Climate Week in Sidmouth .................................................. Matt Harvey and the Element in the Room >> the poems

A lot of fun was had at Matt Harvey's gig in Sidmouth for Climate Week:
Futures Forum: Climate Week in Sidmouth ... Matt Harvey and the Element in the Room ... Thursday 5th March at 7.30pm

A good portion of Matt's latest volume was served with panache and verve:



Matt Harvey

Matt has also been working on a musical around these same themes:
Futures Forum: Are you a SWIMBY? >>> Something Wonderful In My Back Yard >>>

He will be launching his musical TOMORROW night:
Futures Forum: Something Wonderful in My Back Yard: the musical >>> >>> launch party 18th March

Meanwhile, below are the two poems which came out of Matt's session in Sidmouth - where he asked each member of the audience to write one line on the theme of 'washing line' - following which, these were pinned together to create this piece of collaborative poetry:


Poetry from the evening with Matt Harvey

The topic was 'the Washing Line'

The First Poem

Waving but not drying….,
This is blank verse,
I’ve got you pegged,
Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low,
We have been hung out to dry,
I’m waiting for a straight line,
Scorched knickers sizzle,
The clap and clamour of clothes flying on the line.

For washing lines I do not care,
my ice cube will not balance there.

Hang it out, see it flap,
Its cooler hanging out,
seagulls love the washing line target.

One peg, two pegs three pegs four,
oh my we got a downpour.

Knicker Alert

We have hung out the skin of the last polar bear on the line,
Have we crossed the line??

My washing line’s no longer there,
My pulley says it doesn’t care
The answer is blowing in the wind,

Oh the virtuous feel of a wind dried sock,
.. and pegs might fly.

Happiness is a washing line full of nappies browning in the sun
Whose line is it anyway?


The Second Poem

Endless rain - wet washing
Washing line - who’s up for doing mine;
I’ll hang them on the wind turbine.

I’ve been hanging around all day waiting for the sun
Raindrops like pearls
Green plastic snakey thing, coiled and waiting for the Spring!

Line up, line up, see which way the wind blows
‘All climate change initiatives are for profit after all’, said the Not-For-Profit.
‘What line do I need to follow?’ said the Scientist searching funding.

Hung it in the greenhouse but the tree blew down on it.
Sunshine fights carbon over washing line.
Will the future wind burn the clothes on the washing line?

Black clouds gather, I need to be cleared.
The washing line pegs the sun.
Why will my solar panels not work at night - might as well hang them on the washing line.
Towels blowing in the wind are softer.
A perfect perch for newly fledged ruffled blackbirds.

Wishy washy washing line
Embedded carbon but doing my drying
Tie the line around the sun. Give it a pull and watch the fun.
Water, water everywhere! Oh well, I’ll hang my wash indoors.
There I was, balanced between the two banks…
I used to have a washing line, cannot use it any more
‘Line up, line up, stand up and be counted. Sun, wind, do your job, share your power, dry our stuff and all that.’

And what about the Rotary? A metaphor for the circular economy?

The washing line floats higher and higher in the wind and in the fire.
Chase the washing down the street
When the wind blows, who knows where the water goes.
Terry towelling, babies’ nappies drying in the wind and sun, a sight long gone…
Without the wind my load hangs lifeless - oh where, oh where is the wind?
Spin dry, line dry, drip dry, drip dry, drip dry…
Rope gives hope, plastic is drastic
Blow, blow thou winter wind!

Rain, falls and flows.
It’s under 20 foot of water lapping at my door.
Draw a washing line in the sand.

The planet’s pegging out on the washing line of hope.

Vision Group for Sidmouth - Poetry from the evening with Matt Harvey
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