Conversations & poetry with Camille Barr

Camille Barr reading her poem The rise of hope from her debut poetry book Behind the facade The rise of hope Awakened by a fresh day of hope Pass the shovel I have to dig A daydream beckons me out As I dare to defy the legacy of my flesh Sweat and tears pass the day The time has come I’m getting out of here… I shed divine depths of despair I hand you back to whom you belong Travelling now under my own direction The ghosts are gone and the path is clear One deep breath and the journey begins It couldn’t be that easy could it?

Camille Barr reading her poem Social experiment from her debut novel Behind the facade. Social experiment Take away the scales Add a boy and a girl Place one in front of the other Blind the boy with sugar Tie the girls hands Bake the boy in golden sunshine Beat the girl down and leave to rise Measure only the material Add judgement to the girl Add praise to the boy Discard cause and effect Walk away from the results Camille Barr

Camille Barr reading her poem The day has passed me by (not to try) from her book Behind the facade. The day has passed me by (not to try) In the years that have passed by Time always seemed to be behind At 15 I was too old to try At 30 I was just old Now the time really does go by Without regard for what you do Passing by lost opportunities On a slideshow of what could have been ‘Walk don’t run’ your time is now In the only present moment that matters These are ‘The Good Old Days’, Even when they’re not This is the day that passed by without regret Camille Barr

Camille reading the poem Nature of creation from her book Behind the facade Nature of creation I sway in the tree of dreams Far from the ground of harsh realities This freedom comes to mind From a view seldom seen today The peaceful breeze carries me, away in a daydream Into a new world of discovery How refreshing it is to breathe Deep, with no sense to hurry The man-made deadline absent In the nature of time aligned In space this was created To set the centre stage alive This is the place to visit to remind The mind where it ‘set in motion’ The imaginative exploration for tomorrow Camille Barr

A poetry reading of the poem Detached from Behind the facade by Camille Barr Detached There was a time when bare feet walked the land A wrong step was felt, and quickly corrected Discomfort brought the recognition of appreciation Now artificial barriers block the critical thought All senses safely muted as is all sensibility Distortion of distance came through first loud and clear in the earpiece fixture a practical measure it seemed of some comfort Then the message flickered through in neat text “Sorry I’m busy, I’ll catch you next time” as if time is an obedient slave, with a humorous side Time consumption now barricades In the decay of over-consumption Pictures now flicker like text no longer handled with care Sitting here alone yet connected Separation of the personal Objectification of the non-personal person Contact Us? Us equals community Community equals personal connection So where is us? An email address? Response within 24 hours Desired comfort has dissolved us the uncomfortable madness of it all Dwells deep within true desire As children talk on screens A sci-fi dream it would seem As the bikes stand still, an untouched shrine the streets no longer beckon adventure How far we have come to set ourselves So far behind The human image passes as unknown As the unfelt step is taken Unethical barriers drop on the unknown The detached body has become The detached soul Lost in the wilderness of its own making A nightmare surely to awaken Even the dead Camille Barr

Camille Barr reading the poem What would you say if you knew from her poetry book Behind the facade What would you say if you knew? What would you say if these were the last words to pass between the last moments to share before everything changed take these moments with care for there are things that we cannot know precious moments pass quickly into the memories of either regrets or cherished times, so take the time bite the tongue embrace the heart leave it on a note that will play sweetly for many years to come for you may not know this will be… the end Camille Barr

Camille Barr reading her poem "The beauty that is found" from her book Behind the facade The beauty that is found In the days that tire the bones the mind looks to escape step back, breathe slow observe time pass by Refocus, delve within break free in the reflection reopen your heart let it guide your sight Hear the rain fall, drop by drop feel the sunshine, flush of warmth feel the sand at your feet, sink them deep lay still in the gentle embrace, hug tighter watch the light rise and fall, stars sparkle as the moon illuminates unwind as the water washes it all way Give it a moment, let the tears fall pick up strength radiant beauty shines through Camille Barr