Sunday, January 18, 2009

Calling all Rubbish Poets


Here's a challenge, competition, call it whatever you want:

You will need, a plastic bag, a camera and a glove (or a second plastic bag).

You need to go out and find some random rubbish, on the side of the road, in your local park, some public place. Do not use your own rubbish. It will not work if you don't go out and find someone else's. Hopefully you will have to travel many miles before you find some rubbish, so when you do, don't be selfish. Pick up and bring home with you no more than 3 random pieces of rubbish. Ideally take a photo of the rubbish in situ - for posterity. (beware the neighbours will find this strange, and you will endure a certain amount of curtain twitching when you are walking back across the road into your house with the rubbish - so be prepared to make a quick decision.)

Write a poem inspired by the 3 articles you have collected.

There is no time limit, it is not Rubbish Poetry Month. When the poem is ready, leave it as a comment on this post, or mail to me if you want. I am offering to send my 3 pieces of rubbish to whoever writes the best Rubbish Poem, so do get a move on.


In this way we are turning those ignoramuses who litter into collaborative artists, without their permission!! Bwa hahaha!!! While also cleaning up the world etc etc - the benefits are obvious. My poem is gonna be on the comments of this in a few minutes... and it is truly a rubbish poem, you have been warned.


10 comments:

Niamh B said...

Inspired by:
An energy drink can
A solpadeine sachet
A polystyrene piece in the shape of a potato chip

Cul De Sac

Smooth black white curves, a cold red tongue -
They drink fast,
Heads athump, all work forgotten,
they rave & giggle, brains mouldy & rotten,
it's all future here, no past fore the blast,
chips of warm snow, eternally plastic,
shake the leaves, no crunch now, feeling fantastic,
Energy soars as the cul de sac cheers with the beers,
the tinnies discarded, buried for years.
All rubbish, Valueless, Left,
Life sucked out, Bereft,
Red on white, ink stands out,
Warnings meaningless now

Anonymous said...

Inspired by a half a banana (sorry no photo)

a half a banana
Barack Obama
riding on a train like Lincoln

children are hoping
black men are loping
the city waits for the gain

Anonymous said...

I hate to be anonymous. That was me JB

Domestic Oub said...

Ah Niamh...I got all excited when I saw your post title - I thought finally, my time had come... But it turns out its a poem ABOUT rubbish you want... oh you joker you.

Domestic Oub said...

Annoyingly I wasn't able to dispose of the rubbish I saw, nor take a pic, as I was out for a walk with baba,(who will copy everything I do - which isn't necessarily a bad thing when it comes to litter, but sadly she'll put it in her mouth after picking it up... urghghg.) but here's my effort anyway... inspried by the milk bottle cap, beer can and rag I saw.

Degrading.

plump plastic seeds tossed without thought
settling and seeding onto bush, bed and path
milk bottle caps that never produce milk bottle trees
beer can saplings losing their ring pull leaves
Fetid rag flowers forever in bloom,
a graffiti on the martyred arboreal tomb.

Niamh B said...

JB and DO,
great poems, very encouraging. Think I'll create a facebook page for same, and maybe use your poems as posts if that's ok? You'll have to get the pics to go with em tho!!!

Domestic Oub said...

Might just get a pic for you tomorrow if the rubbish is still there... but I'm not touching the hideous rag!! Urghgh. (by the way, u gotta change the font colour of the white links... its hurting my eyes!)

swiss said...

i didn't get the photograph for obvious reasons but the objects were fag ends, a can and a plastic bag with an extra frisson of wankerdom that's just me.

you can see it for the next wee bit here
rubbish

Niamh B said...

Hiya Swiss, thanks for that, like the poem. If you manage a suitable pic do let us know. You're in the running for the prize, which is still here somewhere under all this junk. And by the way I'm wanting to put up the poems here sometime, just checkin if that's ok with you?

swiss said...

should be fine. not sure if i'll have a pic of the jakey, maybe the step he was sitting on if that's okay?