Wednesday, 16 October 2013

Boston: The City of Wonder And Orange Lights

One of the most beautiful things I have seen is the way the leaves become new by first becoming old. Boston, with it's marmalade leaves sitting upon it's historic trees of grandeur.


As matching trains whizz past to show off their new shiny paint jobs. There is not a thing out of place in the city of Boston. 


Not even this little fella...


The squirrels were as bold in their approach as their American co-inhabitants. 


An older gentleman enjoys the ride as a psychology Harvard professor talks to me on the the research done on women who have experienced domestic violence and how they often write and do poetry.


This house shows the charm of the city with it's symmetrical face and bright enthusiasm of a smile.


A friend smiles with the whole city in her eyes. I have no choice but to laugh along with her, whilst trying to catch a glimpse of what she sees.


As night falls we walk into a dreamland that is filled with words than hang from every tree and spell out mysteries of an electric night.


Turn a corner to a contradiction, where educated people read but don't understand. The city holds prestigious universities such as Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with homelessness hidden underneath.


New England, the place where you wake up to a pot of steaming black tea and the street names are so familiar you almost feel like you might be back home... if you squint a bit.

Wednesday, 9 October 2013

First Impressions Of New York From Tornadoes to Government Shut Downs

After Virgin cocktails and movies on the flight I arrived feeling refreshed and reflective as I braved the strong winds of New York upon landing.


I was unaware of a tornado watch as an English girl, a tornado is not something I usually check for on my iPhone. Next time I'll know better. Luckily it was a warning which expired at 5pm that day. At 12pm the winds were fairly strong...



The traffic was very New York... not that I usually know what that is like but when you see the movies and there is some love-sick person who is trying to catch the love of their life in a taxi in non-moving traffic... it was like that but without the love interest and on a shuttle bus.



It was exciting to be in the hub of things. Like a super-sized London with wide streets and tall intimating buildings. The thoughts that came to my mind were grey with a tint of yellow cab.

With the government shut down, New York closed some of it's sights to me, including Statue of Liberty and national parks. I hope they re-open soonish, or I want a refund. 


I am a building structure freak, so I loved driving past these downtown apartments as I only imagined what it would be like to live there amongst the hustle and bustle.


The advertisements were blinding and flashy. The numerous TV adverts started to induce a headache but can be quite hilarious with one stating, "If you are not whitening, you are yellowing!" I better start whitening my teeth or stop smiling then. I also liked, "Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity."  Hmmm, no comment.


The journey out of New York on the greyhound bus was pleasant. The people on the other hand I found to be very polite with 'Ma'am' and 'Sir' at the beginning of each sentence and sometimes leading me to question why they even bothered using this polite term at all with an aggressive, "Sir, where is this bus going?" To a lightning response of "Sir, don't tell me how to do my job!"


Like the weather in New York on that Monday afternoon, the passenger shouted, "Boy you're grumpy!" Everyone around me started giggling. I thought to myself even through only observations, I would have fun out here in the States.

Friday, 30 August 2013

Spoken Word Sunday with The Mouthy Poets

I am organising this event alongside some Mouthy Poets in association with Nottingham Women's Centre and Women's Aid for a cause that is very near and dear to my heart... empowerment of vulnerable women. This event is going to be a special one with spoken word, storytelling and singer-songwriters collaborations. Please do attend and support a worthy cause.


Thursday, 1 August 2013

A very difficult poem to recite so I'll write.

RIP Dr Michael Wise:
 my dad













I'm looking for my dad
in romantic movies

A friend in myself

Grief in my pockets
next to chewing gum

Digging it out
whilst it's still stuck

I'm looking for
someone else's story

Sweet tears in the popcorn
my salty tears sold out

I'm looking for him
past our own story

picking me up
dropping me off

driving me to the cinema
funny memory of skinny legs

Every time I see your bones
I want to run

I want my father to stay
to teach me not only to let go

but to stretch to the world
past what my feet can stand on

And to allow my hands
to handle a broken heart

like a door handle
keep opening it up

I can hear him saying

Darling, behind that door
There is more love

than goodbyes