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Poem: A Human

Writing

A Human

A subatomic bunch of laughter and woes,

From our nose down to our toes,

We either grimace or glow.

Why are we here on this planet of blue sea and earth?

Does it own us?

Or do we own the world?

Brief is the time we get to embrace it.

You blink your eye,

and it’s gone, you’ve missed it.

Decades of memories have gone, they’ve passed.

All that’s now left,

a subatomic mass within grass.

 

How morbid am I?! Although it’s true, life is so precious because it’s so short. So as Horace so eloquently put it ‘carpe diem’!

 

 

Pig Out

Writing

My stomach rumbles with a 10 on the Richter scale, and that’s after I’ve eaten breakfast. So can you imagine my woes when the clock is fast approaching that heaven sent 1pm mark on the office clock?

Feasting time is well and truly upon us, but wait, what to have I hear you ask? Shall I go boring with the trusty club sandwich, stink the place out with my salmon fillet and veg combo from last night or just drown myself in glasses of tap water until the grumbles in my stomach becomes underwater fart noises?

That’s right, you guessed it. I’m famished so choose to have a glass of water. And why’s that? It’s because I can’t goddamn decide on what to eat! Oh but you’re hungry, you’ll eat anything! No. I. Shant.

I’m a fussy eater when it comes to lunchtimes only. I blame the parents, see, I use to be the kid who’d have the slimy ham sandwich while the rest of the sprogs got hot school meals. Ingrained in me from a young age that lunch time dining was the equivalent of chewing shards of glass, I hope you can begin to feel my pain.

No I’m not a kid nomore, mum doesn’t make me below average pack lunch anymore (thank f*ck) but then again neither do I. My idea of cooking is throwing everything into a wok and praying that I don’t get food poisoning. It must be in the genes, any wannabee pursuitors out there, fyi,  I can’t cook. So that’s probably a deal breaker. So I can’t cook, I’ve accepted this, but not without a fight. There was a while where I would cross unchartered territory and stick my nose in a book of student basic recipes or troll cooking sites online. The only problem was, I couldn’t afford an ingredients list the length of my arm for their version of posh beans on toast! But even when the recipe was pretty simple, I always managed to f*ck it up.

Take for example a bulgur wheat salad. Sounds healthy, it’s slightly more exotic than just tomatoes and an iceberg lettuce so I thought here goes, I’ll give it a try. Verdict: bulgur wheat – it’s an ugly name with an even uglier taste. If you ever wanna try cardboard without trying cardboard force a spoonful of vulgar wheat down your guzzler. It doesn’t help the fact that I’m not a fan of dressings, they make everything soggy, so no wonder I almost had the coroner saying ‘death by suffocation’.

If it’s not the recipe at hand which I have a problem stomaching it’s the monotony. Yes, yes, routine is good in certain areas of life but if you give me chicken soup for a third day in a row it’s going round you. I’m just a nightmare when it comes to lunches! Still to this day, I wonder what the solution would be, why can’t I just be normal and eat a jacket potato like everyone else?

These are the questions that keep me up at night.

5 Creatively Inspiring Places

Writing

That dreaded moment has arrived, you’ve hit a mental block, creative juices have well and truly ceased to flow. You are however, now salivating about what you’re going to have for tea and not what your next big project will be. Oh dear, what should you do ( I can’t answer that) and where should you go to get that slap in the face to get focused again (I’ll give this one a go):

  1. Your Bedroom

Go here for a good cry into the pillow, or scream…..and punch. Not inciting violence of any kind, but we all have our moments of mini-meltdowns, there’s no shame in letting it all out! You’ll clear your mind and find that you can probably re-focus alot faster after doing so.

  1. Parks

The leafy kind over the concrete jungle kind if possible. Sometimes it’s this complete change of scenery which helps clear your mind and lifts your mood. Even if the weather is sh*te, sometimes sitting with your thoughts in the rain  can be refreshing (and other times slightly creepy to the passerby).

  1. Museums

Perhaps it’s not a clear head that you need, but an influx of inspiration! And no better place than a building full of pottery, paintings and plasticine.

  1. A church

Pray to God to grant you some creative miracles! Just kidding, churches are some of the most architecturally fascinating buildings, rich in history and aesthetically decadent, this makes for one heavenly place of inspiration. Likewise can be said for buildings such as old banks, hospitals and schools.

  1. A cafe

People watching (in the non-stalkerish way) can be really fascinating, how we move, our body language between eachother, are daily activities can all be platforms to build on  creative expression e.g. dance, paintings and documentaries. Perhaps all you need to do to pick up the pace of generating ideas is to actually take a step back and slow down. Take in the world around you.

 

I hope these ideas are helpful, if not, sorry, I tried. We all take mental blocks, we’re human. Just don’t take them that often (if possible). Now what are you waiting for? Start punching your pillow (joke)!

 

**Please note this article is intended solely for ERIC Mag, and I will link to the article on their site if/when it becomes live.

Poem: Sensation

Writing

Smell the rain,

Smell the rain, don’t see it

The dampened tarmac aroma intensifies as cars go flying by like drive bys at midnight

Feel the heat of the rays on your skin,

Hairs on your neck rise like budding blossoms in spring

Hear the drops of tears hit the leaves, leaves crushed by commuters, the buyers and thieves

Don’t see……….feel

 

When your eyes sleep, other senses awaken

Do not be mistaken, the alternative senses must not be forsaken

When I ask you what do you see, please don’t just say trees

Say the rustles of leaves in the breeze or the sticky sap on your knees

Tell me that you will see more than you thought you were meant to see.

Too many people let life pass them by, avoid eye contact with strangers, avoid our environment’s hidden surprises.

To only stop for a moment and take in the world around us

would be a pleasant realisation that life has finally found us.

 

**We can sometimes move too fast through life, become lost in the chaos. I feel that it is important to take a step back at times to reflect and truly take in your surroundings.