Tuesday, 28 February 2012

The Reply: A Letter From Winter to London...


Dear London
Well, I’ve just read your letter and am at a loss as to what to say. I am sorry you feel so strongly. I want you to know you’ve hurt me this time London, really, I don’t understand what I did wrong? I only wanted to blanket you in soft white snow. You said you liked it and that was why you never grit or salt your roads sufficiently.

I understand your needing more from me, I have done all I could. I'm not snow blind, I have noticed that you don’t sigh at a solitary robin, like you used to. I know that you have grown tired of mornings without birdsong. I saw there were buds and I snowed on them the other week. I wasn’t being horrible, I guess I got jealous and I just wanted you to like me again, I wanted you to want me again.

Your letter is strange. As far as I recall, when we met, you said Autumn was an in-betweener, not the real thing, and not as hot as Summer. You said you were still hurting over losing Summer and you said Autumn was your rebound and that we, you and me, we were the real deal. You complained that Autumn was dry and the magic was fading daily. You asked me to help you, to drain and rot away his mulch of leaves and debris, to make the place a little smart and frosty for Christmas, remember? You said your Cathedrals and Palaces were all the better for a little white magic, a little twinkle of icy starlight, a little snow moon love.

As for Moscow – well, right from the beginning I was honest with you - and now you throw it in my face! You know I will always be close with Moscow, she and I go way back. You are being a little petty now and I'm not surprised you bring up Helsinki. And since we are talking about ex’s perhaps you should have a word with Sydney, I hear Sydneys Opera House is a blaze of Summers light right now and so think on that, London, with your Olympics coming so soon too!

Now go London, go to your Spring, Jack the lad, you are a fool London. 
Spring is Pisces! He’ll be a slippery one, sunny one day, rainy the next. You cannot depend on him ever London. Sheepish lamb chop of a lad with the job half done, never truly substantial, he'll never satisfy you.

He’ll be in like a lamb, out like a lion, leaving you flooded. London don’t get me started on those April showers of his, I just hope you use protection. I also hope you can stand the stench of eggs and new-borns, I hope you can stand the mess of brown petals, the sticky hangover of bright new mornings, the yellow and pink clashing everywhere, fair weather flowers that barely last. I warn you, Spring will lie you down in a wash of bluebells and snowdrops and sing to you of daffodilly this and dilly dally that and change you London, Spring is a crocus chancer, no staying power.

But I will always be your friend. I love you London. Indeed we had some great times, and once this has all settled down a little, lets talk, I really do believe we will be friends, very close friends again, one day.

Yours Sincerely
Winter.



© Salena Godden. 2012
Written and performed at the anti-valentines ‘Jilted John’ event at The Betsey Trotwood.






WWW.REBOOT.FM
HEAVENLY NICARAGUA!

DWANG: A HANDBOUND, HARDCOVER JOURNAL OF NEW POETRY, PROSE & GRAPHICS

Dwang 1 & 2 & 3 bundle

Special offer on the last few numbered copies of each issue
Issue 1 dedicated to US poet William Wantling (1933-74)
Issues 2 & 3 are signed by special section contributors Kelsie T. Harder and Fred Voss

Featuring original work by:
RICHARD LONG, WILL SELF, NTOZAKE SHANGE, R. CRUMB, BILLY CHILDISH, JAMES KELMANalso WM. WANTLING, DOUGLAS BLAZEK, DAN FANTE, PETER FINCH, EDWARD LUCIE-SMITH,
TREVOR REEVES, JENNI FAGAN, JOSEPH RIDGWELL, TIM WELLS, SALENA GODDEN, ROB PLATH,
ADRIAN MANNING, K.M. DERSLEY, GERALD NICOSIA, IDRIS CAFFREY, ADELLE STRIPE,
BEN MYERS, DILEEP BAGNALL, many others
£100 for all three issues. Includes postage & packing anywhere in the world!
A final chance to own these COLLECTABLE, HANDBOUND LIMITED EDITION BOOK PERIODICALS
Click on the dedicated Paypal button to take advantage:  http://www.eatmytangerine.com/dwang.html

A Letter To Winter From London / podcast.poetry.performance.post



Photo taken by Geraint Davies, see the rest of his work here: /http://www.geraintdavies.co.uk/


Dear Winter

There is no easy way to say this but to come right out with it - We are finished. I will be honest there is another, I confess I have been flirting with Spring and this new dalliance has been in my thoughts for some time now.

Now, this cannot come as a surprise Winter. You must have noticed a change in me, you have seen me blush at hints of buds, the nose of crocus poking through my frosted mud banks.

Winter, its not that we didn’t have some great times. And when you snowed! Winter, you made me feel so Dickensian – And I mean that in the nicest way – Everyone says that, Oh London, look at you, you are so Dickensian. But I have never wanted anything or anyone more than Spring. The longing for this embrace distracts me day and night. How happy I will be in the arms of Spring.

Oh Winter you understand don’t you, we couldn’t carry on like this? We couldn’t keep this up, I know you want more, you take over me, you keep my ponds frozen and ice up my pipes. We made sense once, but not now.

With Spring I feel I will be able to be myself again, my architecture will shine with a new golden light, my lakes and rivers will shimmer and mirror the swans, all the birds will come home to roost. I will be whole and green again. I need to feel young and new again, you do understand don’t you, Winter? I need to move on.

I wouldn’t be surprised if you go running back to that Moscow. I’m sorry but she is so brassy with her Red Square littered with furry muff and sable coats. Please don’t try to deny it Winter, I know you better than you know yourself. I know how you feel about Helsinki too.

