A Silly Poem about Love (and the Moral of this Story: Try Something New) by Lucy Rycroft

I may be a writer, but I sure as heck don't write poems.

Poems are, in my opinion, the stuff of gods. When I see how much raw emotion, connection and articulation someone like Georgie Tennant or Amy Robinson capture in their brilliant poems, I'm in awe.

Saying a lot in such few words was never really going to be my bag, was it? Even my shopping list struggles to contain itself within 500 words.

But I've recently completed the 10-week Peaced Together course - art and well-being for women, from a Christian perspective. (It's brilliant. No time to gush here, but do click on the link and see whether there's a course running near you.)

A key part of the course was keeping a scrapbook from start to finish, and for this we were encouraged to write poetry, if we wished, to accompany each of the week's themes.

So - deep breath - I had a go. My poems weren't great, but I treated my efforts very much like a child's artwork: it's the process that's important, not the result. They made it into my scrapbook, and will likely never be read by anyone other than me and a family of bees who have recently set up home in our garden.

And then we got to the week themed 'Love'.

Hmmmm. How do you even start a poem on arguably the most written-about poetic theme ever? What's left to say? How do you avoid cheesiness?

My answers came back quickly: you don't, very little, and you can't.

So, with that helpful start, I wrote the following and offer it to you now, for your amusement. It's a bit silly. Enjoy. (And see how many song titles you can spot.)

Love

I want to know what love is.

Is it a many splendoured thing?
Does it really change everything?
Is love a battlefield? A losing game?
Do you give love a bad name?

All you need is love; it makes the world go round.
The love shack is the place where the look of love is found.

Can I make you feel my love?
Call to say I love you?
I believe in a thing called love -
The power of love's above you.

Love lifts us up where we belong
But I'm not gonna write you a love song -
Where is the love?
You've gotta hide your love away.
I'm not in love - so don't forget it.
I'm a love fool - do you get it?

This crazy little thing called love -
More than I would like to admit -
Has got me addicted - addicted to love,
I can't help falling in love, a bit.

I feel it in my fingers - love is all around;
Let there be love, and may it abound.
Old love, unending love, love in the first degree,
Love train, love gun, somebody to love me.
Can't buy me love, can't hurry love, can't beg or steal or borrow -
There's just one question left to ask: will you love me tomorrow?


Friends - try something new. It may not be your best work, worthy of fame or fortune, but it does us all a little good, from time to time, to reach out of our comfort zones.

Good luck!

Lucy Rycroft writes Christian parenting blog Desertmum. Formerly a teacher and PGCE lecturer, she now divides her time between freelance writing and raising her kids. She has an Advent devotional coming out this Autumn, and a children's book (which has spent most of its life being delayed) hopefully releasing early in 2020. Lucy lives in York with her husband and four children.