Feathers shimmied
like a melting rainbow
on a day
that couldn’t decide
if it wanted
to be remembered.
© Carl Burkitt 2021
The birds on the balcony that found Tik Tok fame
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Author Archives: carltellstales
#NaPoWriMo Writing Exercise 28: WRITE ALL ABOUT IT
Game 1: Grab a newspaper or magazine, or head to a news site online.
Game 2: Find a headline that pulls you in for whatever reason. Don’t read the article.
Game 3: Write a poem that fits the headline.
Here it comes
Look! There’s grey and
a tiny bit of yellow and
grey and a bit of white
and lots and lots of grey
and some pink and grey
and necks and wings
and grey and are they
bald heads I can’t tell
because there is just
so much grey
but
here comes
the rainbow
to shake us
all up.
© Carl Burkitt 2021
#NaPoWriMo Writing Exercise 27: KID AMONG THE PIGEONS
Game 1: Imagine a toddler running into a bunch of pigeons.
Game 2: You are the toddler. Write for 4 minutes about the experience.
Game 3: You are the bunch of pigeons. Write for 4 minutes about the experience.
Game 4: Stick the two poems together with a ‘but’, ‘and’, ‘however’, linking word of your choosing. OR, create a poem from alternate lines from each perspective.
Drafts
I’m going to fold you into a pretzel
after skipping down a ramp to Black Dog.
I’m going to flick your head wearing black jeans
and no t-shirt and black elbow pads.
I’m going to bop you on the bum.
I’m going to evaporate your eyes.
I’m going to peel your back skin off.
I’m going to post you to your past.
I’m going to count your ribs with your lies.
I’m going to strangle your hobbies.
I’m going to try.
© Carl Burkitt 2021
#NaPoWriMo Writing Exercise 26: YOU LISTEN TO ME
Game 1: You are a wrestler. Take a minute or two to come up with your name, what entrance music you come down to and what outfit you wear.
Game 2: Spend 8 minutes writing the speech you will yell down the camera to your opponent. Try to get the name, music and outfit into the poem somehow.
There will be
a stack of unread books smiling patiently,
pink lady apples dropping seeds
to sprout toffee apple trees,
double-glazed eyeballs,
dust that whispers Thanks for the ride,
ears that absorb pain
and do not know the word advice.
© Carl Burkitt 2021
#NaPoWriMo Writing Exercise 25: MANIFESTO FOR BLORB
Game 1: Think of the name of a new planet and take a minute or two to jot down a few descriptions of what the place looks like.
Game 2: You have been declared president! Write your manifesto for the new planet’s future.
I’d give anything
for a mint flavoured pond,
37 degree palms
gently around my neck,
a red spatula to talk to,
silver beads leading
to a disc-shaped protector of fun,
twisty wrists
sending my beak below the tide,
skin untouched by unhelpful comments.
© Carl Burkitt 2021
#NaPoWriMo Writing Exercise 24: RUB-A-DUB-DUB
Game 1: You are a rubber duck.
Game 2: You are a rubber duck that is no longer used.
Game 3: Write a poem about your old life.
Carl tells tales 