Looking back I cannot believe I left Autumn for you. I watched you ruin the mushroom mulch and harden my earth. I won’t have it, I want my ground to be soft and yielding, I want greenery and finery not this starkness. Winter  - You are so minimalist! Frigid!

The fact is that lately I have been thinking about the lambs and the bunnies, Winter, yes I know we talked about this, and I said, I didn’t want lambs and bunnies, but I do now, oh I sorely do, I feel its my time. So please leave my key and go quietly. After you have read this I will decorate my Heath with daffodils, my parks with snowdrops and my canals with ducklings and trees in blossom of pink.

Kindest Regards,

London, England.
 
© Salena Godden. 2012
Original piece written for Tim Wells ‘Jilted John’ at The Betsey Trotwood 
Radio edit performed on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live February 25th 2012
You can hear 'A Letter To Winter...' on the BBC iPlayer link:  
Coming Up & Out There:
I just got back from Berlin and had the most wonderful time with
'NOW HEAR THIS' Berlins hip bookish music show
hosted and created by Paula Varjack
radio gig with live studio audience in the HBC Oyster Bar in Berlin
hear these pictures on a podcast here: www.reboot.fm
www.reboot.fm
 
www.reboot.fm
 
www.reboot.fm
online: my poem for Gil Scott Heron on Bookslam podcast: www.bookslam.com

FIRST STORY & INTELLIGENCE SQUARED
Wednesday February 29th: The Tabernacle, West London 7pm
  
Brilliant First Story & Intelligence Squared event, featuring stories from 
Mark Haddon, William Fiennes, Sam West, 
Lemn Sissay & Salena Godden 
I'm working with students on my 3rd anthology for First Story
you can check out the books we make here on Amazon:  






If you’re headed to Granada, Nicaragua, you’ll want to splurge on a tranquil escape to Jicaro Island Ecolodge, a private island retreat in Las Isletas....
For all your bookish needs check the BCB Website: www.thebookclubboutique.com  
click join the mailing list click

Out Now: SIXTY-SIX Books: http://oberonbooks.com/66-books.html 
Out Now: RACONTEUR: http://www.parthianbooks.com
 
   Out Now 'UNDER THE PIER' published by Nasty Little Press: www.nastylittlepress.org
Also check out these sites for more published work by Salena Godden:  
www.tellermagazine.com   / www.eatmytangerine.com
February 2012 - Poet in residence at www.jicarolodge.com

Monday, 13 February 2012

Poem: WHEN I HEARD THE MAN (for Gil Scott Heron & Martin Luther King)





When I Heard The Man
For Gil Scott Heron & Martin Luther King

When I heard the man

I fell into sky blue

of lyrics that were true

with courage and faith

and that wicked wolf

lit the pathway of doubt

the world went too fast

but one day won’t last

long enough to recall

its about how you get up

and not how you fall

its how we get up

and not how we fall.



When I heard the man

I fell into sky blue

too true, my mind wandered back

across fields of then-then

rivers of thereafter

now where do you go?

and what can you do?

believe in yourself, but

you sometimes forget

hold on, woah, its not your turn yet

and what made you so sure

you’d get a turn fair and square?

stick with the love

hates too great a burden to bear

stick with the love

hates too great, a burden to bear

know where are you going

stop standing there

your running and running

but you 'aint going nowhere

its like wetting the whistle

but making no tune

its Winter In America

and Whiteys On The Moon.



And I once met the man

and I shook Gil's hand

fell into sky blue

his smile was true

and that wicked wolf

knew the way through them woods

through the bracken and twists

the dark and The Bottle

Storm Music flowed from his wrists

whilst the wind blew the hands

of the clocks round too fast

a whole day won’t last

so don’t cling onto your beer

we have nothing to fear

but a fear of the fear

nothing to fear

but fear itself, dear



When I heard the man

I fell into a truth

a lie cannot live

not a lie in a word

a riot is the language

of the unheard

a riot 

is the language 

of the unheard

stealing Nike trainers

and more angers stirred

faith is taking the first step

when you don’t see the whole staircase

got some justice for Lawrence

and next Smileys case?



I heard Pieces Of A Man

I fell into the blue

and that wicked wolf

left the door ajar

moonlight seeped through

onto a world spinning too fast

but a whole day don’t last

long enough to pick up old taxes

big trees and small axes

the forest washes bright

fall into the blue

and we fall into the light.



In the end we remember

not the words of our enemies

but the silence of friends

occupy your space

do your being, be your action

live love. love life. alive to the end.

Lady Day And John Coltrane

bloody London pours with bloody London rain

'aint nothing but a B Movie and the weathers awry

I’m gonna take me a piece of sunshine and paint it all over my sky.




© Salena Godden. 2012

Written and performed for Book Slam, The Clapham Grand, January 19th 2012


DJ Gilles Peterson

Kate Tempest

Clapham Grand

Salena Godden

Ray Shell

Amnesia Express: Lisa Lore, Kate Tempest, Salena Godden
Round of Applause! Group shot & line-up including poets Ben Mellor, Kate Tempest, Greg B, DJ Gilles Peterson, publisher Jamie Byng, Salena Godden, Gil Scott Heron Bandmates: Kim Jordan, Shebka, Harrmonika & friends  

Round of Applause! Group shot & line-up including poets Ben Mellor, Kate Tempest, Greg B, DJ Gilles Peterson, publisher Jamie Byng, Salena Godden, Gil Scott Heron Bandmates: Kim Jordan, Shebka, Harrmonika & friends   






TWITTER: RT: @bookslam: Our 42nd podcast is now posted... 
@katetempest @salenagodden and more... 100K downloads and counting... http://t.co/dBIMX0z0