Creative Women's Project

G

L

A

S

G

O

E V I T CREA S N E WOM T C E J PRO TION 2023 EDI R E T N I W AUTUMN/

W

Welcome This resource was created by the Glasgow City Mission Wednesday Women’s Group in 2023.

Supported by Suzy, some of these poems were written collaboratively and some were written by individuals, including Charlene, Stacey, Caroline, Anne-Marie, Fiona, Jackie, Patricia, Margaret, Sarah-Jane, Nicole, Mo, Courtney, Kirsten, Michelle & Linda.

Many of the women would struggle to call themselves creative, but let the work speak for itself!

A beautiful 8 weeks of tentative beginnings, building trust, lots of laughter & learning new things.

The printing of this resource is all about sharing creativity, so if you have any ideas you want to put out there with the community, please post online with #creativepeopleproject or by emailing thedramaspeakeasy@gmail.com.

Everyone can be creative!

F r e e d o m

i s . . .

Something that holds your feet up off the ground and exposes toes in the summer Moving your body, using your mind, going wherever you want Dancing, Flying, Running, Standing, Jumping, Floating A picture inside your mind, constant thinking, vivid, thoughtful, beautiful, bright colourful paint splats Encouraging words, singing birds, herds of sheep counting you to sleep, voices heard, feeling heard, feeling known, looking at pictures you could have shown.

A woman happy to be home placed her bag on the bed She placed her phone and jacket on the bed She placed the smell of flowers and the darkness of the night sky on the bed The woman placed the laughter shared with her friends on the bed The woman placed her worries and stresses of the day on the bed The bed comforted everything that had been placed on it.

I came home and put the keys on the table I set the table with knife, fork, spoon, plates and mugs At home, I put the sound of silence on the table, the laughter, the shining of light.

I put the dog bark on the table and the smell of blossom from the tree and the fresh air.

I put the hue of a painting, the sound of accordion, the heat of the fire in the hearth.

All of this I put on the table.

The table felt used. Stillness, laughter, noise of the dog, smell of pleasure, colour the hotness of fire, dancing sounds, and left last with a nice happy warm feeling.

A boy, filled with joy and Friday excitement, threw his school tie on the bed.

He threw his school bag and his lunchbox there.

He put down his homework on the bed.

Sounds of play and laughter from the street outside, he put on the bed.

A ray of sunshine and warmth coming through the window.

The boy put all the stress and worry from his school week on the bed.

He put all the boys and girls from school there too.

He put Mr Forester’s angry face on the bed.

And finally, he threw his whole body on the bed.

There was a boy called Paul He went to the gym to build a wall He changed his mind and went to the sea to build a tree. He came back home to get his comb to comb his hair until he realised he didn’t have much there.

And because of that he put it in a plait and then he looked like a right prat He went into his kitchen and saw a rat and hit it with a bat.

Waking up in the warmth of the bed An automatic touch of the phone Lingering smell of grainy porridge Thoughts of taking the dog out: Porridge sniffs the air An automatic touch of the phone Robust, roasted, burnt-wood coffee Thoughts of taking the dog out: Porridge tastes the rain Looking up at a misty sky Robust, roasted, burnt-wood liquid Busyness of bustling buses Looking up at the misty sky Running in from the rain as it pours down the drain The busyness of bustling buses Sweaty layers, steamy glasses, thank goodness no facemasks Running in from the pouring rain Filling up on flavours, friends, futures Sweaty layers, steamy glasses, thank goodness the clouds have parted Lingering smell of grainy porridge Filling up on flavours, friends, futures Waking up in the warmth of the bed…

BRIGHT ROOM, FANCY CUPS. FRIENDLY CHAT, STRONG COFFEE. COMFY VIBES. THIS ROOM IS A FEELING OF SECURITY. --COLD METAL, SMOOTH WOOD, WARM SPACE. GLESGA BANTER, SLEEPY SONGS, SMELL OF SALT. SWEET HUG, SMOOTH STRAWBERRY, HOT AND BOTHERED. THIS PLACE IS F‘ING BONKERS! --COLOURFUL CORNERS. KITCHEN COUNTER. BODY LANGUAGE BARRIERS. EAGER EYES. VIBRANT VOLUNTEERS. COFFEE REQUESTS. CAKES & SNACKS. WARM WELCOMES. NERVOUS INTIMIDATION. CAREFUL APPROACH. SURPRISING GENEROSITY. BUILDING TRUST. THIS ROOM IS A HOPEFUL HUG.

