Tina MacNaughton shares with us a few of her poems, encouraging us to look a little deeper at our individual and collective experiences.
Tina writes regularly for the community in Wokingham, Today and The Portsmouth Evening News in an attempt to spread the enjoyment and therapeutic benefits of rhyme and rhythm of our rich and beautiful language.
Silvergrey
I like to think
my life is not Golden
but mainly Silver
sprinkled with
occasional stardust
and gold and gems
that sparkle,
excite and
lift me
above the swathes
of greyness
that sometimes
threaten to suffocate
and drown
my soul
until they pass,
as they always do.
I know I need
both Golden
and Greyness
to appreciate
the mainly
Silver times.
I want to be too much!
You say I’m too much?
why should I dumb down
calm down, quieten down
I want to be a harpy,
harlot, witch, scarlet woman
gossip, drama queen
loud, proud, out there
I want to shout,
laugh raucously,
giggle, cry
express myself with joy,
passion, sadness and honesty
I want to get excited
create some drama
I want to be more, not less
louder, not quieter
larger, not smaller
I want to fill my space.
You think I’m too much?
well maybe you’re insufficient,
lacking, too small,
not enough.
I don’t want lacklustre, withdrawn
withheld, self-contained.
I want to make a noise
create some colour
make an entrance
don’t want vanilla
don’t want anodyne
don’t want neutral
I want more of me.
Tina Cathleen MacNaughton
From On the Shoulders of Lions, (The Choir Press)
True
we’ll sit up all night
share each other’s stories
you’ll tell me yours
I’ll tell you mine
we’ll talk through memories
past hurts, comforts, cares
beginnings and endings
we’ll feel close as we share
we’ll mull over details
pick apart every line
and then when it’s over
we’ll think back to that time
tiny inconsistencies
will worry and fret
that’s when we’ll realise
though our stories were true
there’s always a subtext
between Me and You.
Tina Cathleen MacNaughton
End of Oct 2020
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