Londonium 2016 - Mindful Writing

boxes blinking bright in
hoarded sunlight, corralled by
black cabs,
diverted the famous grey
flows of metamorphic concrete

layered down.
the Romans river anchored
offshore, the sign of the skyscraper
follows the length of the
high Thames

London

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Mindful writing is the practice of capturing a moment in writing, described by Satya Robyn as a small stone. Satya describes a small stone as a "short piece of writing that precisely captures a fully-engaged moment".

I think the practice is a terrific way of learning to pay attention. A great description of how to do this very simple exercise can be found here.

Picture sourced from Morguefile

Tinsel haiku

Moulting tinsel trails
 uproot solstice echoes at
 the empty table

Mindful Writing 35 - Capstone Country Park

Above me, a blackbird shimmies his feathers. The fog erases boundaries, smudge and sooth over the edges of the winter. Inside it's gentle breath, the wood expands into infinite possibility. Ascending songs echo, resonate while I turn the corner and bare green branches twist into focus; gain a layer of ivy

Image Credit: SM Jenkin

At the edge of the field the fog curtain brushes the grass.; beside the path link green and seasoned slim brown fingers. The sharp angles strewn at right angles with spider webs are garlanded with dew drops, inverting the world.

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Mindful writing is the art of paying attention - being fully present in a moment and then describing it

Mindful Writing 34 - View from the Delce

The fascia gleams so brightly I cannot tell where it is on the spectrum. The spring blossom glaring back at me from the hill covers orange, pink, daffodil yellow. I move forward only in the certainty of his warm hand in mine. Approaching the dip, the glare sharpens into a box window, twin suns reflected back, trapped in the square.

Image Credit_ J Durham

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Mindful writing is the art of paying attention - being fully present in a moment and then describing it

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com

Mindful Writing 33 - Near Wouldham

The low hum fills the air, drowning out the reeds rattling in the gusts skimming across the swollen new banks of the Medway. It's the eerie sound of someone blowing across the top of an empty bottle. But the cloud-sodden sky, grey against grey waves, is empty. The river laps against empty mud trails. The power relay buzzing into view; mystery solved. 

Picture credit: Wally ir

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Mindful writing is the art of paying attention - being fully present in a moment and then describing it

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com

Final Mindful Writing 31 - Grandparents

In their wedding best

they stand for the photo,

before the brown brickwork

of some wall. They are quite

dwarfed by the photo frame,

pear, peach, apple

pomegranate twined and full.

I close my eyes like my grandfather

in photographs; beneath the

dust I see my grandmother's eyes

shut, too.

My grandparents
Image credit: SM Jenkin

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This is the final part of the small stones writing challenge

The art of paying attention

Mindful Writing 30 - Burned Diaries

My mother has walked in

from her garden;

the arms of the tulips on her

cardigan writhe like

black flames against a

pink sunset. Her eyes water,

but there is no more smoke,

no soot; her hands are clean.

Image credit: Emmi P

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge

The art of paying attention

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 29 - lightbulb moment

A cough, the delicate staccato

of the best man at a wedding

tipping the side of a wineglass

with a fork.

The flash catches me unaware,

my hand on the

switch. It is still

dark.

Picture credit: M Connors

This is part of the small stones writing challenge

The art of paying attention

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 28 - Ginger

The sunshine of your

smile has singed your

beautiful beard quite

ginger;

the sparks in the

middle of a fire.

Warming, not burning.

(I hope)

Picture credit: hotblack

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 27 - Bills

Bills and bank statements,

artfully arranged and

rearranged on

my beige floor.

Again.

Piled up, jagged edges ready to

vomit onto the soft

pile; I size them

up, and shudder.

Picture credit : M Connors

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 26 - Boxty

In the warm kitchen, below the incomplete 

bottle of red wine from last week 

(on the side), I watch my hands grating potato

onto the pine effect chopping board;

soft white slivers falling randomly onto

blue and white teacloth, crisp and fresh

from the laundry;

Boxty that my mother will

not eat

Picture Credit: Jer_Jones

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 25 - Chalk Banks

Everyone is alone in the dark;

the 43 seconds in the tunnel between

 Gillingham to Chatham turn my lying watch-

face blank. Blinking away the glare from the

chalk faced banks; the light dims sharply.

I see the wire mesh holding the crumbling

chalk banks, slowly submerged by  

lush spring growth.

Ivy has buried the lone grey signal box,

slowly spreads towards the  

patchwork platforms.

Picture Credit: Jusben

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 24 - Tree Island

Walking past the car park; the

smell of fresh-hewn wood.

Three oblong islands, each decked

with two bare blank trees, separate the

bays from the men

Picture credit: Alvimann

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 23 - Chatham station, Island

At Chatham station,
beneath the leaking pipe on
platform 11, a moss-soft green world
blooms and flourishes;
encircled by the rainwater moat.

Picture credit: r_brevity

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 22 - Banana smile

Morning tea;

the upturned smile of a

banana, softening to brown

baby mush.

Shortbread it is, then.

Picture credit: Doctor_bob

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 21 - anticipation

the train is a jackhammer, vibrating with such
force it almost
lifts from the ground.
The moment passes; the engine
whines as it leaves
Gillingham. Such sweet sorrow.

Picture credit ronnieb

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention
Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 20 - Laundry

The odd shape of soft

lemon wool,

bulky above sleek

layers of acrylic;

black interspersed with

tempered blue.

Picture credit: Alvimann

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 19 - Duvet Day

early rays of

sunlight as

pale as the moon,

cool as the air on my

nose;

warm duvet covering

my lips.

 

Photo credit: Seamann

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 18 - They fit

canvas bag pressing sharply

on my right shoulder

blade,

soiled pink buggy jammed

into backside, baby shrieks

drumming inside my skull,

but this; the boot.

Chocolate brown, zip

up the side,

and soft leather pressing against

naked calf. A perfect fit.

Photo credit: Muyral

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge
The art of paying attention

Image source: http://www.morguefile.com/

Mindful Writing 15 - The Canvas

Magpies streak like
comets across a stained canvas;
blue stains leak through where
splayed Ash branches
grab the sky.
Beneath the framed image, the
burning radiator
gurgles:
white hot

Photo credit: cohdra

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This is part of the small stones writing challenge