Podcast: Mab Jones

On this edition I am joined by Mab Jones who shares some of her poems and talks about her recent visit to Japan to learn the Japanese art of rakugo – story telling. She would also like to hear your poems on the theme of Japan. They could be about anything related to Japan or poems in a Japanese form about anything at all. Haiku are easy to go for or try one of these. You could even write in Japanese.
Post your poems in the comments or email info@patrickwiddess.co.uk.
You can also hear the poem I wrote in response to Will Ford's prompt on the last podcast.

Here's another of Mab's poems you can buy her book Poor Queen here.

Wonderland

“I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” – Lewis Carroll

Let curiosity be your guide.

Let the dark that dwells inside

Dare here. Let go of fear

As babies do their mother’s hand.

And at your feet: a doorway, now.

A smiling mouth. Step in. Slide down. 

Let yourself be swallowed whole.

Inside, all your life, you’ve yearned:

Eat me. Drink me. Let possibility

Open wide, consume the you

You thought you knew. Sink deeper.
Fall. Let go of all and, like that ancient

Apple, land. Rise up, then. Stand.

Your naked flesh on newborn feet -

Tentative. Teetering. Testing

Soft soles on an old world’s teeth.

Your eyes, unpeeled. Your heart, a seed.
Prepared for an adventure, here,

That’s furiouser and furiouser.

Mab Jones by Headstand on Mixcloud