Women in my Poetry
Hi there,
The new blog on Write Out Loud gave me an idea on writing or at least explaining my poetry, or the genesis behind some of it. I don't believe I have sufficiently developed enough as a writer to have my own style or choice of forms yet, but there are definitely things that spur me to write and perform poetry and I thought it would be a good idea to discuss a few of them.
I know the title of this blog is 'Women in my Poetry', but relax my friends, there is nothing overly sexual in what I am about to relate. Women have been a major influence in my life and have inspire many poems including This is something I like to do, "Release Yourself", about an instance of domestic violence I witnessed.
At weekends I work in an East London comedy club/bar, and the poem was inspired by something I witnessed there. Being East London, the place can be very rough sometimes - the wrong word or look can easy set off a violent incident. What happened took place as the club was closing up and me and the rest of the staff were closing up the downstairs bar. Through the glass doors to the club we could see outside what was going on. I was wiping the bar and I heard signs of a scuffle and screams of concern from my fellow staff members.
I turned round and saw a blonde girl lying on the ground. She was spread forward on her front, arms by her sides and though I couldn't see her face she looked nearly unconscious. Standing behind her was this huge dreadlocked monster of a man and he started stamping on her head. My supervisor and the girls friends rushed to her aid and got this guy away from her. We brought the girl inside and tended her injuries. I brought her over an ice bucket for her in case she needed to throw up.
I'll admit to a double-attitude in these kinds of situations in that a fight or an incident always breaks up the tedium of work and everybody, staff and customers, are curious to see what is going on (even though we should know better) while at the same time keeping out of the way to avoid getting hurt ourselves. My managers don't take this attitude (closing early means lost revenue) but I'm afraid I do at times and I'm aware I'm not the only one. It is mainly looking on, however, in incomprehension as much as mad excitement. Most of these incidents arise out of pettiness or trivialities inflamed by a hot atmosphere of dance, music and drink. Even so, I fail to see sometimes, as do some of my friends, why people can't just go out, have a drink and just enjoy themselves without any of this kind of nonsense. Alas, people will be people, and have issues and problems that occasionally erupt in violent situations.
All the same, what we had witnessed that night was completely appalling. All the time we were tending to this girl, my managers and her friends kept reassuring her "We're going to get the police, he's going to go down, we're going to get him". I gave her the bucket to be sick in and then went back to my work. I really felt for the girl and my blood boiled at what that thug had done to her, yet there was nothing else I could do. Eventually she got better and she left with her friends.
About a week or so after this had happened, I asked my supervisor about the girl - did she press charges against her boyfriend? No, I was told, she went back to him. What?! I couldn't believe my ears. This wasn't just some casual slap in the face, that was a full-on beating he dished out - and she went back to him!?
Now I am no expert on relationships and have had, I will admit, very little experience in this area. But I grew up among many strong women (my mother, my mentor and my aunts being among them) who would not tolerate that kind of treatment and could put paid to their men's violent impulses with a single withering glance. I didn't know the girl's situation but nevertheless her decision to go back to this guy mystified me, and it was out of this that I wrote the poem.
In stark contrast, another piece I wrote "The White Lady" was very much about strong women and their capacity for exacting vengeance.
Here is the piece:
The White Lady
Cold blue eyes
Blood red lips
And skin as pale as moonlight
Tis's she the White Lady
She is a demon borne of guilty deeds
And returns to haunt the doer of them
She is carnality, rage and scorn
And with teeth sharpened with vengeful wrath
She sucks the dark blood from villainy's veins
Til it's dark heart beats no more
If you prey on the weak and vulnerable
If you take what is not yours
The White Lady will rise
To take revenge!
This was based on three images that struck a chord with me - the actual name "White Lady" comes from a statue on the coast of Northern Ireland round the corner from the village of Cairnlough. The statue is said to be based on the image of an ancient Victorian Lady. Anyway, I liked the name and linked it in with another image.
When I was 14 I stayed up one night at my aunt's to watch the film "Bram Stoker's Dracula". I thought the flick was scary but one scene stood out which kept me awake for months afterwards. It was the scene where Anthony Hopkins (as Van Helsing) and his friends confront a vampirised Sadie Frost in a crypt. The image of her dressed in a creepy silver burial gown, with a white face and blood dripping from her fangs I found truly frightening. Indeed, Dracula author Bram Stoker had written the character Frost plays (Lucy Westenra, who is vampirised by Dracula) intending to create the idea of what men fear most about female sexuality.
