DaDaAwards Nominations 3
'Killing a Spider' by Steven Kenyon
I killed a large spider last night,
it was huge and creepy
twas the sudden reaction
that gave me the impulse to kill
and it gave me such a fright
Now I'm low and feeling sad
did I need to kill?
And leave a young family
without a mum or dad.
Maybe If I caught the spider
and released it out of the window
into the night, allowing it to crawl away
I would not feel so guilty.
But this was not to be.
For now I feel like a murderer
Killing an innocent spider
that meant no harm to me.
Just going about it's business
foraging for food, helping to keep
mites and flies at bay, and unwelcome
insects from entering my room
I'm sorry now for killing you
I do very much regret,
but one day I hope you'll realise
that creeping up on me is very incorrect.
Steve Kenyon
I started writing age 13/14 whilst in care due to the accidental death of my mother. I started writing poems and funny stories to cheer my self up, after a while it became clear not only did my poems make me smile they made others smile to. Its only recently I've had more time to write due to becoming incapacitated in 2001 the result of a vicious assault. Along with my song writing and stories I am righting small films, plays and documentaries.
I've recently been published by United Press Limited, in their Poets Anthology flight of fancy killing a spider. I am performing at several events for the DaDaFest which include shoot to thrill, DaDatastic club night and 'Unleash the Monkey' and I'm also arranging private bookings for personal performances around Cheshire.
You were there
You were there
Back in the hazy days
I recall the aura,
Swimming like fish
In a clear warm sea
It is warmth around me
With colours blurred and flashing
And smiling faces everywhere
Mary Braithwaite
In my 20 s I met a poet whose work stirred me. I longed to write that way. Later in life I made some very dear friends whose care and friendship helped me enormously. I found I could express in poetry the love and care I had found. Later I met Mike who became my husband and our love inspired me to write many more poems and stories.
Anathema
Words of war continue
The message is unchanged
People led by the nose
Their hands and feet in chains
The leaders in religion
Their words of hate prevail
Their cause in the name of God
As deadly as the dwale
Their results are fuming on the streets
Fostered from tender age
A loathing of thy neighbour
A stomach full of rage.
John Ledgerton
John Ledgerton was born in Liverpool at the height of the Blitz. John left school at the tender age of 15. He spent most of his working life in the construction and ship building industry but was forced to retire through ill health at the age of 50. Early retirement was not good for him and this period of his life was marked by his poor health and inactivity. It was during this period of being placed on even more medication for depression that his wife came to the rescue. He turned to the arts; painting and poetry. Because John had learned the hard way about coping with indefinite time on your hands he decided to write a book about his experiences and how the arts, and his wife, bought him out of the retirement melancholy. In writing this book he hopes it will help other retirees to cope with too much time and too little income. His book is in many ways a how to book, containing many of his painting and poetry, but it also has romance, pathos and much more that will surprise you.
CP AND ME
Gliding like a swan just isn't my scene
Waddles like a duck, a little bit mean
Wobbles like a jelly that isn't quite set
Walks like a drunk, not had a drink yet
A body that has a mind of its own
With movements that even the brain disowns
Put it all together and what do you see
A woman who suffers from terrible CP
-
I love my life and what I can do
I dance, write, paint, hey even cook too
Three fantastic children, two boys and a girl
My social and love life is a bit of a whirl
A body with bumps, most in the right place
A smile that apparently lights up my face
Put it all together and what do you see
A lively woman, who happens to have CP
-
People make judgements on what they perceive
A great life with disability, its hard to conceive.
What makes us who we are and live life as we do
The way we treat each other, yes, me and you!
So my body may behave in a different way
And my life is exciting with each passing day
Put it all together and what do you see
A woman that loves herself including her CP
January 2004
Cathy Rafferty
I wrote my first play when I was 7 called 'The Magic Rose' a fairytale it had a beautiful princess, handsome prince and a wicked witch. Some things never change! I still have the handsome prince and wicked witches in my plays but the princesses now have my characteristics my life within them. I have a strong sense of ownership to my written work, my plays and more strongly my poetry which reflects where I have been as a disabled woman, mother and a spotty teenager. My writing also moves me forward into new challenges and exciting possibilities.
