RTH Online Poetry Crawl

By Michelle Martin
Published March 14, 2010

Arts

A comment from Mahesh Butani after my last article has inspired me to propose an RTH online poetry crawl.

I've read enough of the comments here to know that RTH readers have a way with language.

Please post your poems about Hamilton or city life in general - free verse, or one of the more traditional kinds; for example, a haiku or a sonnet.

You can make it as highfalutin or comical (here are instructions for limericks) as you choose, but keep it G-rated, please, so we can feel free to show the kids we know or even to get them to try their hand at it, too.

If you don't write, maybe you know someone who does. I might even write something myself.

Get your poet on!

Michelle Martin and her husband are raising 10 kids in Hamilton, where they relocated from Toronto 10 years ago. She has been published in both the Hamilton Spectator and Raise the Hammer.

10 Comments

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By John Neary (registered)
Posted March 15, 2010 08:28:45

Because of some bad urban plannin' Every citizen (woman and man) in The city is driving Too fast for surviving On King, York, Main, Wilson, and Cannon

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By John Neary (registered)
Posted March 15, 2010 08:40:44

Oops ... that should have been:

Because of some bad urban plannin'
Every citizen (woman and man) in
The city is driving
Too fast for surviving
On King, York, Main, Wilson, and Cannon

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Comment Score: 5 (5 votes)
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By Ryan (registered) - website
Posted March 15, 2010 08:47:04

I guess it's almost time for me to trot out my annual Hamilton Haiku:

Spring hits Hamilton
Smells of dog poo fill the air
Asthma warnings start

Comment edited by administrator Ryan on 2010-03-15 08:50:58

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By grassroots are the way forward (registered)
Posted March 15, 2010 09:46:57

There once was a town named Hamilton

Who use to feel pride and was powerful

Those days are long gone

The poverty industry reins strong

And the people remember all things wonderful

Comment edited by grassroots are the way forward on 2010-03-15 09:48:47

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By Michelle Martin (registered) - website
Posted March 15, 2010 16:46:30

Can't stop to take in

High-level bridge sunrise

Must hurry to work

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By Robert_Carley (registered) - website
Posted March 15, 2010 17:42:19

Time to Awake

Traveling at the speed of time.

Timeless.

Timed out.

Time to start to love and time to forgive.

Time to take our children into our arms again

And out of the reach of demons that squeak in the night.

Time to stop and time to listen.

Listen to our selves and our dreams.

Time to awake.

~ Robert Carley*

Comment edited by Robert_Carley on 2010-03-15 17:43:34

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By arienc (registered)
Posted March 15, 2010 21:59:51

from Flobots - We Are Winning

Rival gangsters sit down to plan an after school program. A religious fanatic posts footage of an interfaith service project. A group of teenage boys watches a video of a father playing catch with his son. An adult film star paints thumbnail portraits of elderly couples fully clothed and smiling. A record executive records a demo of his apology. A policeman makes reverse 911 calls instructing residents to take to the streets. A patriarch reports for duty. She's wearing an orange jumpsuit and holding a picket sign. She's ashamed of her birthplace, but retreat is not an option

Butterfly wing cross wings. send black hawks toward hurricane survivors. Roses sprout from empty lots and sidewalk cracks. Pacifist gorillas move undetected through concrete jungles. New forms are beginning to take shape. Once occupied minds are activating. People are waking up! The insurgency is alive and well.

We are building up a new world. Do not sit idly by. Do not remain neutral. Do not rely on this broadcast alone. We are only as strong as our signal. There is a war going on for your mind. If you are thinking, you are winning. Resistance is victory. Defeat is impossible. Your weapons are already in hand. Reach within you and find the means by which to gain your freedom. Fight with tools. Your fate, and that of everyone you know Depends on it.

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By AnneMariePavlov (registered)
Posted March 16, 2010 10:19:59

Social services
Royal Connaught Pigeon Coop In prime retail space

Three industries thrive Poverty, Plywood, Beer Store Another watermain break

Jackson Square ennui
Where can I get a coffee?
But not Tim Hortons

Lister Block pigeons
Art crawl does not pay my bills Gentrification

Waiting for Bayfront People don’t spit at Limeridge
Gore Park has problems

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By kevin (registered)
Posted March 16, 2010 19:19:46

But I Like It

There is a small city called Hamilton
Where everywhere there’s a setting sun
From the east, to the north, to the downtown core
From roads to sewers; from burbs to shore
All eyes can see, there is much to be done

Hamiltonians

Our castle’s a house
Our mountain’s an escarpment
We think really big

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By Ryan (registered) - website
Posted March 16, 2010 21:52:13

Leaving on a GO Train

My briefcase is packed, I'm ready to go
My netbook's downloaded last night's Daily Show
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye

But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn
The HSR bus won't stop blowin' its horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die

R/
So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
'Cause I'm leavin' on a GO Train
Don't know if I'll get a seat today
Oh babe, I hate to go

There's so few professions for hire in this town
So many time's I've applied, been turned down
I tell you now, they don't pay a tonne

When I'm commuting, I'll think of you
When I sing with my iPod, I'll sing for you
When I come back, I'll bring a Cinnabon

R/

Now the time's come to catch the bus
One more time let me check my pass
Close your eyes I'll be on my way

Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
'Cause you'll be commuting the same way

R/

(sung to the tune of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by John Denver)

Comment edited by administrator Ryan on 2010-03-16 21:53:06

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