Two Poems by Liv Torc and Jaime Shaw
Poems for you to read and keep
We recently had the pleasure of listening to readings of two wonderful (and very different) poems on our recent online meeting Somerset: Social Prescribing Then, Now and in the Future, where were joined by Mark Helyar, Liv Torc and Jaime Shaw who have all been involved in the Word/Play project run by TakeArt.
Liv Torc has written a poem for Somerset, based on hearing about what people have been doing during lockdown. You can hear Liv Torc reading the poem in this video (clicking this link should take you to the start of Liv’s performance at 35:36). Read the poem below, or download this specially designed PDF version that you can print out or share with others: How to Make a Difference by Liv Torc – PDF.
How to Make a Difference
You get up,
you don’t even have to get dressed,
just press your hand to your chest,
feel your heart and your breath
that’s a start
and sometimes your heart
will want to be quiet
or sing every night to the stars
Transcending the roofs
and snuggly parked cars
So, the double glazing of neighbours
seems less like steel bars.
You make a difference by
clearing the table
sewing medical scrubs
delivering NHS food in takeaway tubs
Zooming your parents
shaving your head
Planting carrots and peonies
in your raised flower bed
Every seed, every clap, every smile
Every time you step to the side
or walk single file
You make a difference
By sitting down with your kids and exploring their minds
Letting them chalk outside of the lines
By chatting to neighbours,
you never spoke too before
Thanking the postman,
standing six foot from your door
by opening the window with the radio on
letting news of community swirl in the air
with the trill of birdsong
You make a difference
when you roll up your sleeves
let yourself grieve
do whatever you can
to help others to cope
It’s a lot about service
but it’s a lot more about hope.
by Liv Torc
Find out more about Liv and watch more videos of her performing her poetry at her website:
Jaime Shaw has written a poem that he wrote “when I was in a particularly bad time, but it gave me an opportunity to tell people about it in a way that I wasn’t really able to do before”.
You can hear Jaime talking about his involvement with the Word/Play project here (the link should take you to 38:24 when Jaime starts talking about this) then you can also can hear Jaime reading his poem here (clicking this link should take you to the start of Jaime’s performance at 40:52). Read the poem below, or download this specially designed PDF version that you can print out or share with others: System Crash by Jaime Shaw – PDF
System Crash
Social interaction.exe is not responding.
Would you like to wait, or end the process?
Social interaction.exe is not responding.
Would you like to wait, or end the process?
Social interaction.exe is not responding.
Would you like to wait, or end the process?
GP malware scanner has detected the presence of anxiety in your system.
User may experience core temperature rises, unwanted over clocking, uncontrolled release of coolant and corruption of data leading to logic loops-
Leading to logic loops-
Leading to logic loops-
Attempting repair of corrupted sectors.
Sertraline.exe is not responding.
Would you like to wait, or end the process?
Venlafaxine.exe is not responding.
Would you like to wait, or end the process?
Downloading third party assistance program CBT.
CBT is incompatible with your operating system.
Directory c drive/users/Jaime/therapy cannot be found. If you encounter this problem again, it may have been moved our deleted.
GP malware scanner has detected the presence of depression in your system.
The users system may not boot correctly, experience a slowing down of essential processes and be unable to launch interpersonal or entertainment programs.
Attempting repair of corrupted sectors.
Duloxetine.exe is not responding.
Would you like to wait, or end the process?
Friendship.exe is not responding.
Would you like to wait, or end the process?
Family.exe is not responding.
Would you like to wait, or end the process?
Directory c drive/users/Jaime/strength cannot be found. If you encounter this problem again, it may have been moved or deleted.
Directory c drive/users/Jaime/courage cannot be found. If you encounter this problem again, it may have been moved or deleted.
Directory c drive/users/Jaime/happiness cannot be found. If you encounter this problem again, it may have been moved or deleted.
Directory c drive/users/Jaime/hope cannot be found.
Hope. Cannot be found.
Hope. Cannot be found.
Personality.exe is not responding. Would you like to wait, or end the process?
Jaime is not responding. Would you like to wait…
Or end the process?
By Jaime Shaw
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