Walsall poets have been collaborating with two community poem projects organised by Hope Radio to bring hope to the region during the coronavirus pandemic. The community poems will be posted online, in a virtual exhibition and on the community radio`s website to demonstrate the power that creativity brings in connecting people during lockdown. In addition, audio clips of Walsall`s wordsmiths reading their work will be broadcast across the region as part of a special programme on FM and digital radio. If that was not enough, Walsall`s poets came to the attention of three of the region`s Poet Laureates who decided to support what the people of Walsall had to say on community radio.
The Birmingham Poet laureate, Staffordshire Poet Laureate and Wednesbury Poet Laureate all added their support to the Walsall wordsmiths.
"Hope Radio, which broadcasts on 87.9 FM and online, was born during the coronavirus pandemic with one simple aim - to bring hope to the local community.
We have an OFCOM licence and we are run by volunteers", said Hope Radio presenter and Walsall resident Ian Henery.
"It was decided that, as part of our on-going work to connect with our community, we would invite our listeners to submit a single line of poetry that could then be woven into a tapestry of a larger community poem to create a totally original piece of work.
The results have been staggering with people from all walks of life sending us their lines and recording themselves reading their contributions for broadcast." Hope Radio received such a massive response that they have had to split the work into two separate poems. The first poem is entitled "Multi-Colour Ribbon of Music and Chat" which was suggested by a line from Lisa Johnston. The second poem is called "A Community Tunes In Together Each Day"- the title is provided by a line from poet Alan "Kurly" McGeachie - whose contribution appears within this poem.
The opening stanza (and first 7 lines) is by Richard O'Brien, Birmingham Poet Laureate 2018 - 2020 who was interviewed on Hope Radio on 7th August to record his lines and talk about his work as Poet Laureate and ambassador for the city of Birmingham. Richard`s interview was broadcast on Hope Radio in a special extended edition of The Ian Henery Show on Tuesday 11th August and Friday 14th August.
Other contributors included Mel Wardle Woodend (Staffordshire Poet Laureate), Brendan Hawthorne (Wednesbury Poet Laureate) and Lucy Heuschen (Rainbow Poems and Sonnets for Shakespeare). Walsall poets collaborating included Rebecca Johal, Robert Deeley, Jae Lex Linsey, Nigel Moffatt, Christina Rudd, Eileen Ward Birch, Antony Nick Britt, Tracey Hammerton, Alison Reed (Walsall Writers Circle), KianisMe, Al Barz, Ian Davies, Lettie Wilson, Grace Dore, Su Parker Hallcroft, Angela Barlow, Steve Pottinger & Nicholas Barlow.
"We are very grateful to everyone who has contributed", said Ian Henery who presents The Ian Henery Show twice a week on 87.9 FM Hope Radio. "We were very fortunate to receive not only the support from the Birmingham Poet Laureate but Nina Lewis, former Worcestershire Poet Laureate (who contributed to the first Hope Radio Community Poem), the Wednesbury Poet Laureate and the Staffordshire Poet Laureate - four Poet Laureate supporting Hope Radio!
How cool is that? Big respect to all during this unprecedented chapter of our shared history".
A Community Tunes In Together Each Day
(Hope Radio Community Poem)
Hope is a river running underground,
A faint pulse under tarmac.
We are the ones who, sometimes,
Lose the trail.
It remembers, though,
Or you might get that feeling
From the sparkle when
The water lifts to greet us.
Hope burns through misery of doubt
And uncertainty
Like the early morning sun
Dispels the hanging mist that blankets
Our world.
Dark veins against a bullfinch orange sky,
Caring hands, spotted with age.
Naught but blue sky,
A hot one on the way
Weathering a virulent storm
Dappled light danced.
The wind of change is in the air,
Freeing the spirits trapped
In history`s past stare.
Listen for the gentle voice,
Look to the guiding hand
That reaches out in friendship
All across this land.
Opened minds reimagine the future,
One line does not a poem make:
Angels circle and sing in rejoice.
We speak our minds
To remove the pain;
We lay foundations
Of disdain.
Even if we don`t forget
Hopefully we can move on
New foundations without regret.
Hope wakes,
Yawns, stretches its arms
Wide enough to wrap its arms
Around us all.
You feed the blackbirds
With mealworms,
Yourself with hope.
Hope sleeps huddled on an unmade bed
In a corridor somewhere between shifts.
Night and day merge into one.
Eyes shut tight
Against dreams of hospital corners
I walk forwards with love,
Joy and happiness.
A rainbow sea
Of umbrellas, united
The community shields its own
With mighty hope
Against the onslaught of rain.
Spectrum colours united,
Together in love.
Hope is seeing the light
When surrounded by darkness;
The clouds caressing the sky
Hold a thousand stories.
A stone`s throw, rippling away,
The see-saw of emotions
Needs to find a balancing point.
Embracing silence to stop the screaming
Walk with me
And take me to the view
That calms my heart
And feeds my soul -
But only he who sees
Takes off his shoes.
Dancing free
My cape lights up the skies
Like butterflies,
Colourful swirls parading
In the moonlight.
Got to get it right,
Need to set it right.
Beautifully
A community tunes in together each day
On reception of affection
Broadcast across the airwaves.
Ideas become more powerful
When actioned together
Hope - the last thing Pandora had.
I hope and pray for those that lead
To help the ones in drastic need.
A community
Is a place for you and me.
This is your place now,
They key only opens the door it was meant for,
Not the one its owner desired.
There is no sense of rush
Is there?
There is time to think,
Be present in the stillness.
Home-schooling was never on the agenda;
What life lessons
Can be learnt?
The young onion is a curious thing
As it’s only when you eat it
That you know
The tears
It will bring.
I think my husband
Is a Vampire!
I`m dying to go to the pub!
Ah - and there is the rub.
I wish you a beautiful day,
It`s the weekend and time to play.
Hope burns a torch in my heart
Bleeds purple
Then a rainbow.
Hope Radio 87.9 FM is grateful to the following poets:
Rajbinder ("Rebecca") Johal
Richard O`Brien (Birmingham Poet Laureate)
Lourdes Marianne Burgess
Robert Deeley
Manjit Sahota
Linda Harper-Hucknell
Jae Lex Linsey
Nigel Moffatt
Mark Roberts
David Moore
Eileen Ward Birch
Mel Wardle Woodend (Staffordshire Poet Laureate)
Angela Garratt
Christina Rudd
Alan Kurly McGeachie
Antony Nick Britt
Tracey Hammerton
Alison Reed
Greg Stokes
Jonathan Watkiss
Julia Robinson
KianisMe Brendan Hawthorne (Wednesbury Poet Laureate)
Maria Billingham
Al Barz
Ian Davies
Lettie Wilson
Grace Dore
LM Cooke
Su Parker Hallcroft
Tonia Daley-Campbell
Angela Barlow
Steve Pottinger
Vicki MacWinyers
Nicholas Barlow
Lucy Heuschen