A B S T R A C T

o

Laughter is not having a care in the world, doing what you want when you want.

Laughter is there when a Granny sees her Grandkids.

It is an expression of the happiness and love Hurt is the anticipation of

felt between them.

It is special and lives forever.

what is to come.

Hurt can make you vulnerable and isolate yourself away from people.

Hurt can put you in a mindset

Sunshine is a joyful state of mind.

of always being on edge, but

The heat on my cheek

can also channel strength

Making my heart beat

and empowerment when you feel able to deal with it.

Sunshine is breathing easy A fire in my belly Even in my feet wearing wellies Sunshine creeps through the clouds I might shout out loud

r

C O N C R E T E Trust – it is when I come to Wednesday group & learn something new.

Trust is precious and fragile, yet strong and calm. It is the unknown temperature of the water as I dip my toes in the sea.

It is the strength of a hammock holding my weight and my dreams.

Education is what you carry in you.

Tiredness is when my husband hugs me before and after work.

Anger is fluffy, has four legs, and barks.

Hope is a warm, hearty stew that you want in the winter.

The woman put her book on the chair She kept the smell of the bookshop to herself and looked for a box to put it in That was not for sharing The box had been a gift - now it contained fragrance – fragrance of paper ink ideas and freedom The book might be lost The fragrance won’t be.

She is reassured.

A small dog came home to play with a toy

and she left her muddy paws on the mat

The dog left the smell of other dogs and cats on the mat

The dog left the taste

& smell of new treats on the mat

What she was looking for on the mat

She left the desire for cuddles and kisses on the mat

The desire to feel safe in the house

The dog was looking forward to her next week

, she left that

on the mat

The hope of seeing her friends and playing together

.

The mat became a playing area for the dog

As her owners greeted her and she jumped up

The mat smiled

.

, knowing that it would always be able to

make the dog feel welcome

.

Friend came home with a seed to plant.

When friend got in the house, she placed her keys on unit, took her jacket off, and hung jacket up. Friend sighed (huh) with relief.

Friend got plant plot and slowly poured soil into the plot with care and love.

Friend then slowly and safely placed her seed into the soil. As she was doing this, she was burying the trauma that the seed had experienced.

After doing this, Friend was experiencing joy and happiness as she planted the seed with love and care. With emotions running high because of the shit she had been carrying, she had planted it in the ground to allow the seed to blossom.

Rather than the seed failing, she would enter the garden daily and pour water over the plant. There would be days that she failed to water the plant. When she realised the plant was falling and not blossoming, she knew she had to love and care for the plant more. Then step by step, she realised the plant was growing. It was blossoming and blooming beautiful colours. She saw the end result of just a tiny seed turning into a plant of hope.

HAPPY SONG NO BREAKFAST YET, I DON’T EAT IN THE MORNIN’ I JUST HAVE A LUPUS LUNCH CRISPS AND GINGER AND A LOVELY FAG CHEESIE BEANOS TO MUNCH I’M OKAY… ALL THE WAY ON A BRIGHT SUNSHINEY DAY YOU’LL FIND ME IN THE PARK WALKING THRU’ THE GRASS SCRATCHING MY NAME ON THE BARK FLOWERS ARE GROWING, THE WIND IS BLOWIN’ I AIN’T GOT A CARE IN THE WORLD STROLL THRU’ LIFE LIKE A HAPPY SONG GOT A HEARTBEAT AND I’M OKAY I’M OKAY… ALL THE WAY ON A BRIGHT SUNSHINEY DAY YOU’LL FIND ME IN THE PARK WALKING THRU’ THE GRASS SCRATCHING MY NAME ON THE BARK

I

a m .

M e .

M y s e l f .

I am a writer I am into footballers I am free fae booze I am good to you I will give if you need it Help with things like food I am a dog-mum to a small lab called Phoebe she is my best friend Linda’s brave and fun Linda is fun always now Brave is she and kind I am super smart I always will love cooking Anne-Marie loves kids My name is Michelle Mum to Caitlin and Conlan Buddy’s mum as well I am a teacher Not in schools or even kids But still teacher me Fiona fond of art She likes to draw and paint now Fiona’s mission: art

T h i s

i s

u s

Writing isn’t easy, we try to have fun Underneath it all, we’re coming undone We all have things we don’t want to stress Complicated feelings, “I’m just a mess” Read with warmth, Listen with heart We share ourselves, it’s just the start