This poem by Phil Coleman was written during the Poetry at the Start course 28 May – 2 June 2018.

Phil Coleman lives near Swansea and tries to balance work and the need to write. At the age of 51 he’s still a complete tyro at everything except juggling words.

Tutorial

 

clear your throat

clean the window, look outside, then in

lift the lintel of your title

 

note three dreams, at least once a day

 

just let the lines

break on the page

 

what do the birds say?

 

cut, then cut again

make paper bleed

 

keep going, across the road, over the railway

dogleg the tin hut. Now, which way?

Follow flag irises to the river or Friesians to the beach?

 

automatic writing

even when stuck in first gear

 

find the sweet line

 

hold the poem as long as you can

 

keep going

 

swap point of view, gender, tense

scramble the form, drop the full stop

then feel the lines

 

keep your ears open

it’s all clay for your pot

 

a blank, white page

is only a secret

yet to be learnt

 

collect your resources

 

close your eyes

corral the image

what’s the right phrase?

 

keep going