passed this weekend. I hoped the news was a hoax but it is wasn’t. Today’s poem is using the lyrics from one of his songs.

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 22 – Thirteenth hour

Pintrest - Poem April 20.png

Watch your turns and stay on path

Find what is hidden from your eyes

Deeper into the maze you go

Making friends and challenging foes

Nothing is as it seems

You will grow and you will change

The strike is chasing through the maze

Distraction and betrayal will cause delay

With every step it is getting closer

Can you beat the thirteenth hour

*****

Day 22’s challenge

For Day 22 the prompt is “to take one of the following statements of something impossible, and then write a poem in which the impossible thing happens:

The sun can’t rise in the west.

A circle can’t have corners.

Pigs can’t fly.

The clock can’t strike thirteen.

The stars cannot rearrange themselves in the sky.

A mouse can’t eat an elephant.”

As a Fantasy writer, I love making the impossible real.  My first instinct is to go with ‘The clock can’t strike thirteen’ because it makes me think of my favourite film (from the 80s) Labyrinth, with goblins, faeries, mazes and magic.

 

Writing this poem feels like it is about something deeper like the choices we make in life that lead to our final hour and perhaps the thirteenth hour is the end.  Perhaps we are all busy living and trying to avoid it.

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 21 – Unrequited

Who was this handsome man

She saw him in his radiance

What was this strange feeling

He stole her resistance

*****

She was drawn to him

His body was temptation

She had to have him

Without life didn’t bare living

*****

He could not see her

Or return her feelings

He was not capable

No love only rejection

*****

It broke her heart

To be invisible

The sound of pain

Tortured and unbearable

*****

Left a haunting echo

Of a space never to fill

Where the unrequited love

Causes emptiness still

*****

Day 21’s challenge

For Day 21 the prompt is “Brim provides us with several suggestions for generative writing exercises, and we’d like to challenge to today to tackle her third one, which is based in the myth of Narcissus. After reading the myth, try writing a poem that plays with the myth in some way. For example, you could imagine that imagine the water is speaking to you, the narcissus flower. Or you could write a poem in which the narcissus berates the Kardashians for stealing their neurosis. Or a poem that comments on the narcissism of our time, i.e. beauty and body obsession, etc..”

I’ve had a productive day today but away from the PC, leaving little time to put something together for todays prompt.

I think Echo’s story is one many have experienced. I’d bet everyone has wanted someone who doesn’t know they exist and dismisses them without realising the hurt caused. If you’ve not experienced that – lucky you.

The poem reminded me of one I wrote a few years ago titled ”My Universe”. Here it is:

My universe

He’s like reaching for the moon

Out of my league, out of my grasp

He’s become my whole universe

All consuming, lost in a love so vast

I’m floating, swimming, pink sky space

Glittering stars as bright as his eyes

Lost my way with no turning back

I lost control, I’m falling into black

I knew not to venture into the unknown

Stick to safe and what you know

Keep your feet firmly planted in the soil

Or be prepared for all consuming black holes

I don’t like feeling I have no control

Having someone I’d give my all

But now I can’t live without him

I’m lost in space and it’s all consuming

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 20 – Rebel

Get in line

You must comply

Tick a box

On the form

Categories

Sorted lists

The Goverment

Control all of us

*****

Break this mold

Be unique

Create something new

You can think

Free your mind

Ask questions

Be the difference

Be yourself

*****

Day 20’s challenge

For Day 20 the prompt is “Our prompt for the day (optional as always) takes its cue from Notley’s rebelliousness, and asks you to write a poem that involves rebellion in some way. The speaker or subject of the poem could defy a rule or stricture that’s been placed on them, or the poem could begin by obeying a rule and then proceed to break it (for example, a poem that starts out in iambic pentameter, and then breaks into sprawling, unmetered lines). Or if you tend to write funny poems, you could rebel against yourself, and write something serious (or vice versa). Whatever approach you take, your poem hopefully will open a path beyond the standard, hum-drum ruts that every poet sometimes falls into.”

I work in education and one of the most frustrating things about the job is all the burreacracy and paperwork required by the goverment and the restrictions they apply. A hardworking student can’t finish early, a lazy student can’t fail (we fail if they don’t pass on time).

Everyone is tested the same way, despite everyone being unique. I don’t agree exams are right for everyone. Now the government would like to introduce a test to categorise students abilities before they even start their education (4 year olds)!

Can you imagine starting school and being told you are in the group of children predicted not to be capable of much – that sets you up for life. Yet, we know people often excel in different areas and learn in different ways, at different speeds.

Education is just one example of categories used to control and sort people. It’s not always bad but sometimes it’s not necessary and even harmful.

Today’s poem is about how we all are unique and we shouldn’t let anyone tell us who we are based on a box we are put in. Nobody should be compared to someone else. Especially not at the expense of their confidence.

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 19 – Heatwave

The weathers changed

It is so hot

I wasn’t prepared

Now need to shop

I need sun cream

And sun glasses

I need a sun hat

And sun dresses

Out my window

The sun is beaming

Everyone’s happy

People are smiling

*****

Day 19’s challenge

For Day 19 the prompt is “Today we challenge you to write a paragraph that briefly recounts a story, describes the scene outside your window, or even gives directions from your house to the grocery store. Now try erasing words from this paragraph to create a poem or, alternatively, use the words of your paragraph to build a new poem.”

Wow, it has been so hot today. Not sure how I’m going to cope as I get more pregnant but I plan to make the most of this heat wave whilst it’s here because you never know in England what the weather will be tomorrow.

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 18 – Sunshine

I wished for you

When there was snow

Black ice on the roads

When you came

I was at work

A prisoner doing my time

Please stay bright

Sunshine for me

Please still be here

When I am free

*****

Day 18’s challenge

For Day 18 the promt… Makes no sense to me, so I’m ignoring it.

Today has felt long with nothing going quite to plan at work, rushing around at lunch to make the childcare arrangements and the gorgeous sunshine teasing me that I’m stuck indoors.

Did you get to enjoy the sunshine today? I’m hoping it’ll still be here at the weekend so I can make the most of it.