Great Glemham’s Micro Poetry Festival

Since the Parish Council bought the telephone kiosk in Great Glemham from BT it has been used for various cultural purposes – exhibitions of post card art and photographs, a flower show, a Macmillan coffee morning and a children’s bookswap. On November 3rd 2012 it was at the centre of a micro poetry festival. Judy Brown, a poet who has won prizes for her first collection, was the guest of honour and read some of her work. Then others got up on the grass next to the kiosk to read their poems. The youngest entrant was Malachy King, aged 5 (who was away for the weekend but entrusted Nicola Redman to read his limerick).

One of the poems was about the phone box itself:

I stand red and proud with my gold crown

What on Earth? they say

Talk to someone from here? Surely not.

But they soon catch on and feed in heavy pennies

and crinkly thrupenny bits, and their slinky sixpences

and I stand red and proud with my gold crown

They call their mothers and their brothers and their grannies and their lovers

I miss you mum,

You’re in the team Saturday OK?

I made some jam today

I love you, I love you too

and I stand red and proud with my gold crown

I am here at 3.00 in the morning

My baby is sick, come quick

I am here at half past eleven at night

There’s been a crash, come quick

I am here in the darkest hour of the morning

My husband won’t wake up, please come

and I stand red and proud with my gold crown

Just turn left and you’ll see the red telephone box

Go just a few yards past.

Turn right by the telephone box and go straight on all the way.

Leave the telephone box on your right

go past the turning and it’s on your left – can’t miss it

I am their guide and on dark nights I lead the faithful to evensong

and I stand red and proud with my gold crown

But what’s this? New money?

O yes I take it all, the pennies and the new 2p’s

the fives and tens and even the 50’s

But that’s ten shillings in real money,

and they shake their heads

but I stand red and proud with my gold crown

But now it is quiet, and they don’t come in

I’ll call you this evening I hear them say

they sit in their armchairs chatting away

and I feel old, and I am no longer wanted

They ripped out my heart and left me to rot

and then sold me for a pound for I know not what

but then they cherished me and made me sparkle

and filled me with photographs and books and flowers

and even poems and now I am loved as ever I was

and I stand red and proud with my gold crown

Tim Cazalet

To see the other poems, please click here: