Free Running Poetry

As I promised you here is the commision poems that I wrote for the 'Barcleycard World Free Running Champonships 2008'. The last poem was published and displayed at the Championships.

Tracuer/ He Runs Free
Inspired by Urban Free Flow and Josh Dyer

He started as a set of Addidas Traceurs
Originally a Formula 1 tyre
Giving his precious soles grip
For the Tic Tac, Cat Leap and Wall Run
Strong legs cloaked by tracksuit bottoms
grey as the city concrete he explores.
A powerfull upper body covered with a
glyphed black vest, sowing sculptured muscular arms
with beads of sweat flowing down the contours.
He is a god imortalised in the mystery of free running.

He faces a wall
too wide to run around
too high to vault
he steps back
not backing away
Assesing the situation

His feet bless the flat surface
propels himself upwards,
grabs the wall like a clamp
swinging over
landing, knees bent

Scales the building
leaping rooftop to rooftop like a spider
rolls flawlessly
No strings, harnesses or special FX
Fearlessness is his only stunt double.

The city skyline is physically interesting
as the colourful graffiti that surrounds him
Unknown as the artists work that envelopes
him as he sprays himself into the surroundings.

Tanka - Lost Focus
Danger sharpens my
focus as I take a death
Defying leap. As
I land and walk onwards, my
Attention has slipped. I trip.

Tanka - Free Runners Vision
My playground is here,
banisters to vault
doorways to swing off
looks say ' Why not use the stairs
And be a normal person?'

Who Forbids me to be Free?
Inspired by Basement Jaxx - Run 4 Cover

If there was a never ending light
trailing from my back,
I would draw you a route so seemingly simple
you would lose yourself trying to fathom
why I don't take the stairs, circumvent the obstacles, or take the easy roads.
I see the world in a way you never would.
Music pulsates in my ears,
fast and furious,
urging me to
Tic Tac,
Cat Balance and Dash Vault
over railings, walls and bollards.
When the music slows,
I leap, summersault and roll,
hard to soft, high to low
My feet caress the concrete
as I pirrouette like a butterfly
creating spirals, arcs and circles.
My body - A human gyroscope.

Life is a playground,
I the child disobeying the adult within,
who forbids me to be free,
for fear of what will happen when I fall.
How else will I learn?

I move like the music that pulsates in my ear;
fast, furious
with grace and spontineity.
Life is never free from pain.

Barcleycard world free running championships

It was amazing, death defying and down right unbelievable! The highlights show some of the best and the worst of the show, it was great because being VIP there was free alcohol and my poetry was displayed alongside some dodgy photos in which I appear looking like I have a huge ass or checking out the tutors. The poetry was fantastic, the other poets wrote some amazing stuff but graphically mine was all over the place and communicated the subject well.

Pip Anderson was amazing, shame he didn't get first place but England did us proud by gaining second and third place and and Jenx Jenkins received best trickster. Well done to him bearing in mind he was the youngest contestant aged 15. Livewire was too good to be given second place in my opinion. Shame Cali (my favourite) didn't get through to the semi finals, but he really set the bench mark with the body popping.

I know this sounds superficial but man I have to say it - Tracuers are hot and sexy! Hopefully in the next championships there will be some of the female community represented (only 2% of the free running community is female), me and my fellow female poets semi joked that we will train for a year and enter. I say semi joke as i really want to enter but i need to train properly alongside studying and applying to university.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OBJyGojbpBQ - Free Running highlights
There will be an one hour show on SkySports September 22nd. I will let you all know the time as soon as possible.

I will get the poems up soon and Charlie Dark (Wiki him) who helped host the event approached me before the show and asked for my contact detials for an anthology, at the time I didn't realise who it was amd only because my friend Kazie told me who it was after, I was feeling blessed.

Poetry

I love poetry, beyond what we are taught in education because it is a whole other world. From the greats to the lesser known modern poets, there is certainly something for everyone.
I write poetry and have been writing for 6/7 years now, starting with acrostics and now writing sonnets, bops and sexatinas etc. The performance of poetry is even better as it can be entertaining and sometimes really enlightening. I personally am a part of The Roundhouse Poets, who regularly perform and some of the poets are established and slowly gaining recognition for their work. The group have a vast range of poetic styles for example there is an amazing MC (Kaz Dela Kazie) to the audience participation poet (Bayan). The mentor is the amazing Jacob Sam La Rose, who is also a web designer and photographer as well as an established international poet. He encourages us to experiment with the different forms and to not rely on cliches. These classes run at the Roundhouse, Camden for 13 to 25(?) year old on a Friday night (7 till 9pm) for 10 weeks a term.
Me performing on the main stage at the Roundhouse with 3 other poets.
Me on the Mic at a Christmas showcase doing some jazz poetry.
Performing at Process ran by Louis Antwi at the Roundhouse.
Performing at the Christmas Showcase at the Roundhouse again.