Conversations & poetry with Camille Barr 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