Simon Lee

Biography

I live in Birmingham, having moved here a few years ago, and have since discovered and embraced slam poetry. I'm not sure whether it's the edginess that comes with competing that I enjoy, or just that I've got a captive audience for at least one of my poems. For this reason, most of my poems are written for slam (being about 3 minutes long when read out). Slam being something of a fickle beast, I've finished anywhere from last to first over the last 5 years or so (I won the Solihull Slam in late 2009, Slam The Atom at Cheltenham Science Festival in 2008, and Leominster in 2007). My day job is being a solicitor, so I like to think of myself as Birmingham's poet law-reate (though it's such a poor pun that I don't suppose anyone else thinks of me that way). Anyway, I've put a couple of my poems in the section below. Please read and (hopefully) enjoy. The first one is reasonably recent and relates to childhood memories; the second one is a few years older and is about a modern-day superhero. The latter is probably not typical in the sense that it follows quite a rigid structure / rhyme pattern (which I usually ignore). Feel free to get in touch if you would like to. Thanks for reading.

Samples

I Had a Dream (Until It Was Cruelly Taken Away From Me In A Vicious Fit Of Spite And Malice) You sat there like a king on your flash red chair, With your suave tracksuits and your stylish hair, Your jewellery and your cigar. You raised the bar of expectation: Anything seemed do-able with you, The way you made young dreams come true For Jim, it was at your whim That children got to live their dream; The way you made their impossible seem Possible brought delight to many. O! How their spirits soared! But did you ever think, Jim, about the kids who got ignored? Like my friend Gary, Who wanted an ice-cream van. One ice-cream van. One ice-cream man. Would that have been so tough? What did you have against him, Jim? Had you had enough of being the dream-maker? Did you think you'd take your turn at being the dream-taker? Gary sat there crying - it was a crying shame And I felt for him, Jim. I felt just the same with your "Oh, oh, oh. Here we go now with a letter from Bobby in Burnley" Jim - I don't live in Burnley - I'm not sure I've ever been; Every time you opened your mouth, you shattered yet another dream 'Cos Gary never got his ice-cream from his ice-cream man And I never got to drive the A-team round in the A-team van. Don't you see what you did, in not giving out what you could? Sir Jimmy Saville, you ruined my childhood. Now, I'm older and I reflect upon you Jim: Dream-maker, dream-taker, And I do think that my chances might have been a bit better If I'd actually bothered to send you in my letter. Wonderpants Boy A figure flies through the autumn air, A light breeze ruffles his auburn hair. He is well muscled, yet lean, And has piercing eyes of green. He owns a classic nose and jaw Like those in Roman times of yore. Men, women, and children alike enjoy The sight of our hero: Wonderpants Boy. If ever the people are in trouble Our hero is there on the double. Today’s disaster is a train That’s overturned in pouring rain. The injured people are crying out When, all of a sudden, there is a shout: “Beleaguered Citizens! Do not fear!“ For I, Wonderpants Boy, am here.” Our hero uses x-ray vision to see And assess things, instantly. Wonderpants Boy sits and concentrates, Then flies up a little: the wreckage grates, Wrenches, strains, and cries And wondrously moves towards the skies. The crowd can scare believe its eyes For … his groin is magnetised. Later, he takes the crowd’s applause And (after a dramatic pause) Brings silence at the wave of a hand. He smiles and takes the microphone stand. “I am a hero, it is true,“ But you can all be one too.“ For the key to my success“ Is buying my pants from M&S.” Wonderpants Boy adopts an heroic stance (and then adjusts his Wonderpants). Taking one final bow He says, “I must be off just now:“ A lady in Bradford is scared of mice.“ And she could do with my fashion advice.” With that, he flies off into the night – What an awe-inspiring sight! If you too want to dance the hero’s dance And be like the boy called “Wonderpants”, I hope that you now see the care With which you should choose your underwear. For a hero’s life, and less worry and stress …… just buy your pants from M&S.

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.