In fact it reminded me of the film "Ghostbusters" (1984), where an Everyman quartet of scientists take on spooks in uptown New York - two of whom are women dressed in white. The first is near the beginning of the movie, as the 'Busters confront a spook that has 'scared the socks off some poor librarian'. At first the ghost appears to be a demure old lady who is quietly reading a book, but when the group get too close to her, she turns into a snarling demonic fury that sees them fleeing from the library. The second time is atop Spook Central, an apartment building that provides a portal for a demonic entity named Gozer to destroy the Earth. The Ghostbusters confront Gozer at the temple at the top of the building. One of them, Stantz, is nominated to approach Gozer, who appears out of the temple as a silent athletic young woman. Stantz identifies himself to the demon and orders it to leave. Now look what happens:
Gozer: Are you a god?
Stantz:(nervously) No...
Gozer: Then (raises her arms) DIE!!!! (shoots lightning from her fingertips that nearly sends the Busters over the edge of the building)
Truly the stuff of nightmares. These fantastic images have stayed with me for a while so I reimagined the White Lady as an angel of vengeance - rather like a female version of Batman, dressed in white, preying on wrongdoers. The thing with women dressed in white is that they have a motif of appearing as angels or agents of goodness or innocence. I thought it would be a good idea to try and reclaim that to create a memorable image. I hope it worked.
I recognise that to some this might be simple and extreme way of depicting the opposite sex as either innocent victims or terrifying demonic entities. This last poem is a little more balanced, being based on a good friend of mine who has been really supportive of my time here in London. I thought it would be a good way to close out this blog.
FRANKIE
My Frankie is a lovely understanding loyal friend
She'll sort out all your problems, stand by you to the end
If you make her angry, for cover you must dive
For Frankie's fiery temper can roast a man alive
My Frankie doesn't suffer fools, she's wise and very strong
Takes no crap from anyone, she's right and rarely wrong
She can't stand insincerity, despises false affection
For Frankie always likes to make a genuine connection
My Frankie's always having fun, she really is a goer
Smiling laughing all the time, I'm very glad to know her
That's it from me, folks. Til next time.
Alain
The new blog on Write Out Loud gave me an idea on writing or at least explaining my poetry, or the genesis behind some of it. I don't believe I have sufficiently developed enough as a writer to have my own style or choice of forms yet, but there are definitely things that spur me to write and perform poetry and I thought it would be a good idea to discuss a few of them.
I know the title of this blog is 'Women in my Poetry', but relax my friends, there is nothing overly sexual in what I am about to relate. Women have been a major influence in my life and have inspire many poems including This is something I like to do, "Release Yourself", about an instance of domestic violence I witnessed.
At weekends I work in an East London comedy club/bar, and the poem was inspired by something I witnessed there. Being East London, the place can be very rough sometimes - the wrong word or look can easy set off a violent incident. What happened took place as the club was closing up and me and the rest of the staff were closing up the downstairs bar. Through the glass doors to the club we could see outside what was going on. I was wiping the bar and I heard signs of a scuffle and screams of concern from my fellow staff members.
I turned round and saw a blonde girl lying on the ground. She was spread forward on her front, arms by her sides and though I couldn't see her face she looked nearly unconscious. Standing behind her was this huge dreadlocked monster of a man and he started stamping on her head. My supervisor and the girls friends rushed to her aid and got this guy away from her. We brought the girl inside and tended her injuries. I brought her over an ice bucket for her in case she needed to throw up.
I'll admit to a double-attitude in these kinds of situations in that a fight or an incident always breaks up the tedium of work and everybody, staff and customers, are curious to see what is going on (even though we should know better) while at the same time keeping out of the way to avoid getting hurt ourselves. My managers don't take this attitude (closing early means lost revenue) but I'm afraid I do at times and I'm aware I'm not the only one. It is mainly looking on, however, in incomprehension as much as mad excitement. Most of these incidents arise out of pettiness or trivialities inflamed by a hot atmosphere of dance, music and drink. Even so, I fail to see sometimes, as do some of my friends, why people can't just go out, have a drink and just enjoy themselves without any of this kind of nonsense. Alas, people will be people, and have issues and problems that occasionally erupt in violent situations.
