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Brighton Festival, New Writing South and Southern present Rail Rhymes; An interactive live poetry event taking place in a special carriage on the 59 minute journey from Brighton to London.
Expect:
- entertainment
- as much or as little participation as you like
- a touch of rhyming
- a dash of cabaret
- prizes for top poems
Liz Bentley and Elvis McGonagall will be welcoming you aboard this Friday 21st & Saturday 22nd of May
Here are some of the poems so far:
In A Bubble
In a bubble
Of other people
Sniff, sneezes
And half stories and baggage
My ears go walking through lives
They tread silently
My ego strives to be detached
Instead it crawls
And is stuck in someone else’s new
While I walk
Someone snooze
Cosmopolitan Locomotive
The cosmopolitan locomotive
Moves through the `Sussex hills
Two rows ahead
What lovely fillers
Sadly this journey must come to an end
One day I’m sure my heart will mend
I Been To Brighton
I been to Brighton
‘n’ I didn’t get fightin’
I took to moonlighting
And specifically enlightening
Endeavours and sub-culture pleasures
Involving no more than pepper spray
And sweet whispered hearsay
To induce in my system
A painful insisting
That I should have listened
When Mum insisted I stay at home
I Sat Down On the Train
I sat down on the train home
And my pen didn’t work
So I pressed harder
On this train I sat
And the Biro did not work
So I pressed harder still
Partially Drunk
Partially drunk
This train smells like a skunk
Left his trainers after a session at the gym
Am on a different route
Because I was given the boot
Off the train to West Hampstead
Priority Seat
Raspberries
Up the puff
Monsters in arms
Almost dead
Sit down James
Train Journeys
I was sitting on the train the other day
To my destination I was making my way
A place I go on a regular every week
Either listening to music or others speak
On this particular day I happened to see
A familiar face, two eyes staring at me
Our eyes made fore, we exchanged smiles
Greeted and chatted for the rest of the miles
As I got off the train we said our goodbyes
When your are speaking with old friends how time flies
Going To The Sea
Going to the sea, to be free
London is fast, slow down
Wine, but too many poems
One is good. Chill.
Above was good
Jesus was better
Facebook him later
Though think I freaked him out
Put On The Spot
Put on the spot
But, what to write?
Traveling On the Train
Traveling on the train
Is nothing like surfing
A journey to Fife
Like a ride of your life
Sandwiches, coffee and beer
All go down with a sneer
We pay with a sigh
Resigned to the lie
Capitalism will pay
So they say, so they say
Today, I went to Brighton
for the first time
Today I went to Brighton for the first time
I always felt that if I went to Brighton
It would be in an explosion of sunlight
Ice creams and holding hands
But it wasn’t
It was brief and expensive
Emergency Protective Tent
Emergency protective tent
That’s what most people rent
Or buy…
With a noose around their neck
But they can’t take it with them
When they go
Or at least that’s what they think so
But
Cameron, Brown or Clegg
Will have your home when you’re dead
Brighton Elected A Green Party MP
Brighton elected a Green Party MP
In the context of one of the greatest political cluster fucks in modern British history
They recognized that we are in a hole
And collectively thought, we’ll recycle our way out
Words from Brighton to
the rest of Britain
Instead of doing things which are bad for the environment
DON’T do things, which are bad for the environment
Instead of using cups, use your hands
Or try drinking out of a puddle with a straw
Or even better, a bamboo cane
Share a lift with a colleague
Share a bath with a friend
Afterwards share towels
They Want Me to Speak
They want me to speak
For reasons unknown
But clear to himself
So let me speak
At first cautious
But then respectful of his actions
His words ring true to me
As he recites a poem to a fellow passenger
Nigeria are the shores he is from
But we have already connected
Jamaica … Ok … Nigeria
We are all the same
Tick Tock
Tick tock, tick tock
There goes the time
Racking around my brain
Searching for a rhyme
Going to a party
Even though I’m f***ed
Deep down I really know
Instead I should be tucked
No way, no way
That’s not an option for me
Drawn to the dance floor
You know that’s where I’ll be
Rocking with the massive
Rocking with my crew
At home upon the dance floor
I’ll find myself once more
Poetry, poetry
That’s enough from me
Here I leave you hanging
Like an apple on a tree
You Are Joshua
You are Joshua
If you were rich
You could afford a car
But you are
On a train
That is your claim to fame
My Name is Julia
My name is Julia
I come from Africa
Where the weather is full of glory
Now I am on my way
To visit my friend
Josh, I think you’re a cool guy
You can be a wonderful poetry writer
When I First Saw You
Baby, when I first saw you
I saw beautifulness
For you, head to toe
You make me smile
You know you’re my Queen
You are my King
I hope we’re together for a long period of time
Because you’re always on my mind
You’re like an angel sent down to earth
Hey Josh
Hey Josh
Brighton is really gay
And yes you have won
Half of the pay
Match of the day, then
I Have An Absorbent Pad
I have an absorbent pad
A prize I was promised
I’ve been had
A case of Stella
Would have been the thing
But I’m protected
From a bee sting
I’m On The Train
I’m on the train,
The people look insane
It’s doing my brain
‘Coz the way I roll
Can’t believe I ain’t caught a murder case
Enuf times I let my burner blaze
Hit a boy
Up for a small charge
First gun I had was a Trev 8
They crazy with a Trev at a young age
Yes, doggy, I tan your face
You was black, now you’re mixed race
You was moving
Gassed in the wrong place
I was moving
Gassed with a pump in your fat face
My Name is Cara
My name is Cara
And my boyfriend Tommy is sitting with me.
We are going to have a party
My Tommy, he looks like an alien
But he’s not
So, apparently, I’m not allowed to say much
So, I’m just going to say…
Now, I’ve got to the point
When Tommy doesn’t like me too much
But I think I am very amusing.
Oliver’s Tree
Please consider the environment before printing paper
Or the polar bear will only exist in poetry lather
The seldom fish in the sea
Will rhyme with ‘sashimis’
And the bees flying in the valley
Condemn your lover to call you honey.
So folks, please switch off the light
Poets in thought and speech
Is also a fight
Thanks Liz
The journey went with a fizz
It really was the bizz
Thanks so much Lizz
My Journey
How wonderful is this train
People are chatting and smiling along the way
I wish I could stay
But shame
It’s not going to last all day.
I hope to see you again
And who knows, maybe
We can more fun along the way
Again.
Thank you.
Anxious
Its difficult to write on a moving train.
Echoing the pattern of replacing pain
Mike it’s your turn to write again
My name is mentioned. I can’t out run the blame.
Crashing colliding back to Croydon’s reign
I feel this way when I’m walking down the lane
Quiet audience is the lonely poets bane
I’M BLOODY GLAD I CAME!