{"id":88,"date":"2018-12-12T12:56:53","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T12:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsite.applesandsnakes.org\/?p=88"},"modified":"2021-04-19T10:37:27","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T10:37:27","slug":"poems-from-spine-2018-erin-bolens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/2018\/12\/12\/poems-from-spine-2018-erin-bolens\/","title":{"rendered":"Poems from SPINE 2018: Erin Bolens"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of SPINE Festival 2018 I led workshops in nine libraries across London with children aged seven to eleven. We explored the themes of \u2018home\u2019 and \u2018belonging\u2019 in these sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n

In each session we looked at what \u2018home\u2019 means, where and when you can feel at home and our sensory responses to the concept. Below is a piece I have put together using individual and collective responses to these prompts in the sessions. All the ideas and suggestions came from the children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Holding Home<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I find home in the space between the wall<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

and my small, warm bed.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I hold it in my hand like a soft kitten<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

but it slips through my fingers like slime.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It is the pillow I lean on and the fleecy pyjamas I relax in.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It is a rusty paradise, a sort of everything.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When I breathe home in I smell<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

dinner on the table,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

socks on the floor,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

an English breakfast, (what is that anyway?)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

dog food and perfume as a sister goes out of the door.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I breathe in the scent of expired juice,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

fruit flavoured tea,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

jerk chicken and rice, cooked just right.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

If you listen carefully you will hear home<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

in the ping on the microwave,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

the dingdong of the doorbell<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

and the blah blah blah of the TV.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

You might hear home in the shower,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

or the crackle of the frying pan,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

in the door opening,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

the door slamming,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

in the shouting, the snoring,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

barking, slurping,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

the clicking and purring.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Home is every shade of yellow<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

but just the lightest of greens.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It the red of mum\u2019s face trying<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

to unlock the door.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It is the blue or every sea.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Home is as smooth as PS4 controller,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

it brushes knots out of my hair,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

it is comfortable, it fits.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It laughs sometimes you know,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

giggles with you, smiles at your jokes.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It cries too, can you hear it?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It is shouting, whispering, welcoming you in.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We also discussed what makes certain things belong in certain places and what makes them \u2018out of place\u2019. We worked together creating belonging poems starting with just one random object and thinking where it would be strange to see it. \u00a0The children then had a go on their own. Their imaginations blew me away! At the end of the sessions they had excellent poems and were encouraged, as a follow up activity, to use them as titles for new stories or poems.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few examples of these poems are below\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

A brick doesn\u2019t belong in space.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A rocket doesn\u2019t belong on my kitchen table.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A spoon doesn\u2019t belong in a sandwich.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Ham doesn\u2019t belong on a whiteboard.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A line doesn\u2019t belong on your head.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Hair doesn\u2019t belong on a cake.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Jam doesn\u2019t belong on a clock.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A hand belongs on a face.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In a glove, in a pocket.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

By Owen<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A handbag doesn\u2019t belong in a toilet.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Water doesn\u2019t belong in books.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Pages don\u2019t belong in a bathroom.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A sink doesn\u2019t belong in a football pitch.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A ball doesn\u2019t belong in a swimming pool.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Swimmers don\u2019t belong in space.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Aliens don\u2019t belong on a pirate ship.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A pirate doesn\u2019t\u2019 belong in a library.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Books don\u2019t belong in a dog\u2019s bed.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A dog belongs in my arms.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

By Elsie<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A fish doesn\u2019t belong in a bag of crisps.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Potatoes don\u2019t belong in the sea.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

An octopus doesn\u2019t belong in a washing machine.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Clothes don\u2019t belong in a chicken pie.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Chicken doesn\u2019t belong in a cemetery.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Dead people don\u2019t belong in my teacher\u2019s house.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Group Poem<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A ps4 doesn\u2019t belong in the road.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A road doesn\u2019t belong in your house.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Your house doesn\u2019t belong in a bed.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A bed doesn\u2019t belong in your hand.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Your hand doesn\u2019t belong down the toilet.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A toilet doesn\u2019t belong in your mouth.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Your mouth doesn\u2019t belong to a prisoner.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Group Poem<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Photo Credit: Suzi Corker Photography<\/span><\/p>\n

[First Published March 2018]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of SPINE Festival 2018 I led workshops in nine libraries across London with children aged seven to eleven. We explored the themes of \u2018home\u2019 and \u2018belonging\u2019 in these sessions. In each session we looked at what \u2018home\u2019 means, where and when you can feel at home and our sensory responses to the concept….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_surecart_dashboard_logo_width":"180px","_surecart_dashboard_show_logo":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_orders":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_invoices":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_subscriptions":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_downloads":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_billing":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_account":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"article_type":[9],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-as","article_type-read"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":49,"label":"A+S"}],"article_type":[{"value":9,"label":"Read"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Erin-Bolens-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"D237","author_link":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/author\/d237\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":49,"name":"A+S","slug":"as","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":49,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":192,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0","cat_ID":49,"category_count":192,"category_description":"","cat_name":"A+S","category_nicename":"as","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/applesandsnakes.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}