My Bedsit Space, by Sharon Wright

Congratulations to Sharon Wright, whose poem ‘My Bedsit Space’ won our Spaces Inside Places competition.

My Bedsit Space

I once lived in a Bedsit

In a shabby part of town

It was so very small and cramped

I could hardly turn around

In the corner was a cooker

Shielded by a screen

A divan lay in the middle

Where I could sleep and dream.

I’d visualise a future

As I gazed at damp old walls

My life would be so perfect

In fact I’d have it all

I’d drive a BMW or maybe a brand new Merc

Owning my own company I’d live and breath my work

My husband would be gorgeous

My kids have high IQ’s

I’d never suffer from PMT

Or ever get baby blues.

My young and silly day dreams

Would dance around the room

Failure not an option

For me no doom and gloom.

Many years have passed by

Since I met the force of fate

Longing is a word now

I hardly contemplate.

But there are pocket moments

When hope shines from my face

Then I’m a foolish girl again

Back in my very own Bedsit Space.

A Forest Transformation, by Christopher Cabrera

Once upon time, there lived a man called Gawain with his beautiful wife Cortana. They lived with their thirteen year old daughter Susan and twelve year old twins Eric and David, They lived in a small cottage in a forest. One day while they were eating breakfast, Eric asked: “Dad, can we go fishing today for dinner?”

Gawain replied: “Of course we can. We all will.”

“Actually I was going to stay and do the washing up,” said Cortana.

“Can I stay with mum please?” pleaded Susan.

“Ok, you can.”

So at one o’clock Gawain, Eric and David went fishing.

The fishing was brilliant. Gawain caught three, Eric caught two, and David caught one humongous fish. When they got home, Cortana and Susan saw the humungous fish. Susan screamed: “That is the biggest fish I have ever seen”

“Indeed. You caught Fishzilla!” laughed mum. Then they all laughed.

Later that night, they were eating fish when Gawain saw a mysterious engraving on the fish bone. Instead of putting it in the bin, he sneakily put it in his coat. The were all wearing coats because it was very cold that night. The next day, Gawain went out to see if the engraving on the fish bone belonged anywhere. Then he noticed a cave and he went down to explore. While he was down deep inside the cave, he noticed that on the wall, there was a slot shaped like the fish bone and had an engraving in it just like the one on the bone. So Gawain pushed the bone into the slot and then, Magic! All the trees that were in the forest turned into pure solid gold! When Gawain got home everone shouted in a chorus: “I can’t believe all the trees are gold!”

But as they used the gold more and more, Gawain got greedy. Every person that came into the forest he tried to kill. Cortana, Susan, Eric and David wanted all of this to stop. Somewhere else in the forest lived a wizard who wanted all of this to stop as well.

The next day the wizard cast a spell. Then only one tree at a time was pure gold. This actually helped Gawain to stop being greedy. So in the end Gawain didn’t try to kill people anymore, and Cortana, Susan, Eric and David didn’t have to waorry about Gawain trying to kill people anymore and they all lived happily ever after.

The End

Spaces inside Places Competition

As part of Barking Metamorphosis, Royal College of Arts students created a temporary ‘writer’s space’ in the library at Barking Learning Centre for the writer-in-residence, Yemisi Blake.

We want to hear about your ‘spaces’. Did you make dens as a child, as an adult? Is there a special place you go to write, or to read, or to dream?
Write us a story, a poem, a paragraph, or draw us a picture.

All entries will be published on this  blog, and our favourite one received before 2nd February 2009 will win a £15 book token.

Competition entry cards are available at the Barking Learning Centre, or from Barking and Dagenham’s Art’s Service (020 8227 2482). You can write your entry on a card and hand it to BLC library staff at any counter, or email your entries to spaces@urbanwords.org.uk.

Please remember to leave your contact details and where you are happy to do so leave your age, gender and ethnicity as well.

The Magic Forest, by Xhesiana and Jenny

The king treated her daughter badly, so the king’s daughter ran away to the forest. When she arrived at the forest she thought it was nice, so she took pictures of animals. She saw glowing animals on the picture. She said it was cute so she hugged the animals. When she hugged it she became a horrible, gigantic animal.

Xhesiana and Jenny