All the same, what we had witnessed that night was completely appalling. All the time we were tending to this girl, my managers and her friends kept reassuring her "We're going to get the police, he's going to go down, we're going to get him". I gave her the bucket to be sick in and then went back to my work. I really felt for the girl and my blood boiled at what that thug had done to her, yet there was nothing else I could do. Eventually she got better and she left with her friends.
About a week or so after this had happened, I asked my supervisor about the girl - did she press charges against her boyfriend? No, I was told, she went back to him. What?! I couldn't believe my ears. This wasn't just some casual slap in the face, that was a full-on beating he dished out - and she went back to him!?
Now I am no expert on relationships and have had, I will admit, very little experience in this area. But I grew up among many strong women (my mother, my mentor and my aunts being among them) who would not tolerate that kind of treatment and could put paid to their men's violent impulses with a single withering glance. I didn't know the girl's situation but nevertheless her decision to go back to this guy mystified me, and it was out of this that I wrote the poem.
In stark contrast, another piece I wrote "The White Lady" was very much about strong women and their capacity for exacting vengeance.
Here is the piece:
The White Lady
Cold blue eyes
Blood red lips
And skin as pale as moonlight
Tis's she the White Lady
She is a demon borne of guilty deeds
And returns to haunt the doer of them
She is carnality, rage and scorn
And with teeth sharpened with vengeful wrath
She sucks the dark blood from villainy's veins
Til it's dark heart beats no more
If you prey on the weak and vulnerable
If you take what is not yours
The White Lady will rise
To take revenge!
This was based on three images that struck a chord with me - the actual name "White Lady" comes from a statue on the coast of Northern Ireland round the corner from the village of Cairnlough. The statue is said to be based on the image of an ancient Victorian Lady. Anyway, I liked the name and linked it in with another image.
When I was 14 I stayed up one night at my aunt's to watch the film "Bram Stoker's Dracula". I thought the flick was scary but one scene stood out which kept me awake for months afterwards. It was the scene where Anthony Hopkins (as Van Helsing) and his friends confront a vampirised Sadie Frost in a crypt. The image of her dressed in a creepy silver burial gown, with a white face and blood dripping from her fangs I found truly frightening. Indeed, Dracula author Bram Stoker had written the character Frost plays (Lucy Westenra, who is vampirised by Dracula) intending to create the idea of what men fear most about female sexuality.
In fact it reminded me of the film "Ghostbusters" (1984), where an Everyman quartet of scientists take on spooks in uptown New York - two of whom are women dressed in white. The first is near the beginning of the movie, as the 'Busters confront a spook that has 'scared the socks off some poor librarian'. At first the ghost appears to be a demure old lady who is quietly reading a book, but when the group get too close to her, she turns into a snarling demonic fury that sees them fleeing from the library. The second time is atop Spook Central, an apartment building that provides a portal for a demonic entity named Gozer to destroy the Earth. The Ghostbusters confront Gozer at the temple at the top of the building. One of them, Stantz, is nominated to approach Gozer, who appears out of the temple as a silent athletic young woman. Stantz identifies himself to the demon and orders it to leave. Now look what happens:
Gozer: Are you a god?
Stantz:(nervously) No...
Gozer: Then (raises her arms) DIE!!!! (shoots lightning from her fingertips that nearly sends the Busters over the edge of the building)
Truly the stuff of nightmares. These fantastic images have stayed with me for a while so I reimagined the White Lady as an angel of vengeance - rather like a female version of Batman, dressed in white, preying on wrongdoers. The thing with women dressed in white is that they have a motif of appearing as angels or agents of goodness or innocence. I thought it would be a good idea to try and reclaim that to create a memorable image. I hope it worked.
I recognise that to some this might be simple and extreme way of depicting the opposite sex as either innocent victims or terrifying demonic entities. This last poem is a little more balanced, being based on a good friend of mine who has been really supportive of my time here in London. I thought it would be a good way to close out this blog.
FRANKIE
My Frankie is a lovely understanding loyal friend
She'll sort out all your problems, stand by you to the end
If you make her angry, for cover you must dive
For Frankie's fiery temper can roast a man alive
My Frankie doesn't suffer fools, she's wise and very strong
Takes no crap from anyone, she's right and rarely wrong
She can't stand insincerity, despises false affection
For Frankie always likes to make a genuine connection
My Frankie's always having fun, she really is a goer
Smiling laughing all the time, I'm very glad to know her
That's it from me, folks. Til next time.
Alain
