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The Poems

I have always enjoyed playing around with words and ideas, trying to tell a story within the confines of rhyming verse.

There is no fixed theme but hopefully they will make you think, smile, feel nostalgic, maybe even cry, whatever.

 

Click on the below blog posts to read the poems and watch me recite them. I hope you enjoy them and if you feel suitably inclined please make a donation to the chosen charity.

Poems From A Shoebox

Covid has a lot to answer for, disrupting our lives in ways that were virtually unimaginable only three short years ago. One consequence for me during the first lockdown was the unearthing of poems and bits of verse dating back to the early 90’s which had been stashed away in an old shoe box. I have always enjoyed playing around with words and ideas, trying to tell a story within the confines of rhyming verse.

 

However it has always been for personal consumption, bar a few amusing poems and limericks made up for special occasions like weddings or for the running clubs annual dinner. For me, dyslexia has been a lifelong hindrance; a crusher of confidence, but conversely it has also acted as a challenge to prove to myself that I can write in an interesting way and that readers can derive enjoyment or insight from my efforts.


So when I delved into that shoe box and began messing around with the ideas there, I rediscovered the pleasure of being creative. I even went so far as to try out some of the poems on my good friend and published poet/ writer Philip Orr and was more than pleasantly surprised by his favorable reaction and encouragement. He kept prompting me to send more and more poems, motivating me to focus on them and see what I could produce, using ideas from the box, but also new material.

 

In due course Philip suggested that I publish a booklet of poems, an idea I found very amusing considering my abysmal English Language skills from school days, but at the same time I was chuffed that somebody was giving me a vote of confidence and recognition of my improved use of language over the span of a lifetime.

Jim reciting poems to friends at a poetry event

The idea of a booklet was very interesting but it got me to thinking about how I could best use the poems to raise some money for charity. The notion of releasing a poem every month or so came to mind, with a different charity supported by each poem.  I spoke to my friend Ian Gibson and he agreed to film them and so the project got under way. Another friend Kerry Hall put this website together and advised me how to get the poems out to a wider audience.

 

Once each poem has been released, its text will be added to the website along with some notes about how it came about plus any other interesting facts. The Just Giving link for each poem will also be available for those who wish to make a donation.


The poems are all in rhyming verse and cover a variety of subjects. My father loved rhyming verse and could recite various famous poems so I guess it is in my blood. There is no fixed theme but hopefully they will make you think, smile, feel nostalgic, maybe even cry, whatever. In an odd sort of way this is a marathon challenge, a common way of raising funds, but in this case the marathon has already been run as the long slog of creating the poems is complete and additionally you get to join in as the weeks unfurl.

 

I may not be running, cold water swimming, shaving my head etc, but I do hope that if you have enjoyed the poem you will make a donation to the associated charity by the Just Giving link. Additionally if you know anybody else who might enjoy them please forward the links as my social media footprint is rather small!! 

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