Z – Zip it up
Well here we are on the last day of the challenge which I’ve managed to complete. I hope you’ve enjoyed the last 26 days of poetry.
So what is ‘Z?’
Z is for Zipping up this challenge
so today is a bit different. Some visual poetry from me and a poem from my guest Corinne Lawrence.
I don’t have a poetic term beginning with ‘Z’ but if you pop over to Dr Wheeler’s website I see he has a whole lot of literary terms.’
When I was looking for a poem beginning with ‘Z,’ fellow writer, Corinne Lawrence, came to my rescue. Here’s what she said when I asked for her help.
“I’d be delighted to donate a poem but I think it may need some explanation.”
Explanation:
In 2016 as a response to success of the Olympics, Cheadle Hulme Writers produced poems under title of ‘A Manchester Alphabet’, which I compiled, illustrated with watercolour paintings from Manchester artists.
Originally I was given ‘E’, but nearing the end of term when we were wanting to send it off to be printed, there were still no poems for ‘A’. ‘Y’ & ‘Z’, so yours truly (Corinne) wrote three more for these letters. So, here is a poem for ‘Z’ – with footnotes.
Z – Zincography
Z is for Zincography
The unlucky person who has drawn a ‘Z’
will approach this task with a degree of dread.
However, I can report, with a degree of dittography*
that Manchester’s quite notable for zincography.*
Our famous sportsmen, so at home
in stadium, pitch or velodrome,
will often require the skills and services
only found on the engraver’s premises.
Famed this year of Olympc records
Manchester boasts a host of awards,
and has to take the all round prize
for a successful city, in my eyes!
* zincography ( the engraver’s art)
* dittography (the act of repetition)
***
About Corinne
Corinne is not only a fantastic poet but also a very talented playwright and her stage plays have been performed at Swanwick Writer’s Summer School on more than one occasion. Her poems have been published in Reach Magazine, (Indigo Dreams), Writers’ Forum Magazine, and Writing Magazine. Many of these poems have taken the winning place.
***
Z – Zip up
As I mentioned earlier, ‘Z’ is for zip up. I thought I didn’t have a poem beginning with ‘Z’ but then I remembered I had a visual poem titled Zigger Zagger – Well actually I lie, it’s titled A Stitch in Time but for the purpose of today it can become Zigger Zagger. This poem is a visual poem and I’ll do my best to keep its form correctly on the page but I’m not the best at techie stuff. I was inspired to write this from a prompt on an online visual poetry course with Open University tutor, Mike Johnson.
Zigger Zagger
(Stitch in Time)
Chigga chugga, chigga chugger
off we go
ziggy zagger, ziggy zagga
as we sew
Chigga chugga, chigga chugger
take our time
ziggy zagger, zaggy zigger
keep in line.
PUSH foot on the pedal
not too slow
push the pedal, push the pedal
as we sew
Chigga chugga, chigga chugger
sew we must
ziggy zagger, zaggy zigger
earn our crust
Chigga chugga,
chigga chugger
ziggy zagger,
zaggy zigger
ziggy chugga,
chuggi zagger
ziggy zaggy,
zaggy zigger
zagga chuggi,
chugga chiggi
chigga chagga,
zaggy zugger
Chigga chugga, chigga chugger
from morn till late
ziggy zagger, zaggy zigger
that’s our fate.
Ding aling, clangy clong
bingy bing, bongy bong
Chigga chugga, chigga chugger
ziggy zagger, zaggy zigger
pull out the plug and turn off the switch
that for the night is our last stitch
Chigga chugga, chigga chugger
ziggy zagger, zaggy zigger…
‘someone turn off the light!’
***
And I thought as it is ‘Z’ the last day of the challenge that we will zip up this blog with a couple more of my visual poems. Once again the form isn’t quite correct but hopefully it won’t spoil them too much for you.
The first is The Blue-Ringed Octopus, again I was inspired to write from a prompt on the online visual poetry course with Open University tutor, Mike Johnson.
Blue-Ringed Octopus
A blue ringed beauty
inhabits the Great Barrier Reef
camouflaged in a brown coat
it waits for prey.
The seven-inch Deadly Demon
with eight soft arms
and a small sharp beak
crawls the rock pool bed – for unsuspecting prey
Lying amongst the coral
disturbed, becomes irate.
A spectacular brilliant blue is born
now fatal,
too –
late
Its venomous glands
Eject
saliva
to the prey
Numbness
catching…
breath…
her … huh…
her… huh…
her… huh…
her…. huh…
lub dub
lub dub
lub dub…
heart !!!!!!!!!!!!!…………_______________________________________
***
And finally The Journey Home was created while on the same course. The form for this one just won’t go correctly for the top part but hopefully you’ll get the gist.
The Journey Home
I
w
a
nd
er
d
o
w
n
the road
a small road in Pound Hill
r
a
i
n
is
dr
ip
pi
ng
d
o
w
n
on me
and the mad man’s using a
l
i r
d l………………………………………
a
t p
a
t p
sounds a
mm
ha er
pitter
patter
taps the
r
a
i
n
… greycloudsmoveswiftly
as I make my way home again
I hear a
S ! I ! R ! E ! N ! in the distance
it is coming from a
// // // t // r // a // i // n // // //
builders Bang! and knock quickly
with the need to escape the
r
a
i
n
sunshine peeps from the sky,
r
a
i
n
still
pitter patters
and
people with
l
o
n
g
f
a
c e
s
me
pass by
A few more yards
then I’ll be home
soaked and
s
qu
i
gg
y
WET
but I’m not one to moan
***
If you have a poem beginning with ‘Z’ and you’d like to share it with my readers then post in the comments section and I’ll move it onto the blog for ‘Z’ for others to see.
Thank you for staying with me through the ‘A-Z Blog Challenge,’ I hope you’ve enjoyed it. I know I have. It’s been great fun. And thank you to my guest poets, Colin Ward, Maureen Cullen, Shirley Ann Cook and Corinne Lawrence.
Do keep an eye out on the blog as there are lots more features to come.
***
Patricia M Osborne 
Hi Tricia
Thank you for posting the poem – I was very happy to help! Not an easy ‘brief’, and a poem that I never thought would see the light of day again!!!
I loved your ‘concrete’ poems: formatting not withstanding, the message came over beautifully!
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Thank you, Corinne. Yes need to get to grips of how the formatting works on here. Not an easy task.
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