Felixstowe Book Festival

  • ONLINE (Watch Here)
  • About
    • Plan Your Visit
      • Where To Stay
      • Eating And Drinking
      • Venues
    • Previous Festivals
      • Virtual Felixstowe Book Festival 2020
      • Felixstowe Book Festival 2020
      • Felixstowe Book Festival 2019
      • Felixstowe Book Festival 2018
      • Felixstowe Book Festival 2017
      • Felixstowe Book Festival 2016
      • Felixstowe Book Festival 2015
      • Felixstowe Book Festival 2014
      • Felixstowe Book Festival 2013
    • Volunteer
    • Contact
  • Sponsors
  • Fundraising
  • Festival Friends
  • Programme
    • How to view our Live Stream videos
    • Adult Programme
    • Workshops
    • Young People
  • Blog
  • Competitions
    • Adult Short Story Competition 2019
    • Previous Winners

Love in the Time of Exercise

February 12, 2016 By HR Leave a Comment

image

Today’s three poems all make observations about love through the lens of physical activity. Penelope Cutler’s is a wry narrative of one couple’s shared pastime of tennis and the inevitable frustration that only one of them can win. In Tim Gardiner’s ‘Shake hole’, another name for a sink hole, the shared climb evokes tenderness and togetherness, using a wonderfully crystalline image of the summit’s height as proportional to the limitless depth of feeling experienced by this pair. Deborah Wargate’s cleverly titled poem evokes a frisson of flirtation that never quite crossed the line and yet the speaker seems content with the life that is. These three fill the reader’s lungs with fresh air, flush our cheeks with exertion, and a dash of exhilaration, before a well-deserved sense of satisfaction at the end.

He and She 

or Game, Set and Match…

He is so passionate about tennis
especially when his score is 40 love

Not so fond is she who always loses
who desires to break all his winning games

enamoured with the game, both devoted
belong to tennis clubs by the score

Now he’s found another occupation
with several other partners that all win

He is overwhelmed and overtaken
his absence means every game won by she

Penelope Cutler

Shake hole

we examine
a water-filled
shake hole
on the ascent
of Pen y Ghent.

conquering
the scree summit
there’s no limit
to the depth
of our feelings.

Tim Gardiner

Jogging memories

Willows lift their skirts and twirl with naughty breezes
Light hearted moments captured as sunlight teases
The cool morning, which strives to stay stylishly grey,
While loud laughing leaves flitter and flutter away;
Only to break into a shimmering dance off
On that bridge we never did cross.
I throw a stick, watch it join the conga line through
The way I used to when dreaming I was with you.
I jog on enjoying love’s long lingering light
Knowing that what we both have now is what’s right.

Deborah Wargate

 

Felixstowe Cafe Poets meet every 3rd Thursday of the month at His Lordships Library at the Orwell Hotel and entry is £2.50 per person per session. It’s a great opportunity to discuss work by published poets, as well as sharing each other’s poetry. They will also be attending this year’s Book Festival, so be sure to check them out!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Calendar

<<Mar 2021>>
MTWTFSS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 1 2 3 4

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join the discussion…

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 · Graphics by Rebecca Pymar · Site Policies · Log in

This site uses cookies More info