2009: Week One

It's one of those days
by Vicki Thornton

when you sleep through the alarm
wake up to find that someone has hidden your shoes
your face has been tumble dried warm
your hair has a mind of its own
and decided that beehives are back in a big way.

when the bus is late
the train early
you're all fingers and two left feet
words are swallowed whole
your tongue lies in a knot at the back of your throat
and even just smiling hurts.

when you did your Math homework
forgot your English
remembered to bring the egg sandwich
your mum made for lunch
your music lesson goes on forever
and you know tomorrow has to be better
has to be better
has to be.

Vicki says: I think everyone has one of THOSE days- when nothing goes rightand the day seems to drag on and on forever. I wanted to contrast withhow we feel on one of those days with the belief that tomorrow has toget better. Doesn't it?

Vicki Thornton writes poetry, plays, novels and short stories for children. Her books: Whistler's Mine was published by Thomson Nelson and Cinnamon and Spot, Who is Cinnamon Smith? and Cinnamon Finds a Sport were published by Oxford University Press. She works in a library where she runs a Storytime session; being surrounded by children and books is a great way to stir up ideas.

Writing Exercise: Write a poem about the worst day of your life. Pretend you are telling a very small story -show us what happened through word pictures. Or if all of your days are good ones (lucky you!), write a poem about an imaginary disastrous day. If you have several disasters in a row, put each one in a separate verse or stanza. How will you finish the poem? Looking forward to tomorrow? Think about how to create a satisfying ending.