#tinytwitterpoem (s) at the AYAC National Youth Conference 2013

I was invited to attend and engage with this year’s National Youth Conference (hosted and facilitated by the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition) as a poet in residence tweeting tiny poems. Here are all the poems I tweeted during the conference plus those tweeted back to me by others attending. Enjoy. 🙂

Use the isms to craft a laughter bridge/ with teeth hammers and hot chocolate hands/ and a belly full of rage love// a YP #tinytwitterpoem

Make the place/ shake the place/ consult me into silence// #tinytwitterpoem #AYAC2013

A new army/ rolling through the doors/ there will always be new skin/ to sink within// #tinytwitterpoem #AYAC2013

Nerds unite/ blending our screens into our dreams/ with shared voices in stuffy rooms// #tinytwitterpoem for @MissLaurenMoss at #AYAC2013

Love// #tinytwitterpoem for @MissLaurenMoss #firsttry

Plan the self/ into maps with tabs/ hubs set to vibrant/ ready// #tinytwitterpoem #AYAC2013

Offer/ Ask/ Seek/ Care/ Meet at our table with two ears and one mouth// #tinytwitterpoem #AYAC2013 @SkinDeepProject

Include and exclude/ we bend the borders of our plans/ seeking the mouse hole of our promise// #tinytwitterpoem for Linda Randall #ayac2013

Report on the card/ prevent the fall to learn the fly// #tinytwitterpoem for @BatyrAus #ayac2013

Shine beyond the shadow/ dance together on tables overturned/ a brighter now for us to build// #tinytwitterpoem for @ajbisherenow #AYAC2013

Sluicing through health into living/ striding into giving// #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013

Short and sharp/ our failures poke us/ towards future woven narratives/ tied with bells and rainbow ribbons// #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013

These walls we give ourselves/ fingertips with no end/ where does your headspace lay// #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013

Making meaning of your distress/ with your permission/ or without/ why are you leaving me?// #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013

Build a world that loves each other/ hands on hair/ suffering beneath eyes/ some smoother care// #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013

Deal together/ or live apart/ these lines between us/ shaded/ trapped between sheets/ I hear you// #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013

A rage of the heart/ with red hair and warm eyes/ building a new kind of courage// #tinytwitterpoem for @JohnLoughton #ayac2013

Dare to be humble/ to lead the future/ towards hands that tingle// #tinytwitterpoem for @JohnLoughton #ayac2013

A political party/ on wooden bar tables/ wearing red high heels/ a toothpick in my teeth// #tinytwitterpoem for David Baker #ayac2013

The in and the out/ the sharp slice of our disconnect/ is weeping children// #tinytwitterpoem for #justicereinvestment #ayac2013

Your golden coins/ line walls with no ears/ to hear these aching hands// #tinytwitterpoem for #justicereinvestment #ayac2013

Sing me a story/ lie to me sweetly/ I’ll believe you// #tinytwitterpoem for @BatyrAus session at #AYAC2013

Storytelling/ to bridge the distance between our hopes/ to leap across our fears// #tinytwitterpoem for @BatyrAus session at #AYAC2013

Use the fabrics you find/ to sew a patchwork quilt/ to keep our young warm// #tinytwitterpoem for @DovetailQLD #AYAC2013

A four way dovetail/ into waiting hands/ beating hearts// #tinytwitterpoem for @DovetailQLD #AYAC2013

Keep your seagull caw/ from these shores/ we choose deeper/ no chips here/ only feathers// #tinytwitterpoem for @DovetailQLD #AYAC2013

Straight lines/ stark against thin skin/ growing thinner/ sinking/ sunk// #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013 #magill

Advocate/ fill space with the size of your dreams/ be the beginning/ of the blending/ between life and living// #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013

Cut the issue/ frame the logic/ sing your song/ with courage fired red to match/ your shoes// #tinytwitterpoem for #advocacy sess #ayac2013

Care the self/ through the sharp space/ the flimsy pattern/ the jerk awake/ to place shake/ awake// #tinytwitterpoem #selfcare #ayac2013

Care to honour your work/ through the self towards the other/ we are woven/ together/ tomorrow// #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013

Your loyalty lays/ or lies/ to your inner ear/ begging/ to claim it here// #tinytwitterpoem #selfcare #ayac2013

Build this boat with me/ I’ll cut the timber/ you sew the sail/ and we’ll travel this sea// #sharethejourney #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013

Question the deep/ with folds that sing/ please let us in?/ and now/ ROAR// #tinytwitterpoem #advocate @MissLaurenMoss @OurSayAust

The dance of black and white/ a word gift/ to teach us patience/ to sing us into sharing// #tinytwitterpoem to NPY Women’s Council #ayac2013

Our contexts confine/ bedazzle/ blind/ split our skins/ spill our language/ our lines/ the gap widens// #tinytwitterpoem #ausedu #ayac2013

Third party gap filling/ shifting lines across shifting sands/ heart song answers/ sing to me// #tinytwitterpoem for #npywomen #AYAC2013

Social connections as a protective factor/ you are my blanket// #tinytwitterpoem #AYAC2013

Firework/ hands exploding around your framed face/ filling the space/ with truth bombs/ to take home with us// #tinytwitterpoem #AYAC2013

Bring them all/ open the windows/ clear out the webs/ a new army is coming// #tinytwitterpoem #connection #AYAC2013

Secret life of young people/ ripping years from my eyes/ I’ll try harder/ promise/ to be more/ together// #tinytwitterpoem #curfew #ayac2013

A diamond/ ground beneath a salty sea/ stealing Aboriginality// a #tinytwitterpoem for stereotype traps #ayac2013

Demonise this/ f**kers// #tinytwitterpoem #mediastereotypes #ayac2013

See the actions/ turn their eyes from the why/ still here/ fighting// #tinytwitterpoem for Jenna from WA #ayac2013

That double edged sword/ keeps stinging me/ singing to my baby/ growing taller/ without me// #motherhood #tinytwitterpoem #ayac2013

The past is present/ legacies layered/ give me your babies/ and I’ll tell you it’s over//#notover #tinytwitterpoem #reconciliation #ayac2013

Imagine/ home is no haven/ give me a nighttime escape/ before I blow this town up// #tinytwitterpoem #curfew #ayac2013

Be the ship to my relation/ the pro to my fession/ the song to my voice// #youthwork #tinytwitterpoem #AYAC2013

Rattle my bones/ softly I ask/ but the need is harsher/ shake me into action/ I’ll follow/ or lead// #tinytwitterpoem #AYAC2013

The fight sways/ lips harden/ be brave/ speak/ listen/ dream/ on the same team// #tinytwitterpoem #AYAC2013

YOUTUBE SPOKEN WORD RESPONSE (Freestyle) DAY 2

 

BY OTHERS

Creating a space/without young people//what a waste #tinytwitterpoem #rusty #firsttry @lylyee #ayac2013 – Lauren Moss

Feeling nervous/about our session/whatever happens/it’ll be a good lesson #tinytwitterpoem #awful #ayac2013 @lylyee – Lauren Moss

“@lylyee: Care the self from the tinest toe to the sharp tip of a hair focilule /one life/ one chance #tinytwitterpoem #selfcare #ayac2013” – Allan Ball