Welcome to Post-weekend Poetry and the one hundred and thirty-eighth poem in this series. This week’s piece is by Samantha Connolly.
Eidos by Samantha Connolly
Hello, I say.
Acknowledgement that she exists,
unexpected now, unwanted after long denial.
I persist.
I gesture to the park we stand before.
We see it through our window, she and I.
A throng of lives, of living, noise and movement,
weather changes, felt by those outside.
She remains beside me, silent,
staring or unseeing I cannot tell.
I turn. Through my fear I turn.
I face her now; her eyes an iridescent screen,
pale lips opening; her keen
Hello, I say, again,
my voice is scratching at the air,
I am afraid, too afraid to hold her stare.
But still I try.
Hello, I say; hello?
Rain now hitting at the glass,
along the pane its coiling flow.
Defeated, keening ceasing,
casts her eyes down.
Chill prickles me. Warmth shivers me.
Hello, she says. Hello.
*
I asked Samantha what prompted this piece and she said…
I was standing by the window at home looking out towards the park and it was raining. I was alone indoors and the house was silent and I felt suddenly lonely, as my husband was away for the weekend and I hadn’t made any social plans. Eidos came to me then. Minds work in mysterious ways?!
And don’t we love it. Thank you Samantha.
Samantha holds a degree in English Literature with Film Studies from Kingston University, London, which she gained at age 30. Since then she has spent the last nine years writing seriously, having undertaken a fiction writing module via Open University and completed her first young adult fantasy novel, The Sister Worlds.
Samantha began telling stories from a young age, hiding herself away for an hour or so here and there while she spun her tales, living by her imagination (as much as possible within the bounds of reality!) whilst growing up. She began writing the odd poem during her teens, but it wasn’t until her late twenties whilst at university that she understood her true love for writing.
Her tastes are eclectic, not only in her own writing, but in the form and genre of the writing of others. She is inspired by Virginia Woolf and Christina Rossetti, amongst many others, including the work of Jane Austen, Philip K. Dick, Ellen Miller, Margaret Atwood and Zeruya Shalev. She has most recently been drawn to the work of Abraham Verghese. Her love for the magical and fantastical in fiction is relentless; she has particularly enjoyed the work of Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth in this respect, and once studied Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep in relation to Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner. Samantha also has a strong interest in human relationships and mental health, and a love for the innocence of young children and the life and hope they instil in tired-out grown-ups.
With experience as an editor, proofreader and researcher, Samantha is well accomplished and finds this useful when writing and, of course, editing her own work.
Her proofreading and editing experience comprises a website research and editing project for the charity Re-Cycle, the proofreading and editing of a website story – also for Re-Cycle – together with the editing of their August and September newsletters; also a novel, short story, and flash fiction piece for author Elizabeth Los, a novel excerpt for author & translator Jasmine Heydari, and the website area and biographies for global broadcast production company Clean Cut Media Ltd. She has also draft written for the Facilities section of Clean Cut Media Ltd’s website. Samantha has read and edited various documentation including minutes, website material, presentations and more, as part of her administrative background.
Samantha has work published to include various poetry, short stories, blogs and articles, and she previously ran a creative writing group on a voluntary basis for Mungos charity.
She is currently writing her second novel and working on a series of children’s books for illustrator Ella Parry. She regularly writes fiction pieces both for her own website, and to be entered into various competitions.
If you would like to contact Samantha, you can do so via her website http://inkfeatherpen.wix.com/inkspiredwrite.
If you’d like to submit your poem (60 lines max) for consideration for Post-weekend Poetry take a look here or a poem for critique on the Online Poetry Writing Group (link below).
Related articles:
- http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/poetry-writing-tips-how-to-write-a-poem
- http://voices.yahoo.com/5-tips-writing-better-poetry-jumpstart-504563.html?cat=38
- http://www.marilynsinger.net/first/poetrytips.htm
- http://www.poewar.com/poetry-writing-tips
- http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Poem
- http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-genre/poetry
- http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/jul/24/hannah-lowe-top-10-poetry-tips
- http://www.newpoetspress.com/writetips.html
- http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/writing-poetry.html
- and from this blog, advice from Alice Shapiro, Angelita Williams, Cendrine Marrouat, John J Hohn, Kerry Hammerton, Phillip Ellis.
*** Breaking news! My online creative writing courses are currently just £1 or $1-2 each
but only until 3rd April! ***
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You can contact me and find me on the internet, view my books (including my debut novel The Serial Dater’s Shopping List, various short story collections and writer’s block workbooks) and If you like this blog, you can help me keep it running by donating. Thank you.
I now run online courses – details on Courses – and for anyone looking for an editor, do take a look at Editing and Critique.
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Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundred and sixty-ninth piece in this series. This week’s is the twenty-sixth bunch of 6-word stories by a variety of authors, together with their 6-word biographies!
by 
Robbed; TV gone, no Bake Off!
Morgen 'with an E' Bailey 